Congrats on the new employment!! You really should change your name to "well done" Everything you have done to this car has been well done and the car was a bit overcooked beforehand.
Really cool build. I'm a piss poor builder, but I really enjoy seeing a craftsman at work. Please keep the posts and pics coming.
I decided to roll it outside so I could work in the sun today. It was nice till the rain showed up. IMAG0272 by 1/2done posted Oct 22, 2017 at 10:16 AM Anyway, I ran out of gas for both welders and won't have any until Saturday so I decided to work on the panel below the rear window. If you remember it was just about fubar. The pic really doesn't show just how badly warped it was. DSC03409 by 1/2done posted Oct 22, 2017 at 9:49 AM I had started working on the left side a while back and it was hard to move. The distance is short and it's a reverse curve so it's stiff anyway. So I decided to anneal it. It seemed to help, but as I worked the metal it would get stiff again. I ended up annealing it 5 times but it's just about as straight as I'm going to get it. I still have about an 8" section in the center I need to straighten. IMAG0273 by 1/2done posted Oct 22, 2017 at 10:16 AM IMAG0274 by 1/2done posted Oct 22, 2017 at 10:16 AM IMAG0280 by 1/2done posted Oct 22, 2017 at 10:16 AM I've been thinking about how to get rid of the rust inside. Sandblasting would suck and a tank big enough to do electrolysis or molasses would be damn near impossible. If I can swing it I think I'm going to have it dipped. Last time I checked it was around $1k to do an entire car body. I have no clue where I'll get a grand that shouldn't be spent somewhere else but we'll see.
1/2 done ... nice work so far. I'd say soda blasting but from what I've been told rust is not something it does well with. Plastic beeds might be better & less costly but the dipping is the way to go IMO. Paco
I haven't chimed in on this thread before this but I have subscribed. Amazing work. Very impressive. I agree that the tank for molasses would be crazy but a grand for dipping is crazy too. Yes, I'm cheap. I build my tanks out of cement/concrete building blocks and line them with pool liner or whatever. At that size you would have to reinforce the walls of them though. Then the molasses cost. Could get to be a lot of $$ and hassle. Have you considered a "shower" with Safest Rust Remover or Evapo-Rust? They work well and should be a lot cheaper than dipping. The website for Safest Rust Remove has a great slide show explaining how to do the shower thing. Either way.. great work and congrats on the job. Joe
1/2 done All I can say Is Holy crap,dude... You are amazing to be able to bring that thing back to life, 99 percent of the hot rodders out in the world would not even attempt that big of a project (me included). You are a inspiration to us all . Keep up the great work and Good Luck...
Hey - I was just wondering what your trick was to get the rust off the outside of the body? Thanks! Oh yeah, that outside shot's lookin good! TP
First I used sandpaper to knock the heavy stuff off, then the first thing I tried was naval jelly. I put it on and used coarse steel wool and scrubbed/let it sit/scrubbed until it was shiny. It worked well but was time consuming. I figured out naval jelly was diluted phosphoric acid so I bought a gallon of that, put it in a spray bottle, and did the same process. It worked much faster. WEAR RUBBER GLOVES. You'll find every small cut on your hands if you don't, but it won't matter cause all the skin peels of the next day anyway. A small stainless steel toothbrush works well in heavily pitted areas. I'm still undecided on how to do the inside, working overhead with acid in a confined space is not on my bucket list so I'm leaning toward sandblasting. I kind of put the whole project on hold right now. The thread here about getting a title dampened my enthusiasm. Ohio sucks for anything motor vehicle related that involves government, so it may end up that it can only be a race car. Fine. But I want something I can drive on the street so I started working more on my OT 69 Modified Production car that I have a title/tags/insurance for. It's much closer to being driven. I have both in the main garage so I can still beat on the 40 when the mood hits me, but any extra money is going into the 69.
Well I'm broke again so you know what that means, working on the '40. I planned on getting a lot done this weekend, but the wife did too so Saturday went in the shitter quick. I managed to have today to myself so I did get a little done. I was hoping to get all 4 fenders to bare metal, 3 out of 4 will have to do. I spent the day with a D/A, 3" angle grinder with Rollocs, and a Blaster/Crud Thug. The under sides are still rusty and a lot harder to grind. I test fit the fenders in a plastic 55gal drum. I can get 1/2 at a time in the drum so I'm going to get some molasses this week and start derusting them. If it works I'll make a "pool" big enough for the doors and do them next. I can do this in my detached garage so the smell shouldn't be a problem.
if your building a tub big enought to put them in, i would do the electrolysis to remove the rust, it will work much faster than the molasses, overnight easily. that way you dont have to wait on it and can get more parts done faster
Wish I had some. I was pretty excited right before Thanksgiving about a deal I made for 3 40 sedan parts cars, one with a good frame and title. But my dad died the Monday after Thanksgiving and I had to deal with that. Then the owner of the 3 40's was in a head on collision and he's laid up for at least another 4-5 months. Then the wife's Uncle dies and her mom has a stroke so life has been a giant shit sandwich for the last couple months. Hopefully I'll get back at it soon. I need to get a couple sheets of 18ga, I want to redo the 1/4s with 18 because the 20 is just a little too thin. I may try to pick some up this week if there's no rain in the forecast.
Gettin a few hours in on the car will take yer mind off life for a while....well at least it does for me ! Great therapy !
Your work is amazing here to save a car in this condition . I read all the hot spots and seen a miracle come out of it . I paid to have my rockers and cowls replaced on my 37 Coupe and the doors and car came back in a lot worse shape then when I dropped it off . The guy even used chains trying to pull my top around . I have this bookmarked and have to see it threw . Keep up and we all know times and cash get tight but don't give up and never let this gem you have go .
Isn't 20 gauge the original thickness? With the crown it seems thick enough. You know you can chop it for free! I'll second that! TP
Well worth the read, definately good job on the 40, sorry about your troubles. Keep up the good work.
I just read your complete build so far. Absolutely great work. By looking at your skills, I don't have a doubt you could chop this car. You've came so far on it for sure. The roof alone would have been a big bridge for me to over come. Sorry to hear about the issues lately, best of luck with all of that!
1/2 done, I hope things start looking up for you. I agree with Koolkemp. Even if you do very little on the car, you'll be setting some of your worries aside for a while. It's the best damn therapy I've found.
The Jalopy Journal
