Got my summer project back form blasting. I knew it was bad, but damn, why would someone butcher this car so badly. It had been hit in the drivers side hard. The wheel house was pushed in over 1&1/2", and the catwalk (between the trunk & p***enger compartment) was over almost an inch. Don't have any idea how the top could even go on the car. Both quarters were put on over this damage. Poorly! It took me and my apprentice less than two hours to remove both quarters. How do these cars find me............ These pictures are of the added metal in the catwalk (top and underside) to make up for it being pushed over!
This is the wheel house after the quarter removed. In the center picture, it should be almost straight up.
Ouch. It's amazing how some 'shops' fix cars. I've seen wood screwed into a door jam and covered with putty.
Yeah,thats not gonna buff out Your a better man than I to tackle such a butchered bird.Good luck. Oldmics
The part I don't get is why. It took less than an hour to straighten the wheelhouse and shift the catwalk into alignment. It had to have taken hours the make the deck lid and doors "fit". Taking out the extra metal and repairing the catwalk will involve at least a day. Thanks for letting me vent! I'm headed to the shop. Today's job will be to remove the rest of the rockers, (held in with screws and tack welds " ) And the floor braces. I'm taking lots of pictures & can post the repairs if there is any interest.
Unfortunately body shops take the blame for all the hack work done by amateurs and back yard butchers. I really doubt this was done in a illegitimate body shop. Even hack shops know it's much more time consuming to put a car together over bent structure.
That's some fine hackery right there. You'll make it all better. We just shake our heads sometimes. I know I never want someone to look at my work and say "who the F*#& did that?"
Ouch. Bring a magnet with you next time you go looking at a project. But your username tells me that this car is in the right hands.
Yep, I didn't and wouldn't have bought it. Good advise! If your buying a car LOOK at it! The owner is kinda stuck. Way too deep to bail. Only positive is the car will be right when I'm done, and no one will know it's sorted past. Been more hands on this old gal than my second wife! Oh and the other good news....Tinbender just bought a vintage camp trailer, siding for the house, french door and ................
Looks like fun Eric. Congrats on all the added income. I think I'll be purchasing a vintage camp trailer next spring.
Hi Jeff, the bird is a bigger project than I wanted, but I'm only doing the metal work so it should be out of the way soon enough to get this in and done for next summer. She's a 12' 58 Aljo
The wheelhouse was a simple fix. I used a "pogo stick" and a slip jack to pull and push it into place. I pushed off the mounting area where I put in the bracing, prior to mounting the car on the rotisserie. No frame machine unnecessary. X measuring in a few spots helps you know where it goes. The opposite side was pushed out slightly pulled in easy. Final adjustments will be made as the sheet metal goes back on.
For those of you who ever worked in a shop, how many customers wanted you to do the job cheaper? Every damn one of them, right? How many cared or even knew good work from bad? If they saved a few bucks and the car went down the road under its own power they were happy. Basically this is the explanation for all the sub standard work done over the years. And, if you won't do a hack job, there is always somebody else down the road who will. They might go broke in six months but in that six month period they will get a lot of business by undercutting everyone else, and after that another one will pop up. I'm not surprised that sub standard work got done in the past and gets done now. I'm surprised a shop that does good work can find enough customers to survive.
Today's progress; Removed both inner rockers, front floors, floor braces/body mounts, a large amount of the front fenders, including the vents, to expose the A pillars. Going to have to replace the lower 1/2 of the pillars. Also removed the cat walk. It's probably the worst of the damage from the ****py repair. I'll have to drill out and remove the inner structure to repair the flange area where it meets the quarters, then make and add new metal to the quarters for a factory looking joint.
OK I guess he means the tulip panel... here's the catwalk... The 'Catwalk' Auto designers have a unique vocabulary to identify parts of a car that most of us don't think about. The 2012 Chrysler 300 has a narrow, horizontal plane on top of the rear fenders that Mr. Gasevski calls "the catwalk." The sharply defined shoulder makes the 300 distinct in a crowd of rounded off sedans. To accentuate the line, the new tail lights have a thin, chrome-outlined, vertical strip down the middle that functions as an extension of the "catwalk."
Tin I know Birds very well. Let me be the first to say that I would consider your efforts much more than a restoration and fixing some one elses shoddy workmanship. Thats like taking a parts car and bringing it back from the dead. If its your first Bird and you need some parts guidance for the sheet metal,send me a P.M. and I will give you some names. I said it already-your a better and braver man than I. Good luck. Oldmics
Yep cat walk and tulip (two lip) same thing. And I gotta say again, I don't think this was done in a shop. ANY half ***ed bodyman with ANY knowledge of body repair wouldn't have done this. It took far longer and cost far more to work around the structural damage than to fix it. The person that did this knew NOTHING about this work.
Thanks Oldmics. Yes very much a full body restoration. My first bird, but not my first major resto. I was a heavy collision guy before I started teaching it. The heavy collision experience lends itself well to major resto. Nothing scares me! I prefer hot rods, but if done correctly the're are also restorations. It's somewhat of an O/T car, although the owner is thinking about hot rodding the old girl. I've been pushing hard to go "g***er" with it. He's a HP junkie like most of us, so who knows. Anyway, thanks I'll shoot you a PM. Gonna need more parts!
I've heard of tulip, but more frequently Dutchman panel. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Where_did_the_term_'Dutchman_panel'_originate
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