So when I got my 50 Styleline I knew there was very poorly done "bodywork" and that was OK with me. There is a ton of filler in this thing and I haven't been surprised by anything I've found until today. The rear pan is made up of the rusted out original metal (what's left of it) wrapped in flashing, but it looks like the flashing was ****ered with roofing tar first, then the whole thing is finished off with Bondo. ...lots of Bondo. I pulled off a slab of mud that measured just over 5/8" at the thickest part. I've nicked named my car Mud Bucket because of all of the real mud (dried) that I have found attached to everything and the filler mud that is on every body panel on the car. Here's a pic of the "slab" I took just as my camera died.
5/8? man, that ain't thick. I once stripped a 58 Corvette and some joker had bondo on top of the front fenders over 2" thick! Crazy.Good luck on your endeavor to do it right.
My 55 had 70's style fender flares when I bought it. They were made out of thin metal sheets stamped with beer bottle cap logos you could read inside the trunk, while the outside was lathered in filler. Rather charming, really! Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad
You should see my neighbors 66 f100! It was all rusted out and he asked me to throw some bondo in it. I call this style "hack n pack". Avert your eyes cause these pictures are just plain horrible!
I once took a job in on a 69 Mustang. The trunk was house roofing flashing, roofing tar, old Michigan plates, spray foam and a 2x6 across the rear holding the bumper on. Covered up with a trunk mat it had Bondo over an inch thick in the quarter panels.. looked very good from outside..
I watched a guy rebuild the bottom of a door with duct tape. I thought he was going to gl*** over it Haha nope. 1 gallon of resin poured in-side the door. When it set up the tape came off and carved it back to shape. Mudded it up and done. It actually looked good, perfectly sculpted faux seems and all. Some guys are great are carving and sculpting.
My neighbors ford was built outta exhaust tape and bondo, then i got a hold of it and its a little better.. Im not the best at body work.
You can use Auto Glym tar remover and its products. You can use cooking oil for removing tar on painted surface. You can also use nail polish remover. For this purpose Use a cotton ball, and apply the nail polish remover to the tar stain and use circular motions until it is gone.
most of these "****py" repairs, are the reason the car was not junked years ago. i am not defending the craftsmanship, just the act.
and everyone stood around drinking beer saying damn hes good he saved that one it was bad. Funny how friends dont seem to see stuff done wrong
Sometimes its just to make it by for a little while longer. Watched another guy rebuild an astro van windshield to roof rot out with crazy foam. The elements would get in and the wind noise was horrendous. Carved it back, some dura gl*** and filler and a rattle can of high build & matching paint & clear. Lasted 5 yrs before he junked it. Welding that up would have been way to much work. Now I suppose if 30 years from now someone drags that cl***ic astro van out of a boneyard there will be a thread on the questionable repair process.
Working on a car for a lady that said her front floors were getting soft. I pulled the carpet back and someone had actually taken the time to solder pop/beer cans together to patch the floors!!! Gotta give 'em an A for effort but an F- for follow through!
In the early 70's I worked at a Ford dealer, and one of the body 'men' was a young guy we called Bondo Baker. He put almost a gallon of bondo in a 2door Cutl*** door.
The Jalopy Journal
