I am working on repairing the inner wheel well on my 54' Chevy. I need to know if anyone can tell me what the three factory holes as pictured here are for. I patched the rust and redrilled the holes but am unsure if I really need them, or if I should fill them in to prevent moisture/rust from forming inside once the outer panel is reattached... Also, when I do reattach the outter pannel what is the best way to seal things up between the inner and outter wheel parts of the well. Does anyone have any pictures of thier 53/54' wheel well restoration? Thanks.
Lower trim holes, nice repair work. Some 2 part paintable seam from The automotive Paint store will seal it all up nicely. Looks good though
Makes sense now. The car didn't have the trim on it when I got it but I plan on putting it back on so I'll keep the holes. So should I put seam sealer along the inner wheel well around the trim holes, and weld through primer on both sides of the wheel lip, and then spot weld the 2 lips together?
Yep, weld thu primer on both flanges, but I would also drill a small pilot hole in the inner panel, then before welding on the outer, I would put a dab of good seam sealer on each spot. (or silicon) Thick enough to make contact with the outer panel once in place. Drill thru from the inside using pilot hole. Moisture will have a hard time getting in.
if your talking to holes in the inner wheel well they where most likely used for assembly line up there not good for anything else
when you say spot weld, do you mean plug weld? if you have access to a resistance welder (which duplicates factory style spot welds), i'd suggest using automotive glue between the body and the patch, and then spot weld. i do it all day, everyday on the newer stuff at work. it bonds, and acts as a sealer to help keep the elements out. while not factory correct on older cars, it is a great idea.
If your car has the Bel Air trim then you'll need them, if it has the 210 (single piece of trim on the quarter, like my car in my avatar) then you won't need to worry about those lower holes. Just putting it out there. Nice work BTW!
Yeah, plug welds. I don't have acess to a spot welder, that would be the way to go if I did. Thanks guys.
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