lookin good, your making alot more progress on yours then i am mine. i did manage to get some more paint stripped off the body but its slow going right now. finally got over to my parents and brought back a bunch of my parts and found some heater tubes. also found some extra 56 stainless trim i forgot about. hows that welder working out for you?
Well, my brother welded a little bit on the roof, decided to call it a night and has been gone for two days. So I decided to pic up the torch and have a go at it. I welded the rear roof pillar and drip rail back together and it came out great. I have never welded before in my life. The Eastwood welder has worked flawlessly so far. I attached a before and after. I also welded the hole in the p***enger door. More tomorrow. Sent from my DROID device using the TJJ mobile app
I finished welding the roof today, welded in some pinholes around the windshield frame and started welding the piece in below the trunklid and I ran out of argon. ****s. I am getting pretty good with the welder. Maybe now that I know what im doing I wont dispense so much gas needlessly into the air Sent from my DROID device using the TJJ mobile app
Well im broke till tomorrow, so getting the tank filled will have to wait till then. I spent most of this evening fabing the piece of structure that goes at the p***engers feet that was completely rotted out with the floor pan. As far as I know they dont repop these, and its fun making my own anyway Sent from my DROID device using the TJJ mobile app
Filled my argon tank on Thursday and im already out of gas. Haha. Anyway I got the rust holes on the p***enger side all patched with the exception of the rockers. I was working on patching the trunklid and forgot to get pictures. I found quite a bit more rust on the bottom lip of the trunklid which is frustrating but thats the way it goes.Im getting better at welding and I spent most of today skimming the hamb on keeping panel warp down and I think im pointed in the right direction. The new rockers and floor pans should be here this week sometime. Ill have some pictures tomorrow Sent from my DROID device using the TJJ mobile app
I remember running out of gas all the time working on my truck. The worst one was when I was snowed in and out of gas. Couldn't do anything... Keep it up, you're doing a great job!
Cool project. I just picked up a 54 2dr HT project myself. Waiting for the delivery truck from CA to arrive.
I'm pretty proud of Dustin for taking the bull by the horns and learning how to fab and weld. It ain't perfect but it's pretty damn good (especially for a first attempt) and he's getting better at it. All the pieces came in from Cl***ic Fabrication and it's damn nice stuff. These guys are old school so there's no online ordering but they're definitely worth a little extra h***le. In other words, it's just like the old days, if you've been around a while and bought parts out of the catalogs back in the day. Rick at Cl***ic Fab told me he's working on upgrading the website to take online orders but isn't there yet. He will also make the pieces that go from the door to the rear wheel openings if you can tell him how high you need to go. You'll need to cut and form the wheel opening but he'll make it for you. Let me know if anyone wants to see his updated parts list/price sheet and I'll scan and send it. Kevin
Thanks. Im proud of you for taking care of the chairs in the house that need sat on, or couches that need laid on. Anyway, im going to hit it again this week. Sent from my DROID device using the TJJ mobile app
Douchebag. I should've drown your *** right away. Remember when I used to use you to check for spark?
Nice build, love those Olds, just read the whole thread, you make it sound so easy... I like the ideas you bring forward, like the idea of a 61 Impala graft, hubcap center, etc... subscribed...
Okay, decided to get back to work. I cut the inner and outer rockers off the p***enger side. There was a considerable amount of rot at the lap joint between the outer rocker and the quarter panel, and I had to quite a bit of "excavation" at the front corner of the body, where the floor is rotted. I managed to take it down to some structure I can weld to and started building it back up. I left the inner rocker in until I finished patching up the front corner as I was worried amount it shifting. I used a jack for extra ***urance. I drilled the spot welds in the floor braces and along the floor pan, and with lots of persuasion it came free. The entire inside of the rocker box was coated with a silver coating, which looks like bare metal unless you look closely. I also found out why quarter to rocker lap joint rots first on these cars. From factory, the rockers are drilled to drain and they put dividers in to isolate the lap joint. That's great thinking, except the drainage around the quarter windows has a large opening from above, and this cavity had no drain holes. When I put the new rockers on, I will cap both ends and seal them up tight. This side was the easy side because everything was rusty and easily persuaded. The drivers side will be a pain in the ***. P.S. I know a few of the welds are ugly. Im still getting the hang of it. Sent from my DROID device using the TJJ mobile app
Okay, got the front corner of the body all rebuilt and welded together. I got the majority of the inner rocker in and all welded up. I went through and welded all the little openings up, setting old seam sealer on fire here and there and I finished it with a coat of epoxy paint. Stiffened everything right up and I haven't even done the floors yet. My old man thinks im a fool because I didn't follow cl***ic fabrication's instruction sheet to a tee. I guess im just a ****er for simple pleasures, like doors that open and close properly, body panels and trim that line up with each other and windshields that fit and don't whistle while going down the road. Their replacement panels however are excellent and are the proper gauge. I also have 1 of the 61 impala wheel openings on the way so im pumped. Tomorrow the floors go in. Sent from my DROID device using the TJJ mobile app
How about satin black? Same amount of work as flat but has a little depth and tends to look good on larger cars. Need a Lasalle ******?
Well, instead of playing around I pretty much replaced the entire bottom of the cowl on the p***enger side. I cut the toe board out afterwards. The metal was pitted and paper thin in some spots, and let's face it, if you think it might not be structurally sound, then its got to go. Its ready to go but I ran out of cut off wheels so im done for the night. The damage on this corner was from the seal around the heater core failing over the years and letting water from the cowl right in. I am going to build a vent tube that runs to the front beside the radiator to feed air to the blower box and close the cowl off completely. This will take care of a variety of sins. Sent from my DROID device using the TJJ mobile app
Cut the toeboard and floor pan out of the p***enger side, unbolting the front body mount for better access. I had to modify the replacement from cl***ic fab as it wasn't quite right but it was no big deal. After the toeboard went in I bolted the body mount back on and welded it back in, nice and solid. I fit the floor pan but haven't welded it yet...im exhausted! Sent from my DROID device using the TJJ mobile app
Pictured is the new wheel opening. It will work great, I am going to take about 3" lengthwise and about 2" heightwise out of the front so it looks proportional to the quarter panel, plus it will look sleek and low when the car is at ride height. Excited! I will start on it later this week. Sent from my DROID device using the TJJ mobile app
I have a newfound respect for guys fixing cars on here that are rotted far beyond the point of no return. I have watched at least a dozen cars on here with the entire bottom half rotted off being painstakingly brought back to life, 1 panel at a time. Guys starting with nothing but a rusty cowl and a bent windshield frame and building a complete 32, and a beautiful one at that. Its inspiring. Whenever I get stuck or discouraged, I look at one of those. I finished the p***enger floor pan and toe board, got all the floor braces tied in and its nice and sturdy, but man that was alot of work. Everything else should be easier as this was the worst spot on the car. I also took 3" lengthwise out of the 61 chevy wheel opening, so it fits the quarter better. Its gonna look *****in'. Sent from my DROID device using the TJJ mobile app
Great job so far! I'm a big Olds fan, too. Drove my 55 ALL over the country back in the 80's-early 90's. Your wheel well swap should look great, it looks just like a factory "98" wheel well opening. A shame you couldn't find a set of them, then you could use a set of factory skirts on it! Here's mine.
Very nice, love the paint. Factory 98 openings were an option but every one I found was Overpriced or rusty. These are readily available, of good quality and reasonably priced. I could run a set of 61 chevy skirts if I wanted with a little modification. Sent from my DROID device using the TJJ mobile app
Well, apparently all it takes to open pandoras box is a flat screwdriver. I was working on the remainder of the inner rocker and found a 12"x8" section of rotten floor pan in the rear p***enger side(pictured). It all started when I poked at small rust hole by the body mount. Glad I found it now though. The whole pan on the other side is all Swiss cheese but the mount area is good? Strange. Sent from my DROID device using the TJJ mobile app
I removed all the rotten metal around the body mount, then removed all the **** that was impersonating solid metal, and ended up with a huge hole in the floor. I took the body mount that spans the rear floor pan out completely and rebuilt the end of it as it was rotted out. I then installed the remainder of the inner rocker and it fit nicely. Tomorrow I will patch the floor pan in. Im glad this side is the worst, its all uphill from here. Sent from my DROID device using the TJJ mobile app
The Jalopy Journal
