Holy Crap! I cut the roof off my damn car!

Hey,
The chop looks great, but may I make a suggestion? If you're going to put real paint on your Merc in the future that you stop and treat all of that rust BEFORE you weld up the area around the backlight. Weld-thru primer, Por15, epoxy, anything that will hold the rust off. If not, it will come back with a vengence!

Swankey Devils C.C.
" It's time for another Tea Party ! "

 

Lookin' good Mario, keep posting those pics.

 

Yes sir, thats my plan! I am actually going Eastwood rust encapsulator on all those spots. The rust is all surface, but the camera makes it look AWFUL! Regardless, thanks for the suggestion!

Thanks John. Whats the status on your repaint? Or is that a sore subject?

 

COVER THAT REAR GLASS BEFORE THROWING SPARKS!!!!!!! car is gonna be really cool when done, i always liked the 4 door mercs but had to settle with a 2 door ;(

 

Nice having a merc with 4 is better than not having one at all nice work its gonna be a nice one.

 

Thanks guys....and yes, the glass is just layed in there for photo purposes and to check the flow. It lives safe and sound in my finished basement wrapped in a blanket
If it weren't for the suicide doors i would have done a coupe. I really like the more doors the farther along i get with mine!

 

keep posting man

 

Hey Mario mine is mostly in primer right now, should be done by mid-March. Then I'll start a new round of questions.

 

Good to hear!

 

UPDATE:
Just started getting the rear window sides tacked in. Started with the passenger side. I tried as best i could not to have to slice the roof, but i found that making one slice (approx. 16") on each side (where the roof curves towards the rear side windows) of the roof got me just enough flexibility to blend the rear window piece in pretty seamlessly. Here are a few pics of getting started. I was on a roll till i ran out of welding wire Of course where can i get welding wire on a Sunday afternoon in the middle of a snow storm? Nowhere. Pardon the fact that it looks like a science project gone wrong, as i planned on doing all the welding before i shot pics. Going to stop off at the LWS to pick some wire up tomorrow and hopefully get a few hours in tomorrow afternoon. Enjoy the pics!

 

What did you use to get all the paint off?

.

 

I used a wire wheel on a 3 1/2" grinder for most of it. With these cars there is a sealer under the topcoat that chemical stripper won't touch, so you have to mechanically remove it. The wire wheel is nice because it won't take any metal off in the processs.

 

dont you just love lead based paints

 

Yeah...really. I helped a friend chem. strip his fox style mustang and literally you roll off the paint with a plastic putty knife and clean metal emerges! My merc loves to put up a fight!

 

Thanks guys.
Mine has the original patina paint at the moment.
But, sadly, it's gotta go.

.

 

Nice job Mario!!!!!Remember; Bondo is your FRIEND!!!!!!!!!!

 

Hahahaha! Yeah I am really trying to use as little filler as possible. Some of the curves can't be done crisp enough without some filler, but by no means do i want 1" of bondo all over the roof!
I'll hopefully have a few pics for you guys tonight once i dump them off the camera.
Thanks!

 

A few pics of the continued work on the rear window. I kept laying the rear glass in to make sure it will fit in the end. I found a small imperfection in the flow of the window frame from man-handling it, so i have to ease it out with a few stroke of a hammer. Enjoy the pics!

 

that's gonna be cool!

 

damn i wish i knew how to do that..haha...

 

I'll have you know i have NO IDEA WHAT I'M DOING! Hahahaa......just kidding....well not really. I basically read a bunch of posts/articles/books on the process and decided to take the plunge. So far so good!

 

looking good................any updates?

 

I admire you just jumping into it.

Any ideas of making the Merc fast? I know you have a carbed fox body that runs good right? I'm tempted to do a OT LS2/LS3 + 150 shot.

 

john you ever figure out your skirt measurements?

 

I won't have anything until Monday when i dump the pictures off the camera from the weekend. I'll be moving to the other side to do what i did on the passenger side to the rear window area. Keep checking back!

Yeah i have a 10 second 89 LX sedan. Those LS engines are super tough from what i hear. The blocks will handle 1000+ hp! I love nitrous for a power adder. Nothing beats letting the solonoids hit off the transbrake. Its like someone rearended you at a red light. I say go for it. Here's a video of my OT stang in question. Thats a 12:1 347 stroker w/ 150 shot of spray leaving on the 'brake. Sha-ZAM! Enjoy!
<embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" src="http://i33.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vid33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/importeater98/100_0460.flv" width="448" height="361">

 

(Yeah I ordered some Winfield skirts).

Nice notch.

Planning to get the body work done and do a driveline or ??

 

Going to get the metalwork done but no filler. Get the body off after that, do the frame, running gear, suspension, brakes done, than lay the body back on and start the bodywork. Thanks my plan, but then again...its always changing!

 

let me learn how to weld first then ill chop something..haha..

 

Welding is like anything else: the more you do it the better you get. After a while you can do it subconsciously. Sometimes i start day dreaming after a row or repetitive tack welds. You'll be a pro in no time!

 

UPDATE:
Sorry it has been a while. I have been working 60+ hour weeks and haven't even turned the light on in the garage besides to take the trash out Anyways....i got a day in this weekend and here are a few shots of the driver's side section of the rear window install. Enjoy!