I started fitting the 54 inner fenders I got from my buddies donor car. I don't know what is more work, making these work with 52 fenders, or fixing the shitty crumpled up original inner fenders. Actually I know this will be much better. They fit perfectly around the control arms where the 52's had to be hacked to fit. The had part with these was figuring out how the front will bolt to the the front part of the fender and grill upper section. Using modified parts from both inner fenders should get a good original looking fit.
I learned the hard way that the new old stock left front fender I picked up at the swap meet wasn't a '54 piece but a 52/53. I never noticed the difference until I bolted it on the car,then the difference on the top of the fender was evident,it took a lot of work to make the fender match the drivers side. HRP
I finally got both inner fenders raised and cleaned up. I added 1" conduit on the other side to route all my wires so it should be pretty clean when I'm done. Dropping a bunch of parts off at the sand blaster today.
Here ya go. Just ground off the galvi and grime and welded it in a few spots. It will enter through the firewall and exit through the side of the fender through a grommet.
I'm getting my driveshaft made today. Should be ready to pick up on Monday. After work today I ripped out there headliner (was careful to label and number each bow) and start scraping the tar from the top I'm thinking maybe a scotch brite pad and lacquer thinner to get the small stuff off? Next I'll move to the floors As I was scraping seam sealer I put my scraper through some thin metal under the driver seat. Haha. So I'll have a few patch panels to make also. Does anyone have a suggestion to get this clean and not make a huge mess? Since I'm doing this in my garage, and storing all my parts in my garage I want to keep it as clean as possible. I was thinking of just running the vacuum right behind the wire wheel to suck up as much as possible.
The vac and wire wheel idea sounds like a winner,as does the scrub pad idea.She sure is coming along nicely,I'd say you've got a winner on your hands
Awesome thank you guys. Glad you are enjoying the thread. Its becoming a really fun build. Im glad I started it. But can't wait to drive the car.
I finished wire wheeling the floor today and cut out a few rust spots. When I make the patches, what is the best way to get it to conform to the same depressions? Should o build a jog and hammer it to shape before I weld it in? Or weld it in flat and just hammer the edges down to fit? Not building a perfect show car here. Just trying to patch some big rust spots.
I would build a jig and do it that way.You could do it the other way and save a little bit of time,but you'd probably let it bother you after the fact.
Why not use a pneumatic flanger.They even have a built in punch to spot weld it in along the flange.I wouldn't use it on exterior panels but for floors it's perfect!
I just looked into one of those after you mentioned it. Thanks. Looks like it will be a useful addition to my tool supply.
I've been busy in the garage for the last few days. I got the floor patches completed, painted the floor in por15 and seam sealed all the gaps. Also started routing the battery cables. I decided to mount the solenoid on the battery box so the main cable going to the starter will be dead except when I start it. I'll start insulation and rerouting the wires to the fuse box tomorrow. I also got my air shocks installed and mounted the air valve in the trunk.
Thank you. Fun times in the garage this week. I drilled a hole through the bottom of the battery trying to enlarge the pilot hole for the ground wire. I enlarged the wrong one obviously and had battery acid drain all down my arm. Luckily none got in my eyes. So I picked up a red top ultima and rewired the cables. Also got 3 rolls of peel n stick applied to the floorboards. I'll probably use 3 more under the back seat, doors and roof.
You're getting there.Using Zoro,Dynamat,and batten in the crevices made my '58 have the quietness of a luxury car and I've used it ever since.I can hardly wait to see the finished product.
Zoro is the maker of Handi Foam.What I like about it and Quiet Coat is that they are ultra low VOC,which means no off gassing(When your car smells like a chemical waste dump ) Batten(or batting) is a material that also fills dead air space. Back in the late 80s and through the late 90s,I was a rep for a car audio company.I hung out with guys from all different areas of the industry.I knew some people that were in the recording business and learned a lot about sound deadening,which makes it easier to build a quality system.You are off to a better sound quality if you take care of the dampening.
Ok so now I'm really curious. Now that i know what the stuff is, where and how to you use each one? If you don't mind sharing your industry secrets haha.
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