Recently, a fellow hamb member was wanting some advice on chopping stainless pinchwelt for a '50 Ford. So after some talking I have decided to try and give you guys some insight on whats involved. There are many that have tackled this and have been successful and many that give up and cover each joint with several clips. I like to weld these joints and make them disapear, and use the one clip..like the facorty did. Thats what we are generally after right? Make it look like..it Never happened. I'll post a few pictures of my Merc (which was the first car I had attempted this on) and some others that I've done for customers, like the "Bertelli Merc".
Heres an example: This '50 Merc belongs to Louis Bertelli, he bought it like 20 years ago, it was already chopped, but needed finishing, he's been working on it through the years and just got it done-done, last year. It came to me with a few pieces to work with but I still had to hunt down alot of stainless to complete this car. I'm going to be posting pics in steps so be patient with me.
The chop on this particular top didn't flow like it could have, and wasn't done like most where the top goes forward when coming down..instead, the A pillars were laid ,the B's are straight, and the rear window did the natural thing and was laid forward, so actually, the top went straight down it seems. Nevertheless, they wanted the stainless to look like mine, so here are some of the things that I basically do to achieve this (Now, I basically taught myself on this type of stuff, some of you won't get or agree with my method..but it works for me, if you have 2 cent you wanna throw in...by all means..lets hear it, I'm here to learn stuff too! So, grab a Beer, sit down and lets cut some stainless!
I like to take different pieces off donor cars Mercs and Fords and lay them on the floor next to where I'm working and try different pieces, flip them around experiment with the curvatures. I try to keep the heating and bending of this stuff to a minimum, the reason being is its hard to not over do it and cause a "hic-up" in the flow of the pinchwelt.
Less is more...'Joints', that is.. and I'm not talking the kind you smoke either. The less joints, the less work you'll have to do, so I try to keep them to a minimum, course, on slanted B pillars and such you would be seeing a heck of alot more joints, so this wasn't too bad. Once all your pieces fit like a puzzle, everything is tight and flows correctly, I will tackle one joint at a time on the welding table. Then return it to the window to check fit.
I cannot stress how important it is to make sure these joints are perfectly tight. This material is aproximately 0.014"+/- in thickenss, it really is paper thin. So, if you don't have a Tig welder by this point..better go get one, your gonna need it! I clamp my piece down to the table and look at it from several angles, to make sure it has that perfect uninterupted flow, then get out a magnifying glass and check for alignment for the first tack, which I do in stages.
I am scared at this point. I would just blow a hole in this, I know it. I couldn't even get a joint like this, much less weld it.
Now comes the welding of the joint. I usually turn the machine down to about 15 amps, running a 3/32" 2% Tungsten, 98%Argon 2%Hydrogen for shielding gas, plus you could set-up a little purge line hose to flow on the backside of the weld if you wanted to but I generally don't feel the need to. I use 0.030" 316L filler rod, (this is personal preference) you can use 308 or 309 or even slice pieces out of left over stainless trim and make them into filler rod if you like, but I use the 316, when buffed out you can make out where the joint is. Its worked fine for me in the past.
I skip around and take my time until the whole joint is welded, test fit the piece again and move on to the next weld.
Cool Post! I have a 40 Merc coupe that I plan to chop and also get rid of the "hump" in the back (where the top meets the body) -- as it just doesn't flow. I was wondering howyou handle the wind wings -- especially the ones where they have die-cast pieces like mine do? I'm trying to insure that I know all the trouble areas - before starting the chop work . . . and I know it is the trim, wind-wings, etc.. Just wondered if you've ever done a car like a 40 merc. Thanks! Dale
Now I will use a 0.035 cut off wheel on my air grinder and pull the trigger slow, so that it spins sort of slow and grind off the weld just before it gets to the surface. Then run a mini file across it to see how bad the distortion is. Usually, I come back with a small flat head screwdriver and tap the area from behind to get it back in shape, file some more, and once its straight, I will grab my Da sander, put it on spinlock, and hit it with some 320 and work my way up the grits til shes good for buffing, which is a whole other process for this little stuff.
Okay, now that our piece is all welded up and sanded down ready for the final buff, we should test it on the car again and make sure all is well. Now, I know what your thinking, "Whats up with those hideous seats?" I know..I know, its a crime, but I think he changed these out for something else if I'm not mistaken.
Now comes the fun part, Buffing! I bought one of those kits from Eastwood, I think it says the Stainless kit or something, I can get the part # for it if anyone needs it. I will be screwing the stainless to a piece of plywood to secure it, and I just used some 1/8" flatbar with holes on each end for the wood screws. Then get to it with the three step process of wheels and compound on the drill. You might be asking, why not use a real buffer? Sure, you can, just make sure you piece of stainless that you've already got precious time in..is secure to the wood. The reason I use the drill is: A. I don't own a buffer B. the last time I used a badass buffer for such stuff...it kicked my ass, ate my piece, and spit it back at me one more time. Ouch, baby..very Ouch! C. I can get into the tight places alot easier with the drill, hold my weight into it and stand over it so that I can see what I'm doing.
There you have it for the rear quarter, Here is a pic of the completed piece and the side windows, and windshield done, also the center post. Below is the 'Bertelli-Merc' at Paso '06 all done, painted, and upholstered, with chopped polished out stainless trim...and one clip per window, just like the factory would've done it!
On Mercs and Fords, my eye is trained to look at the lines of things and the stainless lines (curves) gotta flow together. Next time your at a carshow and see a kustom..check out the stainless. There aren't that many that go the distance! So,...go the distance!
The Jalopy Journal
