Progress Thread 69 Sheet Metal Repair

[horse sence]

i wish you could get the pre made blades in a heavy duty blade. i use the heavy duty 18 tooth hack saw blades and trim them,they last longer but they are a pain having to trim them. one long blade makes three for the saw. i have cut one toe board out ,trimmed the other one for the torque box. had to trim one torque box to straiten .trimmed the full wheel lip off both outer wheel tubs and cut both trunk drop offs ,and cut both quarters off the red 65 mustang all with one piece of a blade and it will still cut.this is a great little saw

 

[candphall]

The harbor freight blades come in two tooth counts. I think one is 18 tooth count.

 

[candphall]

I have all the sheet metal ramped and am ready to to trim ans fit the new metal. I have read several posts that suggest using self tapping screws to hold every thing in place . Anyone have any other suggestions. Some areas are hard to clamp.

 

[horse sence]

screws work where a clamp will not

 

[candphall]

Apparently my car was built by a guy who got paid by the spot weld. I have a question as to how to best weld the floor pan to the forward frame extensions. As you can see some spor welds have been drilled through the frame extensions. So do I fit the pans and weld them through the holes from the bottom. Or should I fit the pans mark the holes on the pan drill the pan and plug weld from the top. Or just fill the frame holes,grind smooth , fit pans, and stitch weld from the bottom.

 

[horse sence]

as you probably know it is a real pain in the butt welding under somthing. i would fill the holes in the floor supports from the top and then grind them smooth then drill through the floor pans to reattach to the floor supports. if you have a copper bar place it under the holes and fill in the holes .weld will not stick to the copper .a piece of copper pipe smashed flat will work just as well ,another trip to Home Depot.
the last couple of calif. cars i worked on the guy spot welding must have been playing,the welds were stacked somtimes 5 over laping at a time it was almost impossible to get apart without chopping it up

 

[candphall]

Thanks as always

 

[candphall]

Generally speaking when making sheet metal patches what guage sheet metal should I use. I noticed that most patch panels are 19 guage, but I think that would be very hard to work.

 

[horse sence]

i use at least 18 ,but sometimes you need 12-14 for frame repairs depends on just what it is you are repairing

 

[candphall]

I am trying to figure out the best way to repair, replace, the sheet metal in the pictured attached. It is the part of the firewall between the engine bay sheet metal and the outer cowel. There are panels available for 66 thru 68 but extensive modifications are necessary. You will notice in the attached pictures that my panel has a bulge at the top that I can't see in the replacement firewalls offered by various vendors. I am wondering if it is because mine is an AC car. I am also wondering if I can replace with a flat panel with no bulge.

 

[horse sence]

i am not sure about that one i dont have an air car any more but i dont think the standard and the air fire wall are any diferent

 

[candphall]

I had some rust in the forward frame rail extension. I chose to only cut out the rotted area much like horsesence. I am planning the same basic repair as the patch panel is available. As you can see the inner cowel sheet metal was damaged during torque box removal.

My plan is this . I will replace the outer frame extension as horsesence did. I am planning on bringing the inner frame rail panel forward as necessary. I wll cut the forward portion this panel in an L shape to cover the damage on the inner cowl panel. All will be welded in place.

My question is this will I have enough strength once the torque box, floor panel, and toe board is welded in place.

Any thoughts will be appreciated.

 

[candphall]

I am talking about the rocker panel extension not frame rail. Sorry

 

[horse sence]

that front outer piece of rocker,there where the front fender attaches to at the bottom slides up inside the rest of the rocker .drill the spot welds and pull out the rest of it,it only goes in a couple of inches .the new piece will slide right back in place . just spot weld it back again .
the inner piece should be strong enough fully welded to support the torque box.
especially if you add a a plate in side of that and plug weld first

 

[candphall]

Will do thanks

 

[candphall]

Removed the test of the rocker extension as suggested. I also cut back the inner extension cover so I can have a longer run for strength. I still need to do the final trim for the floor pan and then I can start to go back together. I also contacted a friend that has done some body work on the car in the past. He has a small restoration business, and has agreed to fit and weld on the new parts for 30 dollars per hour. This is at my garage using his welder and supplies. This was great news since I don't have a welder and I don't no how to weld.

 

[horse sence]

$30 an hour ,thats a deal. it doesnt take long to weld it back

 

[candphall]

Spot welds are like herpes, just when you think their gone you find another one!

 

[horse sence]

 

[candphall]

I am having a hard time finding sheet steel in small amounts in Orlando . Where do you fellas find your stock in your towns . Home Depot and Lowes are very expensive.