60 Biscayne

[idrivejunk]

Matt, what did you do with the wheel well on this? I have cut ones on the Torino and they are not available.
Dave

Ah, the Torino. Stay tuned for wheelhouse repair, all I've done there so far is juggle some ideas in my mind and scrub rust away. The plan goes like this: Fit quarter patches with old wheelhouse still in place. Fab new lip to fit qtr patch. Trim wheelwell, attach new lip. Patch quarter. First project I did at this job was the same repair, both sides with two piece patches on a 67 Impala SS. It had been previously repaired with fiberglassed wheelhouses and overlapped 2 pc quarter sections just like the ones I'm using here but with a ton of rust left in place. Turned out really beautiful. So this ain't my first rodeo but there's been many rodeos since that one. Watch and see. I'll kinda be making this up as I go along.

[idrivejunk]

Didn't get quite that far yet, and didn't take pics to show what I mainly did which was fit the front qtr section. It still needs a little twist at the rear to line up right. That patch panel has a fairly nasty dent-n-wave area toward the front unfortunately, and the bottom front corner of the spear contour don't match the original worth a flip. But its near the big seam so I can work with it.

Anyway... made a piece to tie the inner rocker to it's refinforcement beam. Much easier to show than explain-











Yes I missed on my row of holes but I can make more. And it could be wider. It willl be OK.  

I got that welded to the brace so I could screw the qtr patch on tight, then got carried away fitting and then helping with the TA and didn't get it welded to the inner rocker. But I flattened and slightly trimmed that edge of the patch so it fits close to the upright flange which I did clamp. It screws together alright.  I'll plug the rocker on through 3 layers (upside-down and if I aim good) where that new piece overlaps. In those pics the patch is just hanging, out of the way.

Behind the wheel, the patch flange is skinny and trimmed funny but here again... it will work-







How 'bout a look around the wheelhouse interior? Pay no attention to the clamp job.

[idrivejunk]

Heres the scoop on wheelwell lip fab. I had a 2" strip of cold roll 18 gauge 4' long, cut using a pneumatic stomp shear. Using a metal brake, I bent it just past 90 degrees, making a 3/4" wide lip. Using shrinker and stretcher jaws plus a 4" bench vise, I made this in about an hour.

The Chevy orange spray paint is simply more accurate than a marker, for indicating the edge of the existing panel once I had the new ones fully in place. With them removed, I used 1/8" masking tape along the orange edge then used a marker outside the tape. That black line will be my initial cut just before I install the qtr patches.  Hoping for the best and trying to act like I know whut I'm doing!

[idrivejunk]

Guys I was able to put the long weekend through the stretcher also, and don't have to be back at work until June 1.  :-}

So I'm stretching the few pics that I have out. Quitting time snuck up on me but I got plug welds done. A pic of the inside after welding will follow.

Try not to fret much over the pits you see here, they are saving money and have been duly tended. I did present the option to patch all and butt weld but this option was more sensible in light of the big picture. Er...bill. So far so good on customer happiness is the report I get each time I ask. They are due to visit while I am off but they will find hands moving on the car when they arrive.

I cut about a quarter inch above that blk/sil line. Overlap is about a half inch. The car side got encapsulator and the patch got rattle etch on the backside before installation but I didn't stop for a weld prep pic. Just know theres decent black stuff between those layers, and that I'll epoxy flood the seam with a brush then probably seam seal this hidden side. Painter will seal inside the well before paint.











The car may be sitting on the frame when I get back, or could have some more floor work done. Theres a couple body mounts with spun nuts to be fixed. Hands will stay moving on the job, and I hope to be rested and ready for the big weld upon return to work.

[kb426]

Good fix, Matt. I'm guessing the owner has some exp. with this kind of repair which may indicate how he ended up at your shop to begin with. When he sees all the repairs, I hope he's satisfied. If he thinks you can do this work in minutes, he's been watching Overhaulin too much. Enjoy your time off.

[chimp koose]

Enjoy a good holiday . You have left a good job for someone to take over for a while .

[idrivejunk]

Started fixing body mount nuts that had spun in their cages yesterday. Wanting to bolt the body down at this point. Having a new issue with my computer that prevents putting up pics as usual. Please stand by

[chimp koose]

I once had reasonably good fenders to bolt on to my 65 merc 1/2 ton . By the time I broke off about the 4th body bolt I decided to cut out repair patches from my good fenders and weld them in on the ones on the truck rather than do battle with the broken cage nuts .

[idrivejunk]

Yeah I got lucky with the 64 Imp I did, only one had to be cut out. These old Chevys are bad about that. I am gonna tip-toe a tap through the other side where it did unscrew, and hope for the best. This one over the axle was not fun but I did get a decent "do" although it will look like crap til grinding. I made the nuts and cages.




















Here is the area behind the big patches, wearing epoxy. Patches got it inside and out.



Here are the floors Mike did. He made a new section of tunnel because rot.







And heres the chassis so I can bolt her down while the big patch is just screwed on. Dig the thermostat housing.

[idrivejunk]

Woops don't have the body mount rubbers yet. Coming soon

[idrivejunk]

Here we are, back on the frame and all is well. Now I have a sporting chance of having less suprises. For what its worth... these patches ain't the straightest in the world, they are wavy. Mainly the front one. When its all in place there may end up being a little pucker in the quarter over the wheel opening. what I'm saying is I know theres an adventure ahead so keep expectations loose. There will be plenty of filler needed.





Got the front patch for the other side but it has no spear. Hmm, I kinda needed that. See the scrap pile? I love those.



While I waited for mounts I started on the right front floor. Boy I need more floor than what I have. More adventures...



This was the old driver's floor pan. Part of a riding mower???



A glance around-



Boss walks up with a magazine in his hand, just came in the mail. He subscribed to one that featured another awhile back, and the one that has the blue 67 F100 on it's August cover. Well, the July edition has another one we did body and paint on, a 55 Chevy pickup, dark red with black ghost flames. It was my second install of flush door handles and first for bear claws. They put it on the center fold and man what nice pics.  

[kb426]

I didn't know the Flintstones owned such a variety of cars. Craftsman hood, maybe????How about someone put a sticker on to cover holes?

[chimp koose]

craftsman sponsored the nhra bracket racing program about 20 years ago , the decals looked like the one on your floor

[idrivejunk]

I got no ideas what that actually was. Guy who cut it out said Craftsman lawn mower perhaps.  :?:  :?:  :?:

Heres as far as I got with old Crusty today...












It hasn't given me too many fits yet. It did go to warping in a couple spots that I caught and coaxed. Only re-cut a couple tacks but it seems to be behaving decently as far as I can tell. No beauty queen, but solid, is what we're going for. It will be that.  

[chris spokes]

nice work matt