Builds 76 Project Silver Back

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More of the same on the front doors.
I used a surface plate to scribe a nice cut line on both the door and the new sheet metal.

 

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More pics,

 

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More pics,

Overall, they turned out pretty good. Definitely will need a little filler, but not much.

 

[65swb45]

Subscribed.

I noted the number of things you posted for sale in the preceding months and began to dispair that you were giving up altogether on the project. Very glad to see I was wrong.

Since fitment is the number one concern of those considering replacement panels, and the ones you got for your doors look like a REALLY good match, tell us which vendor supplied them. I bought a Real Steel passenger floor pan section for the '66 I was working on a couple of years back. Overall good fit and match for thickness, but two of the critical contours were off by a 1/4 inch.

 

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Subscribed.

I noted the number of things you posted for sale in the preceding months and began to dispair that you were giving up altogether on the project. Very glad to see I was wrong.

Since fitment is the number one concern of those considering replacement panels, and the ones you got for your doors look like a REALLY good match, tell us which vendor supplied them. I bought a Real Steel passenger floor pan section for the '66 I was working on a couple of years back. Overall good fit and match for thickness, but two of the critical contours were off by a 1/4 inch.

Ha! No, I never gave up.....I was wondering if I'd gone crazy and so did the wife.

I purchased all of my door bottom replacement panels from Real Steal.

Initially, I thought the fit wasn't all that great, but after thinking it out and creeping up on the cuts lines I was able to have the panels mesh with hardly no gap. I did however, have to split the backsides in half and remove about 1/8" from the middle to get the edges of the panels to match the doors.

More to come.

 

[65swb45]

Ha! No, I never gave up.....I was wondering if gone crazy and so did the wife.

I purchased all of my door bottom replacement panels from Real Steal.

Initially, I thought the fit wasn't all that great, but after thinking it out and creeping up on the cuts lines I was able to have the panels mesh with hardly no gap. I did however, have to split the backsides in half and remove about 1/8" from the middle to get the edges of the panels to match the doors.

More to come.

Ah ha. I noted the split in the inside piece. It was so clean, I just assumed the panel came that way. Good info there.

 

[Weber Sarge]

Really nice job stitching those back together . I hope you purged the inside when welding...?
Sarge

 

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Really nice job stitching those back together . I hope you purged the inside when welding...?
Sarge

Thanks Sarge

No, but I should have. I've been meaning to make a purge box.

 

[65swb45]

As opposed to an 'advertised' time, what do you estimate the real-world hours were to mark, cut, stitch, weld and grind/smooth one door?

 

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So at this point, I was in need of a decent Frame.

I picked this one up from mud member Indygbd, He is a stand-up kinda guy and will treat you right.

This is the before and after.

 

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As opposed to an 'advertised' time, what do you estimate the real-world hours were to mark, cut, stitch, weld and grind/smooth one door?

Oh geez,

I'm no professional, nor welder so I'm sure it took me a lot longer than most.

After the door was blasted and my game plan was all thought out. I would have to say somewhere in the neighborhood of 5 hours.

That's just a ruff estimate,

Most of the time was getting the pieces to fit with hardly no gap.

 

[65swb45]

Oh geez,

I'm no professional, nor welder so I'm sure it took me a lot longer than most.

.

Most of us aren't professional welders. I have watched professional welders. I saw one guy weld with latex gloves and not get burned. It really is an art. Still, all in all, I've found it's just tedious, lots of prep, and prep some more. When you're charging someone else for your time....

 

[Spike Strip]

May I ask what TIG welder you're using? I've got the strange idea I'd like to fix the rear quarters on my 60....

Beautiful work, btw.

 

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May I ask what TIG welder you're using? I've got the strange idea I'd like to fix the rear quarters on my 60....

Beautiful work, btw.

I know that there will be a lot of haters, but this is what I run.

It's an Everlast 210 EXT. At first I was skeptical, but after reading all the reviews I decided on this brand. I know it's not one of the big two, but for the same amount of options in a Miller or Lincoln I would have had to spend 3 times the amount of what this cost.

I've used both Lincoln and Miller and quite honestly this welds every bit as well.
They also have great customer service. My only complaint is that the torch is a little big for my liking.

One thing about tig welding body panels.

Yes it produces very clean and nice looking welds, but if you not careful you can easily warp sheet metal.
The reason is because, with sheet metal you have to get in and out of the heat.

With a tig, sometimes if you don't heat the metal up fast enough it causes the heat to expand outwards which can cause the metal to warp and do weird things.

Sometimes my weapon of choice for body panels is my Miller 130 mig. This model is a beast for a 110 welder.

I use 0.023" wire with the heat turned all the way up. I can zap spot welds within 1 sec bursts with little heat spread and full penetration.
Yes, I have to grind a little more, but I don't worry about getting the panel to hot.

Keep in mind, I can weld, but I'm no welder.

Just my 2 cents

 

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I know I should have done this before I had the frame powder coated, but for some reason I like to do things the hard way.

This is my design of the Saginaw power steering mod plates.

I started by measuring and then using my cad software to design and water jet the plates.

The smaller S plate is 3/8" thick and allows the lower bolts of the Sag gearbox to be offset. I wanted to
Keep the box/pitman arm as level and far back as possible. If I didnt offset the lower mounting bolts they would have ended up directly on the lower edge of the frame.
I'll let the pictures do the explaining.

 

[Spike Strip]

Thanks very much for the info ! Decisions, decisions....

 

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More pics,

 

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Pics

 

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Nothing like breathing powder coat fumes.