Builds Rebuilding a 40 but no longer in a 1 car garage.

[waiting for time]

Then I got to this point, made a patch and cut the old one out.

 

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Then I came back the other day and realized that I made the lip on the bottom.
I started over.
This time I took a slightly oversized piece and started with folding the lip.
then I marked the locations of the bends and used the stretcher to bend the lip in these area’s.

Once satisfied with the general shape I cut out the rest of the main shape and clamped everything in place.
One of the challenges here is to get a flat flange after all is done, hence the horizontal strip sticking out from the table.

Now I marked the edges on both old and new to see what the best place for trimming is.

 

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Before finishing the front I decided to create the rest of the flange first as the old flange is pretty rough for alignement.
Measured the amount of material that needed replacement and started shaping.

Whit a little bit of tweeking this wil do for the back corner.

 

[ceylonfj40nut]

Awesome stuff!!! What metal gauge is this?

 

[dmaddox]

Looks very familiar. I never thought I'd look at this stuff and have a whole new level of respect for the required patience and diligence to get through projects of this magnitude. It is tough work.

 

[waiting for time]

Awesome stuff!!! What metal gauge is this?

1mm

 

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I cleaned up the old flange and fine tuned the corner.
Next I cut a strip of new steel and bend the lip.

Mad ensure it was straight, made it fit the bended piece and welded them together.

Next I laid it over the original part and marked the cut off line.

And cut the old piece out.

 

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Fitted the new part, and tacked it in.
before cutting I attached a piece of angle on the welding table flush with the flange and the vertical part against rhe edge of the table. That way the new flange would be in the same position.

Hammering, welding hammering.

Looks like this will be done this weekend.

 

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Update.
looked at all the bad spots and marked them.

Then took out the thin piece in the middle.

Before cutting I drew lines to be able to position the small rib and bolt hole in this location.
After fitting the patch I could locate these and create them before welding it in.

Everything ready for welding and grinding.

 

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All welded including the various holes.

 

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Time for the final patch in this part.
You can never have enough clamps.
Some final fitting.

The final fitment ready for welding.

Welding is tough on 40 year old steel.
All welded, ready for grinding.

And after the first cleaning. Still lots to clean up.

 

[greenbeast]

Keep it going nicely done!! One question, how many tools do I have to buy to be able to do the same thing!!

 

[waiting for time]

Keep it going nicely done!! One question, how many tools do I have to buy to be able to do the same thing!!

Thanks.
Good question, I used mainly basic tools on this.
Larger things are shrinker stretcher, sheet metal shear and tig welder.
Most of the bending was done on vice benders and a few larger ones on the box brake but you don’t need that.
I use the little air grinders, 2 and 3”, as they add less heat.
If you have patience in cleaning up the welds you could get a decent result with an angle grinder.
The rest is just hammers, dollies and hand sheers.

hope this makes sense.

 

[secretsquirrel]

Great work! I liked how you rounded over the ribs to give them a finished look

 

[tmarx]

Your patience, dedication and skill is amazing - keep it up !

 

[waiting for time]

Your patience, dedication and skill is amazing - keep it up !

Thanks Theo, how is Betty doing?

 

[tmarx]

Thanks Theo, how is Betty doing?

After 12 years her paint is beginning to show some battle scars so in the new year I will have to refresh some of her OEM body work.

 

[waiting for time]

After 12 years her paint is beginning to show some battle scars so in the new year I will have to refresh some of her OEM body work.

That will provide you a good opportunity to change to the steel fender flares in the rear.

 

[tmarx]

I actually like the Bushwacker flares - they have stood up well over the years.

 

[waiting for time]

Not many updates for the fender well.
Pain season has started therefore this type of work takes a bit more time.
Done most of the grinding and working an finishing it as good as possible.
Here is one picture with some guide paint to see the highs and lows.

At this point some bondo would make this look tight but I want to see how straight I can get it without bondo.