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Custer55
03-10-2020, 09:13 PM
I have been working on our 39 Ford 2 door sedan that we originally purchased around 1994 to 1995. Bought it with the intention of building a street rod and did buy some parts and got started on the project and got a few things done on it. I got a Heidt's Mustang II front cross member installed and a Chassis Engineering leaf spring kit with a swap meet 57 Ford 9 inch rear end. Also bought a Bitchin Products recessed firewall and front floor board kit but never got to installing them. The project stalled when our son was born in 1996 as time and budget for the project was hard to come by for a while. Last summer we sold another project car (1937 Pontiac) and decided we should probably sell the 39 Ford also. After looking over what shape the car was in and the money we have in it with the original purchase price and the parts we had purchased for it we decided the only way to even come close to breaking even on it was to put some work into it and at least get it closer to be a running car. So when My 55 Chevy and my son's 59 Mercury and the other summer vehicles went into winter storage we moved the 39 to the workshop to get started on it.
First project on the list is to fix the rear window and roof damage that it had when we bought it. Seller said a tree had fallen on it. I have never tried fixing damage this bad before but figured I didn't have much to lose by giving it a try on this car.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78460

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78458
This is what it looked like when I started. Actually it was worse as I forgot to take a picture before I started, This was after I had pushed out the damage some.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78456
This was after some work on pushing on it with a bottle jack and then the ram from my engine hoist.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78454
Drivers side damage to work on yet.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78450
Getting it roughly back to shape. Throughout the process I used a rattle can primer to check progress by spraying a thin coat then sanding it off with a block to make it easier to seed where it needed more work.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78448
Looking much better but still a long way to go.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78446

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78442
A few more progress shots.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78432

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78430
More progress. At this point just doing a lot of hammer and dolly work to bump up the low spots and knock down the high spots combined with using a shrinking disc and a propane torch to shrink the areas of stretched metal.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78428

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78410
Slow but sure getting it a bit better.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78408
Looking halfway decent at this point, Should only take a thin coat of filler to look pretty good now. For sure much better than what I started with.
More to come.
Brian

BamaNomad
03-10-2020, 09:46 PM
It looks great to me Brian.. certainly compared to what it did! :)

I've loved 39 Fords all my life I think; coupes early, then came around to thinking 'sedans' when family came along! Good luck with the project... it would make a great companion to your '55... :)

busterwivell
03-11-2020, 06:06 AM
Nice work!
I recently sold my 47 Chevy 2 door sedan project. Realized I'm probably too old to take on another huge project, and have plenty of fun with my 56 210, 66 Chevelle and 71 Chevy pickup.

carls 56 (RIP 11/24/2021)
03-11-2020, 06:34 AM
your doing good Brian, nice progress. :-) ------> what you do after lunch?:wink:

Belair-o
03-11-2020, 06:40 AM
Hi Brian,
Appreciate you posting your work! Nice to see what can be done. Provides a nice example of what can be done & incentive to try things one isn't familiar with! Also nice that you didn't require a ton of tools to make great progress.
Thanks, Doug

WagonCrazy
03-11-2020, 07:12 AM
Great progress there! A lot of finesse work involved, but you're almost there. Keep posting progress pics as you get this dialed in.

Custer55
03-11-2020, 12:47 PM
It looks great to me Brian.. certainly compared to what it did! http://www.trifivechevys.com/images/smilies/smile-new.png

I've loved 39 Fords all my life I think; coupes early, then came around to thinking 'sedans' when family came along! Good luck with the project... it would make a great companion to your '55... http://www.trifivechevys.com/images/smilies/smile-new.png

Thanks, Yep is sure is way better than what I started with.

Custer55
03-11-2020, 12:50 PM
Nice work!
I recently sold my 47 Chevy 2 door sedan project. Realized I'm probably too old to take on another huge project, and have plenty of fun with my 56 210, 66 Chevelle and 71 Chevy pickup.

Thanks, the plan is to try to sell this one once i get it in better shape but we will see.

Custer55
03-11-2020, 12:52 PM
your doing good Brian, nice progress. :-) ------> what you do after lunch?:wink:

Thanks Carl, Most of my work gets done after lunch. Don't do much of anything before lunch!!! :D

Custer55
03-11-2020, 12:54 PM
Hi Brian,
Appreciate you posting your work! Nice to see what can be done. Provides a nice example of what can be done & incentive to try things one isn't familiar with! Also nice that you didn't require a ton of tools to make great progress.
Thanks, Doug

Thanks, Your right, I don't have any thing but your basic body tools but I'm sure I will be buying some more as this progresses. A lot of my tools have been purchased when the need for them arises.

Custer55
03-11-2020, 12:57 PM
Great progress there! A lot of finesse work involved, but you're almost there. Keep posting progress pics as you get this dialed in.

Thanks, A lot of finesse is a good way to put it. The time consuming part is getting all the little bumps smoothed out. The less body filler it needs though the better.

Custer55
03-14-2020, 07:33 PM
With the roof looking pretty good time to keep going on the rest of the many areas that need work. In the process of sanding down the area below the rear window I found some damage that had been repaired previously by just filling it with lead.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78406
There was 3 creases below the window that needed repair.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78404
I hammered out the lower part of the creases but couldn't do anything with the upper part due to the rear package tray and bracing. So time for a new tool. I bought a stud gun from HF for $100.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78402
Not the best in the world but it worked well enough to most of the creases out.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78396

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78394
Not perfect, but a lot better than what it was.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78392

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78390
Found another spot that had just been filled with lead on the rear quarter by the lower corner of the trunk. The lead was pretty thick in this spot.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78388
So apparently whoever did the previous repairs didn't have any body hammers.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78498
Looking a bit better after some hammering and welding up the crack that had just been covered up with lead.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78500
The rest of the quarter panel also had some previous damage. The area where the last trim hole is took quite a bit of shrinking to get rid of a big oil canning spot but I have it pretty close now. I may come back to it later but for now I will move on.
As you can see in the pictures there is quite a few areas of surface rust that need to be removed. I have just been sanding them with 80 grit and using a wire wheel in some areas and will eventually sand blast the areas in the high crown areas like near the rain gutters and near the door / trunk jams but I don't want to sand blast in big low crown areas like in the middle of the roof if I don't have to. If anyone has a better way to remove these rust areas let me know what has worked for you.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78420
Had a couple of dents similar to this one on the edges of the roof to repair. A bit of block sanding highlights the repair area.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78418
After popping it out and some more block sanding reveals some old plastic filler.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78416
More plastic filler beyond what the dent you could see when I started.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78414
No more filler and looking much better after some hammer and dolly work and shrinking with a propane torch and shrinking disc.
I use the propane torch to heat up the spots that are just slightly low and then hit the high spot with the shrinking disc.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78412
Pretty close at this point. Time to move on to another part of the car.
Next time I will continue on the drivers side rear quarter panel, stripping paint and more damage repair.
Brian

BamaNomad
03-15-2020, 06:40 AM
Thanks Brian for saving an old 39 Ford.. :) Not so surprising to find a variety of old repairs on an 80 yr old car! :)

Custer55
03-15-2020, 09:37 PM
Thanks Brian for saving an old 39 Ford.. :) Not so surprising to find a variety of old repairs on an 80 yr old car! :)

Thanks Gary,
Yep, It would be a pretty rare 80 plus year old car if it didn't need any body work!!

Belair-o
03-16-2020, 07:57 AM
Hi Brian,
You have a bit of an archeological project there - un-earthing the evolution of body filler technology - from lead to plastic! How did you handle removing the lead?
Regards, Doug

Custer55
03-16-2020, 12:27 PM
Hi Brian,
You have a bit of an archeological project there - un-earthing the evolution of body filler technology - from lead to plastic! How did you handle removing the lead?
Regards, Doug

It sure is. I have just been using a propane torch to soften it up enough to remove it with a wire brush. No lead dust that way.

Custer55
03-22-2020, 06:50 PM
I continued to work on stripping the paint off the drivers side quarter panel. I had used a stripping disk on the roof which worked good for getting the paint off but turned the shop into a black dust bowl. So I have been using a propane torch to heat the paint just enough to be able to scrap it off with a razor blade gasket scraper. This has been working pretty good as it just leaves some primer behind that sands off easily with 80 grit paper. Just need to be careful not to get the metal to hot or start the stripped off paint on fire with the torch.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78538
Area over the window is in great shape once sanded down.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78540
No surprise to find more damage under the paint here too.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78542

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78544
And more lead below the door handle. This can't be good!!

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78546

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78548
With all the lead melted out the damage is revealed.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78550
The way the inner bracing is it would have been pretty tough to straighten the quarter so I cut out what was in the way. Should be easy enough to weld it back in later.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78562

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78558
So after lots of hammering and straightening the door jam area looked better but i had a bulge in the quarter that just didn't want to go away. So I had to use the gas torch to shrink it enough to get the bulge out. The panel actually oiled canned inward at one point but went away once I did a bit of hammer and dolly work on it. Not sure why the top picture flipped sideways on me?

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78564

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78566
Still needs some fine tuning with the shrinking disk but looking much better.
Next time will be welding the inner structure back in place and moving on to more paint stripping and body repairs.
_

BamaNomad
03-23-2020, 07:50 AM
It's looking very good Brian! You should feel good about what you are doing... :)

When all this 'crap' is over and you have a nice shiny straight metal 39 Ford in your shop... you're going to feel even better.. :)

Custer55
03-25-2020, 09:33 AM
It's looking very good Brian! You should feel good about what you are doing... :)

When all this 'crap' is over and you have a nice shiny straight metal 39 Ford in your shop... you're going to feel even better.. :)

Thanks Gary,
I'm pretty happy about how it is going so far. At least I know it will be better than it was when I started.
Brian :cool:

Custer55
03-28-2020, 08:04 PM
Running low on welding gas so I decided to hold off on welding the inner structure back in place on the quarter panel and move on to more paint stripping.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78658

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78660

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78662
So Moe, Larry, & Curly's Body shop started using Bondo and lots of it!!
Interesting thing using the propane torch to strip the paint anywhere there was bondo the paint would bubble immediately when the torch was applied.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78664
Damage revealed with most of the bondo removed.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78672
Some pretty bad damage on the edge of the wheel opening. I will have to stop taking pictures up and down as they flip sideways on me for some reason.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78668
One last spot of bondo in this spot was almost a 1/4" thick. Yikes!!

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78670
All stripped and ready to start the repair process with the filler neck and tire out of the way. I will most likely have to remove the fender at some point to straighten this thing out also. It will need to come off at some point anyway.
Brian

Custer55
04-05-2020, 07:48 PM
So while trying to get the fender bolts loose without twisting them off I worked on stripping the the trunk lid while soaking the bolts with WD 40.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78760

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78762
A couple of small dents to pull out near the bottom along with the area under where the latch housing bolts on which was over tightened as some point. But overall not to bad.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78764
A crack by the hinge pad will need to be welded up.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78766
Quite a bit of rust to repair in the bottom edge.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78768
Finally got all the bolts loose to get the fender off with only 1 twisted off. hopefully I can drill out the caged nut on that one so I don't have to replace it.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78770
A better look at the damage on the lip with the fender off. Previous weld will need to be ground off.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78772
Old weld ground out ready to start trying to straighten it out.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78774
View from the other side shows how wavy it is.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78776
Looking a little better now. Took some work with a pick hammer and using a c-clamp vise grip with a piece of pipe that just fit in the wheel lip and 1/4" rod to work it out and then welding up the original crack to get it in better shape.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78778
View from the other side with some of the dents worked out as well.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78780
Since it was a pretty nice day today I did some media blasting. The front part of the fender will need some rust repairs in the lip area where it bolts to the body. I did some light blasting on the inside of the fender also to make it easier to see where to bump up the fender from the inside to remove the creases.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78782
The before picture of the damage behind the tire. After picture to come at a later date!!

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78784
After media blasting even more holes so this will need to be replaced with new metal. It doesn't look like there was ever any drain holes in the bottom of the deck lid so it's surprising the rust isn't a lot worse than it is.
So it doesn't look like I will be running out of things to do on this project anytime soon!!! Guess that's a good thing during these crazy times.
Brian :cool:

Custer55
04-19-2020, 07:52 PM
For the last couple of weeks I have been working on getting the dents out of the rear fender. After a little hammer and dolly work it was starting to look better.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78882

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78884

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78886
Some spray can primer and then block sanding make it easy to see where it still needs more work.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78888
Same technique on the back side. This part of the fender had a lot of creases so it helped to see where to use the pick hammer on the backside to knock up the creases.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78890
Slowly getting better.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78892

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78894
Another round of primer and block sanding to show the areas that need more work.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78896
Looking better at this point so bolted back on to work on shrinking the inevitable stretched metal from the hammer and dolly work.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78900
Not to bad at this point but I still had a couple of bulges that didn't want to go away with the shrinking disc.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78906
Hard to tell in the pictures but this spot was looking much better after shrinking with the smallest welding tip I have and then a bit more hammer and dolly work.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78904
I made this tool to get the fender lip in better shape. Thanks for the tip Robert!!
https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78908
So with the everything in pretty decent shape the fender came back off to fix some rust areas. This part of the fender was pretty solid other than some deep rust pits. A couple of them had tiny pin holes all the way through but I decided to just weld them shut rather than making a patch panel.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78910
All the deeper pits welded up. Easy to tell that the metal is ok other than the pits when welding on them doesn't just blow out a bigger hole.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78912
With the welds ground out this area is in better shape.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78914
This will need a patch as it looks like swiss cheese!!

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78916
The first section of the patch fitted up and ready to tack in place. I will need to do another section about this size to get rid of all the thin metal.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=78918
Tacked in place ready for the next section of patch. The marks just before the mount holes farther up is as far as I will need to go.
So that's as far as I got Saturday before I ran out of time. Once the fender is done I will have to repair the corresponding areas on the body where the fender flange was rusted and then the trunk lid rust repairs and on and on.
Brian :cool:

BamaNomad
04-20-2020, 05:26 AM
Wow Brian, you're putting a lot of work into that car and it SHOWS... Nice work! :)

Custer55
04-20-2020, 06:54 AM
Wow Brian, you're putting a lot of work into that car and it SHOWS... Nice work! :)

Thanks Gary, Hope your doing ok with all the crazy weather down your way lately!!

BamaNomad
04-20-2020, 11:59 AM
Thanks Brian, We have certainly had crazy weather (although our early spring weather is typically violent, but this year we've had TONS of rain to go along with it...

We're doing fine, mostly staying in but without the capability to get a bud's help with some items on my car, I've got a half dozen tasks 'half finished' due to needing another pair of hands to help... ie. like I have the windshield 2/3 in, but I can't be both inside and outside at the same time... :)

I do really like what you're doing on metalwork on your '39... You said you would probably sell it, but you're making it too nice to sell!~ :)

Custer55
04-20-2020, 02:00 PM
Glad to hear your doing fine. I know what you mean about needing a helper at times. My son works nights so he is only available on the weekends to help when I can't do things alone. The plan for the 39 is to eventually sell it to finance a project car my wife has been wanting for a while now. She wants to get a Studebaker Silver Hawk to fix up so she has a car of her own to take to the shows. The better I get this one without spending a bunch of money (other than my time!!) will give us a better budget for that eventual project car. :cool:

Custer55
04-30-2020, 07:50 PM
So getting ready to replace the next section of the fender flange. Got it all marked out where it needs to be cut out.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=79164
The patch section can be seen below.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=79166
Oversized patch clamped in place to check the fit. I then scribed lines at the ends to be able to line it back up in the same place as I went.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=79168
Then the bad section was cut out. You can just barely see the scribed line on the left side just past the end of the opening

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=79170
Then clamped back in place to scribe on the inside for final size of the patch

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=79172

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=79174
Patch compared to the rusted section scribed and cut to final size. I just used a tin snips to cut as close as I could to the line then fine tuned the fit on my belt sander.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=79176
Clamped in place ready to start tacking it in.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=79178
Started on the left side and worked my way to the other end by clamping with the c-clamp vise grip across the weld seam and then tacking as close as I could to the c-clamp. Tacks are about 1 1/4" apart.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=79180
All tacked in place ready for lots of welding and grinding.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=79182
After a bunch of welding a tack at a time and grinding it all out looking much better. I still need to use the bead roller to add reinforcement ribs between the bolt holes but I wanted to bolt the fender back on to check the fit first.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=79190
Fit looks good, at least the same as it was before the flange was replaced.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=79184
Fit at the back is off to the body near the bottom. Not sure if it is the body that is off as it had some damage in this area also, or the fender or a combination of both. So time to work on repairing the trunk lid and get it back on and aligned so I know what needs to be fixed.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=79186
So on to the trunk lid repairs. I will try to pull out this dent with the stud gun first as the inner bracing is in the way to hammer the dent out.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=79188
After working a while trying to pull the dent out I decided to move on to the rust repairs. This still looks like crap so I may just have to cut out the inner bracing to get this better since some of the inner bracing will need to be repaired due to rust holes anyway.
Brian :cool:

Custer55
05-18-2020, 09:05 PM
I have not had much time to work on the 39 lately so just a little progress to report.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=79512
I had a little better luck with the stud gun pulling out the area under the trunk latch housing by attaching 1 stud at a time, pulling out the dent and then attaching the next stud just over and pulling on that one. Still not a great way to pull a dent but it worked better than the way I did the dent on the lower left side of the trunk.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=79514
The lower part of the trunk lid needs a bunch of rust repair inside and out but before doing any of that I bolted it back on and lined it up as best I could. The fit on the passenger side is not too bad, close enough to live with it.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=79516
The fit at the bottom is good except for the lower drivers side corner where there was previous damage that had just been filled with lead.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=79518
This side will need some work to make it fit better.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=79520
Pretty big gap at the bottom corner that had the previous damage. It was a mistake to work on this area before without the trunk lid on and lined up. Live and learn the hard way!!

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=79522
This area will need some work also.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=79524
After a lot of pushing, hammering and swearing the gap is getting better but still a ways to go.
One problem trying to move things is the trunk strut rod that holds the trunk open goes into a slotted brace that is welded to the inside of the trunk opening in this area that makes it harder to get anything to move. I'm sure the brace was damaged at the same time as the body so it needs to be reshaped as well. I did get it somewhat better by applying heat on the brace where the gaps were tighter which seemed to help. I may have to just remove the brace completely if I can't get it any better.
Brian

567chevys
05-20-2020, 07:57 AM
Looking good Brian ,
Thanks for posting this on the site



Sid

Belair-o
05-22-2020, 06:07 AM
Hi Brian,
Your hard work is paying off - steadily shaping up - great progress!
Regards, Doug

Custer55
06-10-2020, 08:22 PM
Thanks, Sid & Doug,
Not a lot of time to work on it lately but here is an update.


So after not getting anywhere with the gaps I decided to remove the brace from the inside of the trunk to get the trunk lid to fit better.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=79664
This would be the offending brace.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=79666
With the brace removed things are looking better.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=79668
I used this end (slightly modified) of my small trim hammer to get the bottom corner to fit like it should to the trunk.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=79670
Kinda went crazy on it with the hammer which caused some cracks that will need to be welded up but the fit is much better to the trunk lid.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=79690
Gap is not too bad now. Looks about the same as the passenger side which doesn't look like it was ever damaged.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=79692
With all the cracks welded up the fit is pretty good now in the lower corner.
Next project will be to get the rear bumper off to repair the slot in the body where the bumper brace goes through and get the body to fit the fender better at the bottom. I will need to make a template of the passenger side fender shape so I know if it is the body or the fender that needs to be re-shaped or a combination of both. Eventually the tail pan will need to be replaced as well to fix the rust but for now I want to get everything to fit pretty close before that gets cut out.
Brian :cool:

BamaNomad
06-11-2020, 06:12 AM
Brian,

I'm enjoying reading about/seeing your continued metal work progress on your '39 Ford~ Keep up the good work~

Gary

Custer55
06-11-2020, 06:33 AM
Brian,

I'm enjoying reading about/seeing your continued metal work progress on your '39 Ford~ Keep up the good work~

Gary

Thanks Gary, there is plenty of work left to do so there will be more updates to come.
Brian

WagonCrazy
06-17-2020, 07:07 AM
very encouraging Brian. Stay at it. We all appreciate seeing your pics and progress!

Custer55
06-20-2020, 08:36 PM
Thanks Paul.
Here is my latest update.

So this week I made more time to work on the 39. The first thing I did was get the rear bumper and brackets off so I could get a better look at the lower quarter panel in that area. It took my long breaker bar to get the bolts loose but surprisingly the bolts all came loose without twisting off.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=79796
The opening for the bumper bracket was pretty messed up and you can see how the fender doesn't line up very well to the quarter panel at the bottom.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=79798
After some straitening it out and welding in a new piece at the top it looks much better. Found some rust at the bottom outer corner where the fender and quarter panel meet so a patch is in order. At this point the fender is fitting better to the quarter panel as well. After checking this fender to the passenger side fender it looked like the fender had lost some of it's curvature during the repair process. I got it better by doing some shrinking with the torch on the fender flange and made a few small relief cuts on the flange to put a bit more curve in it at the back. Also at the front of the fender I used a hammer and dolly to stretch the patches I did earlier to add some curve there so the fender fits the body much better from front to back now. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of any of that work on the fender.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=79800
Fitting up a patch for the rust and damage farther up on the quarter panel. By patching this I should be able to adjust the fit to the fender at the same time.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=79802
Marked out the area to be cut out and replaced.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=79804
The old damaged metal cut out.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=79806
After a bit of fine tuneing the patch to the opening it should be ready to tack in. The extra tab on the patch was to fold over and fix a few rust pin holes on the inner fender. It ended up being a pain to get it to fold over and still get the patch to fit right so I ended up just cutting it off and just welded up the holes with a copper back up piece. After I media blast every thing to get epoxy primer on everything I may come back and patch that area better.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=79808
Tacked in place with the fender bolted back on to adjust the fit to the fender before tacking it in to the inner fender.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=79812
Fender back off and tacked in to the inner fender. Really a pain in the butt taking the fender on and off but almost done!!

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=79814
All welded up and the welds ground out. Looks pretty good except for the lower part. It's almost impossible to get a hammer or anything else in behind there to hammer out the weld joint.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=79816
With the fender bolted back on "again" everything lines up pretty well. Time to call it done and move on.

https://www.trifive.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7944&pictureid=79818
This is where I left off today working on stripping the paint off the passenger side quarter panel and fender. Looks like a bit more rust to repair on the quarter panel and fender on the lower edges but not near as much bondo on this fender so that's good news.
Brian :cool:

Belair-o
06-21-2020, 06:01 AM
Hey Brian,
Your progress is inspiring! When I saw the first pic for the bumper bracket area, I thought, oh no, by the last pic, looking good!
Thanks for your continued posting! Doug

Custer55
06-21-2020, 08:52 PM
Hey Brian,
Your progress is inspiring! When I saw the first pic for the bumper bracket area, I thought, oh no, by the last pic, looking good!
Thanks for your continued posting! Doug

Thanks Doug. This project will keep me out of trouble for quite a while yet!! :cool:

Custer55
07-05-2020, 09:22 PM
So not a lot to show lately other than continuing to strip the old paint.
10894
http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200629_223642-jpg.319535/
So here is what the rest of the passenger side quarter panel looked like after getting all the paint off. Not too bad, just a few small dents in this one.
Brian.
Not having any luck downloading photos this was the only one that would load. I will keep trying

Custer55
07-05-2020, 09:39 PM
http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200624_191616-jpg.319526/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200624_191616-jpg.319526/
So I moved on to the passenger side front fender and found another mess of thick bondo and bad body work. Some one welded some steel rod to the wheel opening to support the thick layer of bondo.

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200624_192712-jpg.319527/
View from the bottom side along with the cracks on the edge of the wheel opening that were just filled with bondo.

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200625_214408-jpg.319528/
After grind away some of the rod that had been welded in.

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200625_220528-jpg.319529/
Most of the rest ground away.


http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200625_220433-jpg.319530/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200625_220433-jpg.319530/
Quite a mess. This will be a challenge to repair. About my only option at this point though since there will not be any big swap meets this year. At least it's a bolt on part that can be easily replaced in the future.


http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200625_210637-jpg.319531/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200625_210637-jpg.319531/
Front view of the stripped fender. The front corner is pretty messed up too as it looks like someone roughly hammered out some damage and then tried to grind off the high spots creating some small holes in the process.


http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200625_210702-jpg.319532/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200625_210702-jpg.319532/
Another view of the carnage.
Brian.

Custer55
07-05-2020, 09:44 PM
So next I started stripping the hood.

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200627_154108-jpg.319536/
Bottom side of the hood. looks to be in good shape other than the surface rust.

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200627_162441-jpg.319537/
In the middle of the process of scraping off the old paint and sanding it down to bare metal.

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200628_170844_hdr-jpg.319538/
All sanded down and it looks pretty good compared to the rest of the car. No body filler or dents in it anywhere and just surface rust from what I can see. If there are any rust holes they will be very minor ones.

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200703_161113-jpg.319540/
Here is the drivers side front fender stripped and sanded down. A few small dents and some rust holes to repair where it bolts to the running board but much better shape than the passenger side fender.

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200703_161127-jpg.319541/
View from the front side.

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200705_135715-jpg.319542/

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200705_135806-jpg.319543/
So today I loosely bolted on the front fenders grille and hood sides in place to see how everything fit. Overall not too bad except for the hood sides don't fit very well to the fenders but nothing is tightened up very well at this point and the hood is just set in place, not bolted on to the hinges. Just nice to get an idea what it will look like for now and a good place to store them for now too.
Next project will be to get the doors off and strip those down.
Brian

BamaNomad
07-06-2020, 04:42 AM
Brian,

That old Ford (as you obtained it) has shown us what rust, wrecks, and bad body repair over many years can look like.. But your work has shown us that *anything* can be repaired to look good if the bodyman knows what he's doing and puts in the time to do it.. :)

Thanks for making these posts!

Belair-o
07-06-2020, 06:10 AM
Brian,
You are making a lot of progress! That is a lot of surface area to process, and the 'band-aid repairs' of the past sure raise the difficulty bar. Great job!
Thanks for the posts, Doug

Custer55
07-06-2020, 06:54 AM
Brian,

That old Ford (as you obtained it) has shown us what rust, wrecks, and bad body repair over many years can look like.. But your work has shown us that *anything* can be repaired to look good if the bodyman knows what he's doing and puts in the time to do it.. :)

Thanks for making these posts!

Thanks Gary,
It sure was nice to find the hood in pretty good shape compared to the rest of the car!!

Custer55
07-06-2020, 06:57 AM
Brian,
You are making a lot of progress! That is a lot of surface area to process, and the 'band-aid repairs' of the past sure raise the difficulty bar. Great job!
Thanks for the posts, Doug

Thanks Doug,
I have to look at the messed up stuff as a good learning opportunity. Some of this stuff is bad enough it would be hard to make it any worse! lol.

567chevys
07-06-2020, 10:36 AM
Hello Brian ,


looks very interesting what you have done to this 39 ford , Love the 2 dr Slant backs , Been looking for 35 or 36 2dr slant back . Please keep the updates coming your doing a great Job


Sid

Custer55
07-07-2020, 06:35 AM
Hello Brian ,


looks very interesting what you have done to this 39 ford , Love the 2 dr Slant backs , Been looking for 35 or 36 2dr slant back . Please keep the updates coming your doing a great Job


Sid

Thanks Sid,
I will be on this project for quite a while yet so there will be more to come.
Brian :cool:

Custer55
07-26-2020, 09:46 PM
Not too much progress to report. I've had a couple of other projects recently so not a lot done but still moving forward.
Started on stripping the doors starting with the passenger side. They are pretty easy to get on and off right now because a while back I had driven out the hinge pins. So pretty easy to pop them out now to remove the doors.

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200707_221855-jpg.320860/
Passenger side door with all the paint removed from the outer skin. Mostly in pretty good shape other than some small rust holes in the bottom that will need to be repaired. The inside moldings and window were a challenge to remove. Ford does some things quite differently than GM so it took a while to figure out how some of it came apart.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200707_224030-jpg.320861/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200707_224030-jpg.320861/
Back on the car it still fits pretty good. Once I get the inside of the door media blasted I will see how much rust repair this one will need.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200708_213109-jpg.320862/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200708_213109-jpg.320862/
So on to the drivers side door. You can see here where some had cut out and probably peeled back the inner structure to do a dent repair. Not a good sign.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200708_224601-jpg.320863/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200708_224601-jpg.320863/
Bottom of the door looks pretty solid though. I don't think there will be much rust repair to do on this one.

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200723_222257-jpg.320864/
http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200723_222257-jpg.320864/
With the paint sanded off I found a lot of surfaced rust under the paint and a bunch of lead filler in the lower rear corner covering up some nice damage.

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200723_221639-jpg.320866/
View of the damage from the inside. This will take some work to smooth out. One good thing though after removing the factory tar based sound deadener the metal is in great shape on the inside of the door.

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200726_145532-jpg.320867/
So today while starting to work out the damage I decided to remove the diagonal brace from the door as it would be impossible to do it right with the brace still in place as the brace was in the way of getting at the lower rear corner of the door where some of the worst damage was.

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200726_145557-jpg.320868/http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200726_145557-jpg.320868/
With the brace out I will have much better access to the lower corner. I already started to put some heat on the damaged area as it will need some shrinking once the dents are hammered out anyway.
More to come.
Brian :cool:

Custer55
07-26-2020, 09:54 PM
So in between working on the passenger door and the drivers door I had done some cleaning and organizing of all the parts I have removed from the car so far. One thing that needed some repair before I put it away for now was the window crank mechanism for the passenger side rear window. These things are pretty cool how they work as the windows (both front and rear) slide backwards a couple of inches before the window goes down.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200720_211748-jpg.320870/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200720_211748-jpg.320870/
Passenger side mechanism is on the left. The arm with the big hook on it got bent and twisted at some point due to the widow glass getting stuck in the channels. I may have made it worse getting it out as it was stuck in there pretty tight.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200720_211937-jpg.320872/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200720_211937-jpg.320872/
From this view you can see how bent and twisted it is.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200720_214254-jpg.320873/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200720_214254-jpg.320873/
With a little help from the welding torch the arm is back where it belongs again.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200720_214336-jpg.320874/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200720_214336-jpg.320874/
So the next problem is to repair the teeth on the gear that got stripped out and damaged.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200720_222456-jpg.320876/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200720_222456-jpg.320876/
With a copper back up clamped in place I welded up the damaged area.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200721_201832-jpg.320878/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200721_201832-jpg.320878/
Then ground it down to the same thickness as the rest of the gear and to the outer diameter.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200720_223337-jpg.320877/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200720_223337-jpg.320877/
I had made a pattern of the opposite side of the gear with some card board and some spray paint.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200721_202643-jpg.320879/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200721_202643-jpg.320879/
Next I drew some lines on the pattern so I could layout where to file out the new teeth.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200721_213658-jpg.320880/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200721_213658-jpg.320880/
New teeth filed out. I mostly used a triangle shaped file to accomplish this. Not perfect but it works almost as good as new now.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200721_213832-jpg.320881/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200721_213832-jpg.320881/
Another view of the finished repair. Now I can store this thing away and it will be ready to go when I need it later.
Next I will be back on the drivers door repairs.
Brian :cool:

BamaNomad
07-27-2020, 05:10 AM
Brian,

Thanks for continuing to show us your work on the 39 Ford! More great work you've done, and I've never seen 'gear teeth' repaired before this.. neat job! You're gonna have a 'factory new' body shell to work with soon... :)

Gary

Belair-o
07-27-2020, 06:07 AM
Brian,
I picked up another 'trick' from you: using the other gear and spray paint to make your template was something I had never thought of. Simple, direct, and elegant!
Thanks! Doug

Rick_L
07-27-2020, 07:27 PM
I continue to be impressed with your work on this car. Keep up the work, and the posts!

Custer55
07-28-2020, 11:32 AM
Brian,

Thanks for continuing to show us your work on the 39 Ford! More great work you've done, and I've never seen 'gear teeth' repaired before this.. neat job! You're gonna have a 'factory new' body shell to work with soon... :)

Gary

Thanks Gary

Custer55
07-28-2020, 11:34 AM
Brian,
I picked up another 'trick' from you: using the other gear and spray paint to make your template was something I had never thought of. Simple, direct, and elegant!
Thanks! Doug\

Thanks Doug, Ideally it would have been nice to have a reverse image of the gear pattern but it helped a lot to have the pattern I did.

Custer55
07-28-2020, 11:36 AM
I continue to be impressed with your work on this car. Keep up the work, and the posts!

Thanks Rick,
There will be plenty of updates to come as I have lots left to do yet.

Custer55
08-02-2020, 09:13 PM
http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200728_225439-jpg.321262/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200728_225439-jpg.321262/
So after a bunch of hammer and dolly work and shrinking the door looks better that what I started with.


http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200728_225945-jpg.321263/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200728_225945-jpg.321263/
View from the inside of the door.


http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200729_200718-jpg.321264/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200729_200718-jpg.321264/
In the spot that someone had chewed out the inner structure and peeled it back I cut out that and another section to get that area of the door in better shape. I wasn't bad in that area but there was a bit of oil canning and a low spot that I think I have in a little better shape now.


http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200729_204034-jpg.321265/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200729_204034-jpg.321265/
Not perfect but it shouldn't take any more than a skim coat of filler now.


http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200729_214211-jpg.321266/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200729_214211-jpg.321266/
Now to get the inner structure back in place. The extra section I had cut out tacked back in place


http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200729_225026-jpg.321267/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200729_225026-jpg.321267/
All welded up and the upper part that was previously cut out straightened out but still in some need of fitting to the opening.


http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200730_211616-jpg.321272/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200730_211616-jpg.321272/
Fitted up and tacked in place


http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200730_221715-jpg.321269/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200730_221715-jpg.321269/
All welded up and the welds ground down. At least I don't have to grind these out perfect since they will be behind a door panel eventually.


http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200730_223542-jpg.321270/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200730_223542-jpg.321270/
With the door back on the car I can see I will need to tweak the back edge of the door to fit better to the quarter panel but the fit is pretty good otherwise. Still need to weld the lower brace back in but I want to media blast the rust off the backside and prime it as long as it is out of the door.


http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200801_190342-jpg.321271/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200801_190342-jpg.321271/
So that will be my next project is to start media blasting a bunch of stuff and getting some epoxy primer on them. Was going to start that today but the rain and drizzle put a stop to that since I have to do that outdoors. One of the first things to do will be the front fender inner panels. These don't look to bad after a good cleaning to get them ready to media blast. I ordered some Tamco Direct to anything epoxy primer so hopefully I will be trying that out soon.
Brian :cool:

BamaNomad
08-03-2020, 05:03 AM
Brian, You should feel very good at the improvements you've done to the body metal of that car!! :) I can't wait to the see the finished and primed body... it's going to look very nearly to new.. :)

Custer55
08-04-2020, 06:33 AM
Brian, You should feel very good at the improvements you've done to the body metal of that car!! :) I can't wait to the see the finished and primed body... it's going to look very nearly to new.. :)

Thanks Gary,
I'm looking forward to the day it's done too!! Still a long way to go though.
Brian

Custer55
08-09-2020, 08:53 PM
So this week I did some media blasting starting with the inner fenders and a Bitichin Products firewall & front floor board kit I had purchased probably over 20 years ago. They had been in bare metal for that long so they had some light surface rust that needed to be removed.

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200804_220901-jpg.321880/http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200804_220901-jpg.321880/

One side of one blasted and the other waiting for it's turn.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200804_220948-jpg.321881/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200804_220948-jpg.321881/
Back side of 1 done and about 2/3rds done on the other one before I ran out of daylight that night.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200808_172546-jpg.321882/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200808_172546-jpg.321882/
Yesterday afternoon the weather cleared up enough to get some epoxy primer on the parts for the front floor boards.
I didn't have a good way to hang these up so I just laid an old tarp over the concrete slab outside of my garage so I could prime 1 side at a time.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200808_172557-jpg.321883/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200808_172557-jpg.321883/
Back side of the firewall primed.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200809_102015-jpg.321884/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200809_102015-jpg.321884/
This morning getting ready to prime the other side of everything.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200809_102022_burst01-jpg.321885/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200809_102022_burst01-jpg.321885/
Firewall ready to go.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200809_102033-jpg.321886/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200809_102033-jpg.321886/
Front floor board panels ready also.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200809_214831-jpg.321887/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200809_214831-jpg.321887/
Primer applied along with the brace from the drivers door.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200809_214903-jpg.321888/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200809_214903-jpg.321888/
Firewall and trans tunnel piece done.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200809_214936-jpg.321889/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200809_214936-jpg.321889/
Lower firewall pieces done and 1 coat on 1 side of one of the inner fenders. I had not planned on doing the inner fenders today because they still need some minor rust repairs but I had just a bit of paint left that I didn't want to waste. When I paint the next batch of part I will make sure to have some small parts prepped and ready to go just in case. First time using the Tamco direct to anything epoxy primer but it seemed to go on pretty nice even with my cheapie harbor freight spray gun I use for primer coats that will end up getting sanded out later anyway. Not ideal to spray with parts laying on the ground either but most of this will be welded in place and need to be re-primed later anyway. I just wanted to try out the primer and get a protective coating on everything for now.
I think my next project will be setting up a better place to do the media blasting. I have been doing it in front of the garage with a big tarp laid out to catch as much of the media as possible but its a big pain to get set up each night and then clean up afterwords so I don't end up getting much done.
Brian :cool:

BamaNomad
08-10-2020, 05:02 AM
you're still making progress, Brian! :) That's great..

I'm curious why you chose to use Tamco Epoxy primer? I'd never heard of it before reading your post....

Custer55
08-12-2020, 10:11 AM
you're still making progress, Brian! :) That's great..

I'm curious why you chose to use Tamco Epoxy primer? I'd never heard of it before reading your post....

Thanks Gary,
I looked at several different brands including SPI and Nason that I can get locally. Tamco is a family run company out of Virginia. https://tamcopaint.com/ It is very close to SPI price wise and has great reviews as well. Like SPI it doesn't need to be top coated so it's good for a long term project like this. It seems to spray good and lays out smoothly and dries to a satin to semi gloss finish. Hopefully I made a good choice!!
Brian

BamaNomad
08-12-2020, 01:48 PM
Brian, in your 'just sprayed' photos it looks very nice... very similar to the SPI as sprayed...

Custer55
08-23-2020, 06:50 PM
Brian, in your 'just sprayed' photos it looks very nice... very similar to the SPI as sprayed...
Thanks Gary,
I have only used the Tamco a couple of times now but is seems to spray nice and lays out pretty smooth. I think the second side I did before though it was too hot outside in the sun so it dried a bit to fast. Acctually came out more shiny when it was hotter and in the sun more.
Brian

Custer55
08-23-2020, 06:57 PM
So after priming parts a couple of weeks ago I decided I needed a better place to do my media blasting to get things ready to prime. I got an idea to clean out an old Shelter Logic storage tent that the tarp had long since deteriorated (over 10 years old) and cover it with tarps or plastic to use it as a media blasting room.

https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200816_083202-jpg.322796/
Here is just the frame which is still in great shape after cleaning out the junk that was still inside and getting rid of what was left of the original tarp. Unfortunately in the process of cleaning it out I disturbed a hornets nest that was in the old dog house at the back of the shelter. Usually not a big deal for me but this time my left hand where it stung me got pretty swollen up on the back of that hand.

https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200817_064943-jpg.322797/
http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200817_064943-jpg.322797/
So a week later (last Sunday) I decided to dismantle the old dog house and in the process of doing that I got stung in the same hand by a wasp from another nest and this time the swelling was in the whole hand all the way back to my elbow. This time it was so bad I went to the doctor to get it checked out. I have allergy tests scheduled next week to see if I will need to keep an epi-pen on me all the time. I never had any breathing problems with it but my hand felt like it had 100 lbs. of air pumped in it and was ready to explode. The swelling is all gone now but it is still pretty itchy. I hope I never get stung by a one of those things again!!!

https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200822_145513_hdr-jpg.322799/http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200822_145513_hdr-jpg.322799/
So between bee stings and letting the swelling go down I had enough time to weld up some small pin holes on the inner fenders where they bolt to the fenders to get them ready to epoxy prime. The inner fenders are only 22 guage so it doesn't take much of a rust pit to make a small hole.
Yesterday I hung a pipe from my garage door tracks to hang the inner fenders from to prime them. This worked well as I can still open and close the garage door with them hanging on the pipe.

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200822_145535_hdr-jpg.322800/http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200822_145535_hdr-jpg.322800/
Better view from outside the garage. All sanded down cleaned up and ready for primer.

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200822_170222-jpg.322801/http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200822_170222-jpg.322801/
After a couple of coats of Epoxy primer looking much better.
Now I need to finish my media blast room (without getting stung by any hornets or wasps) and continue media blasting and epoxy priming.
Brian

BamaNomad
08-24-2020, 05:25 AM
That wasp or hornet got you very good, Brian~ Been a long time since I've seen one swell up like your hand did!

Your 'repurposing' the tent frame for a blasting room appears to be a good idea, especially if you put down a tarp on the ground to let you recollect/reuse the media!

Custer55
08-24-2020, 06:28 AM
That wasp or hornet got you very good, Brian~ Been a long time since I've seen one swell up like your hand did!

Your 'repurposing' the tent frame for a blasting room appears to be a good idea, especially if you put down a tarp on the ground to let you recollect/reuse the media!

Yea, getting stung 2 weeks in a row apparently was too much. Weird though cuz I have never had more than a big itchy bump right at the sting site before.
A big tarp on the ground is exactly my plan for being able to recover the blast media. Should save me a bunch of time setting up and cleaning up when I blast too.
Brian

Custer55
08-30-2020, 08:13 PM
So this weekend I finally have my media blasting canopy almost ready to go. Just need to get a tarp to cover the ground and I should be ready to try it out.

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200830_133607_hdr-jpg.323220/http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200830_133607_hdr-jpg.323220/
I added bracing between the tubes to give the tarp going over the top more support. They are just 2 x 2's that I drilled on the ends with a 1.5" hole saw so they would fit snugly between the tubing. Then to secure them in place I ripped down 1/2" plywood into 1.5" strips and screwed that to the 2 x 2's on full length of the top and underneath at the joints only. Then I spaced them 18" apart and screwed them to the metal frame with self drilling sheet metal screws. I spaced them 18" apart because I may eventually by some 36'' wide metal roofing/siding to completely closed it in for a better storage shed / media blasting room. On the back wall I added some bracing too with lumber that I had laying around. The only thing I have had to buy so far is the 2 x 2's and the screws.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200830_133607_hdr-2-jpg.323222/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200830_133607_hdr-2-jpg.323222/
Close up view gives a better idea how I attached the 2 x 2's to the metal frame tubing. The screws into the metal tubing are from the bottom only so there is less chance of moisture getting inside the metal tubing and causing rust.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200830_152748-jpg.323221/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200830_152748-jpg.323221/
Today I got an old tarp on the back wall and the tarp I had bought to media blast in front of my shop over the top.
Neither one was quite as big as it should be but this should make a much better place to do media blasting. I just need to buy a tarp to cover the ground yet. If this works out as well as I am hoping it will I may spend the money to close it in with metal siding with a big enough door on the front to get a car in and out. It is 13 feet wide at the base, 20 feet deep and about 10 feet high at the top so it will easily fit a car inside.
Brian :cool:

BamaNomad
08-31-2020, 07:00 AM
Brian,

I like that approach for a 'blasting area' (if one doesn't have a concrete ROOm to do blasting in).. which I don't, nor do I know of anyone who does! :)

Do you plan to remove the tarps and store them inside when you aren't blasting? Otherwise, those plastic tarps don't seem to last very long when exposed to the UV rays of the sun. Do you get enough light thru the blue material? If not, I'd think of maybe making the top central portion of the tarp from thick (7 mil?) clear material.

Did you make the frame yourself, or was that purchased? I could use something similar to that myself. I've even thought in the past of making such a framework out of pvc material...?

Custer55
09-07-2020, 05:16 PM
Brian,

I like that approach for a 'blasting area' (if one doesn't have a concrete ROOm to do blasting in).. which I don't, nor do I know of anyone who does! :)

Do you plan to remove the tarps and store them inside when you aren't blasting? Otherwise, those plastic tarps don't seem to last very long when exposed to the UV rays of the sun. Do you get enough light thru the blue material? If not, I'd think of maybe making the top central portion of the tarp from thick (7 mil?) clear material.

Did you make the frame yourself, or was that purchased? I could use something similar to that myself. I've even thought in the past of making such a framework out of pvc material...?
I will probably just leave the tarps in place when I am done as I have a trailer and some other things that can go in there when I am not sandblasting in there. I know the tarps won't last long but I will deal with that when the time comes.
The frame work is what is left of a Shelter Logic brand storage canopy that came with a tarp type cover that lasted about 3 to 4 years.
I'm sure they sell them all over but I purchased mine from Menards.
Brian

Custer55
09-07-2020, 06:08 PM
So the last thing I needed was a tarp to cover the ground so I can recycle my blast media. I got this in place on Monday but with the days getting shorter I decided to wait for the weekend to start media blasting. By the time I get home from work, eat supper and get dishes done there is not enough time before dark to make it worthwhile to start anything so I did a few projects in the garage I have been putting off.

https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200901_214415-jpg.323748/?hash=b9bb91129123ad6e8a0e088fdd3eaf80
The first one was easy, just welding the brace I removed from the drivers door back in place.

https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200901_214515-jpg.323749/?hash=b9bb91129123ad6e8a0e088fdd3eaf80
When I pushed the roof back in place I had made a couple of cuts in the rear package shelf to get access to push the roof up. Got that welded back in place.

https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200901_220947-jpg.323750/?hash=b9bb91129123ad6e8a0e088fdd3eaf80
Last one was to repair and weld this brace back in place that I had removed when working on the roof.

https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200901_222644-jpg.323751/?hash=b9bb91129123ad6e8a0e088fdd3eaf80
The first step is to replace the flange where the brace welds to the seam between the roof panel and the quarter panel. It was easier to just cut the flange off to get it out knowing I could just replace the flange to get it back in.

https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200902_204551-jpg.323752/?hash=b9bb91129123ad6e8a0e088fdd3eaf80
New flange welded in place. It will still need to trimmed to size and formed to fit the roof / quarter seam.

https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200902_204611-jpg.323753/?hash=b9bb91129123ad6e8a0e088fdd3eaf80
View from the other side.

https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200903_200535-jpg.323754/?hash=b9bb91129123ad6e8a0e088fdd3eaf80
With the flange formed, trimmed and spot weld holes drilled ready to weld back in place.

https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200903_205407-jpg.323755/?hash=b9bb91129123ad6e8a0e088fdd3eaf80
Welded back in place so I can check that one off the list.

https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200905_093404-jpg.323756/?hash=b9bb91129123ad6e8a0e088fdd3eaf80
Saturday morning all set up ready to start media blasting on the drivers door. Over the weekend I got both doors, the hood, the trunk and both rear fenders blasted. The lighting was good when the sun was out on Saturday with the south end of the canopy being open. On Sunday it was cloudy so it was a bit harder to see what I was doing but not bad. With the tarp on the ground I am able to recover the majority of the blast media and reuse it. The media will be about ready for replacement by the time I lose most of it anyway. Nice to keep this mess behind the shop and farther away from the house.
Brian :cool:

WagonCrazy
09-08-2020, 11:25 AM
Lookin' good Brian. Great temporary blasting structure you built there. Get everything else off the car that needs blasting done, and then use it as a spray booth to get primer on, then dissasemble and move the party inside for the fall/winter.

BamaNomad
09-08-2020, 02:09 PM
I like your temporary shelter also, Brian... I've thought of doing that myself (for blasting and priming) since my shop is always so full.. crammed... :)

Custer55
09-08-2020, 05:47 PM
Lookin' good Brian. Great temporary blasting structure you built there. Get everything else off the car that needs blasting done, and then use it as a spray booth to get primer on, then dissasemble and move the party inside for the fall/winter.
Thanks Paul, I hadn't thought about using it for doing primer but I guess I could if the weather cooperated. Main issue would be that I have no lights in there. Something to think about though.

Custer55
09-08-2020, 05:49 PM
I like your temporary shelter also, Brian... I've thought of doing that myself (for blasting and priming) since my shop is always so full.. crammed... :)
Thanks Gary, at least I'm not the only one with too much junk and not near enough room!!!

BamaNomad
09-09-2020, 06:09 AM
yes, I'm embarrassed to tell you how many 'garages' I've got with NO table space at all.

PS. I think a section or two of clear plastic sewn (or taped?) into your tarp covering the framework would solve the lighting issue for priming, Brian... at least on nice sunny days.. :)

Custer55
10-11-2020, 10:53 PM
It's been a while since I last posted on here. I have been busy working on getting things in shape to get epoxy primer on all the part that I have sandblasted so far. I have been on vacation since September 10th, and will be officially retired on Monday, October 10th, So I have not been online much lately. Not sure how I got anything done while I was still working for a living.

https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200917_102611-jpg.325848/
https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200917_102628-jpg.325850/
http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200917_102611-jpg.325848/
Here are all the parts I got sandblasted using my outdoor room which was working well to keep the mess under control.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200917_211312-jpg.325849/
https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200917_211312-jpg.325849/
So then my 35 year old air compressor decided it was time to expire. The pipe from the compressor pump to the tank had blown out I think due to a dirty and stuck check valve. I had replaced the pipe and cleaned out the check valve and it was working fine again but didn't sound quite right and then it started really making bad noises and this is what I found when I took the pump apart.

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200922_092228-jpg.325851/
http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200922_092228-jpg.325851/
So after debating buying a new compressor or fixing this one I decided to fix what I had since the tank is still in good shape and the motor seemed fine. I got the pump from Harbor Freight since I could buy it at our local store without having to wait several days for something I would have to order. I had to weld on a new mounting plate and relocate the motor slightly and with some new airline plumbing motor pulley and belt it was about ready to go.

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200922_103822-jpg.325852/
http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200922_103822-jpg.325852/
Then the belt guard need to be modified to go around the bigger pulley on the pump.

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200922_111032-jpg.325853/http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200922_111032-jpg.325853/
All hooked up ready to give it a try. The pump itself works great. It is rated for a 5 hp motor with a max pump rpm of 1050. My motor says its 5 hp, 230 volts and 15 amps. so I know it is not a true 5 hp so I used a 4" pulley on the motor to turn the pump at about 950 rpm figuring the motor could handle that. To try it out I did some sandblasting in my cabinet so I would be able to tell how it was doing. Unfortunately the motor overheated after about a half an hour and would not reset so I gave up for the night and looked at what a new motor would cost. The next day the motor had cooled off and reset fine so I gave it another try sandblasting and it overheated again in about a half an hour. So my last thing to try before buying a new motor was to put the original 3 1/8" motor pulley back on which would turn the pump at about 750 rpm and give it a try. So far that has been working ok but at times it seems like the motor struggles so eventually I will most likely buy a new motor for it. Then I will be able to get a bigger motor pulley that will run the pump closer to the max rpm which will be a nice upgrade on the air output.

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200925_134346-jpg.325854/http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200925_134346-jpg.325854/
So when it came time to sandblast the body I decided to go to plan B and do it inside the garage for a couple of reasons. I didn't want to be running the compressor hard when I would not be able to hear it running and there was rain in the forecast at the time so I would have had to wait for better weather too. I ended up hanging plastic sheeting from the ceiling to create a sandblasting room inside the shop. It worked good to keep the media contained but the dust was pretty bad at times so I don't plan on doing that again anytime soon.

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200925_161609-jpg.325855/http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200925_161609-jpg.325855/
All the blasting done but lots of cleanup to do!!
​https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200928_225336-jpg.325856/
All cleaned up and ready for a few rust repairs before getting some primer on the whole body. I didn't blast the firewall since that will be replaced eventually anyway. At the top of the picture if you look close you can see where the plastic sheeting is attached to the ceiling. I used strips of plywood, duct taped the plastic to the plywood, and then screwed the plywood and plastic up to the ceiling. To get the plastic up out of the way I used another strip of plywood to roll the plastic onto and hook it up to the ceiling. I think I may used the same method to create a temporary spray booth when I start painting parts.
Brian

BamaNomad
10-12-2020, 05:55 AM
those 39 parts are looking great Brian, and are going to look even BETTER with some epoxy primer on them and all screwed back together.. Sorry to hear about your air compressor problem...

Speaking of 5 hp electric motors: My 50 yr old compressor (two stage IR pump, HUGE 5 hp motor, and replaced 80 gallon horiz tank). The 5 hp motor on that compressor (I think it's original) is approximately 4X larger physically than the 'so called' 5-hp electric motors that have been available the past 30 yrs or so... Makes me wonder how the ways the specs are written and tested have changed?

Custer55
10-13-2020, 09:10 PM
those 39 parts are looking great Brian, and are going to look even BETTER with some epoxy primer on them and all screwed back together.. Sorry to hear about your air compressor problem...

Speaking of 5 hp electric motors: My 50 yr old compressor (two stage IR pump, HUGE 5 hp motor, and replaced 80 gallon horiz tank). The 5 hp motor on that compressor (I think it's original) is approximately 4X larger physically than the 'so called' 5-hp electric motors that have been available the past 30 yrs or so... Makes me wonder how the ways the specs are written and tested have changed?

Thanks Gary,
I'm not sure how they come up with the hp ratings on electric motors but mine was for sure overrated. When I was looking at replacements I think you have to look at the amps they draw at the voltage you have. Mine being 230 volts and 15 amps is more like a 3 to 4 hp motor. From what I was looking at it would need to be about 20 to 23 amps to be a true 5 hp motor.
Someone else that knows more about how they are rated may have a better idea of what a true 5 hp motor specs would be.
Brian

Custer55
10-13-2020, 10:37 PM
So with all the media blasting done on the body I found some new rust areas that needed repair. The weather that week was below normal so it wasn't a good time to spray any primer anyway so I figured I might as well work on fixing some of the rust until the weather warmed up again.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200929_205400-jpg.325965/
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The rear inner wheel wells are pretty solid for the most part but had some small rust areas where the rear fenders bolt in and where there was inner structure that trapped moisture between the panels. Most of it was small pin holes that I could just weld shut but a few spots needed patches. The one above was a fairly small patch.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200929_211505-jpg.325966/
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Patch tacked in place.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20200929_221532-jpg.325967/
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Fully welded and ground out. No need to get these perfect as they are in a position that would be pretty hard to see with the fender bolted in place and the wheel well with eventually be finished with either bedliner material or undercoating.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201001_160147-jpg.325969/
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The passenger side had a spot that needed a much bigger patch.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201001_163315-jpg.325972/
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Cut out and ready for the patch.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201001_204823-jpg.325973/
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Lower part of the patch tacked in place. I had intended to do the patch in one piece but after fighting with it for a while to get if fitted up I just decide to do it a half at a time.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201001_220736-jpg.325974/
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Top half of the patch tacked in place. I forgot to get a picture of it fully welded and ground out.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201003_145412-jpg.325975/
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And another small patch towards the back of the car. Below and to the left of the patch I had to cut the inner wheel well and bend it up to get at the gas tank bolts. Here is has been bent back in place and welded back together. I had to do a similar cut and and bend on the drivers side.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201003_153629-jpg.325977/
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And they worst of the rust was in the lower corner of the passenger side rear quarter panel.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201003_153636-jpg.325976/
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Rust as well as some bent metal to repair here.

Custer55
10-13-2020, 10:38 PM
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201003_182825-jpg.325978/http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201003_182825-jpg.325978/
I ended up cutting out a section to straighten it out off the car.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201003_182850-jpg.325979/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201003_182850-jpg.325979/
With the dents straightened out so I could use what was left of it to create a patch panel.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201003_201636-jpg.325980/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201003_201636-jpg.325980/
The first step was to make the inner flange and tack it to the original piece and add a temporary brace to locate the bumper brace opening where if belonged.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201003_221414-jpg.325981/
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Lower part patched and clamped in place to check the fit. This is why I have not done anything with the tail pan yet that will eventually need to be replaced. I knew I would need it to line up the patch in this corner.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201003_222724-jpg.325982/
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Upper area cut out to fit that area for the patch panel.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201004_130601-jpg.325983/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201004_130601-jpg.325983/Top part fitted and welded in place as well as a small piece to recreate the upper area of the bumper bracket opening. In all took 5 pieces including what was left of the original to create the patch. And this is just for the inside portion of what needs to be repaired.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201004_132821-jpg.325984/
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And finally tacked in place on the car for good. Now to cut out the rusted area on the right and make a patch panel for that side.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201004_211805-jpg.325985/
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Right hand side patch panel tacked in place. This was a tricky one to fit up as the area curves in 2 different opposite directions. I didn't get it perfect but it shouldn't take to much filler to make it right.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201004_211829-jpg.325986/
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And one last patch on the inner wheel well to tie it all together.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201005_184430-jpg.325987/
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Fully welded and ground out this area is in much better shape. Finally ready to start prepping the body for epoxy primer.
Brian :cool:

Custer55
10-21-2020, 10:57 PM
So I have some metalwork and rust repairs left to do on the cowl area of the body but since the weather is starting to turn colder I decided to start getting primer on the body and a few other parts that are ready to go.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201008_171440-jpg.326414/
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The body all sanded out and ready for primer pushed outside to blow off as much dust as possible. For an area to spray the paint I used the same plastic hung from the ceiling that I had used for sandblasting and extended it out to the garage door. I did this as much to keep the paint overspray off everything else in the garage as keeping the spray area clean.

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201010_153149_burst01-jpg.326416/http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201010_153149_burst01-jpg.326416/
This car has a lot of pitted areas where there was surface rust which was all sandblasted but to make sure no rust would ever come back through and to fill in some of the pits I painted those areas with a couple of coats of Tamco 5311 direct to rust high build primer then block sanded those areas before spraying the epoxy primer. The Tamco 5311 is a direct to metal high build primer that has rust encapsulating properties. You could use it to spray the whole car if you wanted. I am using epoxy over it for the long term moisture sealing qualities the epoxy has.

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201012_102658-2-jpg.326417/
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With a couple of coats of epoxy on the body it looks much better. The Tamco epoxy lays down very nice even with my cheap Harbor Freight spray gun (the cheapest model the sell). I didn't spray the sides of cowl yet as I have some body work and rust repair to do in that area yet as well as a recessed firewall to install. I did not paint the frame at all at this point either as I need to prep the frame better before spraying that.

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201012_130656-jpg.326422/http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201012_130656-jpg.326422/

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So with the body mostly done I set up a smaller area by the garage door to spray the hood, doors and fenders.
This way I can keep the overspray off the freshly painted body.

Custer55
10-21-2020, 11:03 PM
So I could paint the hood and the door that is ready to go I bought a couple of the folding work stands from Harbor Freight which worked out nicely.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201013_200628-jpg.326424/
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Hood and door painted on the inside.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201013_221045-jpg.326425/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201013_221045-jpg.326425/http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201013_221114-jpg.326426/

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201013_221114-jpg.326426/
Hood and door flipped over to get a couple coats of epoxy on the outside.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201014_133116-jpg.326427/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201014_133116-jpg.326427/
The last part I have ready to go right now is the drivers side rear fender. Since this is lighter weight I hung it up so I could paint both sides at the same time.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201014_162434-jpg.326428/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201014_162434-jpg.326428/http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201014_162452-jpg.326429/

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201014_162452-jpg.326429/
A couple of coats of the 5311 Direct to Rust sprayed on. The direct to rust sprays pretty nice also but you do need to use a 1.8 to 2.0 tip depending on your mix ratio. You can use is as a sealer also by using more reducer. I dries fast and sands pretty easy as well.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201014_223228-jpg.326430/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201014_223228-jpg.326430/
Inside of the fender sanded out ready for epoxy. Just basically scuffed it good on the inside so any rust that was left would be sealed up well.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201014_223308-jpg.326431/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201014_223308-jpg.326431/
The outside I bock sanded it out to just leave the DTR in the rust pits and low spots.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201017_125343-jpg.326432/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201017_125343-jpg.326432/
http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201017_125431-jpg.326433/

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201017_125431-jpg.326433/
And finally a couple coats of epoxy inside and out.

Custer55
10-21-2020, 11:06 PM
So after a couple of days of dry time I got the fender and door back on the car which is as good a place as any to store them for now. When I painted the hood, door and fender the weather had started cooling off and shop temps were just under 60 degrees. At that temp the parts seemed to be curing very slowly so I turned the furnace up to get just over 60 for a couple of days and they seem to be cured much better now so 60 degrees or over is what the shop needs to be for the epoxy. Our weather has really turned colder this week (30's and low 40's for highs for at least the next week). The rest of what I need to get in epoxy all needs metal work anyway so that works out ok. Hopefully we will have a warm spell later this month or early in November so I can get a few more parts done. I can turn the heat up in the shop if I need to but I prefer not to have the furnace running a lot when I am painting. I normally just keep the shop about 50 degrees of less during the winter months.

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201017_141250-jpg.326437/
http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201017_141250-jpg.326437/

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201017_141310-jpg.326438/
http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201017_141310-jpg.326438/

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201020_191957-jpg.326439/http://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201020_191957-jpg.326439/
A couple of shots with the door and fender in place. Now on to more metal and rust repairs.
Brian :cool:

BamaNomad
10-22-2020, 05:49 AM
Brian, your '39 Ford sure looks LOTS BETTER after all your body work and with the black epoxy on it now! :)

Custer55
10-25-2020, 05:57 PM
Brian, your '39 Ford sure looks LOTS BETTER after all your body work and with the black epoxy on it now! :)

Thanks Gary. It sure does look a lot better than what I started with. Still a bunch of work left though and lots of other projects around the house that need my attention too!!

Belair-o
10-26-2020, 05:37 AM
Brian,
Wow! You have come a long ways! Looks wonderfully smooth and restored. Very nice job!
Regards, Doug

Custer55
10-27-2020, 06:02 PM
Brian,
Wow! You have come a long ways! Looks wonderfully smooth and restored. Very nice job!
Regards, Doug

Thanks Doug, It's far from perfect but not too bad considering I have not used any body filler yet.
Brian

Custer55
03-07-2021, 10:26 PM
Wow, It has been over 4 months since my last post. I has just started working on the passenger side rear fender when I decided to upgrade the heating system in our house to in-floor radiant heat. We started working on that project in late October and got it up and running by late in January and then spent the next month or so getting the house back in order. It ended up being quite a time consuming project as it involved installing 7 pex tubing loops underneath the floors. Basically a loop of tubing in each joist bay so holes had to be drilled in most of the floor joists and a whole bunch of protruding nails had to be cut off before stapling/screwing up the pex with heat transfer plates. And doing some removal and modifications to the existing duct work (we will still use if for the central air and as a back up heat system) so it ended up taking about a week to install each of the 6 main floor loops and a couple weeks for the 1 upstairs loop. That one took longer because we had to remove a ceiling in one downstairs room and the tile and tileboard in the upstairs bathroom. Then that bathroom had to have new tile installed, all the baseboard and door trim replaced. Once all that was done I installed the boiler, pumps, control box and plumbing to make it all work. Thankfully my brother who was a plumber and has done lots of these systems in the past was able to help me get if up and running and answer all of my dumb questions along the way. It has been working good since we got it going, the house is much more comfortable with the warm floors!! Our cat loves it too, it didn't take him to long to figure out where the warm spots on the floor are.
Anyway here is where I was at on the rear fender before we started that project.
Here is a few pics of the damage to be repaired.

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201021_160534-jpg.335664/Some rust here where dirt gets between a brace on the inside and the outer fender

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201021_160553_hdr-jpg.335665/https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201021_160553_hdr-jpg.335665/
Here where the fender bolts to the body and the running board.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201021_160600-jpg.335666/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201021_160600-jpg.335666/More rust where the fender bolts to the body. (same place as the inner fender needed repair!!

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201022_123535-jpg.335667/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201022_123535-jpg.335667/And more rust and dents on the lower rear section.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201021_160659-jpg.335668/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201021_160659-jpg.335668/The easiest repair on this one was a crease which came out without to much trouble, should just need a skim coat of filler.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201022_202438-jpg.335669/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201022_202438-jpg.335669/I made a pattern off the drivers side rear fender to make a patch for the lower rear section.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201022_225413-jpg.335670/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201022_225413-jpg.335670/Patch fitted up to the fender. I had intended the patch to farther to the rear but couldn't get it to fit right so it got cut off shorter.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201026_145245-jpg.335671/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201026_145245-jpg.335671/Front part of the patch tacked in place and the rear damage cut out and smaller patch bent to shape.

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201026_153921-jpg.335672/
https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201026_153921-jpg.335672/
https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201026_161257-jpg.335673/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201026_161257-jpg.335673/Rear section clamped and then tack welded in place.
Brian

Custer55
03-07-2021, 10:34 PM
https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201026_161314-jpg.335674/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201026_161314-jpg.335674/One more patch needed to finish up the bottom edge.

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201026_213154-jpg.335675/https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201026_213154-jpg.335675/
Formed up and clamped in place.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201026_215236-jpg.335676/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201026_215236-jpg.335676/And tacked in place.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201028_210154-jpg.335677/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201028_210154-jpg.335677/And on to the lower rear corner. Just a small patch here cut down and formed to fit the shape of the fender.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201028_215154-jpg.335678/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201028_215154-jpg.335678/With the fender cut out for the patch panel you can see the inner brace which caused the rust by trapping dirt and moisture.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201028_224940-jpg.335679/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20201028_224940-jpg.335679/Tack welded in place. This is where I left off before starting on the in-floor radiant heat project at the end of October.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210224_145304-jpg.335680/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210224_145304-jpg.335680/So a couple of weeks ago with some time and ambition to work on the 39 again I started by finishing the welding and grinding on the patches I had tacked in place.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210224_145407-jpg.335681/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210224_145407-jpg.335681/And the lower rear corner done.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210224_155005-jpg.335682/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210224_155005-jpg.335682/Damage cut out at the front of the fender where it meets the running board. I left the inner part alone for now so the shape of the fender where it bolts to the running board will stay the same.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210225_124856-jpg.335683/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210225_124856-jpg.335683/At this point I bolted the fender back in place to fit up this patch.
Brian

Custer55
03-07-2021, 10:43 PM
https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210225_143156-jpg.335684/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210225_143156-jpg.335684/I tacked this one in place with the fender still bolted in place so nothing would get out of shape.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210226_130226-jpg.335685/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210226_130226-jpg.335685/So on to the inner part of the patch. I made this from 2 pieces which I then tacked together while clamped in place.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210226_143928-jpg.335686/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210226_143928-jpg.335686/Here the patch is fully welded together and bead rolled reinforcement added similar to what the original fender had.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210226_154036-jpg.335687/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210226_154036-jpg.335687/Fitted up and ready to tack in place.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210227_103850-jpg.335688/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210227_103850-jpg.335688/And tack welded in place.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210227_103916-jpg.335689/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210227_103916-jpg.335689/And the last rusty are of this fender to need a patch panel.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210227_161216-jpg.335690/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210227_161216-jpg.335690/Fitting up a patch for this section.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210302_123810-jpg.335691/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210302_123810-jpg.335691/Fitted and tack welded in place.

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210303_114653-jpg.335692/https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210303_114653-jpg.335692/
Fully welded and ground out looking much better.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210303_142147-jpg.335693/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210303_142147-jpg.335693/Bolted back on the car again (as good a place as any to store it for now.) it fits pretty well after some tweaking to remove the weld distortion in the patch areas.
Brian

Custer55
03-07-2021, 10:47 PM
And finally to get caught to where I am at a couple more pictures of the fender bolted back in place.
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210303_142218-jpg.335694/

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210303_144415-jpg.335695/https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210303_142218-jpg.335694/
So next up will be the passenger side door of the trunk. I have not decided which one to do next. Might depend on which one is easier to get at in my messy shop!!!
Brian:cool:

BamaNomad
03-08-2021, 05:04 AM
Wow Brian! You've had a busy winter! :) And the '39 is looking better and better! You've got so much of your work into that car, you're going to want to KEEP IT.. :) I certainly would!

Belair-o
03-08-2021, 06:08 AM
Hi Brian,
Great skills, great progress, great results! Thanks for sharing!
Regards, Doug

Custer55
03-09-2021, 09:48 PM
Wow Brian! You've had a busy winter! :) And the '39 is looking better and better! You've got so much of your work into that car, you're going to want to KEEP IT.. :) I certainly would!

Hi Brian,
Great skills, great progress, great results! Thanks for sharing!
Regards, Doug

Thanks guys, Been staying super busy since I retired!!
Speaking of which I spent the last week building a stand for the stretcher / shrinker set I bought from HF to make the patch panels for the rest of the car a bit easier to make.
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210309_163234-jpg.335797/

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210309_163255-jpg.335798/
https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210309_163255-jpg.335798/
Not my design, I just googled how to build one and adapted the one I liked best to work with the materials I had on hand. I only had to buy a couple of bolts, one heim joint and a the return springs, the rest I had left over from other projects.
Just tried a few test pieces so far but it seems to work pretty well with the foot pedals.
Brian:cool:

Custer55
03-14-2021, 07:47 PM
The door and the trunk were both at the back of the pile of parts so I decided to do the door next for no good reason other than I could!
Passenger door is in pretty good shape other than some rust at the bottom that will need repair.
https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210310_150017-jpg.336037/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210310_150017-jpg.336037/
The bottom had quite a few small rust holes and the flange where the door skin folds over was pretty rusty and broken away in one spot.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210312_110517-jpg.336038/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210312_110517-jpg.336038/
The outside door skin looked good but with the rust on the inside I figured it would be pretty thin where it meets the inner structure so I decided to make a couple patch panels for the lower couple inches of the door skin.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210312_110618-jpg.336043/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210312_110618-jpg.336043/
The bottom edge of the door has a slight curve at the bottom edge as well as a curve outward from front to back.
So I cut a couple of strips of 18 gauge and bent a 90 at the bottom to fit the lower edge. I first attempted to do the curved flange with a tipping die on the bead roller but that didn't work to well trying feed a 26" piece through while turning the hand crank on the opposite end all while trying to stay on the curved bend line. The first patch (above) I ended up doing the bend with a bench vise which worked ok but not great.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210312_160626-jpg.336039/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210312_160626-jpg.336039/
So I came up with this homemade dolly to do the 2nd patch. Just 2 pieces of 3/8" with a 18 gauge piece between at the bottom welded together so I can slip the patch in the middle and bend the flange over. One side is beveled over a bit so the flange can go past 90 degrees.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210312_124848-jpg.336040/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210312_124848-jpg.336040/
Here it is in action clamped in the vise with the c-clamp so the patch won't move as I hammer on it. This is on the 3rd pass through hammering it over just a bit at a time sliding the patch over, lining up the bend line so the panel will have a 90 plus degree bend the same shape as the bottom of the door.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210312_142049-jpg.336041/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210312_142049-jpg.336041/
Here is the patch on the door. As you can see putting the curved bend at the bottom make the patch curve the opposite way that it needs to be. I already did some shrinking on the flange or this would be much worse.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210312_151148-jpg.336042/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210312_151148-jpg.336042/
After some shrinking and stretching on the flange the fit is pretty good. You can see how the door curves up at the end by the hinge. the whole bottom edge has a very gentle curve to it.
So all the time I spent on the stand for the shrinker / stretcher paid off here. It works excellent with the foot pedals. You actually have to be careful not to step to hard on the pedals, that's why I had to do stretching also!!

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210313_122640-jpg.336044/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210313_122640-jpg.336044/
So with the outer patches formed up pretty well I moved on to repairing the inner structure. Just going to do a section at a time on this to make sure the shape of the door is maintained during the process.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210313_162258-jpg.336045/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210313_162258-jpg.336045/
First piece formed up and tacked in place. It doesn't look like much but was a bit tricky to fit up as it had to fit the curve of the bottom edge as well as the curve from front to back.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210314_162445-jpg.336046/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210314_162445-jpg.336046/
With a small filler strip welded in at the corner and the welds ground out it looks much better.
So that's as far as I got today. Next time hopefully this door will be done!!
Brian :cool:

Belair-o
03-15-2021, 04:46 AM
Hi Brian,
Lots of complex shapes, and lots of progress! Thanks for posting.
Regards, Doug

Rick_L
03-15-2021, 08:27 PM
I have a pair of the HF shrinker/stretcher tools. I have found that using the lever arms doesn't get as much results as I'd sometimes want. For now I only have some simple brackets that allow these tools to be put in a vise. It's good news to me that a foot operated fixture provides enough results that you can go too far. Looks like I need to build these.

Custer55
03-20-2021, 06:51 PM
Hi Brian,
Lots of complex shapes, and lots of progress! Thanks for posting.
Regards, Doug
Thanks Doug!!


I have a pair of the HF shrinker/stretcher tools. I have found that using the lever arms doesn't get as much results as I'd sometimes want. For now I only have some simple brackets that allow these tools to be put in a vise. It's good news to me that a foot operated fixture provides enough results that you can go too far. Looks like I need to build these.
For sure worth the time to build a stand with foot pedals. It's a night and difference with the foot pedals how they work.

Custer55
03-20-2021, 06:58 PM
So to make the patch panels for the rest of the door bottom I decided to just bend straight pieces and then use the stretcher / shrinker to form them up. Unfortunately the bending brake I have is a swap meet cheapie that is just basically a couple piece of angle iron. When I tried to bend an 18" long piece of 18 gauge It didn't work to well, the part that pivots up to make the bend wasn't welded very well to the hinges so it just bent at that point so the angle iron pieces didn't line up like they should anymore. So after using a bfh I was able to beat it back in position and the welded the pivoting angle iron to the hinges on the top and bottom of the hinge as close to the pivot points as I could.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210315_153137-jpg.336413/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210315_153137-jpg.336413/
My next modification was to make a brace with some black iron pipe so the angle iron would be less likely to defect in the middle. It also makes a good handle when making bends.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210315_154356-jpg.336414/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210315_154356-jpg.336414/
The other thing that make this brake a pain to use is that the clamp bar is just a loose piece that you have to line up in place while trying to get you piece to bend lined up and then clamp everything in place. To help out the with that I lined up the clamp bar where it would need to be to bend a piece of 18 gauge, clamped it in place and then drilled 1/4" holes through the clamp bar and the base. Now I can insert 1/4" pins to at least hold the clamp bar in position while lining up the piece to bend and then clamping it all in place to make a bend.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210315_154053-jpg.336415/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210315_154053-jpg.336415/
Here is one of the pieces I bent after the mods. Bend looks ok and nothing bent out of place on the brake this time.
So for now no need to buy a new brake thankfully.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210315_161254-jpg.336416/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210315_161254-jpg.336416/
Here is the first section of the door bottom formed up and tacked in place.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210315_161526-jpg.336417/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210315_161526-jpg.336417/
2nd half of the door bottom before stretching and shrinking.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210315_162436-jpg.336418/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210315_162436-jpg.336418/
After some shrinking I marked a line to trim some excess off. It takes more effort to shrink on the wider flange but still worked pretty good with the foot pedals.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210315_162716-jpg.336419/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210315_162716-jpg.336419/
Another tool I picked up recently from HF is this shear. Not the best quality but is seems to work pretty well. Sure beats the heck out of cutting 18 gauge with an aviation snips!

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210316_120030-jpg.336421/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210316_120030-jpg.336421/
2nd side of the door bottom fitted up and tacked in place.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210317_150501-jpg.336424/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210317_150501-jpg.336424/
All welded up and ground out the door bottom looks much better. Just need to drill new drain holes once everything else is all welded up.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210316_120043-jpg.336425/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210316_120043-jpg.336425/
There was some thin spots in this corner so that got cut out for a small patch.
Brian :cool:

Custer55
03-20-2021, 07:02 PM
https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210316_154635-jpg.336426/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210316_154635-jpg.336426/
Patch welded in place and ground smooth.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210317_160650-jpg.336427/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210317_160650-jpg.336427/
Bolted back on so I could check the fit. Still fits like it did before so on to welding on the outer patches.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210318_110122-jpg.336428/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210318_110122-jpg.336428/
Lined up an clamped in place I tacked the 2 pieces together so I could weld up the center seam and finish it out off the door. The sharpie line and marks above the patch I did before removing any of the door bottom for repairs. They are reference marks to get the patch lined up correctly.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210318_130308-jpg.336429/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210318_130308-jpg.336429/
Now a 1 piece patch clamped in place to scribe a line to cut away the original door skin.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210318_163700-jpg.336430/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210318_163700-jpg.336430/
Patch fitted up and tacked in place.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210319_144915-jpg.336431/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210319_144915-jpg.336431/
Before finishing welding the seam on the outside I got the lower flange on the inside hammered over in place. Will just need to be spot welded in place once the outside is done.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210319_141512-jpg.336432/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210319_141512-jpg.336432/
All welded up but still needing some hammer and dolly work and more grinding to get it better.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210320_164043-jpg.336433/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210320_164043-jpg.336433/
After a lot more grinding, sanding, hammering and even some shrinking it's pretty close to where it needs to be. I ended up removing the two lower braces from the inside of the door to get better access so those will need to be welded back in and drain holes drilled yet but for the most part this door is done.
On to the next which will most likely be the trunk lid.
Brian :cool:

Belair-o
03-21-2021, 06:10 AM
Hey Brian,
Thanks for documenting the steps along the way, it is very informative. Seeing much of the nitty gritty along the way, maybe is kind of like seeing sausage made. Some of the steps may not be pretty, but are necessary and foundational to the great end result. Nice to see your vision for the car steadily taking form. Appreciated your work with your existing tools - making them do the job you need done.
Regards, Doug

BamaNomad
03-21-2021, 12:09 PM
I also applaud Brian for his workmanship and dedication in bringing this old Ford sedan back to the world of hot rodding... :) .... getting closer by the day!

PS. Personally I love the coupes, but also really like the sedans due to their huge room in the back seat for family members... :)

Custer55
03-25-2021, 09:13 PM
Hey Brian,
Thanks for documenting the steps along the way, it is very informative. Seeing much of the nitty gritty along the way, maybe is kind of like seeing sausage made. Some of the steps may not be pretty, but are necessary and foundational to the great end result. Nice to see your vision for the car steadily taking form. Appreciated your work with your existing tools - making them do the job you need done.
Regards, Doug
Thanks Doug, Appreciate the kind words and glad you have an interest is the project.
More post to come
Brian

Custer55
03-25-2021, 09:16 PM
I also applaud Brian for his workmanship and dedication in bringing this old Ford sedan back to the world of hot rodding... :) .... getting closer by the day!

PS. Personally I love the coupes, but also really like the sedans due to their huge room in the back seat for family members... :)
Thanks Gary,
It sure keeps me busy which is a good thing!!

P.S. Saw on the news today Alabama had some pretty bad weather. Hope you are doing ok.

Custer55
03-25-2021, 09:21 PM
I finished up on the passenger door earlier this week before moving on to some small projects around the shop (including a good clean up) that I have been putting off doing. Next week I will start on fixing the rust at the bottom of the trunk lid.

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210322_144323-jpg.336727/https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210322_144323-jpg.336727/
Here is the door with the braces welded back in place and the drain holes drilled in the bottom. Originally the door just had the 3 holes to the rear of the door. Hard to see in the picture but I added 2 more holes at the front of the door (left hand side in the picture)
https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210322_150648-jpg.336728/

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210322_150850-jpg.336729/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210322_150648-jpg.336728/https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210322_150850-jpg.336729/A couple of shots with the door back in place. Looks like everything fits pretty well so time to move on. Once the weather gets consistently in the 60's around here I can get epoxy primer on this stuff.
Brian :cool:

BamaNomad
03-26-2021, 06:42 AM
The door and alignment to the body both look fantastic, Brian!

Custer55
03-28-2021, 08:02 PM
The door and alignment to the body both look fantastic, Brian!
Thanks Gary.
I am pretty happy with how the door fits. Pretty easy to align on this car as there is very little adjustment where the hinges bolt to the body and they are welded solid to the door itself.

Custer55
04-06-2021, 06:16 PM
Well cleaning up the shop and doing some re-organizing led to another unplanned project. I found some pieces of 3/4" thick and 3/8" thick pieces of hot rolled steel plate under one of my benches that I had forgotten about so it turned into a welding / grinding table project. I had a small metal table that came out of my late uncles garage that I had been using to stash all my metal scraps underneath for the base of the table. It was somewhat low for a decent workbench so to raise it up I added some 3" swivel caster to the 4 legs so now it will be about 34" from the floor to the top and is mobile to boot.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210403_111913-jpg.337531/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210403_111913-jpg.337531/
To keep the top as flat as possible I drilled and tapped the steel flats and drilled the table to bolt them all in place. That way I could shim them up where needed to keep them all flat. They all overhang the table by 1 1/2" as well so I have a good place to clamp things down to the table.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210403_112000-jpg.337532/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210403_112000-jpg.337532/
The two 6" wide pieces on the right and the 8" wide piece on the left are the 3/4" thick plate. The four 4" wide pieces in the middle are 3/8" thick so I welded spaces to those to bring them up to the same level as the 3/4" pieces.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210404_115111-jpg.337533/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210404_115111-jpg.337533/
Here is the finished table. When I put a straight edge across it is within .010" to .015" of being flat so should work pretty well. Finished size of the top is 21" x 35". For sure much better than what I had.
It may be a couple more weeks before I get back to working on the 39 again though as Sunday my son and I started a project on his 59 Mercury. We will be replacing the worn out original power steering box and system with a Borgeson power box that eliminates the power assist ram and all that mess so that will be a big improvement. The hardest part of the install will be shortening the steering column a couple of inches while maintaining the column shifter. Then we will be replacing the original power brake booster and single master cylinder with a new 8" booster and dual Willwood master cylinder.
So those projects will keep me busy for a while.
Brian :cool:

Custer55
11-15-2021, 07:31 PM
Wow, it's been a while since I posted any progress on this project. Late spring I spent quite a bit of time working on my son's 59 Mercury upgrading the power steering to a Borgeson box and a new brake power booster and Wilwood master cylinder and prop valve. He really needed the steering box, when I got the original box out it was completely worn out!!
After that I worked on the 39 Ford sporadically as there was lots of other projects around the house to work on all summer.
By early September I finally had some time to work on it again so I started by getting the passenger door and passenger rear fender in epoxy primer. They had both had all the rust and dent repairs already done so I just needed to give them a good sanding again and did a little more work with the shrinking disk where I had welded in the patches.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210921_162321-jpg.351721/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210921_162321-jpg.351721/
Here is the door ready to go mounted on my engine stand so I could paint both sides at one time.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210923_123108-jpg.351722/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20210923_123108-jpg.351722/
View from the other side with the mounting system to the engine stand visible.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211004_101503-jpg.351726/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211004_101503-jpg.351726/
Door and fender painted in epoxy primer and back on the car.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211004_101849-jpg.351727/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211004_101849-jpg.351727/
Another view of the fender. Looking pretty good for not having any body filler on them yet.
So on to the next metal repair project which will be the trunk lid.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211004_110655-jpg.351728/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211004_110655-jpg.351728/
The trunk lid is in good shape overall except for the bottom edge being pretty rusty. No factory drain holes didn't help any. I will be adding some after all the repairs are done.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211004_110708-jpg.351729/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211004_110708-jpg.351729/
A closer view of the rust. This section was the worst of it.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211004_111840-jpg.351730/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211004_111840-jpg.351730/
The outer skin was in good shape other than a few spots that rust came through.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211005_130241-jpg.351731/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211005_130241-jpg.351731/
I ended up making a patch for the center part of the outer skin only. The ends were solid yet and I didn't want to mess around with the ends and get the shape out of whack it I didn't have to.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211005_195405-jpg.351732/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211005_195405-jpg.351732/
Tacked into place.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211007_161252-jpg.351733/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211007_161252-jpg.351733/
All welded up and ground out. Up next will be the inner structure repairs. As I cut out the inner structure I will be able to hammer out this seam better, as with the inner structure still in place it is impossible to grind out the welds on the backside of the seam and planish them out.
Brian :cool:

Custer55
11-15-2021, 07:40 PM
So on to the inner trunk lid repairs. Lots of rust to cut out here but just doing small sections at at time to keep from losing the proper shape of the trunk lid. Also much easier to make the patches in smaller pieces an weld them together.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211007_110319-jpg.351734/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211007_110319-jpg.351734/First section cut out.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211009_115944-jpg.351735/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211009_115944-jpg.351735/First patch formed up ready to tack in place. (actually the 2nd, there is a small piece in the corner already welded in place)

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211012_104411-jpg.351737/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211012_104411-jpg.351737/2nd and 3rd patch tacked in place.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211012_130627-jpg.351738/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211012_130627-jpg.351738/Fully welded and ground smooth.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211021_164641-jpg.351739/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211021_164641-jpg.351739/Similar patch on the opposite side all welded up and ground out.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211021_164650-jpg.351740/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211021_164650-jpg.351740/Center area will be next. I cut out everything but the small section where the latch mounts which was still in good shape.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211111_120337-jpg.351741/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211111_120337-jpg.351741/Next patch tacked in place. This one was the easiest of them to make. Just a fairly flat piece curved up to meet the latch mount flange.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211111_123122-jpg.351742/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211111_123122-jpg.351742/All welded up. Now the 2 hardest piece to make as they need to curve in and up at the same time with a different radius bend on each end.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211111_154652-jpg.351743/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211111_154652-jpg.351743/After lots of trimming and tweaking the bends ready to tack in place.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211111_161646-jpg.351744/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211111_161646-jpg.351744/Tacked in place. I ended up with bigger gaps than I wanted in a few places but made it work. (one of the advantages of a mig welder is being able to fill gaps pretty easily with lots of small quick welds)
Brian :cool:

BamaNomad
11-15-2021, 08:50 PM
Very solid work Brian! I'm liking what you're doing (and your Ford must surely like it's transformation).. :)

Gary

Belair-o
11-16-2021, 07:02 AM
Hi Brian,
Love to see a pic (or two) of the Merc! Great idea on your setup to paint both sides of the door - you continue to think outside of the box, and to innovate.
Regards, Doug

TrifiveRichard
11-16-2021, 02:08 PM
The old ford is really looking great Brian, going to be a nice ride when you're done!

Custer55
11-17-2021, 04:50 PM
Very solid work Brian! I'm liking what you're doing (and your Ford must surely like it's transformation).. :)

Gary

Thanks Gary

Custer55
11-17-2021, 04:57 PM
Hi Brian,
Love to see a pic (or two) of the Merc! Great idea on your setup to paint both sides of the door - you continue to think outside of the box, and to innovate.
Regards, Doug

Thanks. I will try to post a few pictures of the 59 Merc later. Not having any luck trying to attach a photo frome my phone.

Custer55
11-17-2021, 04:58 PM
The old ford is really looking great Brian, going to be a nice ride when you're done!

Thanks Richard. Still plenty of work ahead but making some progress again.

Custer55
11-17-2021, 08:26 PM
Hi Brian,
Love to see a pic (or two) of the Merc! Great idea on your setup to paint both sides of the door - you continue to think outside of the box, and to innovate.
Regards, Doug
12304
Here it is.

BamaNomad
11-18-2021, 05:21 AM
That's got to be a pretty rare Mercury! I can't recall when I last seen one like that.. maybe 1959? :) It looks good, and I like it..

Belair-o
11-18-2021, 06:09 AM
Very cool pic, and car! I don't recall if I ever saw one of those, or maybe at the time was just unappreciative. I find a number of cars that I just looked past in the old days, I now appreciate.

markm
11-18-2021, 07:04 AM
I cannot say that I ever saw one of those.

Custer55
11-18-2021, 06:13 PM
It is a pretty rare car. Since he bought it about 4 or 5 years ago we have only seen 2 other 59 Mercurys. None of them were the same 2 door hardtop Montclair model. One at back to the 50's (out of over 12,000 cars) was a Monterey 2 door sedan and there was a Montclair at Iola this year that was a 2 door convertible.
He bought it from a local car dealer that was selling it for a family that had inherited the car from their father who lived in the Kingsport TN area. It is in pretty good shape as it was in that area until my son bought the car.

Custer55
11-18-2021, 06:23 PM
Today I got the inner flange rebuilt on one corner of the trunk. Not to hard to do as I just cut some pieces of 18 gauge slightly wider than the original flanges, clamped them in place and then scribed them to the outside of the trunk to cut them to size.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211116_122542-jpg.351868/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211116_122542-jpg.351868/
Already did the short piece in the corner and the longer piece at the bottom clamped in place to weld in.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211116_122602-jpg.351869/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211116_122602-jpg.351869/
Another view. The 3/16" holes are to eventually spot weld the new flanges to the inner structure.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211116_123801-jpg.351870/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211116_123801-jpg.351870/
Tacked in place at the seam joints and on the outside edge. The ruler shows where I will need to build up the edge of the patch with weld also. The patch flange must have bent to far inward when I hammered it over.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211118_145934-jpg.351871/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211118_145934-jpg.351871/
After welding up the seam with a series of small tacks on the edge and beyond to fix the lower edge misalignment.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211118_151034-jpg.351872/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211118_151034-jpg.351872/
First step is to grind the weld flush to the new flange piece on the inside.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211118_153357-jpg.351873/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211118_153357-jpg.351873/
With the trunk flipped over the weld is ground flush to the outer skin and then the face of the edge ground and filed to the correct shape. Looks like I will need to add some welds and extend them more to the center of the trunk as indicated by the sharpie mark.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211118_154253-jpg.351874/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211118_154253-jpg.351874/
After re-welding and filing it out a bit.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211118_160439-jpg.351875/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211118_160439-jpg.351875/
After some grinding looking better. May still need to tweak it a bit but I will do that after it's bolted back on the car to get the gaps correct.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211118_162932-jpg.351877/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211118_162932-jpg.351877/
With the edge rounded off to better match the original shape of the trunk edge.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211118_162426-jpg.351878/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211118_162426-jpg.351878/
Inside all finished up other than the spot welds to the inner structure. Next will be to repeat the process on the other corner and then bolt it back on for final fitting.
Then I will decide what to work on next. Probably won't be doing anymore epoxy priming until spring as it's too expensive to keep the shop over 60 to 65 degrees this time of year. My shop stays pretty dry so bare metal developing surface rust is a non issue for me.
Brian :cool:

567chevys
11-19-2021, 06:23 PM
Good evening Brian ,

The 39 is looking good keep it up.
That Merc is one bad ass looking ride share some more pictures of it please .

Thanks Sid

Custer55
12-19-2021, 07:40 PM
It's been a while since I posted my progress again. The Friday before Thanksgiving I came down with a flu bug or something. I had terrible headaches and felt like I was going to throw up all the time although I never did. Basically just felt like crap and it took over a week before I felt like doing anything and 3 weeks before I felt normal again so nothing got done for a couple weeks and I have been just working on it off and on since then.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211204_161627-jpg.354122/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211204_161627-jpg.354122/
The first thing I did was to get the other corner of the trunk repair finished up on the inside.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211206_135151-jpg.354123/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211206_135151-jpg.354123/
Here is the completed repair with drain holes added to prevent a future rust out.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211206_163324-jpg.354124/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211206_163324-jpg.354124/


https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211206_163343-jpg.354125/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211206_163343-jpg.354125/
And a couple of shots with the trunk lid bolted back in place. Fit is about as good as it ever was but I will try to fine tune it a bit in the spring before I get it in epoxy primer. There is a guy with a 40 Ford that attends all the local shows and cruise-ins in the area so I may wait and see how his trunk fits before I do anything with it too.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211207_155301-jpg.354126/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211207_155301-jpg.354126/
So next I worked on welding a section of the left rear quarter panel inner structure that I had cut out to work on the quarter panel last year. Here is is clamped and cleaned up ready to start welding it back in place. Probably the 1st time I ever used my butt weld clamps. They worked out nice for this since there was a gap from cutting out the section with a jig saw and sawsall.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211207_163134-jpg.354127/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211207_163134-jpg.354127/
Tack welded in place. lots more welding and grinding to go.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211208_162148-jpg.354128/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211208_162148-jpg.354128/
All welded up and ground out. Don't have to be so picky about grinding this out perfect as it will be under and interior panel eventually anyway.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211209_104217-jpg.354129/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211209_104217-jpg.354129/
So the next project will be working on the cowl area and firewall. First up is fixing the cowl door area. This area is pretty rusty as it is an area that water would have sat in all the time.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211209_104246-jpg.354130/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211209_104246-jpg.354130/
Here is a shot of the original cowl vent door on the bottom right (which is a rusty mess). And a better used door on the bottom left and a better used cowl door opening (both purchased on ebay). The only downside of the replacement parts is they came off a pickup truck which had a different bracket on the door and the cowl section piece is shaped different and wider above the opening to the windshield so it will take more work to get it to fit right. The door itself is the same shape so I should be able to make it work much easier than fixing the rust on the original parts.
https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211209_112029-jpg.354131/

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211209_112029-jpg.354131/
Here you can see the difference between the original cowl door hinge bracket and the replacement.
Original rusty one at the bottom of the picture. The bracket on the original is in decent shape so I will just swap that bracket onto the replacement door.

Custer55
12-19-2021, 07:47 PM
First off was to swap the hinge brackets on the cowl doors. After taking some measurements it looked like the brackets were in the same position on each door, just a different shape bracket.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211210_134632-jpg.354132/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211210_134632-jpg.354132/
So after scribing around the brackets on each door I removed both brackets from the doors. The original was easy as I wasn't saving the door so I just drilled all the spot welds to get it loose, no big deal if I had to drill all the way through.
On the replacement door (bottom of photo) I used a spot weld cutter so as not to do any damage to the door. At this point I just needed to grind off what the spot weld cutter left behind and media blast the rust off the replacement door.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211210_151502-jpg.354140/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211210_151502-jpg.354140/
Here the original bracket is clamped in place on the replacement door. I drilled 1/8" holes and screwed it together with small sheet metal screws to hold the two in position for now. The small holes from the screws will be easy to weld up later.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211210_154118-jpg.354141/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211210_154118-jpg.354141/
I then bolted the door back in and aligned it to the original opening. With it aligned good I drilled 2 - 3/32"alignment holes in the hinge (under the dash area) and the bracket. That way I can bolt it back on and it should be positioned the same way each time to make sure the replacement opening will also be aligned correctly.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211211_151836-jpg.354142/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211211_151836-jpg.354142/
With everything cleaned up good I got some primer on the door and bracket so it doesn't get as rusty between them in the future.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211211_162045-jpg.354143/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211211_162045-jpg.354143/
Roughly cut out the cowl opening. The section that is left is spot welded to the bracket that the hinge mounts to and is attached to the under dash structure.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211213_150345-jpg.354144/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211213_150345-jpg.354144/
With the rest of the rusty door opening removed from the inner structure.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211214_153936-jpg.354145/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211214_153936-jpg.354145/
Starting to fit up the replacement door opening.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211214_154031-jpg.354146/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211214_154031-jpg.354146/
Here you can see how different the shape is on the replacement part.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211214_161011-jpg.354147/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211214_161011-jpg.354147/
A little better but still a ways to go.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211218_162939-jpg.354148/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211218_162939-jpg.354148/
Here I ended up trimming it closer to the opening to get a better fit. I would have preferred to put the seam closer to the windshield opening but not going to make this any harder to do than it needs to be.

Custer55
12-19-2021, 07:49 PM
https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211218_163007-jpg.354149/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211218_163007-jpg.354149/
And another view, the fit is looking better.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211219_113825-jpg.354150/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211219_113825-jpg.354150/
With the cowl door bolted back in to check the fit to the new door opening. With the opening lined up to the door I screwed the new cowl opening in position so I can scribe a line to cut out the original cowl and fit it all up to weld in the new opening. I have the opening positioned a bit to the left in relationship to the door as the way the door bolted up to fit to the original opening there is more adjustment to move the door to the left than to the right. Also the door is just screwed to the bracket for now. I will hold off on welding them together in case I need to adjust the door position after the new cowl door opening is all welded up.
So that is where I am at right now.
Brian :cool:

BamaNomad
12-20-2021, 04:42 AM
Brian,

You're continuing to do outstanding metal work in correcting the rust on your 39 Ford... *applause*... :)

I can't wait to see it looking 'all perfect' in epoxy primer... :)

Gary

bigblock
12-20-2021, 05:22 AM
Really nice work Brain, I love the detailed pics, and how you explain what the pics are.

Belair-o
12-20-2021, 07:06 AM
Great job! I really like those period features, like the cowl vent!

markm
12-20-2021, 08:41 AM
Nice save, looking good.

Custer55
12-20-2021, 06:42 PM
Thanks guys!! It will be keeping me busy for quite a while.

Custer55
12-29-2021, 08:46 PM
So over the last week or so I got the cowl vent project finished up. It turned out pretty well so I will be on to the next project which will most likely be removing the old firewall, doing a few repairs on the cowl area of the body and then installing a recessed firewall I purchased many years ago from Bitchin Products.
Below is some pictures of the rest of the cowl vent & cowl vent door repair.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211221_105908-jpg.355024/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211221_105908-jpg.355024/
With the new section screwed in position I had scribed a line to where the old metal needed to be cut out.
I laid the tape down on the scribed lines to make it easier to cut the old metal out. Much easier to cut to the edge of the masking tape than a fine scribed line.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211221_120611-jpg.355025/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211221_120611-jpg.355025/
Here it is all cut out other than the tabs I left in the corners so I could screw it back in the correct position for final fitting.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211221_152909-jpg.355026/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211221_152909-jpg.355026/
With the piece fitted up other than the corners with the tabs still in place I tack welded a couple of tabs on top and drilled and screwed into the cowl so the position would be maintained with the 4 corner tabs cut out.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211221_161748-jpg.355027/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211221_161748-jpg.355027/
Finally ready to start welding in place with the corner tabs removed and those areas fitted up.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211222_141441-jpg.355028/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211222_141441-jpg.355028/
After getting enough tacks on the patch at the base of the windshield to hold it in position I removed the locating tabs on the top of the cowl. So now just lots of welding and grinding left to do.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211222_151134-jpg.355030/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211222_151134-jpg.355030/
After getting it tacked all the way around I bolted the door back in to check the fit. Looks good so the welding continued.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211223_130926-jpg.355032/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211223_130926-jpg.355032/
After a couple more rounds of tack welds it's getting there. I like to grind most of the tack welds down between welding as it gives everything time to cool down and makes it easier to keep track of what is a new tack weld and a previous weld.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211224_145525-jpg.355034/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211224_145525-jpg.355034/
With all the welds done and finished out it looks much better than the rusted mess I started with. Will just need a thin layer of body filler to make it look like new again.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211227_161029-jpg.355036/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211227_161029-jpg.355036/
Here I have the cowl vent door to hinge bracket welded back in place and finished out. I did make a small adjustment on the position to get the gaps evened out. This was easy with just the screws holding it on as I just needed to drill the holes in the door slightly oversize, reposition it a bit then screw it tightly to the bracket before taking it back off the car again to final weld it in place.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211227_162515-jpg.355037/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211227_162515-jpg.355037/
And here it is bolted back in place, the fit looks good. The used parts I purchased on ebay made this project much easier so well worth what I paid for them.
On to the firewall project. Not looking forward to getting the old firewall out but it won't remove itself so I see a lot of drilling and four letter words in my future!!
Brian :cool:

Belair-o
12-30-2021, 05:34 AM
Hey Brian,
Wow, nice job, looks great with a great fit! A lot of work, but great to have that piece looking so clean & functional!
Regards, Doug

BamaNomad
12-30-2021, 06:00 AM
I really admire Brian's dedication to his 'tasks', not letting the 'whole job' get to him, but instead concentrating on one part at a time.. and he does each part fantastically...

Custer55
12-30-2021, 07:44 AM
Thanks for the kind words guys. This project has been a good one to learn and practice on for me. It's a nice enough car to be worth saving but not so nice to worry about messing it up.

WagonCrazy
12-30-2021, 01:29 PM
Great job Custer55. Keep going man. Keep posting your progress pics. Keeps us all motivated to stay up with out own projects.

TrifiveRichard
12-30-2021, 03:31 PM
Nice work, and it’s looking good!

Custer55
12-30-2021, 04:10 PM
Thanks WC & Richard. There is plenty of work left to do yet so I will keep posting. Glad you guys are interested in seeing more updates.
Brian

bigblock
12-31-2021, 06:35 AM
Really nice Brain kept up the good work.:)

Rocketman
01-02-2022, 09:52 AM
I think this is one of the better threads on this site. I love 39 and 40 Fords.

markm
01-02-2022, 10:19 AM
I think this is one of the better threads on this site. I love 39 and 40 Fords.

When I was young I wanted one with a 327. Nice build.

Custer55
01-09-2022, 05:56 PM
Thanks for the kind words guys!!

So on to the firewall replacement. Getting the old one out wasn't as bad as I thought it would be once I decided to not take it out in one piece. I started out with the intention of getting the old one out in 1 piece but it didn't take long to decide that wasn't going to be worth the effort.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211228_142633-jpg.355923/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211228_142633-jpg.355923/
Here it is before starting on it. The upper part wasn't in bad shape but the battery box area was pretty rusted out. And since I will be putting a small block engine in eventually the original would have needed to be modified anyway so taking it out to replace it with a recessed version was an easy choice.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211230_120547-jpg.355925/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211230_120547-jpg.355925/
After removing the hood support brackets at the top edge, drilling out about 100 spot welds and getting the battery box area cut out and removed.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211230_154411-jpg.355927/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211230_154411-jpg.355927/
With the lower section completely removed.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211231_121453-jpg.355928/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211231_121453-jpg.355928/
And finally completely removed. I had one of the Bitchin Products replacement front floor pans just set in place approx. where it will end up.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211231_121509-jpg.355929/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211231_121509-jpg.355929/
And some shots of the lower cowl area that will need rust repair and some hammer and dolly work.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211231_121602-jpg.355930/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211231_121602-jpg.355930/
And the outside of the cowl damage. These shots are of the drivers side. The passenger side is not quite as bad but will still need some repairs as well. The lower sections were made in 2 pieces that were spot welded together so I will probably end up drilling out the spot welds that hold them together, separate them, do the repairs and weld them back in place. About the only way I can see to do it the right way.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211231_125554-jpg.355931/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211231_125554-jpg.355931/
Here is a shot of the first fit up of the new firewall. Looks ok in this picture but not fitting very well to the cowl.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220101_141141-jpg.355932/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220101_141141-jpg.355932/
The first issue I found was the top part was wider near the top of the firewall while the cowl opening was not.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220101_151138-jpg.355933/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220101_151138-jpg.355933/
So I took out a slice at the top corners and pulled it in at the corners. (No picture with it pulled in.) Then checked the fit again but it was still not going up in the opening like it should.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220104_112145-jpg.355934/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220104_112145-jpg.355934/
So I set the hood in place to see how that fit to the cowl to figure out if the shape of the cowl was off, or if the shape of the replacement firewall was off. The hood fit pretty well to the cowl so firewall modifications it is.
Brian

Custer55
01-09-2022, 06:03 PM
https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220104_112323-jpg.355937/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220104_112323-jpg.355937/
Another shot of how the hood fits to the cowl.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220104_144642-jpg.355939/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220104_144642-jpg.355939/
So I made a carboard pattern to the upper part of the cowl opening and placed it under the firewall. Hard to see in the picture but the firewall is not shaped the same as my pattern. I bought this firewall over 25 years ago so no returning it now. The bottom corners will need to be pulled outward also to fit the cowl where I have the marks in the lower corners.
This was supposed to fit 37 to 40 Fords. 39 Ford Tudor sedans not so much!!

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220104_144918-jpg.355940/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220104_144918-jpg.355940/
Here is a section of the original firewall that seems to fit the shape of my pattern much better.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220105_162621-jpg.355943/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220105_162621-jpg.355943/
After cutting off the top flange of the firewall and clamping the flange and the lower section where they belong you can see how much of a gap will need to be filled in to make it all fit correctly.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220105_162637-jpg.355944/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220105_162637-jpg.355944/
A more close up view of the gap to fill in.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220107_145602-jpg.355945/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220107_145602-jpg.355945/
So I have everything held in position with sheet metal screws ready to start cutting some pieces to fill the gap.
Funny thing is that the firewall and floorboard kit came with 4 or 5 pieces of 16 gauge flat stock about 5" x 18" so they must have known that they didn't fit all 37 to 40 Fords correctly when they made them. No mention of that in the directions though, go figure.
Brian :cool:

Belair-o
01-10-2022, 06:35 AM
Hi Brian,
That new firewall really smooths that area up, including what I would assume is the battery mount area?
If you are handlining all that by your lonesome, I am really impressed. I would be needing two men and a boy, just to move the parts around and align them. Good work, good progress!
Thanks for sharing your thread! Doug

Custer55
01-16-2022, 06:31 PM
Hi Brian,
That new firewall really smooths that area up, including what I would assume is the battery mount area?
If you are handlining all that by your lonesome, I am really impressed. I would be needing two men and a boy, just to move the parts around and align them. Good work, good progress!
Thanks for sharing your thread! Doug

Thanks, Yes that was where the original battery went. I am doing all this by myself for the most part. Luckily the hood on this car is fairly small so I can handle it by myself and not to worried about getting a few scratches in it right now as it is just in primer.

Custer55
01-16-2022, 06:38 PM
With the top flange and firewall screwed into position time to make some filler pieces to make it all one piece again.
The first step was to put the hood in place to check the fit again.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220112_122544-jpg.356335/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220112_122544-jpg.356335/
With the hood set in position I verified the fit and noted where the cowl was a bit high vs a bit low so I could make my filler pieces to get the fit a little better. The cowl is a bit high in the middle and a bit low where my weld seams on the ends of the cowl vent door. Most likely due to a bit of distortion from that repair. The goal here was to get it as close as possible but no need to be perfect at this point. Once all the body repairs are done and everything is bolted together I can decide if it looks good or needs some more tweaking.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220112_114513-jpg.356336/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220112_114513-jpg.356336/
Here is one of the filler pieces fit up ready to tack weld in place. I am doing these in about 5" sections as it would be about impossible to make one piece that would fit properly.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220112_162857-jpg.356337/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220112_162857-jpg.356337/
Here I have 4 of the 5 filler pieces tacked in place. At this point I just want to get enough pieces tacked in place to hold everything in the proper position.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220113_105714-jpg.356338/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220113_105714-jpg.356338/
And the last one fitted up ready to tack weld in place.
https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220114_122802-jpg.356339/

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220114_122802-jpg.356339/
With all 5 filler pieces tacked in place another check on the hood fitment. looks good yet. It's a good thing this car has a small hood so I don't need to get a helper every time I need to check the fit!!

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220113_161503-jpg.356340/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220113_161503-jpg.356340/
Of course the firewall flange at the top in the middle wasn't the correct shape either so I had to make a piece like this for each side to correct that.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220114_122113-jpg.356341/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220114_122113-jpg.356341/
And the lower corners of the firewall didn't fit right either so I had to make about a 3" cut in each lower corner and tack in pie shaped pieces to correct that. So it's finally ready to take out the screws and take the firewall back out to finish the repairs. It will be much easier to do this out of the car.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220114_124145-jpg.356345/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220114_124145-jpg.356345/
Out of the car easier to see where the top center flange needed to be extended.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220114_161038-jpg.356346/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220114_161038-jpg.356346/
Adding the remaining filler pieces to fill in the gaps.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220115_162334-jpg.356347/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220115_162334-jpg.356347/
And finally with all the filler pieces tacked in place. Just lots of welding and grinding to do to finish it up. It's a pain the butt to have to do all this extra work but at least it will fit properly when it's done. Next up will be to remove the lower cowl sections to repair the rust and dents, get them back in place and install the firewall for good.
Brian :cool:

TrifiveRichard
01-16-2022, 07:05 PM
Nice work on making it all fit together. It’s amazing some times how much time it takes to get things to fit together as they should!

Belair-o
01-17-2022, 06:34 AM
Brian,
That was a LOT of painstaking work as you snuck up on the fit - looks great!
Regards, Doug

markm
01-17-2022, 06:56 AM
Keep up the good work.

Custer55
01-17-2022, 07:25 AM
Brian,
That was a LOT of painstaking work as you snuck up on the fit - looks great!
Regards, Doug
Thanks Doug

Custer55
01-17-2022, 07:27 AM
Keep up the good work.

Thanks Markm
Keeps me busy!!

Custer55
01-17-2022, 07:29 AM
Nice work on making it all fit together. It’s amazing some times how much time it takes to get things to fit together as they should!
Thanks Richard
Always something to make it more of a challenge!!

redmanf1
01-18-2022, 02:09 AM
Nice work..

WagonCrazy
01-19-2022, 03:09 PM
I spy with my eye....a rack and pinion steering on the front of that old car... :p What'd that come out of?

BamaNomad
01-19-2022, 05:52 PM
It's for certain NOT a '39 Ford part... :)

Custer55
01-20-2022, 04:55 PM
I spy with my eye....a rack and pinion steering on the front of that old car... :p What'd that come out of?
Good eye guys!
It's a mustang II steering rack and cross member which I had installed twenty plus years ago just after we bought the 39. I got that much done before running out of time money and ambition after our son was born. He will be 26 tomorrow.
Brian

BamaNomad
01-20-2022, 07:05 PM
:) So that partly explains the rapid great work, Brian!! You're making up for lost time... :)

Custer55
01-20-2022, 08:38 PM
:) So that partly explains the rapid great work, Brian!! You're making up for lost time... :)

Yep, Hard to believe it has almost been over 2 years since I started working on this again, 1st post on the project on here was March of 2020 but I think I had started to work on it in October of 2019. If wasn't for all those other projects around the house I'd be farther along (last week I had our front load washing machine apart to replace the drum bearings for a 2nd time. those things sure don't last long).

bigblock
01-21-2022, 05:34 AM
My dad always said the older we get the faster the time flies by.:(

busterwivell
01-21-2022, 05:45 AM
Your Dad was right!

markm
01-21-2022, 06:24 AM
I could change the Clutch & Pressure plate in my Camaro on ramps in HS with basic tools faster than I now with a lift and cordless and air tool and all the other fancy tools I have at my disposal. I believe that a Muncie 4 speed has gained about 50 pounds too.

busterwivell
01-21-2022, 08:00 AM
So have I

Custer55
01-30-2022, 09:47 PM
So when I last posted the firewall was done other than welding everything up I decided to put that on the back burner to work on the lower cowl sections before I finished that up.

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211231_121602-jpg.357504/https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20211231_121602-jpg.357504/
I posted this picture previously but here is what the drivers sided looked like before I started. The crease in the cowl looks like the fender was pushed in against the cowl at some point because the crease is right where the fender bolts up.

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220117_122931-jpg.357505/https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220117_122931-jpg.357505/
Before removing the lower part of the cowl I added a couple of braces to keep things in place once it is removed.

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220118_163415-jpg.357506/https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220118_163415-jpg.357506/
After lots of drilling spot welds and some cutting at the lower hinge area the lower section is removed for repairs.

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220118_163436-jpg.357507/https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220118_163436-jpg.357507/
With the lower section out of the way I got the crease hammered out closer to where it needs to be. I had to use my welding torch and heat up the metal to move it back out which was fine as it will need shrinking anyway as bad as the crease in the cowl was.

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220119_163934-jpg.357508/https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220119_163934-jpg.357508/
Next I cleaned up the running board, bolted it back in place an mocked up the front fender to make sure everything would still fit.

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220119_163918-jpg.357509/https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220119_163918-jpg.357509/
Another view of the fit. A few high and low spots in the cowl compared to the fender so more hammer and dolly work and shrinking will be needed.

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220120_154849-jpg.357512/https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220120_154849-jpg.357512/
Before I did any more work on that though I wanted the lower door pillar more secure so I started by making a replacement for the rusted piece at the top of the picture. The original piece had a bumped up section in it but I made mine flat as the new floor pans that I have you need to flatten out that part of it anyway.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220120_160520-jpg.357513/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220120_160520-jpg.357513/
Bolted and tacked into position with 1/4" spacers. The spacer at the door pillar I threaded it and used a spacer so the bolt is centered on the body mount hole in the frame. That way everything will line up properly when the body mount cushion is put back in place.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220121_120101-jpg.357511/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220121_120101-jpg.357511/
After doing a lot of shrinking with the torch and hammer and dolly work I think it is pretty close. I didn't get a picture as I just held the fender in place to check the fit but it was much better and all the oil canning was out of it. At this point I reset the door as well to make sure that still fit as before which it did.

Custer55
01-30-2022, 09:53 PM
https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220121_150826-jpg.357514/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220121_150826-jpg.357514/
The removed lower section cleaned up and ready for the repair process. I ended up cutting the area by the door pillar out in a couple of pieces so that will have to be welded back together as well.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220121_150849-jpg.357515/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220121_150849-jpg.357515/
View from the other side.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220122_141243-jpg.357516/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220122_141243-jpg.357516/
With the end by the door pillar tacked back on to check the fit. I left a gap to match the saw cut thickness where I tacked the end back on so it wouldn't get to short to fit right. A couple of the holes that were drilled out to remove the spot welds make good register points to make sure it was back in in the proper location.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220122_161429-jpg.357517/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220122_161429-jpg.357517/
Clamped and pinned back in place after cutting out the rusty areas that would need to be rebuilt. The plan is to fab and tack in place as many pieces as possible to maintain the proper fit.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220124_162228-jpg.357518/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220124_162228-jpg.357518/
First piece fit up ready to tack in place.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220125_150337-jpg.357519/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220125_150337-jpg.357519/
And with the next 2 pieces fit up and tacked in place. At this point I took the whole thing back out to make the last piece of the puzzle and weld everything up.
https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220125_155753-jpg.357520/

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220125_155753-jpg.357520/
I ended up cutting out a bit more of the old here as it made the last piece an easier shape to fit up.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220126_122154-jpg.357522/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220126_122154-jpg.357522/
And the last repair piece tacked in place ready to finish all the welding and grinding.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220127_154729-jpg.357523/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220127_154729-jpg.357523/
All welded up and ready for a bit of primer before reinstalling on the car. At this point I had all the spot weld holes welded up also except for one that I will use for alignment when It goes back in.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220127_154748-jpg.357524/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220127_154748-jpg.357524/
And a shot from the other side.

Custer55
01-30-2022, 09:59 PM
https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220128_113838-jpg.357525/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220128_113838-jpg.357525/
Before it could go back in I need to fix some rust here where the metal was very thin and had some pin holes to big to weld up.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220128_115959-jpg.357526/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220128_115959-jpg.357526/
The repaired lower cowl section back in place again to make the patch so it would all fit together.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220128_153826-jpg.357527/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220128_153826-jpg.357527/
Repair section formed and tacked in place. I didn't get it tacked in perfectly centered so the gap was a bit big on the one end but I made it work ok.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220129_162822-jpg.357528/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220129_162822-jpg.357528/
All welded up and finished out. Not perfect but it will be hidden behind the fender in the end anyway.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220130_134305-jpg.357529/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220130_134305-jpg.357529/
Here it is with primer on the sides that will be hidden when welded together. You can see some round bare metal spots. I punched out some masking tape and covered the areas where the spot welds will be before spraying on the primer.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220130_140930-jpg.357530/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220130_140930-jpg.357530/
And finally clamped back in place ready to weld it in place for good. I have a couple more rust spots on this side to repair yet then I can move on to repeat the process on the passenger side.
Brian :cool:

bigblock
01-31-2022, 05:49 AM
Really nice work Brain. :)

Custer55
02-02-2022, 08:40 PM
Really nice work Brain. :)
Thanks,

Custer55
02-02-2022, 08:45 PM
So before moving on to the lower cowl repairs on the passenger side I had a few more spots on the drivers side that need some attention.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220131_135339-jpg.357702/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220131_135339-jpg.357702/
This spot was too pitted and had pin holes all the way through the metal so a patch will be needed.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220131_154900-jpg.357703/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220131_154900-jpg.357703/
This is the hole I ended up with to find metal solid enough to weld on. The area just above the hole I was able to just weld in a few of the deeper pits as it was all in good shape otherwise.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220131_155643-jpg.357704/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220131_155643-jpg.357704/
Here is the patch formed up, fitted and ready to tack in. I used a flanging die on my bead roller to form the bump out area which didn't actually work all that well but the only time this will be visible is when the hood side is removed. I came up with a better way to form it after I had it done so the ones I need to replace on the passenger side should come out better. More on that later.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220131_161131-jpg.357705/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220131_161131-jpg.357705/
Tacked in place.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220201_124952-jpg.357706/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220201_124952-jpg.357706/
And all welded up and finished out.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220201_110504-jpg.357707/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220201_110504-jpg.357707/
So here is what I came up with to make a piece for the repair on the passenger side. Just a short piece of piece of 1" dia. heavy wall tubing with a radius ground on the end and a piece of 3/8" flat stock with a 1 1/4" hole drilled in it and a slight radius filed in top edge of the hole.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220201_110519-jpg.357708/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220201_110519-jpg.357708/
I started to form the piece by just laying a piece of 18 gauge over the hole and then hammering the tubing down into the sheet metal to start pushing it in the hole.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220201_111306-jpg.357709/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220201_111306-jpg.357709/
Then I clamped it in the bench vise to continue the process. This could be done a lot easier with a shop press as well.
Something else I need on my wish list.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220201_111539-jpg.357710/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220201_111539-jpg.357710/
And here is the end result which matches the original better than what I did on the drivers side. It will take a bit more work to fit it up yet but it will be a good starting point for the repair.

Custer55
02-02-2022, 08:53 PM
The last spot needing repair on the drivers side was in the seam area between the upper and lower cowl sections.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220201_125003-jpg.357711/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220201_125003-jpg.357711/The area circled will have to go. All pretty thin metal in that area but all in good shape around it.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220201_151110-jpg.357712/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220201_151110-jpg.357712/The plan was to cut out this area including the flanges on the inner structure with a 2" hole saw but since the metal was so thin in the middle where the pilot bit for the hole saw would go I had to tack on a piece of solid metal for the pilot bit so the hole saw wouldn't just walk all over the place and make a mess.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220201_154009-jpg.357713/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220201_154009-jpg.357713/Here is the view from the inside with the hole completely cut out. I will be making the patch in 2 pieces with a flange bent on them to duplicate the factory seam and rebuild the inner structure at the same time. This area needs to be strong as it is where the hood hinges bolt on. (which is what probably caused the rust hole).

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220201_162435-jpg.357714/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220201_162435-jpg.357714/Upper piece of the hole fitted up and ready to tack in place.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220201_164233-jpg.357715/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220201_164233-jpg.357715/Tacked in place.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220202_111527-jpg.357716/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220202_111527-jpg.357716/All welded up and ground out.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220202_131025-jpg.357717/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220202_131025-jpg.357717/Lower piece fitted up and tacked in place.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220202_161238-jpg.357718/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220202_161238-jpg.357718/All welded up and finished out. Looks pretty close to the factory seam.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220202_161304-jpg.357719/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220202_161304-jpg.357719/And finally a view from the inside of the repair. That is where I left off today.
Brian :cool:

bigblock
02-03-2022, 05:22 AM
One works with what one has. When doing any repairs our wish list always gets longer.:D

Custer55
02-10-2022, 09:03 PM
Before moving on to the other side of the cowl I did another project to see how it would turn out. I needed new rocker panels where the door sill seals go so I wanted to try to make my own instead of buying them.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220203_140522-jpg.358275/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220203_140522-jpg.358275/
Here is a view of the drivers side. Pretty much rusted away other than at the rear of the door opening where it was still in good shape.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220203_140606-jpg.358276/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220203_140606-jpg.358276/
This is the passenger side which is full of rust holes as well but still enough of it left to use as a pattern.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220204_111217-jpg.358277/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220204_111217-jpg.358277/
The first step of the process was to bend a 90 in a piece of 18 gauge. Doing this in 2 pieces because my cheapie bending brake is only 36" and can do about a 24" length at most on 18 gauge.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220204_120953-jpg.358278/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220204_120953-jpg.358278/
After some work on the stretcher and shrinker the fit is looking good. At this point I still need to bend the lower flange in towards the frame. I did this by scribing a line about 5/16" above the top of the running board and the using a vice grip to bend it a bit at a time until I could finish it up with a hammer and dolly.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220205_125914-jpg.358279/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220205_125914-jpg.358279/
With the lower flange done and fitted up at the rear door opening I have it screwed in place to make the piece for the front of the door opening.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220205_163107-jpg.358280/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220205_163107-jpg.358280/
Front section formed and getting it to fit. Same process as the rear section other than being taller at the front of the door.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220206_114614-jpg.358281/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220206_114614-jpg.358281/
Screwed in place at the front with a couple of tack welds to hold it together. Now just need to take it out to finish welding the pieces together.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220206_120727-jpg.358282/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220206_120727-jpg.358282/
This shot and the next one will show why I like to leave about a .030 gap when butt welding things together. (easier said than done on most patches but this one was fairly easy to get the gap I wanted) This is what the tack welds looked like on the side I did the welds on.
https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220206_120745-jpg.358283/

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220206_120745-jpg.358283/
And the view of the welds on the back side of the seam. It will be a nice solid weld seam when it is done.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220206_154310-jpg.358284/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220206_154310-jpg.358284/
And here is the finished piece. I don't plan to add the indents that the factory rockers had in them as the sill seal which seals against the bottom of the door pretty much covers the hole thing up anyway. Not perfect but much better than the rusted mess it was. Final installation won't be until after all the floor boards are fixed as this piece will sit on top of them.
Brian :cool:

BamaNomad
02-11-2022, 06:23 AM
that Ford just keeps looking better and better.. :) Most excellent metal work Brian!~

Custer55
02-11-2022, 04:36 PM
that Ford just keeps looking better and better.. :) Most excellent metal work Brian!~

Thanks Gary, I'll be pretty happy when all the rust is fixed on this thing though!!

WagonCrazy
02-18-2022, 01:13 PM
Fantasic work there. And kudos to you for taking lots of progress pics and posting here. This will be so rewarding, once you're beyond all this slogging with rusty sheet metal. Keep at it. It's coming along nicely.

Custer55
02-27-2022, 07:50 PM
I have been working on the passenger side cowl area so It's pretty much a repeat of what I did on the drivers side. More rust in some parts and a bit less in others but pretty much the same process to make the repairs.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220212_130011-jpg.359530/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220212_130011-jpg.359530/
After removal and cutting out the rust this side needed more repairs than the drivers side. I ended up cutting out and replacing a couple more spots while doing the patches. I did cut this side out a bit different than the drivers side so It was harder to get it out but easier to put it back together.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220215_120026-jpg.359531/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220215_120026-jpg.359531/
With enough new metal tacked in place ready to take it back out and complete the repairs on the welding table.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220217_160720-jpg.359532/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220217_160720-jpg.359532/
All finished up and ready to re-install once a few more rust areas are repaired on the upper part of the cowl.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220217_161939-jpg.359533/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220217_161939-jpg.359533/
View from the other side sitting on my welding table.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220218_135123-jpg.359534/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220218_135123-jpg.359534/
With the lower cowl out again and another rusty area cut out and ready for a patch.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220219_140745-jpg.359535/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220219_140745-jpg.359535/
Patch panel for that area fitted up and tacked in place. At the bottom of the cowl by the door opening you can see the next area that will need to be repaired.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220219_160826-jpg.359536/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220219_160826-jpg.359536/
All welded up and finished out. Looking much better now.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220219_160848-jpg.359537/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220219_160848-jpg.359537/
View from the inside of the repair. Rust in the lower corner is obvious in this shot as well.

Custer55
02-27-2022, 07:55 PM
https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220222_151046-jpg.359538/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220222_151046-jpg.359538/
Lower corner cut out and a patch formed and fitted up to replace the rusted area. This was a tricky one to form and get fitted up but I got it pretty close.

https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220222_155757-jpg.359539/https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220222_155757-jpg.359539/
Patch tacked in place. At this point I had to take the running board back off to get to the lower seam welded up.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220223_122438-jpg.359540/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220223_122438-jpg.359540/
All welded up and finished out. Other than the door jam area this will all be behind the fender eventually but at least I know the rust hole is gone.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220224_140800-jpg.359541/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220224_140800-jpg.359541/
So with all those repairs done and some primer on the areas that you can't get to later the lower cowl is back in place for good. At this point I put the door back in place as well to check the fit which was still good.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220225_115330-jpg.359542/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220225_115330-jpg.359542/
And the last patch for the cowl was the little bump out for the hood side tacked in place.
The area below the patch the cowl had a slight bulge in it where the fender meets up with it so I had to do a little bit of shrinking with the torch and the shrinking disk so the fender will fit better now.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220225_154334-jpg.359543/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220225_154334-jpg.359543/
All welded up and finished out and the hole drilled for the rubber bumper for the hood side.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220225_154346-jpg.359544/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220225_154346-jpg.359544/
And the last area to repair was between the upper and side cowl. This side just had a couple of small pin holes so I was able to just weld them up vs the patches I did on the driver side. This ends up almost completely hidden by the hood hinge as well. With all that done I can finish up on the firewall, which is just a lot of welding and grinding to finish out the new sections I had to add to make it fit correctly. After that is in I can do the floor boards and tunnel area although before I weld any of that in place I might mock up an engine and transmission to make sure that all will fit together before anything is welded in place for keeps.
Brian :cool:

Custer55
02-27-2022, 07:58 PM
Fantasic work there. And kudos to you for taking lots of progress pics and posting here. This will be so rewarding, once you're beyond all this slogging with rusty sheet metal. Keep at it. It's coming along nicely.
Thanks Paul. Just posted a couple more updates.

Custer55
03-06-2022, 06:09 PM
So after a couple of days of welding and grinding the firewall modifications are finally done.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220228_154437-jpg.360185/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220228_154437-jpg.360185/Here is the view from the inside.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220228_154521-jpg.360186/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220228_154521-jpg.360186/And the view from the outside (engine bay side)

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220228_160410-jpg.360187/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220228_160410-jpg.360187/And screwed back in place to check the fit. Fits really good now compared to what it was. The piece in the lower right corner was supplied with the firewall kit that will need to be welded in place once the firewall is installed for good.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220301_163709-jpg.360188/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220301_163709-jpg.360188/To get ready to install the new floorboards I cut out the majority of the old rusty ones. At this point I decided it would probably be a good idea to set up the motor mounts and tranny mounts while the floorboards were out of the way.
Also I can make sure the floorboards and tunnel will clear the transmission that way as well.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220303_141719-jpg.360189/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220303_141719-jpg.360189/With the factory x frame center removed ready to do and engine and transmission mock up.
They must have built the frames from the center out at the factory because after drilling out about 30 rivets I still had to use the plasma cutter to cut up the center piece to get it out.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220303_163147-jpg.360190/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220303_163147-jpg.360190/Using an old Chevy block and a 4L60E (700R4) I have for another project to set up the motor and transmission mounts. Not sure what transmission I will eventually use in this, but if this tranny fits just about anything else I could use should fit. Here I have it pretty close to where it should end up other than being way to low on the transmission end.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220303_163220-jpg.360193/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220303_163220-jpg.360193/Here you can see why the transmission won't go up where it belongs. The end of the tail shaft just fits between the stock x member but the trans pan is way to wide to fit.
I looked at a couple of different kits you can buy to make room for a 700R4 but I wasn't crazy about the design or the cost (about $350. and up) of any of them.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220305_162836-jpg.360194/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220305_162836-jpg.360194/So here is what I decided to do. I am making new rails for the middle of the x member to widen it out enough to fit the size of the 4L60E. I have most of the materials needed left over from previous projects so that was a plus as well.
First step was to cut the outer section of the rails out and weld tabs to the ends to bolt them into the original frame.
The frame has a slight curve to it from front to back so this was the easiest way to match the factory shape.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220306_151220-jpg.360195/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220306_151220-jpg.360195/Here I have the top and bottom pieces added to tie it in to the original x member frame rail. The top and bottom pieces are just 1/8" flat stock. 1 1/2" on the top and 1 1/4" on the bottom. I have the bottom one to the outside to leave more clearance to the transmission on the inside.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220306_151828-jpg.360200/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220306_151828-jpg.360200/Back out on my welding table to finish up on the welding and grinding. I did as much of the welding as possible bolted in place on the frame to minimize any distortion from welding. I will also clamp it down to the table when welding as well. I learned the hard way how much distortion you can get if things are not clamped down and to be patient with letting things cool down as you go.
So that is where I left off today.
Brian :cool:

BamaNomad
03-06-2022, 07:39 PM
Super work Brian!

(from an admirer of your dedication and skill!)..

bigblock
03-07-2022, 06:03 AM
Very nice.

markm
03-07-2022, 10:51 AM
I find it interesting that this site only attracts the guys doing higher end builds.

567chevys
03-07-2022, 11:06 AM
Hello Brian


your work looks great


Sid

Custer55
03-07-2022, 04:32 PM
Super work Brian!

(from an admirer of your dedication and skill!)..
Thanks Gary


Very nice.

Thanks Big block


I find it interesting that this site only attracts the guys doing higher end builds.
Thanks Mark, flattered you consider this a higher end build.


Hello Brian


your work looks great


Sid
Thanks Sid

BamaNomad
03-07-2022, 06:30 PM
I find it interesting that this site only attracts the guys doing higher end builds.

Mark, I think your comment needs elaboration as to why you made that statement?

busterwivell
03-08-2022, 04:11 AM
Mark is incorrect, I'm here.

markm
03-08-2022, 10:03 AM
Mark, I think your comment needs elaboration as to why you made that statement?

Directed toward a couple hacks on the other site, who cried to moderators when you pointed out errors in their ways.

WagonCrazy
03-08-2022, 08:16 PM
Today, 10:03 AM
markm
Registered Member

This message is hidden because markm is on your ignore list.
View Post
Remove user from ignore list
View Post

Its simple guys, put the ding dongs on your ignore list and IGNORE them. :p

Custer55
03-09-2022, 07:45 PM
Finished up on the drivers side x-member mod and moved on to the drivers side. Pretty much the same on the drivers side with the exception of being a bit shorter as the transmission is not quite as wide on the drivers side. Also the new frame section should still allow mounting the brake pedal and master cylinder under the floor as original if I decide to go that route.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220307_130414-jpg.360460/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220307_130414-jpg.360460/
Passenger side all welded in and the front portion of the old x-member cut away. Just behind where I trimmed the rear portion of the x-member the original frame had a cross member. The plan is to add one back in once I finalize the engine and transmission mounts.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220308_160811-jpg.360464/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220308_160811-jpg.360464/
Drivers side frame section all welded up and ready to get welded back in.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220308_163645-jpg.360467/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220308_163645-jpg.360467/
Bolted back into the frame ready to weld in place.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220309_154710-jpg.360471/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220309_154710-jpg.360471/
All welded up and the old x-member section removed.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220309_154729-jpg.360474/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220309_154729-jpg.360474/
Another view from inside the car. You can kind of see where the original cross member was riveted to the x-member in this shot. The original rivet holes are just behind where I cut the x-member off and is most likely where I will tie in a new cross member.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220309_162012-jpg.360483/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220309_162012-jpg.360483/
With my mock up block and transmission back in place and pretty close to the right position looks like everything should have enough clearance. I have the frame level side to side and about 2 degrees down in front to simulate eventual ride height front to rear. The engine and trans are at 2.5 degrees down where they sit right now. The front of the engine can't go much lower as it is about 1/2" above the steering rack where it sits. Should be ok like this but I will raise the tail shaft of the trans a bit if I have room in the tunnel.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220309_162043-jpg.360484/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220309_162043-jpg.360484/
View from above shows plenty of clearance to the transmission pan. I made it about 3" wider than the trans pan so it will clear and be enough room to work around it also (hopefully). It's a little tight in the tail shaft area so a bit more trimming will be needed in that area.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220309_163629-jpg.360485/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220309_163629-jpg.360485/
Here I put the firewall back in place with a few screws and it looks like there should be enough clearance there as well. The trans dipstick tube will be replaced eventually as it is for a 95 Firebird which is what the transmission came out of. Plenty of room for a different shape and length tube though.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220309_163656-jpg.360486/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220309_163656-jpg.360486/
With the new trans tunnel just set in place it looks like it will have good clearance also. Before finalizing engine and trans position I want to set a distributor in place to check that clearance to the firewall and bolt the heads back on the engine to check that as well as the oil pressure sending unit. I will most likely bolt the front fenders and grill in place to make sure there is room for a radiator and fan also. Right now the back of the block is right at the firewall recess so I think it is close to where it needs to be but if have room to set it back a bit more that would be a good thing.
Brian :cool:

bigblock
03-10-2022, 05:34 AM
Nice work.:)

markm
03-10-2022, 07:11 AM
Reminds me of some of the work we did on my Dads 1946 Chevy PU. Looking very nice.

Custer55
03-19-2022, 06:53 PM
Nice work.:)


Reminds me of some of the work we did on my Dads 1946 Chevy PU. Looking very nice.

Thanks guys!!

Custer55
03-19-2022, 07:01 PM
Next up was to check all my clearances and finalize the engine and transmission positions.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220310_163741-jpg.361308/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220310_163741-jpg.361308/
I added a piece of t-bar from an old garage door opener to the balancer that would set across the frame so I could set the engine height and get it centered more easily. Hard to see in the picture but I have a bracket with a threaded adjuster that sits on the crossmember to get the engine level side to side also. I got the transmission set in place at the rear with a piece of square tubing and some shims sitting on the original x-member.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220311_114651-jpg.361312/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220311_114651-jpg.361312/
With the heads and intake bolted in place I pulled and HEI distributor from another engine to check for clearance to the firewall. I had to move the engine forward about an inch to have just a bit more than 1/4" clearance. It will be tight but it should work fine without doing anymore modifications on the firewall.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220311_114706-jpg.361314/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220311_114706-jpg.361314/
Another view shows how tight it is but everything else will have plenty of clearance.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220311_160219-jpg.361316/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220311_160219-jpg.361316/
Next I bolted the fenders and grille back on to check how much room I would have for a radiator and fans and figure out how big of a radiator would fit. The 39 standard is narrower in the front and the stock radiator is 16" wide vs 19" wide on a 39 deluxe.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220311_160233-jpg.361319/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220311_160233-jpg.361319/
Even with a long water pump and fan looks like there should be plenty of room for a radiator. (flex fan is for mock-up only, I won't be using it) I do have a short water pump available which I found later so that will be an extra 1" plus clearance.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220312_154800-jpg.361321/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220312_154800-jpg.361321/
With the hood sides set in place it almost looks like a car again.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220312_154832-jpg.361322/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220312_154832-jpg.361322/
I ended up making a cardboard mock-up of a 39 deluxe - 40 ford radiator because speedway had a Griffin radiator for them as a garage sale item at $215. vs the regular price of over $900. With my short water pump in place It looked like I could maybe make it work with a mechanical fan or electric fans in front of the radiator. Very tight to the hood sides though. I was going to call them to get some exact measurements of the radiator but when I checked back on their website they had already sold it. So much for that plan. They do have some universal fit radiators that will work for around $300. so not the end of the world but of course those will need custom mounts etc. so a lot more work than one that would pretty much bolt in.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220312_154907-jpg.361331/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220312_154907-jpg.361331/
Another view with the cardboard mock-up. Really tight at the hood sides so probably better to get a radiator closer to the original size anyway.
So with the engine position finalized time to work on the motor mounts and transmission crossmember. I ended up ordering a trans pad and motor mount cushions from Speedway Motors for that project.
Brian :cool:

markm
03-20-2022, 07:42 AM
I wish that my 72 K/5 Blazer had the firewall clearance you have. Good news I have got away with very little clearance for almost 40 years.

Belair-o
03-21-2022, 10:29 AM
Hey Brian,
Really nice to see the shape forming up in the pics! What big advances you are making, as so many subassemblies you have built start to coalesce. Thanks for sharing your process and build!
Regards, Doug

Custer55
03-27-2022, 08:16 PM
I wish that my 72 K/5 Blazer had the firewall clearance you have. Good news I have got away with very little clearance for almost 40 years.


Hey Brian,
Really nice to see the shape forming up in the pics! What big advances you are making, as so many subassemblies you have built start to coalesce. Thanks for sharing your process and build!
Regards, Doug
Thanks Mark and Doug.
I will be posting some updates shortly.

Custer55
03-27-2022, 08:21 PM
With all the mock up done to confirm engine and transmission position time to make up some motor mounts and a trans crossmember. I ordered a transmission pad and motor mount cushions from Speedway Motors and built the rest myself.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220312_161319-jpg.362160/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220312_161319-jpg.362160/
For the plates that bolt to the block I had some old mounts from my mock up block that I ended up cutting up to use the flat part that mounts to the block only.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220315_151216-jpg.362161/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220315_151216-jpg.362161/
I made the rest of the mount out of some 2 1/2", 3/16" wall square tubing that I had on hand. After laying out the position on the plate where they would weld together I cut slots in the plate to make a good strong weld joint.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220315_152612-jpg.362162/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220315_152612-jpg.362162/
With the 2 pieces tacked together I have my digital angle finder to make sure it ends up at a 45 degree angle to the plate that will mount to the block. I know it says 44.5 but when I put the angle finder on my table it was .5 in the opposite direction so in total it is at 45 degrees. I have the bolts in the plate because the factory piece was not a completely flat piece as it was a stamped out mount.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220317_094427-jpg.362163/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220317_094427-jpg.362163/
View on the backside of mount. Once I run a couple of weld beads on this side the mount will be very strong.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220314_151849-jpg.362166/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220314_151849-jpg.362166/
While the mount was just tacked up I did check to make sure it would fit well. Looks good from this angle.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220314_152135-jpg.362167/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220314_152135-jpg.362167/
With an old exhaust manifold from a 77 Chevy pickup bolted in place there is plenty of clearance to the mount. These manifolds are the style that go down under the spark plugs so any type I end up using should be fine. And it looks like there should be enough clearance for the steering shaft and universals. The motor mount cushion and frame mount will end up closer to steering shaft but it should be fine.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220317_103116-jpg.362168/
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So with all that confirmed I built the 2nd mount and got them both welded up.

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Next was building the mounts for the frame. These I made out of 3/16" flat plate with the bend at the ends to act as a gusset plate to the frame rails.

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This is the motor mount cushion I will be using. It also has a rubber bushing that sits under the frame mount and a shoulder bolt that holds it to the mount on the block which sits on the top of the cushion.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220318_151506-jpg.362171/
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Here the frame mount is fitted up to the frame. Since the rubber cushion will be about 1" high when it is bolted in a compressed by the shoulder bolt I made a spacer out of 1" square tube to hold the frame mount in the correct position for welding to the frame. At this point I just have 1/4" holes in everything that will just act as pilot holes to eventually drill them out to the proper size which will be 7/16" for the block mounts and 1 1/16" for the frame mounts.

Custer55
03-27-2022, 08:29 PM
https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220318_151538-jpg.362172/
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Drivers side fitted up as well. With both fitted up at the same time I tack welded them in place. Hopefully this way it will all fit well once they are all welded up. Not much margin for error with this style mount set up but it should work well.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220326_141107-jpg.362174/
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With the frame mounts fully welded I got the holes drilled out to size. These were kind of a pain since I had to do it with a hand drill and my step bit I had went from 1" to 1 1/8" and since I needed a 1 1/16" hole I ended up drilling them to 1" and then used a half round file to finish them out to size. The block mounts were easy as I could just unbolt them from the block and drill them out to size on the drill press.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220320_121359-jpg.362175/
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So on to the transmission crossmember. I made this with 3/16" plate as well. My need for a shop press and a press brake reared it's ugly head again on this one. I had to use my welding torch to heat and bend this up which does a decent job but a press brake would make the job much easier and faster. I needed a 3/4" jog up to the trans pad on this so I made a 45 degree bend first, then clamped it down to my welding table and tack welded a 3/4" piece of rectangular tubing to the table, then heated and bent the tab over onto the tubing to get the jog I needed.

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To make sure this would not have any flex to it I added a 1" rib in the center and gusset plated to the trans pad tab.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220322_112745-jpg.362178/
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View from the bottom side shows the gusset plates added to that side of the trans pad. Should be plenty strong with these welded in.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220324_151746-jpg.362180/
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The last step was to weld in nuts on the frame so I will just need bolts from the bottom to bolt it in place. I trimmed back the original x-member a bit but left enough in place to add the original cross member back in and have two extra bolts on the trans crossmember. On the sides where I widened out the x-member I welded the nuts to plates bent to a 90 degree angle so that they are also welded into the upright part to the frame to add some strength at that point.

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The last step of the x-member modification was to weld the original frame cross member back in place. I debated over if I even need this back in place and/or modifying the original pieces vs just making something all new. As I had been working on the trans cross member It became pretty obvious it needed to be in there as I noticed the outer frame rail would actually twist when I stepped on the running boards. I ended up trimming the original piece and modifying them to fit as you can see in the photo. I think this was the right call as I was able to mostly bolt them back in place to outer frame rails using the original rivet holes. That way I only had to clean up a couple of spots to weld vs cleaning up the entire inside frame rail to completely weld in something new. They for sure do the intended job as there is no twist at all in the outer frame rail now when stepping on the running board.

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View of the cross member from the front of the car. I will eventually get some shorter button head bolts on the ends so they look more like rivets but it looks good for now.

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With the mock up block and transmission back in place and on the new mounts everything has plenty of clearance.
Everything bolted up good without having to fight with it as well so that was a relief.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220327_161211-jpg.362185/
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And lastly the view from the front of the engine. My only concern with this style of engine mount was clearance for the steering shaft but it looks like that won't be a problem at all. The harmonic balancer (6 3/4") is a bit close to the steering rack but should be fine as it clears by close to a half inch. If I end up needing more clearance It would be easy enough to add a spacer between the motor mount cushion and the block mount. I plan to make sure I install the floor boards with enough clearance that the transmission could be raised a bit also if needed.
So now finally I can get back to working on the floor boards!!
Brian :cool:

TrifiveRichard
03-28-2022, 05:35 AM
Looking good, Brian. Nice work, you’ve been busy!

BamaNomad
03-28-2022, 05:49 AM
Outstanding fab work (as usual for you), Brian! :)

PS. I think I recall you saying you planned to sell this car when finished... :) I suspect you may change your mind after all the work you've put in, and the great quality to your work! I'm wishing it were mine!

bigblock
03-28-2022, 06:05 AM
looking good...

busterwivell
03-28-2022, 06:52 AM
That kind of work just amazes me. I should just throw out my tool boxes. Outstanding work, Brian!

markm
03-28-2022, 08:47 AM
Interesting block you are using for mock-up, its not drilled for front motor mounts or ps bracket on drivers side.

Custer55
03-28-2022, 05:49 PM
Looking good, Brian. Nice work, you’ve been busy!
Thanks Richard, I try to work on it at least 4 or 5 hours everyday. That way I am making steady progress without overdoing it.


Outstanding fab work (as usual for you), Brian! :)

PS. I think I recall you saying you planned to sell this car when finished... :) I suspect you may change your mind after all the work you've put in, and the great quality to your work! I'm wishing it were mine!
Thanks Gary, You are correct that the plan was to sell the car when I get it drivable but we'll see. I am sure not going to give it away!!


looking good...
Thanks BB


That kind of work just amazes me. I should just throw out my tool boxes. Outstanding work, Brian!
Thanks, I'm still learning so it's never to late to start.


Interesting block you are using for mock-up, its not drilled for front motor mounts or ps bracket on drivers side.
Good eye Mark, Weird thing is the passenger side is drilled and tapped but the drivers side is not. Not sure what year but it is a 350. Got it cheap many years ago intending to have it rebuilt but it turned out to not be worth the trouble as it had a lot of rust inside so I just kept it to use for mock up. Guess I could make a table or something out of it too if I wanted.

Custer55
04-03-2022, 09:19 PM
So with the engine and transmission mounts wrapped up I finally got back to installing the floor board and tunnel kit from Bitchin Products. I went back and read their instructions for installation and was more confused about where to start than before I read them. They want you to start by installing the tunnel first which does not go all the way to the firewall, then the floor boards, then the toe kicks and finally the fire wall to tunnel piece. It made more sense to me to start from the firewall and work my way back so I just ignored the instructions and did it my own way.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220328_155143-jpg.362820/
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I started with the passenger side toe kick piece. Here I have it fitted up ready to screw in place after some trimming and re-shaping.

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Here I have the drivers side toe kick and floor pan fitted up and screwed in place. On the floor pan I also have all the body mounts located, drilled and bolted in place with spacers to simulate the rubber body cushions that will eventually go between the floor pan and frame. The floor pans came with a flange on the rearward end but I ended up hammering that out of them as I plan to do a but weld to the rear floor pan pieces. Hard to see in the picture but I also added a flange at the front to go around the area where I repaired the lower cowl area and where it meets the toe kick panel. The body mount bolt at the bottom of the door pillar I just made a hole in the floor pan to clear it as I didn't want to have to remove that bolt every time I took the pan in and out for fitting.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220401_143916-jpg.362825/
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Here I have the passenger side floor pan fitted up and checking the fit on the tunnel. The tunnel piece came with about a 1 1/4" flange on it that the floor boards are supposed to sit on top of. When I test fit the tunnel with the flanges I didn't like how it was fitting so I took those bends out and hammered them flat as best I could.

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In this shot and the next you can see where the flange was before I flattened it out. I have it propped up where I want it to end up which is about 3/4" higher than it was.

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View from the other side. As you can see I have the new tunnel sitting right on top of the original tunnel at the back and where the flange was it would not have lined up very well in this area. After quite a bit of measuring side to side I determined It needed to be a 1/2" flange to make it all line up properly. The good thing in doing this is there will be much better clearance for the transmission this way.

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Making the new flanges was pretty easy. I just scribed a line 1/2" from the edge on the inside of the tunnel and clamped it down to my welding table with the scribed line right on the edge. I had ground a slight radius on the edge of the table so it wouldn't be such a sharp bend as well. This one is clamped in place ready to hammer over the edge of the table.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220401_161036-jpg.362829/
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Hammered over to form the flange. I just used a rubber dead blow hammer for this which worked well. The first one I did I bent it to far (forgot it didn't need to be a 90 degree bend) so I had to hammer it back some. The rest I was more careful not to bend it to far.

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All the new flanges bent and ready to fit up to the floorboards.

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Initial test fit shows there is anywhere from a bit of a gap to a bit of an overlap so I will be trimming it to fit for a butt weld to the floorboards.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220403_154141-jpg.362832/
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All fitted up and tack welded together. At this point I will be able to remove the screws and bolts holding the floorboards in place and remove it in one big piece to finish out the weld seams and add a few filler pieces in the middle and the end of the tunnel. Lots of work left to do but at least the big gapping rust holes in the floor will be gone soon!!
Brian :cool:

Belair-o
04-04-2022, 06:13 AM
Hi Brian,
Nice job! I agree with comments that have been posted in your thread: after all this work, and your intimate knowledge of everything in the construction of the car, it would be hard to sell with so much blood, sweat, and tears invested.
Nice job! Doug

Custer55
04-04-2022, 07:41 PM
Hi Brian,
Nice job! I agree with comments that have been posted in your thread: after all this work, and your intimate knowledge of everything in the construction of the car, it would be hard to sell with so much blood, sweat, and tears invested.
Nice job! Doug

Thanks Doug

Custer55
04-10-2022, 07:06 PM
Work continues with the floorboards and firewall. With the floorboards tacked together I took them out and finished up welding them together then put them back in to fit up the last part of the tunnel and the small patches between the tunnel and toe kick pieces.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220406_121804-jpg.363334/
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Last piece of the tunnel fit up and screwed in place. As I expected I had to flatten out the flanges on this piece like I had done on the tunnel.

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With that piece back out I fitted up pieces to fill in the gaps in the corner. Just tacked to the tunnel and floorboards for now until everything gets welded in for keeps, then it will weld to the toe kick piece as well. Passenger side in this shot, drivers side piece is about the same.

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With the rest of the small pieces fitted up and all the welding done this part is ready for permanent installation.

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View of what will be the bottom side of the car. I will need to re-prime this before welding it in for good as the frame center section makes parts of it hard to get at. May have to do a spray bomb job on this side as the epoxy primer I am using (Tamco) needs temps in the 60 to 65 range minimum to cure properly. It's been a cool spring here so that may not happen for a while yet here in central Wisconsin.

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So finally I am ready to weld in the firewall for good. With the engine and trans back out I had a few other things to take care of though. First was to get rid of all the old sealer in the windshield / door post area, and it will be much easier to do this before the firewall goes back in. I decided to just remove it all since it is half dried up and pulling away from the body so it's more of a dirt and moisture collector at this point.

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Looks much better with all that mess out of there. Metal all looks good yet other than surface rust on this side (drivers side) Areas like this I have been using up the leftover epoxy primer when I spray parts by using a small brush to get it in all the nooks and crannies to seal everything up well. I will never drive this car in the winter, and rarely in the rain so I figure it is better to just leave ways for water that may get inside to be able to drain out vs filling areas with big gobs of sealer like the factory did.

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Shot of the passenger side with all the old sealer cleaned out. That little white dot in the picture is a small rust pinhole most likely caused by moisture getting behind the big clump of sealer so that will need to be repaired.

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Sucks that the pinhole was behind the door hinge so the door and hinge had to come back off to get at it. Good that I did though as I found a couple more small rust pinholes in the same area as well. Thankfully all small enough to just weld them shut vs having to make any patch panels.

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All the holes welded up and ready for some primer. Again probably just some spray can stuff for now until the weather warms up.

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And finally I got some primer on the edges of the cowl and firewall so it can get welded back in. I made some small round pieces of masking tape with a leather punch to keep the primer off the plug weld areas. I though about getting some weld thru primer for this but when I looked at it online is was pretty costly and some of the reviews sounded like it was hard to get good welds with it too.
I did get the firewall back in place today and got it about 75% welded back in but didn't get and pictures of that yet.
Slow progress but getting there slow but sure.
Brian :cool:

bigblock
04-11-2022, 06:24 AM
Nice...wish you were working on my 56.

Custer55
04-11-2022, 05:09 PM
Nice...wish you were working on my 56.

Thanks, ;)
Another project is the last thing I need right now. Trying to find the time to do some wiring upgrades on my 55 and promised my son I would help him with an exhaust system project on one of his cars.
Brian

markm
04-11-2022, 05:38 PM
I dont think these cars are ever truly done, my 56 has been on the road for almost 20 years after a almost 30 year nap and I am still screwing with it.

Custer55
04-24-2022, 07:54 PM
Not much to show this time. I got the firewall all welded back in and the toe kick panels welded in place along with filling in a couple of small gaps between the firewall and toe kicks so every thing is sealed up nice. Then I got a coat of primer and a couple coats of spray can semi gloss black on the underside of the front floor pan.
While giving that paint a few days to dry (slowly with the cool temps we have had this spring) I wanted to figure out a brake pedal master cylinder set up before the floor boards get welded in for good. This will be much easier to work on without the floor boards in place. I looked at some brake pedal / master cylinder assemblies online and found a couple that would work but before spending the money on one of those I pulled out the original brake and clutch assembly to see if I could make that work since it will bolt up to the original x-member section that I left in place when that was modified.
After some major heating with the welding torch to drive out the pin holding the clutch pedal on I was able to get it all apart and the bushings inside are all in very good shape so I should be able to make it work by making brackets to hold a more modern booster and master cylinder. More on that later.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220411_121457-jpg.364362/
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Here the firewall is about 3/4 of the way done welding back in place with the screws holding it in on the passenger side yet. On the drivers side lower section I have the edge of the cowl hemmed back over the firewall so it all looks like the original seam again.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20220412_094554-jpg.364363/
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In this shot the passenger side is all welded up and hemmed over as well. It looks good to have it back in place now and no more rust. That's all the pictures I have to this point. I have been working on a project on my 55 Chevy (yes I still have a tri-five) for the last week and a half since it dawned on me that I better get it done soon or it will have to be put off another year as driving season is almost here even with our lousy weather this spring.
Post on that project coming soon.

Belair-o
04-25-2022, 12:16 PM
Smooth! Nice job!

TrifiveRichard
04-25-2022, 02:56 PM
It's going to be very nice when you're done, Brian. With all the work, you might consider putting an LS or LT motor in it. They idle/run very smooth, have lots of power, don't leak oil, and are easy to install (at least my experience). Good work!

BamaNomad
04-25-2022, 09:10 PM
I agree totally with Richard! (might be the first time??? *L* .. Not really, we usually agree but have no problems voicing our differences when we don't!)..

I too think you might want to consider an LS engine... pretty reasonably priced, great performance and mileage, and lighter weight on the front of that 39! :)

markm
04-26-2022, 06:18 AM
More of a traditional SBC guy muself never cared for ugly plastic engine covers.

TrifiveRichard
04-26-2022, 01:34 PM
There are really nice two piece polished aluminum valve/coil covers available, not cheap, but nice. A number of manufacturers make them.

55 Rescue Dog
04-26-2022, 05:19 PM
More of a traditional SBC guy muself never cared for ugly plastic engine covers.
I have no idea of what your beautiful SBC looks like, but after many daily driven SBC's I've seen, the LS engines are a work of art, covers and all. Chrome valve covers and air cleaner were all it took decades ago to look cool, but no faster.

Custer55
04-26-2022, 07:38 PM
Thanks guys. A LS engine would be nice but the plan for this car is a small block chevy with a carb. Trying to keep it as simple and low budget as possible so the most modern technology will be an electronic ignition distributor.

markm
04-27-2022, 06:37 AM
I have no idea of what your beautiful SBC looks like, but after many daily driven SBC's I've seen, the LS engines are a work of art, covers and all. Chrome valve covers and air cleaner were all it took decades ago to look cool, but no faster.

When you pop the hood with 3x2 carbs or a Tunnel Ram with 2x4s you don't need a plastic cover.

55 Rescue Dog
04-27-2022, 04:47 PM
When you pop the hood with 3x2 carbs or a Tunnel Ram with 2x4s you don't need a plastic cover.
Is that what you are running? Still waiting for a pic.

Custer55
10-20-2022, 05:52 PM
Hard to believe it's been almost 6 months since I posted an update on the project, Just haven't had much time to work on it this summer as I have been busy on other projects and family obligations. Then I got covid at the end of July so that slowed me down for 3 or 4 weeks. Felt like crap for a couple of weeks and it took over a month to start feeling normal again. Finally got some time to start working on the 39 again in late September.
Just for a change of pace I decided to see if the engine I had bought from a co-worker about 20 years ago would run.
Actually was a whole car minus the transmission. He had bought the whole car just to get the transmission and only wanted $50 for the rest so I took a chance on it as he said the engine still ran good. Just a 305 from a 78 Caprice so it won't have much power but a running engine is better than nothing.
So to test it out I just bolted it in the frame and wired the starter to a battery and HEI with an old ignition switch. The intake was for a 2 barrel carb which I don't have so I just squirted some starter fluid down the intake to see what would happen.
When I turned the key it fired right up. Also when turning the engine over by hand it seems to have really good compression so I decided to clean it up and take a chance on getting it running.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20221006_093719-jpg.379347/
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Here is what it looked like after cleaning off the really built up grease and oil. The intake is aluminum from the factory but is just a 2 barrel. I had a 4 barrel intake from a 77 Chevy pickup with a 350 so I got that cleaned up and repainted and found a used Quadrajet on ebay for $62. Seller said he had it rebuilt at a shop in CA and only used it for 5,000 miles, so hopefully that will work ok. It also came with 2 sets of new Edelbrock jets and metering rods so those alone are worth the purchase price.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20221008_203130-jpg.379348/
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After a couple days of cleaning with lacquer thinner and a small brush and wire wheels for the rusty areas it is ready for some paint. The oil pan and timing cover were still rusty but if those gaskets need to be replaced I can clean those up better and repaint them at that point.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20221008_203141-jpg.379349/
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Easier to see in this picture where I added a timing tab and balancer mark. The timing tab was behind the long water pump which won't work with the short pump I plan to use, new tab and position takes care of that problem.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20221010_180240-jpg.379350/
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With a fresh coat of paint and clear coat looking much better. I won't be using the valve covers on it now. Those are from my 55 engine which was from a 62 Chevy. Just using them to keep dirt and debris out of the engine.

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Here are the valve covers from this engine cleaned up and repainted ready to go back on.

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Here it is all put back together with new gaskets and grommets. The carb is just sitting on the intake in this shot. I will bolt it place after the engine is back in the frame. The headers I got from ebay for $98. including shipping and sales tax. Obviously from China at that price but they are stainless steel tubing and the quality and welds look decent. The only complaint I have with them is they tuck in a little to close to the block and both sides are the same (unlike my $400. Sanderson headers on my 55 which don't tuck as tight on the passenger side) so routing the exhaust around the starter will be a pain, but should work ok.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20221018_155110-jpg.379353/
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View from the other side. Starter is just cleaned up and repainted, and the plug wires are the originals just cleaned up.
Still need to get some wire separators to route the plug wires better. So far the only purchased parts are the headers, carb, and gaskets. Everything else is cleaned up and repainted original parts. We shall see how good it runs once I get it bolted back in the fame which is my engine test run stand for now. Before that happens though I need to get the under floor brake pedal set up so I can get the rest of the floor boards welded back in.
That will be the subject of my next post.
Brian :cool:

BamaNomad
10-20-2022, 08:26 PM
Brian,

That engine will work perfectly for your 39 Ford... :) We'll be seeing it on the road before long... :)

busterwivell
10-21-2022, 04:57 AM
You won't set any land speed records with it, but you'll have all the power you need to keep up with traffic. I like to go the route you did, some used engines work out just fine, and you did a great job with the clean up, paint up work on it.

markm
10-21-2022, 04:51 PM
My Dad mused on of those free 305s with a fresh TH350 and a 79 Camaro 8.5 posi with 3.08 gears. I t scoots around town nicely with no need for an ugly plastic engine cover.

Custer55
02-26-2023, 09:53 PM
I haven't worked on the 39 much for the last 6 to 9 months as my wife and her 2 sisters decided last spring to sell their parents house they inherited about 7 years ago. Being a house that was originally built about 1960 it needed some work before putting it up for sale, so that kept me busy most of last summer. Naturally there was plenty of things to clean out of the place as well so some of what we brought to our house led to some projects for my shop this winter.
Also my son took a job out of state so helping him move in early September kept us busy for a while as well.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20221106_115433-jpg.389801/
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This was my 1st project. The cabinet doors came from my father in laws work shop and I built the rest from wood he had stashed in the rafters. I put lots of shelves inside so it keeps things more organized and much cleaner than being on the open shelf unit I had.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230111_121243-jpg.389802/
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The next project was my work bench make over. I added 5 drawers, gave it a paint job and covered the top with laminate that was in the rafters of the in-laws garage as well. I had to do the top in 5 pieces but it's hard to tell in the picture. Nice to have a surface that is easier to clean up. We will see how well it holds up though.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230210_113648-jpg.389803/
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Next up was motorizing my bead roller. I had bought this over a year ago and hadn't used it much mostly because with a hand crank it is pretty much a 2 person operation. Turning the hand crank while trying to guide a piece through the rollers on the other end by yourself is almost impossible. Eastwood has a nice kit to motorize bead rollers but is almost $400. dollars. So after looking on you tube to see what others had done I remembered I had a 1500 lb. ATV winch I inherited from my uncle about 10 years ago, so that is what I used to power up mine.
I made a few minor mods to the winch but it wasn't to hard to do. Just had to cut off one of the flanges off the part that holds the winch cable and I took the spring out of the winch reversing switch so it stays in the forward or reverse position instead of returning to the neutral position when you release it. I made a foot pedal switch with a cheap horn button and a couple of blocks of wood. It is wired through a relay so it doesn't need to be a heavy duty switch.
I am using an old battery charger for the power source which has a 6 volt and 12 volt setting. That gives me 2 speeds at least for now. It runs half speed on 6 volt vs 12 volt. If that doesn't work out I will look into getting a variable speed control box for it.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230210_111723-jpg.389804/
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This is the bracket that I made from the 1 that came with the winch to bolt it to the bead roller.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230210_113725-jpg.389805/
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For the drive sprockets I had an old small block Chevy timing chain set. I welded a 1" shaft collar on the cam sprocket and brazed a 1 1/4" shaft collar to the crank sprocket. (crank sprocket was way to oily to weld) This worked good as it cuts the speed of the winch in half as well. I had to file down the shaft of the winch some to get the sprocket to slide on. A small lathe would have been nice to have for that (someday!!). Another nice thing with using the winch is that it has a knob on the end that you pull out so the cable shaft free wheels from the winch gear drive. This is so you can pull the cable out of the winch without running the winch motor but it will come in pretty handy if I ever need to turn the bead roller by hand.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230211_111044-jpg.389806/
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Here is some test pieces I ran with it. From left to right is 16 gauge, 18 gauge and a 20 or 22 gauge.
I will need to make some bracing for the frame if I need to do anything heavier than 18 gauge as the bead roller frame flexes quite a bit with 18 gauge (which is what it is rated for) and way to much with 16 gauge.
The winch motor seems to have plenty of power to do the job though.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230218_143547-jpg.389807/
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And this was my next project. A 12 ton bottle jack came home with me from my in-laws house so what else are you going to do with that but build a shop press. The only things I had to buy for this project was some nuts and bolts, return springs and 4 five foot pieces of 2 1/2" x 1/4" flat stock. The rest I had left over from other projects.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230218_143754-jpg.389808/
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I made the arbor plates from a 12 x 12 x 2 1/4" thick piece of steel that my father in-law had in his work shop as well.
He worked at a paper mill so I am assuming that is where it came from. They are way overkill and were a bitch to cut as my cutting torch is only good for 1 1/2" thick or so steel, I used up a bunch of cut off wheels on 1 cut and then tried to drill a series of holes and then the cut off wheels on the next cut. Nothing in my shop worked very well so I am glad that is done. A band saw or a bigger cutting torch would be the way to go I guess. I welded some tabs to the jack base to bolt that in place and the control valve got a bolt welded to the end of it so I could use an old 4 wheel drive shift knob for that. I think it came off of a 77 Chevy 1/2 ton and works much nicer than using the jack handle.

Custer55
02-26-2023, 09:55 PM
I had to much for one post so here is the rest.


https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230226_161723-jpg.389811/
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And the last project before getting back to work on the 39 Ford was a small press brake. It is 12" wide at the dies so It should work with most anything I will have to do. I made the lower die so it bolts to the base so if I need something different for the lower die I can easily swap it out. I still need to get some springs for the guide shafts but it's not to hard to just lift the upper die as it is not that big.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230226_161652-jpg.389812/
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Here it is apart along with a couple of test bends. Seems to to do a good job on this 1/8" stuff, The bigger one is for the 39 Ford brake pedal mount. Should be good for anything I will need to bend as 3/16" is about the heaviest I ever work with. Probably would work on 1/4" too if it wasn't to wide.
So hopefully my next post will be sooner rather than later and I will have some progress on the 39 Ford project to report on.
Brian :cool:

TrifiveRichard
02-27-2023, 05:56 AM
You’ve been very busy, Brian. The tools you made look great.

Custer55
02-27-2023, 06:57 AM
Thanks Richard!

Belair-o
02-27-2023, 08:06 AM
Hi Brian,
Really nice shop improvements! The workbench looks so nice, I would be afraid to use it and put the first mark on it (like a new car!). I loved the timing chain usage - sweet! :)
Regards, Doug

Custer55
02-27-2023, 05:05 PM
Thanks Doug,
I have been using blocks of wood to protect the new surface, and being more careful how I set things down.

WagonCrazy
02-28-2023, 09:20 AM
Tooling up is always a good move. Especially when there's more work to do on cars. Like all that you've done. Great re-use of existing stuff.

Custer55
02-28-2023, 05:10 PM
Tooling up is always a good move. Especially when there's more work to do on cars. Like all that you've done. Great re-use of existing stuff.

Thanks,
I did get a couple of springs for the press brake today, so that will make that easier to use. Finally able to get some work done on the 39 today too.
Brian :cool:

chevynut
02-28-2023, 09:50 PM
Nice job on those tools. I used my new Mittler Brothers bead roller a couple times and the motor crapped out on me. I got the 20 gauge version and it barely does that. They make one with a better motor and drive, and they sell an upgrade kit, but it's like $900.

I also bought a weld-up press brake similar to the one you built from SWAG Off-Road. It was only like $150 when I bought it and it works great even on 3/8" thick steel. Price has gone up. They make a lot of pretty nice stuff....I have their hydraulic ram kit for my JD3 tube bender that saves a lot of work.

https://www.swagoffroad.com/products/swag-20-ton-press-brake-diy-builder-kit?variant=41836772819129&currency=USD&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&srsltid=Ad5pg_H57cLIKcOKH9mFokCIy-b6CBwE2OGSPGtpZ6mGOfMR0fvEAZCxufI

Custer55
03-01-2023, 01:45 PM
Nice job on those tools. I used my new Mittler Brothers bead roller a couple times and the motor crapped out on me. I got the 20 gauge version and it barely does that. They make one with a better motor and drive, and they sell an upgrade kit, but it's like $900.

I also bought a weld-up press brake similar to the one you built from SWAG Off-Road. It was only like $150 when I bought it and it works great even on 3/8" thick steel. Price has gone up. They make a lot of pretty nice stuff....I have their hydraulic ram kit for my JD3 tube bender that saves a lot of work.

https://www.swagoffroad.com/products/swag-20-ton-press-brake-diy-builder-kit?variant=41836772819129&currency=USD&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&srsltid=Ad5pg_H57cLIKcOKH9mFokCIy-b6CBwE2OGSPGtpZ6mGOfMR0fvEAZCxufI

Thanks,
I did look at the swagoffroad site. They have nice looking stuff and the prices aren't too bad especially if get the weld it yourself option.

Custer55
03-05-2023, 06:08 PM
Finally back to working on the 39 my first project is getting the brake pedal set up before welding the front floor pan in place. I had started on this a while ago and just never got it finished until now.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230228_163034-jpg.390379/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230228_163034-jpg.390379/This is the original brake and clutch pedal set up for the 39 along with a the 2 mount bracket pieces I made up for the original mount to eventually bolt up to. I won't be using the clutch pedal as I will be using an automatic transmission but will be using the center shaft of the clutch pedal as it holds the brake pedal in place and has the grease zerk to keep it all lubed up.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230301_103126-jpg.390380/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230301_103126-jpg.390380/Here I have my two brackets bolted up to the original pedal bracket to weld them together in proper alignment.
I have a jog bend in the one to move the brake pedal over the left about 1 1/4" from stock as it seemed to close to the new wider trans tunnel in the stock position.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230301_103200-jpg.390382/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230301_103200-jpg.390382/Here it is from another view. The flat piece I made has the original master cylinder 3 bolt pattern and the 4 bolt pattern to bolt up a power brake booster.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230304_120305-jpg.390383/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230304_120305-jpg.390383/Here it is welded in place in the frame. I added some gussets at the top and bottom to make is stronger where the booster will bolt on. Probably overkill as the original pedal bracket acts as a gusset as well but better safe than sorry.
On the end of the center shaft where the clutch pedal would have been I made a temp shaft collar just for mock up purposes. The plan is to make a more heavy duty one when I get some heavier tubing on my next trip to the steel supply house.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230305_160846-jpg.390384/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230305_160846-jpg.390384/View with the original bracket removed.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230304_115417-jpg.390385/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230304_115417-jpg.390385/View from the engine compartment side. With moving the pedal over the top part of the frame x-member had to be trimmed out to clear the brake pedal in it's new position. I added a gusset on the opposite side to compensate for that.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230304_120425-jpg.390386/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230304_120425-jpg.390386/So in the process of fitting up the pedal mount and getting the brake pedal in the position I wanted I ended up with to big of a hole in the floor board for the pedal to come through. So this will need to be fixed.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230305_133700-jpg.390387/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230305_133700-jpg.390387/I ended up cutting the hole in the floor board bigger and made a patch with a hole just big enough for the pedal to go through. I should be able to get a rubber seal that will cover this smaller opening.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230305_135911-jpg.390389/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230305_135911-jpg.390389/Tack welded in position. The brake pedal just clears the opening at the top now and can go through it's full range of motion with rubbing on anything.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230305_160827-jpg.390390/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230305_160827-jpg.390390/All welded up and finished out. Now I will need to get a booster and master cylinder ordered so I can properly locate an access door for the master cylinder and possibly one to get to a couple of bolts for the booster and pedal bracket.
I should have ordered the booster and master before I set all this up but I took good measurements off the booster in my 55 so I am pretty confident everything will fit.
Brian :cool:

Custer55
03-12-2023, 08:01 PM
Went to order a brake booster and master cylinder and everything I could find is a week out at best. Nothing I can do but wait I guess so this week between shoveling snow 3 times this week including today and tomorrow morning as well, I got some odds and ends taken care of.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230307_153908-jpg.391084/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230307_153908-jpg.391084/
I did get the front floor boards screwed in place and all the body mount holes located. Also drilled an access hole to get to one of the bolts on the brake pedal bracket easier to get at. Once I get the booster and master I will be able to get that bolted in place and locate an access door for the mater cylinder. Then it can finally be welded in place for keeps.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230309_115627-jpg.391086/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230309_115627-jpg.391086/
The first project of the week was to get the bracket for the cowl vent opening lever off the old firewall and weld in in place on the new firewall. Now I can open and close the vent like the original.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230309_115557-jpg.391085/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230309_115557-jpg.391085/
View from the other side. Still need a handle for the end of the lever as the original is long gone, but after some oil and a bit of grease it works nicely.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230309_145953-jpg.391087/
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Next up was the hood hinges. They are in decent shape other than the rust pits on the backside and the rivets holding the arms in place had quite a bit of play in them.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230309_151555-jpg.391088/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230309_151555-jpg.391088/
To get the play out of them after making sure the rivets themselves did not need to rotate in the hinge frame, I pushed the rivets up as tight as I could against the frame and then tack welded around the rivet to take out most of the play.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230309_154455-jpg.391089/
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I then ground the weld out as best I could to make the rivet head look somewhat close to original on the rivet that will be somewhat visible with the hood open. The one closer to the bolt stud won't matter as it will not show when the hinge is bolted in place.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230309_160845-jpg.391090/
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At the bottom of the photo is the original rubber gasket that went between the cowl and the hinge. Pretty sure this is what caused the rust pitting on the inside of the hinges and the rust holes in the cowl as well. To hopefully eliminate that problem I am replacing the big gasket with rubber washers just where the bolts go so dirt and water can just pass through instead of getting trapped behind the hinges.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230309_162243-jpg.391093/
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And bolted back in place. Once I get everything coated in epoxy primer I can bolt the hood on and see how they work. Should be much better with most of the play out of the hinge arms.
(continued below)

Custer55
03-12-2023, 08:07 PM
Next up was to get the brackets for the core support rods back on the firewall.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230310_160905-jpg.391097/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230310_160905-jpg.391097/They were riveted in place originally. I just drilled the bottom holes bigger and welded the top holes in the brackets shut and drilled holes in the top edge of the cowl to plug weld them in place. Looks much neater this way and besides I don't have original style rivets or rivet tools.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230311_151551-jpg.391098/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230311_151551-jpg.391098/And the last project this week was getting the lower pieces in place to finish off the firewall installation.
Drivers side tacked and plug welded in place ready to weld up solid.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230311_162920-jpg.391099/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230311_162920-jpg.391099/All welded up and ground out. This makes the lower cowl section and the body mount just behind the brace super solid.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230311_162935-jpg.391100/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230311_162935-jpg.391100/And a view from the outside of the car. A little body filler on the upper seam and it will look pretty good.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230312_160347-jpg.391101/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230312_160347-jpg.391101/And the passenger side fitted up and tacked in place today between shoveling and plowing snow today. More snow coming tonight but I should have time to finish this up tomorrow after more shoveling and plowing. I really am ready for spring!! I should have the new brake booster and master cylinder by Tuesday so then I can get back to that project and then back on the floor boards.
Brian :cool:

chevynut
03-12-2023, 08:42 PM
Nice work on rebuilding those parts. What kind of booster are you planning to use? I have a new never used dual 7" chrome (or stainless??) one that I bought but don't need it now.

13257

Custer55
03-12-2023, 09:40 PM
Thanks, the one I have on order is a 7" single diaphram. Went with that beause of the limited space under the floor. I looked at some dual diaphram but decided against because of the tight space it will have to fit into.
Thanks for asking though.

chevynut
03-12-2023, 10:15 PM
Thanks, the one I have on order is a 7" single diaphram. Went with that beause of the limited space under the floor. I looked at some dual diaphram but decided against because of the tight space it will have to fit into.
Thanks for asking though.

I thought the single 7" booster was basically worthless....that's what everyone told me at the time, so I bought the dual 7". It's the same diameter as the single....is your space limit front to rear? I can get you a measurement of mine if you want.

Custer55
03-13-2023, 06:42 AM
Its the space front to rear that is the issue. The dual is about an 1" and a half longer than the single.
I have a single with a 1" master on my 55 and the brakes are good, (very good since I put on new pads and rotors and did the proper break in procedure).

Belair-o
03-13-2023, 08:34 AM
Hi Brian,
Wondering what you have for the "proper beak in procedure". My brakes aren't stopping like I would expect.
Thanks, Doug

Custer55
03-13-2023, 10:03 AM
The last few sets for a couple of different vehicles have been from power stop brakes. The procedure varies depending on the pads.
Generally speaking though it is making some hard to moderate stops from 40 to 15, then from 30 to 10 mph and then driving for 5 or 10 minutes to let them cool down.
The 1st time I did it was on my 07 Sierra and it does make a noticeable difference. You could probably just google how to bed in brake pads to get a more detailed procedure.

Belair-o
03-14-2023, 07:20 AM
Hi Brian,
Thanks! I have done similar, and not absolutely satisfied with the braking. No easy answers.
Thanks, Doug

Custer55
03-19-2023, 07:23 PM
I received my brake booster and master cylinder last Tuesday so time to get that set up. As I thought would be the case I needed to space the booster away from my mount bracket I had previously welded in place as the booster to brake pedal rod couldn't be shortened enough to bolt in on directly. Turns out I needed about 1 3/4" more room so I went with a 2" spacer and made my booster rod to brake pedal rod a bit longer to compensate.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230316_144728-jpg.391916/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230316_144728-jpg.391916/
Spacer brackets bolted to the booster. I made these out of 1 1/2" by 2" 1/8" wall rectangular tubing by cutting off one side of the tubing to make a 2" x 1 1/4" channel and then drilling holes for the booster and mounting plate I have welded to the frame. This is the main reason I made a 2" spacer as it was much easier and more accurate to make this way than bending up a piece of flat stock.


https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230316_144742-jpg.391919/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230316_144742-jpg.391919/
Another view, the notches are for the bolt heads that hold the original pedal bracket to my frame brackets.
The booster is a 7" diameter as that is the biggest that will fit under the floor.


https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230318_120700-jpg.391920/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230318_120700-jpg.391920/
The next step was to make end pieces top and bottom to add some strength and turn the whole thing into a 1 piece spacer. I made the end pieces from what I had cut off the rectangular tubing and tacked them in place with the channel brackets bolted to the booster to keep everything aligned properly.


https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230318_155830-jpg.391921/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230318_155830-jpg.391921/
Here is the finished spacer which I ended up adding spacers on the top end as when I test fitted everything the booster and master ended a a bit to close to the floorboards. The spacers tip the whole assembly a bit down to gain just enough clearance.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230318_160546-jpg.391922/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230318_160546-jpg.391922/
Spacer, booster and master cylinder bolted together ready for a test fit in the car. I didn't get a picture but I made the booster to brake pedal clevis coupler out of a piece of 5/8" od, 1/4" id dom round tubing. Just had to drill it out, tap it for 3/8 - 24 thread and file a couple of flat spots on each end to fit a 9/16" wrench.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230319_161700-jpg.391926/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230319_161700-jpg.391926/
All bolted up and attached to the brake pedal it all works well. I did make sure I will be able to get all this in and out with the floorboards in place and marked the floor boards for the master cylinder access hole. I had made an access hole for one one of the bolts on the original pedal bracket and will need to make it slightly bigger to get at one bolt/nut on the booster and booster spacer.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230319_161730-jpg.391927/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230319_161730-jpg.391927/
View from the other side of the car. I have one spot that the booster just clears the center section of the frame so I will eventually grind that down a bit but otherwise it is a tight fit, but it fits. The master cylinder has ports on both sides so I will decide which side to run the lines off of when I get to that point.
So the next project is to get the floorboard access holes cut out and prep it to final weld in place.
Brian :cool:

BamaNomad
03-19-2023, 07:41 PM
It's looking good Brian!

Custer55
03-19-2023, 07:51 PM
It's looking good Brian!

Thanks Gary, Slow but sure I'm making progress!

chevynut
03-19-2023, 08:02 PM
Like you, I make a lot of my brackets out of rectangular or square tubing. Early on, I even made a lot of my C4 conversion brackets that way, until I discovered laser cutting. Looking good. Looks like you may have had room for a dual 7" booster after all. :)

Custer55
03-19-2023, 09:10 PM
Like you, I make a lot of my brackets out of rectangular or square tubing. Early on, I even made a lot of my C4 conversion brackets that way, until I discovered laser cutting. Looking good. Looks like you may have had room for a dual 7" booster after all. :)

If I had to I could make one fit by cutting out the frame member between the two holes which wouldn't have been to difficult. It is closer than it looks in the pictures though as I had to use a hammer between the 2 holes to gain enough clearance to remove and install the master cylinder. I could have made a 1 1/2" spacer also if needed. I think I will be fine with the single booster as the car had manual brakes originally so with the 6 to 1 pedal ratio and good brake pads bedded in properly the brakes should be good. If not I can make a dual booster work.

Custer55
03-29-2023, 06:34 PM
So with the brake pedal booster and master all set up, on to prepping the floor boards for welding in place.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230322_122747-jpg.392852/
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After fitting up the floorboards I removed the booster and master cylinder so I did get a picture of the booster to brake pedal clevis coupler. Just cut a length of dom tubing, drilled and taped for 3/8-24 thread and filed flat spots to be able to hold it with a 9/16" wrench.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230320_105703-jpg.392853/
https://www.trifive.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230320_105703-jpg.392853/
I had marked the master cylinder access hole from underneath with a sharpie while everything was still in place. Here I laid out a more accurate hole to cut it out, but didn't make it too big at this point.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230320_120822-jpg.392854/
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Back in place I marked up where I needed to adjust the holes to make sure the master cover could be easily removed and to make sure I would be able to turn a wench on the top inside bolt or the booster and booster spacer.
Also marked where I needed to drill holes to plug weld the floorboards in place.

https://www.trifivechevys.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=192 0,fit=scale-down/https://www.trifive.com/attachments/20230321_122018-jpg.392855/
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With the holes cut out to the proper size we are just about ready to weld it in place. Just need to trim the floorboards and the original tunnel for a tight butt weld joint at that point.

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Bolted in place at the body mount locations, screwed to the kick ups at the firewall and tacked into the original driveshaft tunnel. All that is left to do is all the plug welds, weld up the screw holes, a couple of small seams at the front of the tunnel and fully weld it up at the original tunnel.
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All welded up and ground out with the last piece to connect the firewall to the trans tunnel screwed in place. That piece needs to be fitted up better before welding in place but that I will get to later.

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Here is the covers I made for the access holes, Just made them about 7/8" bigger than the holes and put a 1" flange on them with my bead roller. First time making usable parts since I got it motorized. It worked very nice as these would have been pretty tough to do with a hand crank. The screws and nut plates came with the hardware for the Bitchin Products firewall and floorboard kit and should work well for these covers.

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Decided to use 4 screws per cover. I have the master cover all done and the smaller cover drilled and ready to weld the nut plates into the bottom side of the floorboards. I ground the head of a screw as small as I could get it to hold the nut plates in position while plug welding them in place. Still needed to be careful not to get weld on the screw and have it stuck in place as the nut plates are fairly small.

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All done and the covers screwed in place. The covers really stiffen the floorboards back up with the flanges and the 4 screws in each cover.
So on to the next project which will be cutting out the rusty rear floorboards and making some new ones. I will be attempting to make my own from 18 gauge sheet vs buying them. Will see how that goes.
Brian :cool:

bigblock
03-30-2023, 05:53 AM
Nice work:)