Right side of
the body. Some minor rust below the door opening and on the step.
The rear quarter is trashed and will need to be replaced. |
The firewall
is not mangled at all. It just needs a good cleaning and a few small
holes welded up. |
The toolbox
has some pretty serious rust. I will need to remove the toolbox to
replace the floor. |
This shot of
the passenger floor pan show a nice sized hole that needs to be fixed. |
Here's the
rust on the passenger front quarter. That small section will be
replaced. |
Here is the
right rear quarter. Is does not look bad in the photo, but the whole
right side is tweaked from someone hitting the spare tire on an immovable
object. I will replace this entire panel, which is a lot easier that
trying to hammer and dolly it straight. |
Rear shot of
the body that looks pretty good. |
Here is the
drivers side floor pan. Just a minor rust spot that needs to be fixed. |
Ahhh, a nice
UNCUT original dash to work with! |
The floor
bracing is all rotted out and will be replaced. I'd like to meet the
engineer who thought about reinforcing the hat channel with wood in a dark
alley some time! |
The best way I have found to remove panels is to drill out the spot
welds. To find the spot welds, lightly sand the joints. I like
to use a sanding block like the one pictured. The
areas that have spot welds should retain their paint. You should be
able to see the spot weld in the center of the photo above. Then using a
regular or special spot weld drill bit, drill out the spot weld. I try
not to go all the way through both layers of metal. |
The
nice thing about a spot weld cutter is that it does not go all the way
through. Once all the spot welds are drilled out, you can use a chisel or flathead
screwdriver to pry out the affected panel. Be extremely careful
and patient so you don't do any damage. When working with very old,
thin metal, it is very easy to tear the metal. |
Ever wonder
what your toolbox looks like on the inside? |
After MANY
cuss words, the toolbox finally let loose it's grip on the floor. |
The rear
quarter was surprisingly easy to remove. All the spots welds were
drilled out and it popped right off. |
Another shot
of the rear quarter. |
This is the
right rear tail light panel that needs some attention. |
The first
thing I did was cut out the section to be replaced and then I fabricated a
duplicate section out of 16 gauge steel. |
And here is
what the repair looks like. Good as new! |
Next it was time to repair this tear in the passenger side wheelhouse.
This is actually hidden by the toolbox. The tear is what let a lot of
moisture into the toolbox to rust it out. |
Good as new! |
Next I turned
my attention to replacing the passenger side floor. Both the floor and
the hat channel will need to be replaced. |
The rusted
section was carefully cut out... |
...And the new section is fitted in to place. I also drilled a
drain hole in the original location. |
After
removing the hat channel and cutting out the rusted section of floor... |
The new
panels were carefully welded in and the joints were then ground smooth.
I then used a hammer and dolly to smooth the floor. |
This is a top
view of the rear fenderwell where the top bow pocket sits. The previous owner
cut the brackets out to fit a roll bar. As you can see, the area needs
some pretty serious repair. |
This is a
back view of the area. Willys welded a support plate under the fender
to strengthen the area. I will need to make sure I save this. |
With the area
cut out, I then use a hammer and dolly to straighten any imperfections. |
Next, a piece
of sheet metal is cut to size and bent in to shape. Once tack welded,
I ensure there are no imperfections that will affect the final weld. |
Once
carefully welded in, the welds are ground smooth and a hammer and dolly are
used to smooth everything out. |
To repair
holes larger than an 1/8", first grind the area clean. Don't forget
the inside edges and the back side. |
Then fill the
area with a plug of sheet metal. |
Once welded
in, it is ground smooth. |
I am about
1/2 way done with the bodywork, and here's what's been removed so far.
I literally had about 5 pounds of rust and dirt alone! |
The new
brackets I needed finally showed up today. I got all these from D&L
Bensinger. They look to be pretty good reproductions and obviously
come from the Philippines. I've been to the Philippines and they are
masters of sheetmetal fabrication. |
Here is the
new right 1/4 panel and hat channels from Classic Enterprises. |
The hat
channels come pre-welded and match the original exactly. My only
complaint is that they don't have the curved portion under the center of the
body. I will be able to salvage the center curved portion and graft it
in. |
The new hat
channels have spacers welded in the pre-drilled body mount holes.
These eliminate the need for the wood filler and should help fight rust. |
The new 1/4
panel get fitted in and held in place with sheetmetal screws. The
panel fit surprisingly well and I only had to make minor adjustments. |
|
With the
panel welded in, I turned to replacing the spare tire hat channel.
Just like the 1/4, the bracket was welded in us a technique that mimics a
spot weld. You can see the holes drilled in the bracket. These are
simply welded closed, attaching it to the panel. |
Next, the
spare tire brace was spot welded in. |
Now I can
turn my attention to this gapping hole in the front 1/4. |
Once again, a
patch panel is fabricated with the correct angle both where it meets the
rear 1/4, but also on the bottom. This is then carefully tack welded
it place. The key is to insure that the joints line up perfectly.
Then, to prevent warping, I use a technique called "stitching" which is
alternating spot welds and not a continuous bead weld. |
The welds are
ground down and sanded smooth. Then the hammer and dolly smooth out any more
imperfections. Now only a minor amount of body filler will be needed
to smooth the repair. |
Here is where
the two factory sections meet. I copied the drivers side exactly,
careful to mimic the weld shape and minimal cosmetic touch-up. It will
stay just like this. |
The old and the new!! |
Here is the
final repair on the the passenger side. |
Now it was
time to remove the hat channel. I used the spot weld remover on
50 spot welds!!! Talk about a pain in the
arse!! After some coaxing, the 54 year old rusted hulk came out. |
The new hat
channel from Classic Enterprises fits exactly, except.... |
...their hat
channel kit does not come with the center hump section, so I leave the old
section in. Make sure you clean out the 5lbs of dirt inside this
section. |
See the completion of the body work in
Part 2 |
|