B
Bob Hollinshead
The material build on that job will be at a minimum for sure! From what I see in the photos a few rounds of epoxy should take care of it all.
57 Chevy Nomad
- Thread starter chevman
- Start date
D
Deleted member 7
Spectacular work!! It makes me wanna quit using mud.. But Im not nearly that good at metal finishing to do that!!
Thanks guys. BK you're doing just fine, we would miss the Polyester Prince. I was pretty impressed with your metal work and fab also, pugsy. As for taking for ever, I'm not telling, but it sure seems like it. It won't be much Bob, but there will be a spoon full of filler. Thats just too much panel reshaping to get it all perfect. Straightening original panels to factory shape without filler will be easy after this. ------Never again!
B
Bob Hollinshead
You're achieving the contour and fit the engineers of that car only dreamed of. Looking forward to seeing it in paint!
T
Toms 57 Chevy
Chevman you are a metal master. The 57 will be a whole lot better than when it left the Chevy plant. Nice job
Thanks guys.
Finally put some lead on the rear edge of the right side door.
Early on in the project I ground down some welds on both door frames where two of the inner panels meet at the top, to get the bottom rear of the door to twist a little for alignment.
Then vice grips were used to hold the panels until I knew the doors were through moving from the shrinking process, then rewelded. But the right door retained a little movement, so sometimes I would have to twist slightly. I could barely hear a rubbing sound when it twisted back in shape, but couldn't find where it was. When the vice grips were holding it, I thought they were just slipping.
Then while working on a cowl problem I noticed the top flange on the door was not held by the spot welds
There are only two spot welds and neither one is holding
So I checked the twist movement of the door with my hand on the seam, and I could feel the skin moving on the door frame-----problem solved.
Before welding up the gap at the top front of the right fender, there was a problem to deal with.
The car suffered a fender bender at some time, and that caused a little damage at the cowl.
Not very noticeable but I pulled it out and ran the file over it. It just happened to be near a leaded panel seam.
The stud welder was used to pull the cowl
The gap is too wide and the cowl is too low, but no problem with the windshield frame, so I will just use lead to fix it.
There is not much chance of this edge getting chipped, so weld spots were put on the cowl before removing the fender, instead of a weld bead. The spots were filed to the proper gap and height of the fender so I would know how much lead to apply. I never seem to get enough on the first time.
This is double panel as you can see by the spot welds, so pulling was a pain.
The brown that is above and below the cowl is burnt seam sealer---no rust.
A little more filing and it looks like this side is ok.
Not so lucky by the hood.
Its like pin holes in filler that don't show up till you blow the dust off, these showed up after I used a hand held wire brush. Its really difficult to apply the lead smooth and flat.
Surprisingly, to me anyway, the fender is a lot easier to line up when installing now that the gaps are all equal.
Finally put some lead on the rear edge of the right side door.
Early on in the project I ground down some welds on both door frames where two of the inner panels meet at the top, to get the bottom rear of the door to twist a little for alignment.
Then vice grips were used to hold the panels until I knew the doors were through moving from the shrinking process, then rewelded. But the right door retained a little movement, so sometimes I would have to twist slightly. I could barely hear a rubbing sound when it twisted back in shape, but couldn't find where it was. When the vice grips were holding it, I thought they were just slipping.
Then while working on a cowl problem I noticed the top flange on the door was not held by the spot welds
There are only two spot welds and neither one is holding
So I checked the twist movement of the door with my hand on the seam, and I could feel the skin moving on the door frame-----problem solved.
Before welding up the gap at the top front of the right fender, there was a problem to deal with.
The car suffered a fender bender at some time, and that caused a little damage at the cowl.
Not very noticeable but I pulled it out and ran the file over it. It just happened to be near a leaded panel seam.
The stud welder was used to pull the cowl
The gap is too wide and the cowl is too low, but no problem with the windshield frame, so I will just use lead to fix it.
There is not much chance of this edge getting chipped, so weld spots were put on the cowl before removing the fender, instead of a weld bead. The spots were filed to the proper gap and height of the fender so I would know how much lead to apply. I never seem to get enough on the first time.
This is double panel as you can see by the spot welds, so pulling was a pain.
The brown that is above and below the cowl is burnt seam sealer---no rust.
A little more filing and it looks like this side is ok.
Not so lucky by the hood.
Its like pin holes in filler that don't show up till you blow the dust off, these showed up after I used a hand held wire brush. Its really difficult to apply the lead smooth and flat.
Surprisingly, to me anyway, the fender is a lot easier to line up when installing now that the gaps are all equal.
'68 Coronet R/T
Oldtimer
Great tutorial going here. Maybe some pictures of how to apply the lead and properly neutralize for priming for those of us completely ignorant of the process?
B
Bondoskimmer
Cool! You gotta good thing going on. When is the deadline?
B
Bob Hollinshead
Fred, Awesome work there and everyone appreciates you sharing and nice job on the photos. I learned something-that trick using the weld beads to show you what height the solder needs to be is a really good idea! What are you using to wash the tallow off the solder before you start filing? I usually just use solvent wax & grease remover, I've also used thinner in the past, but at one shop I worked at years ago the old timer there that was really good used a combination of two things and I think ammonia was in it?
Thanks guys, sharing with you is a pleasure because just like many others, I don't do this to make a living. So sharing the building process with people who know what goes into building a car is better than sharing a show car all done, with a group of people who appreciate a nice car but know little about what it takes to get there. Most pro's just don't have time to share, and its a shame they can't.
Bob, I haven't been concerned with the tallow, it won't get pushed into the lead, so I just clean up good and neutralize the acid, after filing. I also neutralize the acid after tinning, that stuff is so nasty I just want to get rid of it as soon as possible. I think most people use baking soda for neutraizing, but the guy you mentioned was probably using the ammonia for that purpose. You could use Dawn dish soap, but Dawn requires a 10% solution, so it could get very expensive using it for a base to neutralize or to prevent flash rust.
Speaking of time, Bondoskimmer my deadline is Feb 16th and its not looking good. So I will make another dead line today for being done with the car, and that is when ever I get through it will be done. LOL When I was in business, I use to keep my deadlines, but I knew what I was doing then.
I just want to say again, that I don't recommend leading, and there are many reasons why. The only reason I am using it is because of the type of car that I am building. The whole car has been a dream of mine.
Bob, I haven't been concerned with the tallow, it won't get pushed into the lead, so I just clean up good and neutralize the acid, after filing. I also neutralize the acid after tinning, that stuff is so nasty I just want to get rid of it as soon as possible. I think most people use baking soda for neutraizing, but the guy you mentioned was probably using the ammonia for that purpose. You could use Dawn dish soap, but Dawn requires a 10% solution, so it could get very expensive using it for a base to neutralize or to prevent flash rust.
Speaking of time, Bondoskimmer my deadline is Feb 16th and its not looking good. So I will make another dead line today for being done with the car, and that is when ever I get through it will be done. LOL When I was in business, I use to keep my deadlines, but I knew what I was doing then.
I just want to say again, that I don't recommend leading, and there are many reasons why. The only reason I am using it is because of the type of car that I am building. The whole car has been a dream of mine.
B
Bondoskimmer
It will be better than factory. 
The original hood for this car had a large gap at the rear, so after trying two other hoods, I selected the last one as the best fit. It also had the most bumps and bruises from being stored for years, but those were fixable, and I liked the way it fit.
Angles, shadows, and distance, can make the gaps look different, but these are all about the same.
One of the problems with this hood was that it was low for no apparent reason, where the right side drops down to the grill, but a little lead fixed that.
I'm still working on the rear corners, then I can reinstall the rear brace. When hoods are off the car for extended periods, those rear corners sure do get messed up-------but--it--wasn't--me.
Angles, shadows, and distance, can make the gaps look different, but these are all about the same.
One of the problems with this hood was that it was low for no apparent reason, where the right side drops down to the grill, but a little lead fixed that.
I'm still working on the rear corners, then I can reinstall the rear brace. When hoods are off the car for extended periods, those rear corners sure do get messed up-------but--it--wasn't--me.
B
Bob Hollinshead
Fred, if you bond the brace to the hood skin make sure to use the right product, anti-flutter foam. Was it glued from the factory or was there a pad between the brace and skin? The contour and fit is looking great!
Bob, there was a pad there and I will be replacing it, I'm just using adhesive on the flanges where the factory spot welds were. They make everything for these cars, and that pad is part of the hood 6 piece gasket set. Its too bad they don't make every single thing you need for all the cars.
The hood that was chosen to replace the original fit the opening very good, but there were still some problems with it and one was that it was off the car for a long time. Somebody was apparently bumping into it regularly, cause it had a lot of small dents.
Small dents especially on the hood rocket launchers
And it was stored standing up outside, so water had collected between the rear brace and hood skin. It was in New Mexico so if not for standing water then it would have been alright, but the rust was so bad on the right rear corner that it was pushing the hood up from the brace. That rear brace under the hood was removed before derusting for better access.
I learned my lesson when working on the fenders about drilling all the spot welds out on one whole flange, especially with a big spot weld bit. I removed the rear brace on a front fender by drilling the spot welds and found that it weakened the shape of the fender, because the spot weld bit was almost as big as the flange. So after two fenders, I started grinding on the brace from the back side to get through the spot welds without cutting on the fender, and that left the fender very rigid, so I used that same idea on the hood. Lucky thing too, with the hood being so flat, it would have really been a mess.
I tried shrinking the flanges on both sides of the corner to bring the hood skin back down but it was just too much for shrinking, so the flange was cut in both directions from the corner and rewelded after the area was pushed down. For some reason the pitting wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be.
During its storage time, someone dropped the hood down on its corner and bent it pretty bad, but with that rear brace off, it was an easy fix, although it will require a small amount of lead.
After straightening, the area was still high so I drilled out two spot welds and then was able to just push it down.
The old hood henges still looked good but were worn out and let the back of the hood set up to high, which could have been adjusted, but I put the new henges on for mock up. With everything fitting so well I have decided to use a shim on the front henge bolt to push the hood down a little more in the back, and hope that lessens the change that it will want to go down further, as the car bumps down the road.
I also used Bobs idea of a plastic washer on the bolts for adjusting everything and then remove one at a time.
Strange as it seems, the right front side of the hood was high in the same area that the left side was low, and also for no apparent reason. I knew the right side could easily be filled, but I was going to just live with this side, but stupidity won out.
To correct this the corner brace was removed first.
The plan is to shrink the flange on the fender to bring the front down and in line with the hood. But that is not easy with so many different shapes in this part of the fender, so to get it done, the size of the side flange was reduced to ease the job of the shrinking jaws, and the front flange was also cut.
Bringing it down left the hood and fender even at the bottom and the top.
Still not totally happy with the look of my welds
But penetration is always good, and thats what counts.
A little lead and its done.
I wasn't happy with this area, so had to put some more time on it. Just a little too wavy for me.
Small dents especially on the hood rocket launchers
And it was stored standing up outside, so water had collected between the rear brace and hood skin. It was in New Mexico so if not for standing water then it would have been alright, but the rust was so bad on the right rear corner that it was pushing the hood up from the brace. That rear brace under the hood was removed before derusting for better access.
I learned my lesson when working on the fenders about drilling all the spot welds out on one whole flange, especially with a big spot weld bit. I removed the rear brace on a front fender by drilling the spot welds and found that it weakened the shape of the fender, because the spot weld bit was almost as big as the flange. So after two fenders, I started grinding on the brace from the back side to get through the spot welds without cutting on the fender, and that left the fender very rigid, so I used that same idea on the hood. Lucky thing too, with the hood being so flat, it would have really been a mess.
I tried shrinking the flanges on both sides of the corner to bring the hood skin back down but it was just too much for shrinking, so the flange was cut in both directions from the corner and rewelded after the area was pushed down. For some reason the pitting wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be.
During its storage time, someone dropped the hood down on its corner and bent it pretty bad, but with that rear brace off, it was an easy fix, although it will require a small amount of lead.
After straightening, the area was still high so I drilled out two spot welds and then was able to just push it down.
The old hood henges still looked good but were worn out and let the back of the hood set up to high, which could have been adjusted, but I put the new henges on for mock up. With everything fitting so well I have decided to use a shim on the front henge bolt to push the hood down a little more in the back, and hope that lessens the change that it will want to go down further, as the car bumps down the road.
I also used Bobs idea of a plastic washer on the bolts for adjusting everything and then remove one at a time.
Strange as it seems, the right front side of the hood was high in the same area that the left side was low, and also for no apparent reason. I knew the right side could easily be filled, but I was going to just live with this side, but stupidity won out.
To correct this the corner brace was removed first.
The plan is to shrink the flange on the fender to bring the front down and in line with the hood. But that is not easy with so many different shapes in this part of the fender, so to get it done, the size of the side flange was reduced to ease the job of the shrinking jaws, and the front flange was also cut.
Bringing it down left the hood and fender even at the bottom and the top.
Still not totally happy with the look of my welds
But penetration is always good, and thats what counts.
A little lead and its done.
I wasn't happy with this area, so had to put some more time on it. Just a little too wavy for me.
