Family Heirloom

2011-05-15T20:57:00.000-07:00

2011-05-15T20:56:00.000-07:00

2011-05-15T20:55:00.000-07:00

2011-05-15T20:54:00.000-07:00

2011-05-15T20:45:00.000-07:00

2010-10-25T17:28:00.000-07:00

2010-10-25T17:27:00.000-07:00

2010-10-25T17:26:00.000-07:00

2010-10-25T17:25:00.000-07:00

2010-10-25T17:23:00.000-07:00

DING!!! It's Done!!!!!

2010-09-12T21:14:00.000-07:00

So I walk into the shop and am greated by this sight! YEEEEAAAAHHH!!! FREAKIN' YEAH! The paint and repairs are completed. The car is all lined up for towing. And I have this earie feeling in my fingertips... like my hands are screaming to grab onto the wheel and drive! The paintjob is not perfect but better than basic. Maaco or 1 Day wanted about 1500 buck for a basic single stage paint in one color. This is what I got for a little over 1800! The base paint is called gunmetal gray metallic. It is a Saab paint that was available from 1999-2002. It contains black, white, silver metallic, violet, and blue. The stripes are a plain black. The clear was laid over everything so it feels seamless. The paint brand was called Matrix. Never heard of it... but they're giving me 3 years warranty on the paint and lifetime on workmanship. I'm quite happy for a last minute color change with limited time to choose.

Minutes Before Coming Home

2010-09-12T21:02:00.000-07:00

So here she is at Vegas Customz while waiting to be placed on the flatbed tow truck. All fixed up, wet sanded, and polished. No cracks about the body gaps! I haven't finished tweeking them yet! Not a bad job for under 2 grand! As I had stated earlier, I had intended to paint it black. I had spent a little time blocking it but not a ton. I asked them to block it but didn't want to pay for extreme perfection... I just can't afford it. So the day I was leaving on a road trip they call me and tell me that they recommended against black. LAST MINUTE! I did a quick swing by the place on my way out of town and chose these colors in 20 minutes! Nerve Wracking!!!! A decision that I'll live with for years made on the spur of the moment... in minutes! I'm glad I went with their professional opinion. They did the best they could for the time and money and were very honest with me about it. They recommended a lighter paint color... a metallic. This is what I chose. I'm quite happy with it. When in doubt... listen to the pro doing the job. The camaro is quite impressive up close. Thanks guys for the good job.

The Blue Tones

2010-09-12T20:47:00.000-07:00

I was quite surprised at how much blue and violet come out given some types of light. This is under a combination of daylight and halogen lights. This gunmetal gray changes all over the place. Oh... and this is also a partial view of the paintjob and finishing touches I did to the dash. It looks almost brand new. I couldn't be happier. Three years of slow knuckle busting torture through blazing summers and freezing winters! It's all coming together at the end so very fast! Finally some huge visual progress.

Love The Stripes

2010-09-12T20:22:00.000-07:00

The painter didn't use a template. It made me nervous like you wouldn't believe! I gave him a copy of my 67 camaro assembly and installation manual. It had some pics with dimensions. I'm freakin' thrilled beyond belief! They came out great! And they're under the clearcoat making a beautiful seamless finish.

Correct Color in Light

2010-09-12T20:20:00.000-07:00

This is a DANG good example of what the car looks like in direct light. It turns silvery.

Wheels Look OK

2010-09-12T20:16:00.000-07:00

Well... I had chosen these wheels for 2 reasons... 1) they were cheap. 2) I thought they would look good with a black car. I'm glad they still look ok with the gunmetal gray. I'm still hoping that the rear end sinks a little after some useage... the hotchkis kit left it a bit tall.

Shiny!!!!

2010-09-12T20:13:00.000-07:00

As I uploaded this pic my daughter looked over my shoulder and said.... OOOOOHHH... Shiny! She's right! Not bad for an $1800 paint job.

Z-28 Stripes Without Rear Spoiler

2010-09-12T20:08:00.000-07:00

So I wasn't sure if I wanted to go the whole Z28 stripe thing without having a rear spoiler. I mean... they kinda go hand and hand. So talk about departing from the "norm". But I gotta say... It doesn't bug me as much as I feared. Actually, I think the car might of looked really plain/boring in gray without them. Oh... and there's no friggin' WAY I'm gonna drill holes into a stock trunk lid to add one. No... way...

Sandy Brown Tone?

2010-09-12T20:05:00.000-07:00

So... the color has silvers, blacks, whites, even blues and violets. So where the heck does the sandy brown highlights come from?

What an Angle!

2010-09-12T19:58:00.000-07:00

I'm not really sure what it is about this angle but I love it! This is a good example of what the color actually looks like in shade. At night it looks like charcoal (darn right near black)

NOOOOOOOO!!! WHY GOD?!!! WHY?!!!!!

2010-09-04T12:43:00.000-07:00

These pics were taken on Friday with the cell. These are sneak peeks for what was supposed to be today's delivery of the car. Unfortunately they scraped up the lower front valence panel while getting it up on the truck. So back it went into the shop for repainting. Guess I wont be seeing it for another few days! Patience... give me patience!

Off To Paint!

2010-07-24T19:50:00.001-07:00

Talk about a feeling of pride. I followed it all the way to the paint shop. It was like it was on display on a pedestal! Have you any idea how many heads turned in its direction? I laughed all the way down to the body shop.

Oh yeah... I bet you can't guess where I live from the picture.... HAHAHAHA!

Exciting Time

2010-07-24T19:49:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure how to describe the moment when you've done all you can do and now you, in escence, hand it over to someone else to fiddle with it. It's like nerve wracking, exciting and scary all at the same time. For the last day or so, every time I've opened up the garage door... it's like something important is missing. It's like sending out one of your kids to a stranger's house for weeks where... who knows what will happen! In my case I've been working on the car almost as long as my daughter's been alive. It's been a fixture in my garage forever. And now it GONE! The garage looks HUGE!

The Next Generation Already Drooling

2010-07-24T19:48:00.001-07:00

Here's the future owner of the Camaro already set to take it out for a test drive. Since the car came from my wife's side of the family, I think it will continue down the women's line... AFTER I'm done with it! When my son gets older... If money permits, we'll choose another classic for him when he's 14 or 15. So, hopefully it will be ready for him when he's ready to drive. I hope that if he puts enough of his blood, sweat and time into it, he'll treat it well instead of treating it like the proverbial first car junker.

What a Looker!!!!!

2010-07-24T19:46:00.000-07:00

Say what you will about the 69 camaro... I still think the 67 & 68 are far superior in style and design. The 69 was MADE to look racey. The 67 and 68 just were... from the get go. Whether they were meant to be or not, they were just a killer design that took the world by storm. I'd like the rear of my 67 to be a little lower than this but there is something to be said about that classic hot rod rake. I hear, though, that with time the new Hotchkis suspension will settle down a little as I drive it more.

Hitting the Streets

2010-07-24T19:44:00.000-07:00

Have you ever just thought... "am I EVER going to be done?" I can see the light now at the end of that tunnel. I like the look of the new hood on the car. I'm not going to cut up a perfectly good original trunk for a rear spoiler but I am gooing to add an origianl chin spoiler. Together with the cowl induction hood... man I just can't wait!

Trunk finally Closed

2010-07-24T19:43:00.002-07:00

I havent's seen the trunk closed in... I don't know how long. By the way... the easiest way to align and install the hood is to tack it on loosely, shut it, align it so that the gaps are just the way you want it, then reach in through the tail light holes and tighten the bolts. Easy Peesy!

Rolling Out

2010-07-24T19:43:00.001-07:00

The car is WHOLE!!!! Pulled out with all its sheetmetal and under its own power since it was taken apart the first time. The ride around the block was ... AMAZING! ... especially since it doesn't have a windshield yet. HAHAHAHA! Talk about feeling the speed!

New Hood Goes On

2010-07-24T19:42:00.000-07:00

After having sat dormant in a box for almost 2 years I finally unpacked the NPD (National Parts Depot) hood and installed it for the first time ever. Gramps' old car just doesn't have the same feel anymore.

Shell's Body Work is DONE!!!!!!

2010-07-24T19:41:00.000-07:00

So I decided to go for the solid paint look like the newer cars and take the look of the pro touring cars... though mine is not that advanced and powerful. In order to do so, I decided to remove all chrome and stainless trim items. So I spent weeks welding up all the holes for the trim screws and rivets, then applied Rage Extreme (bondo) and block sanded till the spray on guided coat showed few to no low/high spots. Soon it will be up to the paint shop to perfect my job and give it that coat it's been wanting for years now.

More Visual Progress!!!!!!!!

2010-07-24T19:40:00.000-07:00

Today was the first time both fenders have been installed in over 3 years!

Epoxy Sealer

2010-07-24T19:39:00.000-07:00

After a long week of sanding, blasting and stripping the front clip (with my wife's help- thanks babe!) I finally got some sealer primer on all the components. Plus I also undercoated the wheel wells.

The Calm Before the Storm

2010-06-06T16:34:00.001-07:00

Here's the dash stripped of all components and primed over the original laquer with some primer I bought at the local auto body supply. I was so excited at this point. I looked so clean and fresh. Finally visual progress. Little did I know what was about to happen. OOOOhhhhh ... such wasted time!

AAARRRRRRGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!

2010-06-06T16:32:00.000-07:00

You think these look OK?... Guess again. If you pay close attention you'll see what happens when two incompatible paints meet. Apparently, my original laquer dash didn't like being covered by my new epoxy auto primer... or maybe it was the fact that the primer was then covered by over the counter rattle can (spray) paint. See the wrinkles forming. By the time it was said and done the surface was as smooth as 20 grit sandpaper. So off I went to Home Depot at 10 pm for aircraft paint stripper. At least I experienced the thrill of fresh paint on the car for about 10 minutes. Live and learn. BUY THE RIGHT STUFF!!!!!!

Fresh Paint

2010-06-06T16:31:00.002-07:00

Well... at least I now have a good idea of what it will look like when done.

Who's the Old Guy?

2010-06-06T16:31:00.001-07:00

My wife decided to take this picture. She wanted to have a shot of what I'd look like in another 30 years. Seriously! I'm still finding filler dust in places I've never heard of before! Oh... and the little dust masks... don't waste you time. Use a full respirator or your lungs will be hurting for days. What a friggin' MESS!

Not Bad

2010-06-06T16:30:00.000-07:00

It's finally starting to look like something! I love the fat look of the camaro rear end. You just don't see this kind of attention to design that much anymore. Thank goodness they're finally starting to realize this and these last few years have seen the resurection of the muscle car wars!

Countless Hours

2010-06-06T16:29:00.000-07:00

I can't even begine to guess as to how many hours I've spent on this single quarter panel to get to this point. It doesn't look that bad in the pics but if you saw it in person you'd know... I have a LONG way to go!

POR'ed Floors

2010-02-15T16:12:00.002-08:00

I'm really happy with the adhesion and final product after PORing the floorboards. With POR it's all about prep. It took me 2 hours to clean and prep the floors appropriately but there was no rust left after having used the recommended Marine Clean and Metal Prep. There was nothing but zinc phosphate left before I put on the coat and it adhered like crazy with very little runs. But again... I don't care. It ain't gonna be a show car... well... maybe local weekend shows just to hang with other car people. The only thing I wasn't able to get to was the areas under the seat pans... but I don't want to undo the factory welds just to get to them. And again... they didn't look bad at all under there.

Next is gonna be either finish the driver's quarter panel patch or sound deadener. Sound deadener is in the mail... but I haven't made up my mind which yet.

Trans Tunnel

2010-02-15T16:12:00.001-08:00

Whatever the factory used to coat the floorboards, it did a fantastic job! The car had several years of sitting out by the beach in California with bad weatherstripping. The floors had gotten flooded multiple times. There was very little to clean up though. They were so solid and the original coating looked so new after I cleaned them up per the POR instructions that I just layed the POR right over it in the areas that didn't require stripping due to surface rust. That's why you can see the texture coming through the POR.

Rear Seat Pans

2010-02-15T16:10:00.000-08:00

The rear floor pans came out great. They had the least amount of rust on them and the POR did a great job

Option 1

2010-02-01T21:49:00.000-08:00

Decided to work on making my own backgraound for the blog. There is a severe lack of cool premade blog wallpapers. I'm leaning towards this one.

Option 2

2010-02-01T21:43:00.001-08:00

This was my first attempt... well actually my first design. It went through about 100 attempts to get the size right for the screen.

Great Poster

2010-02-01T00:13:00.000-08:00

Wanted to make this into the Blog background but the original image size was too small and would have ended up very grainy. Oh well. I'll just post it for posterity

Engine Upgrades

2010-01-31T22:33:00.004-08:00

After being plauged with tons of problems due to a way too radical cam, I removed the racing cam and went with a moderate street cam that keeps my HP in the 300 to 315 range.
Original problems:
1- No vacuum pressure
2- No brakes because of low vacuum
3- Absolutely horrible transmission response due to wrong powerband for torque converter
4- Huge hesitation when you accelerate
5- Severe backfiring problems

The Changes

2010-01-31T22:33:00.003-08:00

1- Spark plug boot covers- the boots were burning because they were so close to the headers. Plus the Taylor wire boots are HUMONGOUS! If they had been stock sized they would never have burned.

2- Vintage Edelbrock Torker Scorpion single plane air gap intake. Yes... yes... single plane. 3 reasons. A) It makes power in the higher RPM range and since I have a 2 speed Powerglide that I'm not intending to replace yet... well... that's where I'll live. B) It has a built in oil servicing neck that most new intakes don't come with and I need that because my original valve covers don't have a port... nor do I intend on cutting them up to make one. C) It was FREE... so bite me.

3- 750 CFM Edelbrock carb. I rebuilt it, tuned it with a kit and added an electric choke kit. The carb was 50 bucks plus what I spent for the rebuild and tunning kits and the choke. The carb came with the free intake. 750 CFM is a little large but since the secondaries don't open unless you're in full throttle and then only open on vacuum demand... odds are that my little 300HP engine won't be using all 750 cfm anyways. So it should be alright.

4- A newer larger air cleaner that will do for now. When I use up the first element I'll probably buy a high end cleanable... like K&N or something.

Modified Linkage

2010-01-31T22:33:00.001-08:00

Just a quick shot to show the only 2 mods I had to make to the carb linkages having gone from my 2 barrel Rochester to the 4 barrel Edelbrock. Notice it was only a simple change to the Kickdown linkage and a re-routing of the throttle return spring. Now the spring hooks up to a loop hole on the thermostat housing.

A Quick BEFORE Shot

2010-01-31T22:31:00.001-08:00

These two were taken so I can remember what it was I started with. Not too bad... just very dirty.

Under Driver's Carpet

2010-01-31T22:30:00.000-08:00

SWEET!!!!! Not even a tiny speck of rust! Feeling confident now!

Under Rear Seat

2010-01-31T22:29:00.000-08:00

SCORE!!!! No rust there either. This does NOT look like a 43 year old car's floorboards.

Under Passenger Side Carpet

2010-01-31T22:27:00.000-08:00

Well... you can't win them all. On the up side, it's only surface corrosion... very very minor pitting, and then only in a couple of little areas.

This one's for you Scott!!!!!!

2009-11-11T15:30:00.000-08:00

So my friend Scott keeps asking me why I'm not getting anything done and no updates are being posted. What can I say... life gets in the way.
Well... here you go dude. One outer wheelhouse welded up and almost completed... just like the doctor ordered!

After Some Sanding

2009-11-11T15:27:00.000-08:00

I doubt anyone will ever notice this was patched. I'm going to cover everything in a nice layer of POR15 when I'm done. I don't want to go through this again in a few years time.

First Layer of Mud

2009-11-11T15:20:00.000-08:00

So when I told the wife I was going to apply metal filler she looked at me as though I was nuts... no one's going to see it was written all over her face. Yeah... but I'll know it's there. I applied some sealer to the underside (wheelwell area) that I get from work. They expire after only a few months and I had some that had been expired for over a year. I had to go through 4 containers because it was already hardening. It's called PR 1422 B1/2 ... or just B half for short. It hardens to a tough rubber like material. It's impenetrable and impervious to just about anything. We even use it inside fuel tanks. If jet fuel don't eat it up... nothing will! Perfect for this area.

Outer Wheelhouse Welded In

2009-11-11T15:14:00.000-08:00

I need to practice welding a little more I think. I've been researching ways of controlling the output of my cheesy Harbor Freight MIG welder since it has very few adjustments. I ran into a reference about some guy putting the negative clamp jaws on a chain and the chain to the car. If you want less heat... just put the jaws farther down the chain. Basically add more links between it and the car. WORKED GREAT!!!!! I made a lot less holes through the thin sheetmetal.

Rotted Wheelhousing

2009-09-23T17:08:00.001-07:00

After removing the driver's side quarter I found the outer wheelhouse rotted through but only on the outer lip. I can't bring myself to removing perfectly good metal so I'm only going to replace the lip (see the marked area)

Template for Cutting

2009-09-23T17:07:00.000-07:00

After taping off the rotted wheelhouse lip, I transfered the tape (template) to the new wheelhouse in prep for cutting.

Getting New Quarter Ready

2009-09-23T17:06:00.000-07:00

Decided to butt weld in a patch for my quarter. Since most of the original quarter is in good shape, I will only replace what is necessary. There was surprisingly little rust under the original.

Gotta Love Clecos

2009-09-23T17:05:00.000-07:00

I aligned the new patch with the existing body lines. As the wife held the patch in place, I drilled a few holes through both layers of sheetmetal and stuck in some clecos I found on ebay. Great deals there for a handful of them and the pliers you'll need. I love these things! After this I scribed in the outline of the patch and taped the design for ease of cutting.

Perfect Fit!

2009-09-23T17:04:00.000-07:00

I cut out the exact shape of the patch but left little tabs where the cleco holes were so that as I weld later, I will have something that will hold the panel in place. Once most of the panel is butt welded in, I'll cut off the tabs and weld up those edges too. First thing's first though... the wheelhouse has to be repaired before all else.

Overall Fit

2009-09-23T17:02:00.000-07:00

The panel lays in quite nicely when the old sheetmetal in removed. Sure hope I didn't get in over my head on this.

Next Step (Quarter Rust)

2009-09-08T11:12:00.000-07:00

Here's a good picture of what my next project will be. The rust seems to have gone all the way through the body sheetmetal into the understructure.

Close Up View

2009-09-08T11:10:00.000-07:00

Wonder what I'll find under this mess. Doesn't look pretty. Doesn't look like an easy area to fix either.

Meet the Donor

2009-09-08T11:08:00.000-07:00

Bought this 80% quarter from NPD for a DANG good price! Poor thing... it's not long for this earth. The plan is to use as little of this as possible to make the patch smaller and so have less chance of a very large ugly area. Large patch = potentially BIG ugly repair... Small patch = possibly small ugly repair.

Taking a Peek

2009-09-08T11:06:00.000-07:00

Cut off as little as I dared to take a good look inside and see what I was going to be working with. I found surpprisingly VERY little rust given the damage seen from outside. Only the wheelhouse lip had rust damage. The rest was just dirty. I have hopes of a good result now and hopefully few headaches.

What's the Plan?

2009-09-08T11:04:00.000-07:00

Well... at first I thought about fabbing up a new lip for the wheelhouse and putting on the new skin but that would require a way to roll the metal to make a new lip and then aquiring a shrinker/stretcher to make it bend. With the prices from NPD in California... it's just cheaper to buy a new wheelhouse. To make the curved upper cut line for the skin patch I used a small piece of sheetmetal, bent it into an L shape a little longer than the length I wanted it from the upper body line. Then drilled a hole the size of the tip of my Sharpie at the right length I was looking for. I ran the L shaped bracket along the upper body line with the Sharpie in the hole and BINGO! a cut line that is perfectly uniform from one end to the other and is exactly the same distance from the upper body line all the way across. Keep in mind that this is a smaller hole than the patch will cover. I made it purposefully smaller so that I have some metal left so I can temporarily lap the two pieces together with some clecos I bought for the welding process.

Had To Run Her

2008-12-03T22:33:00.000-08:00

This was in Dec 08. I had actually come to a point where after a year and a half I could actually drive it! So I did... So sue me! Good thing I did. I found that the cam was WAY too hot. Took off like a banshee but not enough vacuum to run anything... including my new power disc brakes. Lesson learned and new cam ordered. Going to learn how to install a cam I guess.

BIG Thumbs Up!

2008-12-03T22:32:00.002-08:00

I bolted the right fender on temporarily to hold the radiator support in place for the test drive. You can literally feel the suspension upgrades. It was friggin AWESOME!!!! Handled like a dream and had so much power it actually surprised me!!!! Think it scared the wife when I hit the gas and we did a rather nice burnout then took off like a bat out of hell... the interesting part was trying to stop it with little to no brakes. Had to gas it to keep vacuum up while hitting the brakes. Now THAT was interesting!

Soundin' Good!

2008-12-03T22:32:00.001-08:00

Did I mention how friggin killer she sounds with the Pypes Performance Race Pro stainless exhaust? Yeah.... my neighbors knew I was out on a test drive. Had one come over when he heard me drive by to see how it went.

Lookin' Good!

2008-12-03T22:31:00.002-08:00

Back into pit lane after a successful shakedown run around the block. My neighbor said it was more of a qualifying run... HAHAHA! For some reason I love this shot. Love the lines of this car and this shot just highlights them. Simple but timelessly gorgeous. I like it better than the 69 even... I know... I know... you 69 guys out there are going to hunt me down and torture me till I take it back.

The Celebration

2008-12-03T22:31:00.001-08:00

OK... so perhaps we haven't finished the race yet but the Crew Chief and I had to celebrate the year and a half long process.

POR Yet Again

2008-10-28T16:30:00.000-07:00

For future protection I decided, since all was exposed, to put on a nice layer of POR15 on the lower package tray before the rear filler panel got welded in.

80% Done

2008-10-28T16:27:00.001-07:00

Once I got the filler panel to lay nicely, I started by plug welding it in from inside the trunk using 5/16" holes I made in the inner package tray. Basically, I made the old broken spot weld holes bigger. You can see where the heat from welding burned away the EDP coating on the window channel.

Getting Rid of Unsightly Seams

2008-10-28T16:26:00.002-07:00

I opted to weld up the seams between the filler and the quarters. Two reasons... 1) I think it will look better in the long run and 2) It wont be collecting water and rusting in the future... or at least there will be less of a chance.

Seamless

2008-10-28T16:26:00.001-07:00

A little Metal 2 Metal filler and it should be smooth as glass. One thing that can't be seen is that I welded up all the seams in the window channel as well. All the sheetmetal (roof, quarters and filler) are now seamless in the window channel. There wont be any water seeping in through cracks from now on.

Next Time

2008-10-28T16:25:00.000-07:00

Next time I get a chance, the last step will be to plug weld in the lower edge of the filler panel to the weatherstrip channel and then it's filler and primer time.

Too Many Curves

2008-09-30T16:41:00.001-07:00

I had intended to make a single L shaped or Z
shaped patch to fill this area but it had too
many curves in so many different directions
that I chose to make one flat piece for
the top first. It took me 3 hours to shape it
alone using nothing but hammers and dollies.

Slightly Big on Purpose

2008-09-30T16:40:00.002-07:00

The top patch was left slightly big. I used a
manila folder to trace the shape of this area
from the opposite side of the car that was
undamaged, then reversed the template
and traced it on to this side. The result was a
perfect mirror image and a great fit...
You'll see.

Shaped and Tacked

2008-09-30T16:40:00.001-07:00

After the trim. A wet rag makes an AWESOME
heat sink for the welding. I didn't have
anywhere near as many blow throughs.
Also... weld through primer makes a HUGE
difference. Well worth 20 bucks (nicer welds)

Good Basic Shape

2008-09-30T16:39:00.001-07:00

For a beginner... not bad.
I was freakin' stoked at the overall results.
Would have cost my first born at a body shop.

Take That $90/hr Body Shops!!!!

2008-09-30T16:38:00.000-07:00

End product. The vertical piece is also a flat piece
with the bottom edge folded over towards the inside
of the car like the original. Butt welded in an L
shape... edge to edge. Also fixed the lower piece
in the trunk gutter and the upper piece where the
window channel ends. I mirrored the other side
of the car for the design.

The Fit

2008-09-30T16:37:00.000-07:00

Here's a look at how it mates with the filler panel.
Keep in mind that the filler panel is still not
tacked on the top and bottom,
that's why it seems raised in both ends.
But when held down... All I can say is...
Thank goodness I didn't screw this up!

Back at the Doctor's Office

2008-09-24T09:27:00.000-07:00

After the cancer was removed, here's what needs to be resculpted.

Notice how nicely the metal under the filler panel sanded down.

It was mostly surface rust. The filler panel took the brunt of the damage.

Here's the First Patch

2008-09-24T09:26:00.001-07:00

Actually...two. The window channel was a flat piece.

Then it was welded to an L shaped piece I shaped with a hammer and dolly to match the shape/roundness of the quarter. The welds aren't beautiful now but they turned out much better.

Closer Look

2008-09-24T09:25:00.000-07:00

A better feel for how the L shaped rounded quarter patch meets the flat stock channel patch.

The First Finished Quarter Panel Patch

2008-09-24T09:17:00.000-07:00

It looks much better after I ground down the welds. All it needs now is the other 4 or so patches to finish this area and some All Metal filler.

With so much of the metal gone... I temporarily laid the replacement filler panel from NPD in place to correctly measure how wide the patch pieces needed to be and how long a flange to give them to attach to this new filler panel. Hope this works out or the panels will look like they don't align right.

Let the Major Surgery Begin!

2008-09-18T20:48:00.000-07:00

Just a quick before shot before I pull off the rear

window/trunk filler panel. It wasn't in bad shape but

its window track area is a little lumpy from rust...

so why not play it safe.

Lower Bottom Corner of Rear Window Channel

2008-09-18T20:47:00.000-07:00

A good view of what's waiting for me when

I remove the filler panel.

Not sure how I'm goint to fix these holes since

I can't afford to get a new quarter

How to Remove This Dang Thing?

2008-09-18T20:46:00.002-07:00

No matter where I looked or who I asked no one could

give me a good answer. This thing had enough spot

welds on it that it was almost welded straight across

the whole piece. I decided to get a better feel for the

situation by removing as much as possible with a sawzall.

Where to Make My First Incision?

2008-09-18T20:46:00.001-07:00

I cut as close to the upper end

(before the window channel) as possible.

Then cut on the inside of the butt joint

where the filler panel and the quarters meet.

Easier to Find the Spot Welds

2008-09-18T20:44:00.000-07:00

With the filler piece now pulled/rolled slightly towards

the rear it was a lot easier to find the spot welds on the

upper end, the weatherstrip channel and the flanges

that mate the filler to the quarter. Notice how much of

the quarter flange needed to be cut off though.

Ought to be a joy to fix.... WHATERVER!

OUCH!

2008-09-18T20:43:00.000-07:00

Though I knew some metal was going to

have to be replaced... DAMN!

Not this much! This shape will take a lot of patience

to reproduce and I'm a beginner with no funds

to buy a new quarter. Ought to be a growing experience.

Again... WHATEVER!

Overall Look

2008-09-18T20:42:00.002-07:00

So here's a view of what I found when the panel was removed.

Look closely and you can see the metal missing on the

passenger side quarter. Look closer on the driver's side quarter

and you'll see the marks where I intend to cut the quarter

and fabricate new pieces. Again... I've never come

close to tackling something like this before.

Never welded until I got my hands on this car.

Pray for me... Really, really hard.

Extreme Close Up

2008-09-18T20:42:00.001-07:00

I may not be the best welder or body guy in the universe but

I'm quite happy with my third sheetmetal repair.

The entire repair was fabbed from scratch

out of flat stock metal. You have no ideas how many

little patches this actually includes and how

many compound bends there are.

Perspective

2008-09-18T20:41:00.001-07:00

Here's a better idea of the size of the

repair of the passenger side quarter

My Car Models

2008-07-21T21:47:00.000-07:00

Here are the professional car models I got to pose for me.

Dang they're expensive!

The before shot

2008-07-21T21:46:00.002-07:00

Here's a good before pic of the radiator mount and

all the accessories before I began.

It really looks far worse than it actually is.

It was mostly surface rust.

Much Better

2008-07-21T21:46:00.001-07:00

Finally starting to get that new car look!

75% Complete

2008-07-21T21:44:00.000-07:00

Finally got the radiator mount POR'ed and mounted

YEAH!!! Progress!

2008-06-12T20:31:00.000-07:00

Finally got the engine and tranny onto car.

I guess it isn't half bad since this month is the

one year anniversary of us getting the car.