The left hand quarter panel is welded on solid, and lucky me, when I undid all the clamps and screws, everything stayed exactly where it belonged. Door seems to line up well, as do the window channels.
I still have to fill in the screw holes and grind down the welds, but at least that bastard is on finally.
I have to clean out the garage, and reposition everything for the other quarter (which I still haven't ordered)... The RH job will essentially be identical to the LH job. I'll be replacing the outer wheel well, trunk drop and quarter panel. I expect this side to go much faster.
I'm done making predictions, but every little bit of progress gives me more optimism about having this car done in another year or so.
No pictures this time. There's really nothing new to see.
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Sunday, September 2, 2012
More quarter panel progress
Have not had time to work on the car for several weeks. Let's just say I've found a new friend who is not a car, and we've been spending some quality time together.
So today had to be Camaro day. Got a lot of work left to do, and I sure would like to have some kind of rolling chassis by springtime next year. Oh well, it may or may not happen. It's not like I'm on a schedule.
Today I simply worked some more on lining up the panel, closing the gaps, etc. . . The major part of that was stripping the glass, regulator and latching hardware out of the driver's side door, and mounting it back up to the car.
Then it's a matter of minor adjustments to the quarter to make it line up just so with the door. You have to watch the gap between quarter and door, the gap along the bottom of the door, and how the top of the door lines up with the top of that section of the quarter. It actually fits pretty well, but there were a few spots that need some work. Nothing drastic, though.
Lines up pretty well.
The next problem spot is the rear quarter where it meets up with the section holding the brake lights. There was a significant gap here, but it all pulled together nice, with the help of a couple ratchet tie-down straps.
The other problem areas are going to be the window channel, and a nasty gap by the trunk header panel. Very doable, though.
Also, the door is held in with another strap. So far, so good. Once I have it fitted, I'll take it all back apart, seal up my seams, then re-fit and weld the panel permanently. I'm liking how it's starting to look with the new metal.
More to come later!
So today had to be Camaro day. Got a lot of work left to do, and I sure would like to have some kind of rolling chassis by springtime next year. Oh well, it may or may not happen. It's not like I'm on a schedule.
Today I simply worked some more on lining up the panel, closing the gaps, etc. . . The major part of that was stripping the glass, regulator and latching hardware out of the driver's side door, and mounting it back up to the car.
Then it's a matter of minor adjustments to the quarter to make it line up just so with the door. You have to watch the gap between quarter and door, the gap along the bottom of the door, and how the top of the door lines up with the top of that section of the quarter. It actually fits pretty well, but there were a few spots that need some work. Nothing drastic, though.
The next problem spot is the rear quarter where it meets up with the section holding the brake lights. There was a significant gap here, but it all pulled together nice, with the help of a couple ratchet tie-down straps.
The other problem areas are going to be the window channel, and a nasty gap by the trunk header panel. Very doable, though.
Also, the door is held in with another strap. So far, so good. Once I have it fitted, I'll take it all back apart, seal up my seams, then re-fit and weld the panel permanently. I'm liking how it's starting to look with the new metal.
More to come later!
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Broken Record
. . .As in, I'm starting to sound like one.
Progress on the Camaro is minimal. I did start over again fitting the quarter panel, using the front of the wheel well/back of the rocker as a reference point. Should be much closer. I do need to pull the door out of the basement and use it for fitting before I get any further.
On a side note, two new projects have raised their heads. Behold:
Progress on the Camaro is minimal. I did start over again fitting the quarter panel, using the front of the wheel well/back of the rocker as a reference point. Should be much closer. I do need to pull the door out of the basement and use it for fitting before I get any further.
On a side note, two new projects have raised their heads. Behold:
Lynn--who, for all intents and purposes, has been my dad since I was something like 7 years old--started doing some work on his two 1965 Chevy C10 pickups. The blue (or green) one was his dads, and the red one he bought brand-spanking new back in the good ol' days. Both trucks need a bunch of work, but they're really solid, and much better than they ought to be having been out in the weather for so long.
He started the blue truck right up. The red one should as well, but we're going to swap out the old points with an Eastwood HEI unit, then give it a try. We're not sure what the motor in the blue truck is, but the red on has a 283. The blue is most likely a 283 as well, but could also be a 265. It's nearly impossible for me to tell. One of these days we'll scrape down to the casting numbers and find out.
Plans are to build stake beds for the trucks, which should be pretty straightforward, and far less expensive than trying to restore the old beds.
So, we're all ass-deep in old Chevys. Which could be worse. We could be ass-deep in MOPARs, and then the only thing we could do is politely shoot ourselves and call it a day.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Slowing down
Things have really slowed down with the car. Between work and life, I haven't had much time to devote to the Camaro. Sad, but true.
I have begun fitting the quarter panel, and am busy clamping and screwing in the quarter around the wheel well first. Everything seems to be matching up fairly well, but it's not exactly plug-and-play.
Pictures to follow soon. I'm hoping to have this quarter done in the next week or two, so I can start on the other side. Sure would be nice to begin fitting the roof before snow falls. . .
I have begun fitting the quarter panel, and am busy clamping and screwing in the quarter around the wheel well first. Everything seems to be matching up fairly well, but it's not exactly plug-and-play.
Pictures to follow soon. I'm hoping to have this quarter done in the next week or two, so I can start on the other side. Sure would be nice to begin fitting the roof before snow falls. . .
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Moving along
So, here are some of those pictures from the last couple of days. I have the wheel well and trunk all welded in, and all I need now is a good long afternoon to fit and weld in the quarter panel. I didn't take too many pictures of the welded up panels--it's really not that exciting. But here are some pics of what fitting them in looks like, more or less.
First off, that hole with my finger in it holds the spring for the trunk lid. To line it up, I put a 1/2" drill bit into one side and levered the other into place, then secured it with a self-tapping sheet metal screw. I then moved along the rest of the wheel well, adjusting and adding screws where necessary.
The screws help pull things nice and tight for welding, and generally make life MUCH easier when fitting panels. But you have to be careful, because you can make yourself a mess if you don't watch it.
This is one of the more important structural elements, the roof support is welded directly to the outside wheel well. You can see here I've got it screwed in tight, and ready for welding.
The gray stuff is weld-through primer, which as far as I can tell is just really zinc-heavy spray paint. The heat of the weld melts it, and it flows back into the welded area as it cools. It seems a little backwards, because you have to sand the primer off the seams on the panels, and then paint them with weld-through primer. But it's a very important detail. The primer provides extra protection from rust in the places where you simply cannot paint--inside the welded seam.
I am also going to hit all of these seams with a good seam sealer before I fit and weld the quarter panel in place. Taking some extra steps to kill and prevent all that rust should extend the life of the car indefinitely.
You can see I have a little bit of a nasty gap where the rocker meets the wheel well. I'll patch this in, and weld it up nice and strong. I'm not worried about how pretty it is, just it's structural strength, since all of this will be covered up.
What it looks like after welding. I've also hit this with a wire brush really quick to clean it up. I'll actually brush it good before I apply the seam sealer. Down towards the bottom you can see one of the holes from the sheet metal screws. After I've welded everything in, I go back and undo the screws, then weld in the holes to fill them.
So now all I have to to is fit that quarter panel, and get it welded in.
Even though it's been a month, I've only been able to work on the car a couple days, so there's really not that much work represented here. I estimate that if a fellow was really serious, this whole quarter panel process could be done in 3 or four days. Faster in a professional shop with all the goodies.
First off, that hole with my finger in it holds the spring for the trunk lid. To line it up, I put a 1/2" drill bit into one side and levered the other into place, then secured it with a self-tapping sheet metal screw. I then moved along the rest of the wheel well, adjusting and adding screws where necessary.
The screws help pull things nice and tight for welding, and generally make life MUCH easier when fitting panels. But you have to be careful, because you can make yourself a mess if you don't watch it.
This is one of the more important structural elements, the roof support is welded directly to the outside wheel well. You can see here I've got it screwed in tight, and ready for welding.
The gray stuff is weld-through primer, which as far as I can tell is just really zinc-heavy spray paint. The heat of the weld melts it, and it flows back into the welded area as it cools. It seems a little backwards, because you have to sand the primer off the seams on the panels, and then paint them with weld-through primer. But it's a very important detail. The primer provides extra protection from rust in the places where you simply cannot paint--inside the welded seam.
I am also going to hit all of these seams with a good seam sealer before I fit and weld the quarter panel in place. Taking some extra steps to kill and prevent all that rust should extend the life of the car indefinitely.
You can see I have a little bit of a nasty gap where the rocker meets the wheel well. I'll patch this in, and weld it up nice and strong. I'm not worried about how pretty it is, just it's structural strength, since all of this will be covered up.
What it looks like after welding. I've also hit this with a wire brush really quick to clean it up. I'll actually brush it good before I apply the seam sealer. Down towards the bottom you can see one of the holes from the sheet metal screws. After I've welded everything in, I go back and undo the screws, then weld in the holes to fill them.
So now all I have to to is fit that quarter panel, and get it welded in.
Even though it's been a month, I've only been able to work on the car a couple days, so there's really not that much work represented here. I estimate that if a fellow was really serious, this whole quarter panel process could be done in 3 or four days. Faster in a professional shop with all the goodies.
Monday, July 2, 2012
Cripes!
I didn't realize it's been a month since that last post. It's been extremely difficult to get anything done on the car for a couple weeks.
I do have the trunk drop and wheel well welded in, I'll have pictures later today. All I need to do now is get the door on, fit that quarter panel and get it welded in. We have the 4th off, which is Wednesday, and I think I'm going to get up early and try to wrap the LH side of the car up.
Which means I'll have to go ahead and order the RH quarter and wheel well. But the only thing left after that is the roof.
I'm getting there. Slowly, but getting there. . .
I do have the trunk drop and wheel well welded in, I'll have pictures later today. All I need to do now is get the door on, fit that quarter panel and get it welded in. We have the 4th off, which is Wednesday, and I think I'm going to get up early and try to wrap the LH side of the car up.
Which means I'll have to go ahead and order the RH quarter and wheel well. But the only thing left after that is the roof.
I'm getting there. Slowly, but getting there. . .
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Trunk Drops 2
Trunk drops arrived yesterday afternoon via FedEx. I slept in a couple hours today, and then got out there and did some work.
I re-welded all of the spot welds I'd cut unnecessarily, welded in the patch in the wheel well, and did some general cleanup. I then re-fitted the outside wheel house, and fitted the new trunk drop. After temporarily placing the quarter panel on to check fit, it all looked like it would line up just fine. I've got the trunk drop set with a couple of sheet metal screws, and the wheel house is clamped in good and tight.
I should have the two welded in solid by the end of the week. Maybe if Saturday turns out to be a good day, I'll have that quarter panel fitted and welded as well.
I picked up a gun and cartridge of 3M 8115 Panel Bond. I'm going to use that in conjunction with the welding to fix these panels. It will also serve as a seam sealer. I was going to use body caulk, but the 3M rep said that this stuff should be fine for that. I'd rather use a single product, for simplicity's sake if nothing else.
Here's a picture all clamped up. You can also see the parts I've coated with POR-15. My shop is an unholy mess. It's got to the point I can hardly use it. Time to do some housecleaning!!!
I re-welded all of the spot welds I'd cut unnecessarily, welded in the patch in the wheel well, and did some general cleanup. I then re-fitted the outside wheel house, and fitted the new trunk drop. After temporarily placing the quarter panel on to check fit, it all looked like it would line up just fine. I've got the trunk drop set with a couple of sheet metal screws, and the wheel house is clamped in good and tight.
I should have the two welded in solid by the end of the week. Maybe if Saturday turns out to be a good day, I'll have that quarter panel fitted and welded as well.
I picked up a gun and cartridge of 3M 8115 Panel Bond. I'm going to use that in conjunction with the welding to fix these panels. It will also serve as a seam sealer. I was going to use body caulk, but the 3M rep said that this stuff should be fine for that. I'd rather use a single product, for simplicity's sake if nothing else.
Here's a picture all clamped up. You can also see the parts I've coated with POR-15. My shop is an unholy mess. It's got to the point I can hardly use it. Time to do some housecleaning!!!
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