TripDeuces

It's a 335/30x20, 20x12 rim. Fronts will be 18". I'd like to tuck them up inside at least a little bit.
I know many here won't like this combo but on such a big slab sided car like my 66 I find 18's look like the perfect size. I wanted to fill the wheel wells as best I could with out a lot of space over the tire. I modeled mine after a 66/67 GTO I saw that looked killer with this combo. I guess time will tell.

TripDeuces

Got the first hole filled in and welded. I think it looks like crap but I never realized how tough it was to weld sheet metal. I think I have it figured out now. Basically it's a series of welding tacks although at this point I can almost run mini beads if I space them out.
This was the pinch weld that encroached into the wheel well space so I had to cut it back to allow the tire to articulate through it's range of motion. Either way it won't be seen under the undercoat or paint once finished. I honestly feel like a hack at this point but as my buddy says "We're not building submarines here". Lol, can you tell he's a welder at Electric Boat?
Next I put the wheel well back in with the two inch filler piece.

TripDeuces

Well I've done it now. I purchased a rotisserie. I was so uncomfortable welding from underneath that I figured it was time. I have some great plans for building my own but I didn't want another project and the money spent would have been close anyway.
It's 3k capacity and most of the bells and whistles. It was on sale until Aug 31 at $200 off with free shipping. Can't beat that deal.
Before I go flipping things around I'm going to put a few more braces on the body for peace of mind. Some in the trunk and some inside the passenger compartment. I've seen others do it with less bracing but I'd rather err on the side of caution.
The welder blew up on me but thankfully it has a lifetime guarantee, thank you Eastwood. Just when I was getting comfortable with the sheet metal welding the heat went down to practically nothing and it wouldn't even penetrate the sheet metal so waiting for the new one to arrive. My buddies TIG is here for me to use but that's a new skill set I haven't mastered yet.

rand5204

Looking for a rotisserie. What brand is your new one?

TripDeuces

Rand5204 here is the link:

http://www.bestbuyautoequipment.com/...al-cr-3000.htm

TripDeuces

Got the body mounted and set on the rotisserie today. Works like a dream. Hopefully things will speed up now.

Magna86

Now you are just showing off with these new toys I mean tools! :-)

TripDeuces

I was looking for a better way to weld my wheel wells and a friend in the field suggested I use silicon bronze MIG wire. Couldn't find it locally so I ordered some online.
I got to try it out today and have to say it's fantastic! It's more a brazing technique than welding. Once dialed in it's easy to run a continuous bead that's real smooth.
This process is not structural so having the metal at least tacked underneath is advised. It is essentially a braze.
Pics later.

TripDeuces

Been awhile. I went into hibernation mode this winter, not a fan of the cold.
My last post I talked about the silicone bronze mig wire. It turned out to be a two edged sword. Although it flows out easily and bonds the sheet metal together well I ended up fubaring (technical term ) my work up. It was working so well I decided to use it to fill in any low spots I had rather than using body filler. Because it's molten bronze essentially it got so hot that the wheel well I spent so much time on sunk in from all the heat and now I have a mess. I don't even want to show any pics I'm so mad at myself. I've talked to several people about repairing it and it can be done but will be a lot of work. At least I know what I'll be doing this Spring.
Since no one makes a convertible inner wheel well for a 66 I'll have to repair what I have. I'll chalk it up to a learning experience.
On a good note I purchased a new air compressor. A 5hp dual stage with a 60 gallon tank. Still in the process of setting it up but I did test it on Saturday and the thing is a beast. My old Sears 4hp just didn't have the CFM to run tools well but no problem now. Just as a comparison: Sears= 7 SCFM @ 90 PSI, New one= 15.8 SCFM @ 90 PSI and 25 gallon vs 60

RandyS

Damn Trip, I was lookin forward to some more pics of your progress. Could you use an Acetylene torch to heat the wheel house and reshape it?

TripDeuces

Randy yes I could. That was one of the suggestions by a body guy. Heat it in small spots until about 300* which should be red I'd imagine and then press a cold ice packed rag on it. It will make the metal shrink and pop back into place. I'm willing to try anything at this point as long as it works. I even bought a stud welder to try that.
I plan lots of progress this spring and summer and I'm looking forward to it all with anticipation.

cjsdad

I have done a lot of reading over at metalmeet.com and they mention a gadget called a shrinking disk a lot. Basically a flat stainless steel disk that you put on your angle grinder. You use it like a burnisher and press it against the body panels. It heats the high spots as it spins and they shrink down as they cool. Dunno if that is something you can use for your situation but looks like a worthwhile addition to most any body work.

TripDeuces

I checked that out on Youtube CJSDAD. I like that. At least it doesn't use a flame. Thanks for the idea

gear head

The torch method works very well. A MAP gas torch will also get the metal hot enough, I usually just dunk a rag in water to cool the metal.

Should be a sweet ride when you're done, keep at it.

TripDeuces

Back again. Went out of my mind trying to fix the silicon-bronze fiasco......shrink disc, stud welder, torch and a wet rag (spray bottle works too), BFH's, etc. Out of all of them the torch and wet rag was the best. Unfortunately I no longer have sheet metal, I have silicon-bronze and sheet metal plate which is just too thick to heat properly. Only way to get the torch method to work was to grind out the bronze filler so I could get it red hot. Well after two days of grinding that crap out of their I wasn't getting anywhere too fast so I went ballistic and cut the offending mess out. All 17x5 inches of it. I'm now basically starting from scratch but I got traction today and got it partially tacked in. You can see in my straightedge pic how deep the depression was. It's anywhere from 3/8 to 1/2 inch sunken down. I actually feel better now. Hopefully the tacking will be done tomorrow.

TripDeuces

Picture of the beast. Love the new compressor.

TripDeuces

Finished the hard part of the drivers side wheel well today. Ground down the welds in preparation for primer and filler. Welded the green bracket in today and cleaned things up a bit. I know it probably doesn't look it but it is better, ha.
Passenger side should be a lot easier now that I know the deal. Actually looking forward to it and much more comfortable with my meager skills. Jumping into the deep end wasn't so bad after all.

oldcutlass

Too bad on the setback, nice rework.

TripDeuces

Rocking out in the garage with Mott the Hoople and my body saw today. Cut out the passenger wheel well to add my two inch strip in. So much better when you have a body saw that actually works. Little suckers use some serious CFM.
I'm beginning to see light at the end of this tunnel.

TripDeuces

Finished adding the two inch strip in today. A few more patches to add but the hard part is done. Needs a little tweaking and then it's ready for filler and paint. I wish I could say it was easier but not really sure. I did things a little differently on this side but body work is not my forte.
Also picked up a small soda blaster and will try that out later. Getting there, maybe slowly but getting there. Was the Pixies today for the music.

TripDeuces

Finished the patching on the passenger side wheel well today. Also found some rust behind the undercoating in the wheel well that corresponds to the drains for the convertible top. It appears that after 50 years the body putty was letting water get behind it and it rusted through into the wheel well on both sides. The hydraulic top cylinder was apparently leaking on the drivers side and it coated the drain area and caused it to rust a little slower.
On this side I did several things differently. Instead of welding the front face of the wheel well from the inside I hammered a 90* edge all the way around it and welded it from the outside. I doubt it needs that kind of attention but I think it looks a little better. I also bolted the wheel well in from the bottom instead of tack welding it in to hold it in place initially. I think it makes for a much tighter gap. Tomorrow I'll remove the bolts and weld the holes up tight.
I can now work out the placement for the body mount behind the wheel well and weld that in place. That will give me the final measurement for the mounting tab on the frame and I can move it and finish the frame off.
I'm no body guy or even good at welding but I've learned a lot with this project.
You can see where I had to cut the two inch patches crosswise to make them fit better. Although my cuts were fairly straight they weren't square and that caused a few errors. Making cuts like this fixed it nicely.

TripDeuces

Blasted and painted the body mounts just behind the wheel well today. Hammered them somewhat flat and then put some primer on them. Because they had to be moved when I widened the wheel wells I'm going to move them rearward 3" and then move the frame mounts the same amount and finish off the frame in that area by making a pie cut and then folding the piece in and welding it to the outside face. I didn't touch it back when doing the frame because I didn't know exactly how much I needed to move them, now I do.

TripDeuces

Finished up the body mounts today. Since I'm moving them 3 inches to the rear and the wheel well mounting surface will no longer work because on the widened wheel wells I decided to cut off the spot weld flange which wouldn't be needed and cover the opening with a piece of thin plate to tidy up the look as well as give it a little more bracing. A little fabrication, welding, sand blasting and paint and all is good. I think it came out pretty nice for a hack.

TripDeuces

Cut the frame mounts behind the rear tires off so they can be moved 3 inches to the rear to align with the body mounts. Now I can fold that frame piece in and finish the frame.

gear head

Coming together nicely.

TripDeuces

Roughed in the drivers side today.

TripDeuces

Finished and primed drivers side and cut and welded passenger side in. Was pulling my hair out because I thought welder was crapping out again, turned out to be the wire feed. Still doesn't make up for my bad welds but that's my story today.

TripDeuces

Changed my mind on starting a new thread so apologies for those who got that update. The build will continue here until complete. I basically finished the frame today by finish painting and installing the frame mounts for the body. I'll have to hit that with some satin black chassis paint to dumb that shine down, ewww.
What do you do when your new soda blaster has no fill? You make one out of a 1 1/2 x 3 pipe nipple and a cap! Filling it required you to remove the regulator top piece each time and that flimsy *** o-ring just wasn't going to hang with all that abuse over time. It was a pain in the *** anyway as it was slightly too big and kept squishing out so I fixed that problem.

TripDeuces

Cleaned up the underside a bit so I could mount the body mount brace to the trunk pan. Read somewhere that aircraft type stripper will remove undercoat, well it sure did. Seeing 50 year old steel was almost orgasmic. Primed it and bolted the brace in. Tomorrow I'll rosebud weld it in using the existing holes.

cjsdad

You need to get out more often!

TripDeuces

Yes, out to the garage more often.

Cleaned up the welds today and shot it with a coat of primer. Ran out of welding gas so on hold for a bit until it comes in through another source. My welding supply house closed down and is about 15 more miles away now, cripes. Luckily a good friend who owns a garage is taking care of me soon.

Tymiles24

Love the work your doing....can't wait to tear mine down this winter.

TripDeuces

Thx Tymiles24, appreciate it

TripDeuces

Had to modify the nozzle on the new blaster to get it to work with the coal slag blast media but works like a dream now. The three small holes I found in the lower rear quarter turned into Swiss cheese when I hit it with the blaster.
Good thing I have the patch panel coming from Auto Metal Direct. Blaster tore through the undercoat like butter too.

TripDeuces

After talking to my old boss who's a body man by trade he suggested I take a torch and a putty knife to the undercoat in the wheel well. That's what I did today. Lacquer thinner, maybe some blasting and a coat of epoxy primer and she'll be ready for a couple coats of sound deadener and maybe even a thermal coat.
I also measured the wheel well to show how monstrous they are. My 13.5 inch tires will have plenty of room.
I've learned quite a lot with this project. I'm never butt welding sheet metal again. I'm going to flange and spot weld everything from now on. I think it's more forgiving that way, especially considering my minimal skills with welding and body work. Stay tuned

Gerald Nickels

I have used two of Just Dashes and both were great but some work in fitment is needed. But they are good. They only had a red dash pad for this 65 I'm doing and painted it black came out great and fit OK. I have 3 cracked dashes if someone wants them. I did ask Just Dashes if they needed them they said NO.

TripDeuces

Big job done today. I removed the rotted lower quarter to make way for the patch panel. I want to thank GM for the 36 spot welds. I perfected my spot weld removal process and it actually wasn't bad at all. The spot weld removal tool kept walking on me even after I used a punch to make a divot. I was determined to make it work as just drilling them out was a pain in the *** to weld up nicely and a backing would have been preferred. I ended up drilling a 1/16 inch hole for the center bit to stay in and it worked like a dream.
I then used a 'fence' I made out of 1/8th x 1 inch aluminum and bolted it to the trim holes, this was my guide for the nibbler. I also want to thank the Chinese for their instructions which stated to drill a 1/2inch starter hole for the nibbler head to fit into. Only problem is the head is .565 inches. *&^% Since I didn't have a 1/2inch Chinese bit I used an all American 1/2inch bit and then using some good ole Yankee ingenuity I hogged it out slightly with a genuine Electric Boat tapered burr until the nibbler fit. I thought it ironic that throughout this process my tablet I use to play my MP3's was belting out Robin Lane and the Chartbusters - Why Do You Tell Lies, HAHA. Robin Lane was a local Boston band from the late 70's. She's still going strong too. The nibbler worked like a dream and I popped the old panel right off after chiseling spot weld 37 which I missed, sigh. I even found some loot, a pen, pencil, cheap *** wrench and a wooden handle to a paint brush sans the bristles (not pictured).
New patch panel is next on the agenda.

TripDeuces

More pics

TripDeuces

Made the panel to fit the hole today and used my new Cleco kit to hold it up. I'll be removing it to blast and paint behind before the final weld up. The Cleco set was $30 well spent, worked like a charm.

salb203

I am totally impressed with he work you are doing. Its truly a labor of love!

Sal