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- - The Willomet Charger (https://www.lateral-g.net/forums/showthread.php?t=54877)

Quote:

Originally Posted by andrewb70 (Post 658240)

Great start on the Charger and I also enjoyed the write-up about the Suburban!

One suggestion: cut down the size of the pictures here. You may have a giant monitor at home, but on a smaller monitor it is a little annoying having to scroll sideways. A good size is around 1200 pixels across for embedded pictures. Just a suggestion.

Thank you, and I appreciate the suggestion. I've been uploading from Tapatalk on my phone. I'll knock down the size from 'best' to 'medium'.

David

The march toward media blast continues.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...d7f01003ca.jpg

Doors removed to save weight and improve my 60ft times.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...ec06dd1ffc.jpg

3M strip discs make a lot of dust, so I worked outside. Cowl, doors, and half the roof were all bare metal. Also pulled the last remaining brackets and hardware.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...db9313b665.jpg

In the disassembly, I found the frame rails and crossmembers were filled with a fine sandy dirt. No kidding, there was a full dustpan of junk that rattled out as I rolled the car.

All hail compressed air:
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...815fe42281.jpg

Finished roof
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...2a577b4148.jpg

Fenders done:
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...394d213a73.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...f08771fbff.jpg

Lots more prep still to go.

David

Looks like a fun project.

I feel your pain on the previous owners repair attempts. I wonder if the same guy owned or worked on my 1961 Impala. :hairpullout: At least we both know how to fix these things.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gofastwclass (Post 658331)

I feel your pain on the previous owners repair attempts. I wonder if the same guy owned or worked on my 1961 Impala.

I'm reminded of the saying "perfection is the enemy of good enough," but it's odd to think of what passes for acceptable quality in some circles.

You're right. I'm glad the car is mine, and I can take my time to make it right.

David

...and about those quarters.

Lots of old rust and rot and rat scat. My rational was, "why have them blast and prime panels I've already planned to remove?" The passenger side revealed a scabbed on patch using lots of adhesive. The inner structure appeared solid.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...385bccf33a.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...4dce6d9f5f.jpg

The driver side was much less dramatic. Prying the panels off the rockers confirmed they're fairly intact, if a bit corroded.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...c2850ec84b.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...d46316bf90.jpg

The inner sail panels have a lot of that resin. I assume the PO used it as a backing to mound up body filler on the outside:
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...8a9c871e0e.jpg

Once ready, we loaded her up on the trailer, and I took it to North Texas Customs.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...4fe3af2c5f.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...b8cb079183.jpg

I also took the fenders and doors, but I still have some work to do on the hood and deck lid, and they can be handled individually.

They blast with a 40/80 grit garnet, and scrape off what that doesn't get - underbody coating, resin, etc. To avoid stress relieving and warping, only one side of a panel is blasted - they treat and sand the underside of the roof chemically and/or mechanically before priming. Turns out, this process is what the shop is best known for, and they have a good reputation from members on a few forums, the HAMB in particular.

Big step for the car.

David

Continuing work up front, I started patching some of the through-rust on the rails. The rails are all 14ga, so patching is a lot like sheetmetal repair.

Marked up rail highlighting damage:
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...328d0e9741.jpg

The rail under the bump stop brackets had spotty pitting; more pin holes to repair:
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...4b9e2f0b38.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...0687e4c0d0.jpg

Also noticed the inner frame braces were deeply pitted, so lots of evidence that water collected in this area and never made it to the drain holes slightly farther back.

Drilled the rust packed spot welds and cut out the neighboring pitting:
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...40b9bfdae5.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...2324a86ac4.jpg

Fit the patch:
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...5aa38258f4.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...b0929593f6.jpg

Ready for bump stops.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...82be0a166b.jpg

Wrapping up some repairs on the inner part of the rail - pitting, spot welds, and porosity:
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...de88d63e4d.jpg

David

Glad to see you doing a great job :military:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jimbo1367 (Post 658560)

Glad to see you doing a great job.

One piece at a time.

David

Taking a closer look at the UCA brackets, it looks like there are some cracks in those welds, too. I'm prototyping on the driver rail, and will duplicate on the other side.

Decided for a change of pace, and started on the battery tray repair/modification. Since the battery will sit in the passenger rear of the trunk, I figured I would reclaim these few cubic inches for the engine bay:
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...2431290515.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...0db8fb089b.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...4f0aa11572.jpg

David