The Willomet Charger

[Zoomin]

I never cease to be amazed at how many botched sheet metal repairs there are out there.

Oh well, looks like you're not going to be hurt too bad on this. Looks forward to hearing more about your plans on this one.

[GregWeld]

Originally Posted by Zoomin

I never cease to be amazed at how many botched sheet metal repairs there are out there.

David ---- just started at the beginning of your thread and after the quarter panel "reveal" post --- I saw this.....


Sorry guys --- this is an utter failure to understand not only the AGE of these cars -- but the simple truth that for many many years (decades) NOBODY WANTED THESE CARS....or '69 Camaro's either.

Body shops -- yes I worked at one --- were paid for insurance work -- and a bodyman gets about half the labor quote.... The faster he can get the car out of the shop and back on the road -- the more money HE makes..... We were in the era of "bondo" -- when I started -- we LEADED repairs..... that's right -- leaded.... with wood paddles etc. When sheetmetal came in wrinkled like this -- we'd pull on it - beat on it - stretch it - shrink it - use "crease pullers" and dent pullers -- and slathered it with mud.... I'm "ASSuming" this might have been an older repair that was deemed "okay" given the value of the auto at the time.... these weren't all $100,000 cars for their entire lifetime.


NICE PROJECT and fun to watch come together!

[1970RT]

Originally Posted by GregWeld

...I'm "ASSuming" this might have been an older repair that was deemed "okay" given the value of the auto at the time.... these weren't all $100,000 cars for their entire lifetime.


NICE PROJECT and fun to watch come together!

Thanks, Greg. I think you're reasonably safe in your ASSumtion, and it's clear this car was unloved for an extended period of time, yet managed to survive with the important bits still intact. It's mine now, and I've cut out most of the offensive stuff.

I've studied several of the builds you've shared, and it's greatly informed my way of thinking as I pursue a predictable and stable chassis that lets the suspension spread the workload as evenly as possible across the tires. There's a long way to go before it's back on tires and motivating under its own power. I just want to have the engine and trans stabbed before the end of the year.

It's a record-setting 109F today in Dallas, so I'm hydrated and headed out to the shop to get in some hours on these front rails.

David

[1970RT]

If y'all are tired of looking at front frame rails, too bad. There's still a good ways to go, but we're down to final fitment and welding. The most useful tool I have in my drawer is time, and I use it liberally to keep me moving ahead and avoiding as many mistakes/rework as possible

All the plates are welded, blended, and required only minor refitting to account for shrinkage. The Cleco holes all still line up, which is a good sign. I also went ahead and added a gusset to better transition the shock tower to the outer frame plate. Acute angles like that on a structural area bother me.


Why go through all this effort to expand the front rails? Here are two photos to illustrate. Before:


After:


The section height at the critical connection is about 2x from factory. While the inner fender sheetmetal does transfer loading from the front rails to the firewall and the rest of the unibody, it's not up to the task by itself given the handling goals for the car.

Final task is prepping the rails for welding - making sure the control arm hardware doesn't interfere with the lower plate and welds, grinding the uneven flanges on the upper part of the rail, and making sure I seal up the new frame shape from any water intrusion. Just taking my time, mocking up, and setting up the weld sequence.


Busy week ahead of day job stuff, but I'm grabbing the hours where I can.

David

[WSSix]

Thanks for the detailed photos, David. I appreciate the work you're putting in there so people like me can drool and aspire to more.

[1970RT]

Originally Posted by WSSix

Thanks for the detailed photos, David. I appreciate the work you're putting in there so people like me can drool and aspire to more.

Glad to share progress. It takes me a while to figure how I want to approach some parts of the chassis build, and taking a lot of photos is as helpful in planning next steps as it is documenting.

David

[1970RT]

Just catching up progress.

Front frame rails are just about fully welded. These will get blended and corners rounded. Inside:


Driver outside overlay after wire-wheeling:


And a parting shot, all cleaned up.


Lots of hours on this sub-project, and I'm idling the Charger for a few weeks as I prepare my suburban for its next adventure. I'll pick this back up after SEMA.

David

[WSSix]

Looks good, David. Is that a Handler 140 behind the car? Is that what you've been using this whole time? It's what I have and love. I especially like it now that I have 023 wire in there now. It does everything I need well enough for my skill level.