63 Biscayne

[renegade6]

A few more pictures.

In case you're wondering why I have such an odd pattern for the quarter panel patch, it's because the patch panel is absolute crap and I wanted to keep as much original sheet metal as I can.

[renegade6]

Time for an update again. I've actually had some time off work to spend some quality alone time with the car. For this update, I've done the following:


-Finished welding up the driver's side quarter panel patch. The patch panels are a POS but, I made it work. I was going to weld up another rust hole but, decided I would put in a patch...While I was welding I heard a clunk and now I have a new dent to fix.

-Fabricated seat mounts for the front and back seats. I sourced the seats from a Lexus SC400, the fronts are full power and heated. Although there are a crap load of wires, you only need three wires on the driver's seat (two grounds and a power) and two wires on the passenger seat. The back seat was a little more involved. As you can see from the pictures, it was too tall for the car so, I cut a six inch chunk out of the middle of it and welded the inner frame together. Fortunately, the foam isn't very flammable. I used 3/4" square tubing for the bottom frame, light weight and plenty of support even with me sitting in it. The seat doesn't sit as low as it did in the Lexus so, I welded in a couple of bars so the upholstery folks have something to fill the hole in with.

-Worked out a few dents on the drivers side quarter and while working on the rear tail light panel, discovered that it is going to have to be replaced. I think the patch panels for these are halfway decent and if they are bad, I'll just graft in a piece.

-Removed the passenger side trunk weatherstrip rail and replaced the metal that it attaches to on the quarter panel. I finally got a chance to use the shrinker/stretcher that I've had sitting around the garage and it was worth the $50 bucks I spent on it.

Pending your comments and suggestions...

[renegade6]

More pictures

[renegade6]

Last of the pictures for now...

[renegade6]

I didn't think I made much progress since the last update but, was able to get a few things done.

-Replaced the drivers side rear tail light panel
-Replaced the filler below the trunk
-Welded and panel bonded the trunk weatherstrip channels. I am really glad I have a shrinker/stretcher otherwise this really would have been a PITA.
-Stripped all the surface rust off of the trunk lid
-Fixed the majority of the dents on the PS quarter panel however, I will still need a bit of filler on the seams where I welded in the patch. Seems like every time I weld in a patch panel, I end up getting a pucker (low spot) where the seam is. If anyone has any suggestions, I'm all ears.
-Rebuilt all of the hinges
-Fixed the master cylinder backing plate to allow for the difference between the original firewall and the smooth firewall
-And the big thing, last night I looked outside and a big box is next to the garage...My Aeromotive Stealth Fuel Cell and cage built by Schwartz!!!

[renegade6]

In case you're wondering why all of the Ms on the weatherstrip channel, turn your computer upside down and you will see Ws Marking where I needed to strip weld thru primer off of for the panel bond.

One other little project was building a caulking gun for the 50ml 3M seam sealer. Short story is I saw a great deal on seam sealer but, didn't realize that it was only 50ml instead of the standard size so, instead of spending another $50 for a new gun, I just made one.

[renegade6]

Oh, how could I forget a picture of my new fuel cell. I'm extremely pleased with the work that Schwartz did on it; I couldn't have asked for more.

[renegade6]

Not much accomplished today. I just confirmed that I am really a fan of stud guns and associated pullers. Seems to me like I have better luck with a stud gun than I do with hammer and dolly. The other thing that I've found I like is using layout dye to see the low spots. Until I started using this, I just used primer and guide coat and found I was wasting a lot of primer doing my rough work.

Managed to make a crease pretty much disappear and what's left will get filled in with filler or some high build.

[WSSix]

Good job, and good tip using machining dye to find low spots.

[renegade6]

Time for another update. Took a bit of time off of work for the holidays and managed to get a bit accomplished. I'm really close on the body where I have all of the rough metal work finished and need to spray some epoxy before I start using the filler. But, with this unbelievably cold weather it will take me forever to heat up the garage.

For this update, I've done the following:

-Fabricated brackets for the fuel cell cage and mounted it to the frame. When doing this, there was really one thing I wish I had...A good working knowledge of geometry. I guess there is a reason that I wasn't a mathematician . Even with my weak skills I had just enough metal for fabricate the brackets. I planned on using a fuel cell remote filler but, when I received it, figured out it was just too big to fit in the original filler pocket so, I'll make the original filler neck work.

-Made a cover for the fuel cell to replace the metal I had to cut out of the trunk. Surprisingly, I did it correctly on the first time and didn't waste half a sheet of steel like I've done a time or two before.

-Lastly, I mounted my throttle pedal. I was originally planning on welding some studs to the firewall but, with the tight clearances, it made more sense to attach it to the master cylinder and steering column backing plate.

Next step is to mount the vintage air mock up unit and install the rivnuts for the fuel cell cover.