Getting a start on the convertible project

big m · Post by **big m** » Wed Dec 07, 2011 12:27 pm

Another minor dilemna- Where to put the frame until I can use the croossmember and extra mounts in the donor frame. This thing is rusty, and could easily be considered scrap, so I do not want to put it outside where one of the guys may toss it in the scrap bin, but it will be in the way inside. I used a couple come alongs and raised it to the ceiling, and chained it up out of the way.

---John

rogerh · Post by **rogerh** » Thu Dec 08, 2011 5:37 am

As always, things are looking up at Big M's-

Steve Storey · Post by **Steve Storey** » Fri Dec 09, 2011 7:48 am

Brings back memories of my fruitless hunt for a Plymouth trans. mount cross piece. Finally found an Imperial cross piece I cut in half, bolted the two pcs. in and welded a piece in to extend it. I think all the Imperials had the x frame with a too short cross member.

big m · Post by **big m** » Thu Jan 12, 2012 12:15 pm

Back to the trunk floor,
I had a trunk floor from a '58 that was cut out, but the customer never paid for, so what better use for it than this project. Scraping surface rust and undercoat was the first step-

Drilling out welds for the latch support, I will need to cut a very straight line across t5his section, as I will not be using the tailpanel-

big m · Post by **big m** » Thu Jan 12, 2012 12:22 pm

Here is what I removed from the floor pan, as I will not be using these pieces-

Here is the floor pan that I will be using. I used a plasma cutter along a straight edge for the rear cut, as it had to be straight-

There was a rust hole in the replacement pan several inches around next to the fuel filler tube, I fabricated a patch piece, and butt welded it in.

Here is a photo of the trunk floor underside presently in the car, which is why it is being replaced

big m · Post by **big m** » Thu Jan 12, 2012 12:27 pm

Before cutting away at the original floor, I supported the rear half of the car on horses. This will prevent distortion and sagging in the quarter panels-

Trunk floor is now completely welded back in. More grinding of welds will follow-

big m · Post by **big m** » Thu Jan 12, 2012 12:29 pm

I sent my Sport steering wheel along with a customer's in Poland to have them both recast last summer, and they arrived back today. I am quite happy with the results, as even NOS steering wheels have had the clear plastic turn yellow over the years-

big m · Post by **big m** » Wed Mar 21, 2012 12:13 pm

Smoothing out the welds. Truly a boring task, as it will take approximately 60 hours of work to get the welds smooth enough to finish. Excess pressure will cause heat and distort the metal, so slow and easy is the rule here.
Here are some areas that are getting close to completion.

I used this vixen file for cutting high spots and removing any weld splatter-

big m · Post by **big m** » Wed Mar 21, 2012 12:25 pm

More welding and tidying up of the welds- about as much fun as block sanding-

A few things had to be corrected before installing the trunk latch support. There was a four inch rust hole directly behind the latch support, where dirt and moisture had collected, as well as a hole where an air shock valve had been mounted-

I cut a patch piece from a good section of the old floor for fitment, and tacked it in-

After grinding the area smooth, ready for the replacement support-

I removed this latch support from another car, but the lower area also was rusted thin. I cut the weak area out, and fabricated a small patch piece for it, and tacked it in place-

Rust cut out, and patch tacked in place-

After grinding, the repair is no longer visible-

Rosette welds to secure the base of the support, just grinding them down will complete this phase for a good repair.

big m · Post by **big m** » Thu May 17, 2012 12:04 pm

Back to Rust-B-Gon.

I decided to tackle a couple of small rust holes at the front of the wheel opening, cutting the rust area out-

I fabricated a small piece from the leftover quarter panel section of the parts car, dollying it to get the wheel opening contour correct-

The other side of the car had a slightly smaller spot, so it was cut out and finished the same way.

big m · Post by **big m** » Thu May 17, 2012 12:41 pm

Left side quarter panel had some rust issues, the inner panel was also rusty.

An aggressive cleaning revealed about ten small pinholes in the metal on the outer skin-

I welded all the pinholes, and ground the welds smooth. Next, I cut the inner panel out, and prepared it for repairs

Repair panel cut and fitted to be butt welded in-

Quarter panel with weakened metal removed-

Quarter panel repair piece fitted to the car ready for butt welding-

Completed repair with minimal finish work-

Dick Koch · Post by **Dick Koch** » Thu May 17, 2012 3:41 pm

John - Great work, your pictures are giving me some good tips, I've started cutting out the floors for replacement and am trying to fiqure out what to do about the inner rockers, the outer rockers seem to be OK.
Thanks,
Dick.

big m · Post by **big m** » Fri May 18, 2012 11:44 am

Thanks, Dick!

In order to access the inner rockers, you will probably need to remove the outers as well. The convertible rockers were 12 gauge steel, rather than 18 gauge the other models used, and probably will be OK. Mine were gone, as the car set in the forest in upstate New York since the '60's. Maybe you will be lucky, and be able to patch your existing inner panels.

---John

big m · Post by **big m** » Thu Jun 14, 2012 2:59 pm

Back to the passenger side quarter.
I found a car in the yard that appeared to have a nice rear lower quarter, but after spending two hours extracting the car from its resting spot, I found there had been a section brazed on, and the panel was far from good. I went back to the car in the shop, and heated the metal with a torch, and used a rag soaked with cold water, and a slapping file to shrink the metal to where it was close enough to do a suitable job. Now to cut the rusty area out.

This was the lower piece from the donor car. No rust bubbles, or signs of decay, until it was turned over.

After harsh wire wheeling, multiple pinholes were discovered, but since my options were running out, I spent the time to weld them all up using a copper body spoon as a backing-

I decided to clean the rust residue from the inner trunk drop, and found many pinholes in a piece that otherwise looked good. I decided to make this repair piece rather than hope to find a good one.
I welded it in, and ground the welds off.

Finished area, needs only minor metal finish to be perfectly smooth. This was the last hole on the exterior to remedy, so progress has been made!

big m · Post by **big m** » Thu Jun 14, 2012 3:21 pm

Getting the metal cleaned- The local mercantile store still had quart cans of Jasco paint stripper, and I used it to remove the paint from the sides and firewall-