64 chevelle dissection/resurrection

Lead is a wonderful way to do body work---if you can find it somewhere-- to correct others mistakes or your own work in a restoration/repair.

Would love to do that kind of work but haven't got a torch setup to do it yet. Eastwood has everything to do it and I've watched several of the how to videos but just havent gotten to that point yet.
 
Got the lip replaced for the lh cowl panel and got the inside all coated just have to wait for it to dry up so I can get the outer panel fitted. Have to buy some seam sealer to coat the cowl to pillar seam before closing it up.
 

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Aint spot welding and stitch welding hell? That is why I bought the wire feed welder, mostly for aluminum and stainless steel.

Ican't do TIG welding anymore, hurts my eyes and body/back.

You are doing a great job !!Don't give up and don't get hurt !!
 
Aint spot welding and stitch welding hell? That is why I bought the wire feed welder, mostly for aluminum and stainless steel.

Ican't do TIG welding anymore, hurts my eyes and body/back.

You are doing a great job !!Don't give up and don't get hurt !!

Thank you. The welding isnt to bad as long as I don't have to chase a hole which theres a lot of. Some of these areas are pretty thin and the welder is the best tool for finding the thin spots.

The idea on this is to save as much as I can and coat everything that is currently or prone to rusting with eastwood encapsulator and see what happens long term. I'm coating everything in the cowl areas and rockers with this encapsulator since those are the hardest spots to get to and fix.

I'll be working on the roof and any other areas in the cabin interior area prior to putting the floor and firewall back in. A lot easier to stand inside of the floorless car and work than it is to crawl around on a floor pan thats for sure.
 
Drill a 1/8th hole in front of the hole you are chasing and it will be easier to patch both that way even if it is thin.
 
Been busy traveling and working on the tractor over the last few weeks so haven't gotten much time to work on the car. Made a last minute decision yesterday to drive to Bakersfield this morning for some cheap fiberglass frontend parts ($40). I spent more on tank of California gas. 19lbs total weight bumper and fenders. I'll feel a lot less guilty about cutting these for a tilt frontend.20200322_193426.jpg
 
I've been categorized as an essential employee but to low on the seniority list to keep working with such a reduced flight schedule. Laid off uentil further notice so it's a good time to work on the car. Been pretty busy over the last few weeks.

Right rocker coated. Have to weld a patch panel in on the after lower corner near the wheel well.
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Left rocker.
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Wire wheeled the inner roof and coated it with eastwood rust converter. Basically turns it to black oxide. Need to do another coat tomorrow.
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Got the old firewall cut out. Thankfully the car didnt flex at all, braces worked. Have to weld up some holes and get the contact areas for the firewall coated.
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Got the donor floor and firewall cleaned up. All the areas that will be enclosed or mated are coated. Still trying to decide whether to coat and paint the interior part of the pan now while it's at waste height or wait until it's actually installed.
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looks like you certainly have your hands full, and more importantly your doing a good job.
 
yes, having gone through a bit less extensive but none, the less complicated body restoration on both,
a friends 1967 Fairlane, and a friends 1964 GTO, in past years
I can assure the less knowledgeable members that this if far more complicated and time-intensive than it looks.
that and it surely requires a decent welder and some sheet metal fabrication skills,
(if you want the job done correctly.. P
you'll be forced to buy a decent welder and a bunch of bodywork tooling
and
you'll certainly be forced to learn the required skills to use those tools, in the restoration process.
 
yes, having gone through a bit less extensive but none, the less complicated body restoration on both,
a friends 1967 Fairlane, and a friends 1964 GTO, in past years
I can assure the less knowledgeable members that this if far more complicated and time-intensive than it looks.
that and it surely requires a decent welder and some sheet metal fabrication skills,
(if you want the job done correctly.. P
you'll be forced to buy a decent welder and a bunch of bodywork tooling
and
you'll certainly be forced to learn the required skills to use those tools, in the restoration process.
Thanks Grumpy. Patience has a lot to do with it too. But as far as tooling for anyone that may come along and see this thread it's a stepping stone process buy it steps. You have standard tools like angle grinders, die grinders and cut off tools that you need as well as a welder. One thing I can recommend if you're going to go as far into a project as I am is everything in the picture below.

Blair spotweld cutter kit. It's cheaper to buy the kit than individual pieces thats first time around and if you need replacement cutters. Just buy the kit. The rotabroach stick lube works extremely well so I would buy that along with the kit. Next just a 3/16 drill bit thats what I use for a hole punch for the centering bit. Last would be the spot weld chisel which helps in seperating the panels once you drill the spot welds, it works better than screw driver. These somewhat special tools are probably my biggest go to's and proves to leave behind a better working surface than cutting wheels and heavy grinding in most cases.
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Did some more welding and coating today. The platinum encapsulator really brightens everything up.
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Switched out the original chassis with the 66 factory boxed chassis that I plan to modify for what I want to do. Made the wife help change out the tires and break a couple down to put some new tires on that will make it sit level.
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Sealed the seams on the lower cowl to pillar panels and got the drivers side cowl cover welded on.
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Reached a good point on the inside of the car and finally got the floor and the body united. Boy what a screw around it was to get the floor in there. The factory sure didn't put the floors in the way I did. Firewall and floor had to have been installed seperate. At any rate myself and the wife got a good workout picking this body up and down several times over and finally managed to get the body to slip down over the floor with the help of a hammer to massage some parts of the floor pan. Next is getting it all squared up and welded in.
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Took a little break from working on the car for a couple of days. Did some much needed organizing of my vast supply of hardware and did some upgrades on a friends truck. Plan to get back to work tomorrow and do somemore welding on the floor and maybe get it finished up. Probably the 100th time I've taken the body off the chassis and I'm sure not the last time.

Had some fun today and used one of my spare blocks to mock up the engine and 4 speed. Will have to chop a good size hole for the hurst ramrod shifter to fit.20200425_153325.jpg
 
nice to see it looking like the car has potential, other than as a project solely designed to enhance your fabrication skills.
I know how frustrating it is at times because of the longer time frame,
and an overwhelming amount of work thats required to do a complete restoration.
 
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Looking good. I have a 64 El Camino that I’m working on. Currently cleaning up the engine bay. One thing always leads to another.
 
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