82transam

iTrader: (18)

For a first timer that is excellent! Nothing to be ashamed of there at all. Seal that baby up and call it done!

Surprised you found the .035 easier to work with though, but hey whatever works right!

woodmv

iTrader: (8)

Thanks guys! I was happy to have gotten that far. IDK why the thicker wire was easier, but I did notice I could get that "pool" of metal working better with it rather than with the thinner wire. Weird, I know.

I have to admit though I had a LOT of holes to fill where I had drilled out a spotweld and those were challenging on this 1 mm thick metal. It was hard to fill those without building up huge piles of weld that dripped downward, and I had a hard time not burning through the metal, so as you can see in the pictures, there were more than a few spots where the metal just built up underneath the car in big globs of metal. Those I had to grind down on the bottom. It was a long process of weld, grind, check for pinholes, weld, grind, check for pinholes, etc., etc. I also spent quite a bit of time where the transmission cross member bolts to the car because I wanted to make sure that piece was firmly welded in place. I'd hate to stomp on the gas and find that the torque on the transmission snaps a weld or that it shakes and works a bad weld loose. So, she ain't the prettiest of prom dates, but I'll bet she'll run when she's done!!

As I said, I still need to dress up the welds and put the seam sealer in there and on the bottom, then I can get this piece welded in place. It installs forward of the floorpan at the firewall in the wheel well area. I have to straighten it out and get it ready to weld. Mine was rusted out pretty badly. This one is in pretty good shape.



I'll update again when I get the bottom dressed up and painted and then get that piece installed. More to follow!!

craaaazzy

iTrader: (9)

Nice work! I'm really jealous of how much time u can dedicate to your car...wish I had more free time to learn how to weld.

woodmv

iTrader: (8)

Thanks Craaaaazzy! I had more free time over the winter than I am going to have over the spring with spring sports starting up. Lots of practices and games to get the kids to which will take away from my time with the car, but that's ok. I have no budget so I have no schedule!

I did manage to get the final piece installed on the drivers side. The welds are not that pretty at all because I had lots of holes from drilled out spot welds all in the same little areas. It was challenging to get it sealed up and as a result the welds look sloppy. I got it welded in, primed and seam sealed. Just waiting on the seam sealer to dry then I can put the undercoating on.








I thought I had pounded out that dent on the leading edge, dammit!!!










It's gonna be cold here the next few days, so I won't be able to put any undercoating on until maybe this weekend. But, I have the passenger side to do. I took some pics of what that looks like. The passenger side isn't nearly as bad as the drivers side, which is curious. Not sure why that would be, but it is in much better shape. I have to drill out the panel I just installed on the drivers side and cut it out of the donor car.







I'm gonna invest in a spot weld drill bit before I tackle this thing tho. I've already spent as much in "normal" drill bits (if not more) as I would have if I had just bought one... Economics and my hard headedness often do not align.

Qingdao

iTrader: (3)

Excelent!!!

Did you ever get to that little spot by the wipers that borders the fender. I have issues their.

I have TWO more weeks and my SA won't be DD anymore. I can finally start attempting this.

woodmv

iTrader: (8)

Do you mean the spot where the wiper arm comes through the cowl? I just POR-15'd that area to treat the rust. I'll have to sand it down and feather it in to make it presentable before I get the car repainted.

If you mean the section in the post above that is above the upper hinge at the point that the cowl and the side structure come together, then no I have not done anything with that yet. I did decide I am not going to cut into that area - way too many sections of metal come together there. One is an internal structural piece and one is the tunnel section for the air passage - all internal to that section. My guess is that in production they must have welded those sections together before the cowl was welded in. There is a lot of seam sealer on the inside that makes that part hard to disassemble cleanly. I sprayed a bunch of POR-15 metal ready in those holes to hopefully stem any rust or deterioration and then I'm gonna use that fiberglass POR-15 patch to seal it up. I'll take my chances that it won't rust out too bad in the coming years.

Glad to see someone is watching my thread - hope it's not too boring. Good luck on your rust-o-ration. Mine has definitely been a learning experience!

82transam

iTrader: (18)

I'm watching your thread too. Dont beat yourself up too much about gloppy looking welds. As long as they're strong it's all good. You wont' see any of them when you're blasting down a back road anyway

woodmv

iTrader: (8)

I can't WAIT to get blasting down some back roads in this car! And you're right, the welds are what they are at this point and I don't care what they look like underneath. All I care about is that they're sealed up.

Had the day off today and went to town on the passenger side front floor section. Some of the same but not quite as bad with the floor section, but the frame is a bit worse on this side - even has a hole. I'm gonna have to chase that rust back on the outside of the frame and weld in some good metal from the donor car and fix it. OH! And I got myself a spot weld drill. Wow. What a difference!

Anyhoo, here's what I got accomplished today. Removed this passenger side wheel well kick plate (I'll call it a kick plate for lack of a better term - prolly not the right thing to call it, but that's what it is for the sake of this post)





Here it is out of the car... Forever to be separated - never to be reinstalled!




Underside of the passenger footwell floorboard. Yuck!


The rust crept up higher on the passenger side, up the seam.


THIS looks familiar!


Doesn't look too bad from the inside though....


So, after I got that kick plate out and took a good long look around at everything, I decided that a good chunk of the floor had to go, so out it came!


Yep, this looks all too familiar - not quite as bad as the drivers section, but bad nonetheless...


And here's the rusty frame section. The hole appears where the front section ends and overlaps the middle section. It was quite rusty on the inside too, so I'll have to get at that and treat it. I'll also have to weld on some patches from the donor car.

woodmv

iTrader: (8)

I also finished off the drivers side floor section. It was warm enough today to put the undercoating on. Looks good where it needs to! But, this section will be out of sight behind the inner fender - IF I ever find a good pair. Mine are pretty much toast.

Qingdao

iTrader: (3)

What are you using for undercoating?

I just technicaly started my rust resto by taking the sawzaw to the junkyard and cutting up a 79

WJM ROTARIES

Great work you are doing there ,keep it going

woodmv

iTrader: (8)

I used a can of Rustoleum undercoating. Didn't go nearly as far as I had hoped it would. Could use another 5 or 6 coats of that stuff to match the thickness of the factory undercoating, but I might try some truck bed liner next.



Thanks WJM ROTARIES! I'm trying my best. Amateur job for sure, but it will be better than it was and that is ultimately the goal. A rust free driver to enjoy for years to come!

I was able to make hay yesterday for another 8 hours or so and got the rust cut out on the passenger side, cleaned up the pillar where the door bolts up, tried welding up a rusty crack in the door frame, drilled a bazillion spot welds out, got the kick plate and the short section of bottom rocker off the donor car section. Wow. Doesn't sound like a lot when I list it here. Hmmm.... I'd never make any money in this business working at that pace!!

82transam

iTrader: (18)

Is it sad that all these pics of rust make me want to go find another one to restore... I have issues...

Seriously though you're making great progress. I think you'll be happy with the Rustolium undercoating. It's held up really well for me. Don't need to go crazy making it as thick as the factory stuff, just lay down a few coats and you're good.

Qingdao

iTrader: (3)

Get the gallon can and a roller. I bought a gallon can of Rustolem brand undercoat/truck bed linner and covered a motorcycle (Kawisaki ninja 250) plastics and all, a truck bed, the area between the gas tank and the body on my gold car, and Various other projects.

I think I'm goning to try the "hardnose" product from POR-15.

woodmv

iTrader: (8)

Thanks 82transam! The rustoleum did seem to put down a nice layer, allbeit thin. Not too comfortable with the really thin layer, so I'll add more. I picked up another two rattle cans of it Sunday while I was out. Lowes had it on sale for half price. I expect that sound and heat will mostly be taken care of with dynamat on in the interior, although I haven't researched that enough yet - I'm not close to needing it yet.

I did have much better success this past weekend welding by overlapping the layers rather than trying to butt weld. I think this 1 mm thick (thin) sheet metal is just way too fragile to butt weld, at least that's been my experience. Not sure if it's because of me, the metal, the welder, or a combination of any of those three, but I was able to rock and roll this past weekend and finished up with welding in the new inner and outer rocker. Much, MUCH easier to do with a slight overlap. I welded both sides to try and seal the seam with weld as much as possible, and the joints seem plenty strong. I'll finish them off with seam sealer just to make sure they're sealed. I cut the outer rocker between the two bolt holes for the fender and measured that about a dozen times to make sure they were lined up correctly before welding it in place. Should be good to go. Welds ground down don't look professional but they look about 100% better than they did on the drivers side.

Aha! I hadn't thought of rolling it on but that sounds like a great idea! I'll use the two rattle cans I picked up and see about picking up an extra gallon down the line. I'll have lots cover up before this is all said and done. Haven't thought of the hardnose stuff. Let us know how it works and how it looks.

project7s

iTrader: (5)

The spray undercoating you used, its hard to tell in the picture but does it come out smooth like paint would or rough feeling/looking like bed liner? I'm wanting to clean my wheel wells and paint them before any rust starts and normally I just use semi flat black rustolem but I would like to try this if its nice and smooth like normal paint. Nice job on what all you've done restoring your car its going to be really nice when your done.

woodmv

iTrader: (8)

Thanks! I hope to do my dad proud when it's all said and done. Still have a long way to go though....

The rustoleum undercoating doesn't come out smooth like a normal paint because it has texture, and it feels rubbery, but it isn't nearly as rough as truck bed liner either. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being completely smooth paint and 10 being truck bed liner, I'd say this stuff is a 3 or 4. It certainly is NOT as thick or rough as the factory tar finish on the bottom or in the wheel wells. Hope that helps!

glewsRx

iTrader: (1)

where in VA?

project7s

iTrader: (5)

Ok thanks, I may pick up a couple cans of it and try it. I know rustolem makes pretty good stuff, I was just didn't want it to come out looking like that really rough tar stuff.
I'm sure your dad will be very proud of you and the car when its done, did you ever get to drive it before you started restoring it?

Qingdao

iTrader: (3)

The rustolem stuff is a little "snotty". Its got an almost chunky style too it.

However, the 3M branded undercoat comes out looking like black 400 grit sand paper.

I perffer the rustolem look over the fine smoothish look.

project7s

iTrader: (5)

where do you get the 3m stuff?

Qingdao

iTrader: (3)

My buddy uses the 3m stuff. I think he gets it at wal-mart.

project7s

iTrader: (5)

ok cool, ill go get some and try it. thanks

82transam

iTrader: (18)

I used to get the 3m stuff at walmart, but the ones around here stopped selling it. Last time I bought some I got a box of it from amazon (free shipping!)

woodmv

iTrader: (8)

After 3 years of hibernation, I was able to revive it and put 7 miles on it and the old cracked tires before an engine seal gave up, necessitating a rebuild. After I took the engine out I thought, in for a penny, in for a pound and went full on garage amateur restoration. Long answer to a short question, but yes I did get to drive it. Though never above 3rd gear... I hope to someday though!

I got the passenger footwell and frame section finished up. Had much better success with the slight overlap, but still had a couple burnthroughs. And those pinholes are almost impossible to fill in. I think I got them all welded up, but to be sure I used an entire tube of seam sealer on this smaller section. I also ended up with a rather large gap between the top of the frame and the bottom of the floorpan. There is supposed (or on mine there was) a small 1/8" or so gap between the two, but after I got done welding in the new pan section that gap was more like 3/4 or so. Yeah. I pounded the hell out of that gap on the drivers side, but on the passenger side I never checked it until it was welded in the car. Oh well. What's done is done and seam sealer is my friend. I put the seam sealer on yesterday morning and 36 hours later it's still soft so I didn't put any undercoating on yet. I hope that it doesn't flex too much when it's moving down the road and crack and split or get too hot from the exhaust and shrink and split. It might, but I'll have to cross that bridge when I get there...

While I was waiting for that to dry, I went ahead and removed the interior from the back of the car and got into the rusty areas around the wheel wells. Let me say it was not a pretty sight. I even found a nice surprise. I'm being facetious, but I'll show you what I mean in my next post. Anyhoo, here's where the passenger side sits tonight:



















The rusty frame:


New frame section to go over the rotten section...


And all welded in and sealed up: