#571
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John, when I saw the picture you posted I went out to the garage to see what was up. The way the light is reflecting, it does look like it's low. It also looks like there are a couple dents up there. I knew that I had some misalignment in the downward curve from one panel to the other but there shouldn't be any dents or low areas there. That area raised slightly UP after welding. In the pictures below, you can see that it isn't low but it is out of shape. Also, what appeared to be dents are spots that I hit with the wire wheel when I was cleaning spatter off the panel. I think the camera is playing tricks with reflections.
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Jack Set a Goal So Big That You Can't Achieve It Until You Grow Into The Person That Can. Last edited by Jack 1957; 01-09-2017 at 01:25 AM. |
#572
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I needed to make the reinforcements for the tail light openings. I did put flanges on the panel at the opening but only 3/8" to make shaping a little easier. Also this needs to be double paneled back here to hold the tail light and maintain the shape of the opening. This pocket needs to be open in the vertical area and I'm leaving most of the horizontal part solid with a large drain hole since it would be a water trap.
I mistakenly bent a 90 degree angle on the first one, so I opened that up to a 60 degree where it should be and went on to the second one. These are symmetrical so there is no designated right or left. Next I flared the drain hole and cut out the upper opening with an air nibbler. I also made the lower block off plates that will go in below the tail light pocket. I left a crescent shaped drain hole at the rear corner and drilled a 5/16" bolt hole for a rubberized mount for the bumper. The bumper on this car will be a very tight fit with only about 1/4" gap so it can't move around much. The pieces fit well but I can't weld them in yet. I need to be able to put the fender back on the buck so I can align and trim the inboard and outboard portions of the fender.
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Jack Set a Goal So Big That You Can't Achieve It Until You Grow Into The Person That Can. |
#573
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I need a reinforcement on the lower edge that's strong enough to hold the skirt. I'm using 1 x 1 x 1/8 steel angle. It's probably a little overkill, but that's better than being too weak. The bend in front is too tight to heat and beat, so I cut some slots, bent it cold then welded it up
The rest of the curve is minimal but the material is too thick to shrink cold so I used the torch then the shrinker as needed and got the shape right then trimmed it to length. I considered bending it cold by hand but you really don't have enough control over where and how much it will move. Shrinking in specific areas gradually is much more accurate. It fits the slot in the buck real well so I fastened it to the fender temporarily. Next, I set everything back up on the buck with the peak of the outboard half overlapping the inboard half. I will be doing the final cut so I made absolutely sure that everything was in alignment, then taped the cut line and trimmed the inboard panel. I took everything down off the buck, trimmed and tacked the two halves together and started fitting the tail light pocket. That's as far as I got today. Pretty good day's work.
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Jack Set a Goal So Big That You Can't Achieve It Until You Grow Into The Person That Can. Last edited by Jack 1957; 01-10-2017 at 09:22 PM. |
#574
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This is a great thread jack!!!! Thanks for sharing !
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Dave |
#575
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Hi Jack
That's great to see the fender taking shape. very impressive Jack! Regards Dennis
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Dennis |
#576
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All coming together nicely there Jack.
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Marcus aka. Gojeep Victoria, Australia http://willyshotrod.com Invention is a combination of brains and materials. The more brains you use, the less materials you need. |
#577
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That's a fine looking piece there Jack.
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#578
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Jack So how did you solve the low spot problem?
Steve
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Steve Hamilton Hamilton Classics Auto Restoration & Metalshaping |
#579
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Haven't gotten to it yet, Steve. I'll have to do it after I finish all the welding.
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Jack Set a Goal So Big That You Can't Achieve It Until You Grow Into The Person That Can. |
#580
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I used the tail light pocket as a template and adjusted the shape of the opening to fit the pocket. Since I made the pockets for both fenders identical, the casting for the tail light bezel will fit both sides. I welded in the pocket and the lower gusset then welded the inboard and outboard panels together and cleaned up the welds. Overall it looks pretty good. I have a lot of hammer and dolly work to do and I need to fabricate the latch strikers and some alignment pins. I still need to work the low spot out of the rear half.
I realized today that I screwed up. Before I welded in the pocket, I wanted to make a couple of temporary vertical strips that I could attach to the front and rear of the fender so I could use a spirit level to hang the fender on the car. It's too late now because I can't put the fender on the buck now that the pocket is welded in. I can still get it mounted on the car correctly by taking measurements off the buck and using the laser to represent the center line of the buck, but it would have been much easier if I had remembered to make up some guides.
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Jack Set a Goal So Big That You Can't Achieve It Until You Grow Into The Person That Can. |
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