Project Beater
I have been saving some wheel well mouldings from a 5th Avenue with a thought in mind. I used the moulding as a pattern to draw a line on the body. Using a whiz cutter I removed the outer layer and then took a panel cutter and cut the outer wheel house leaving plenty of material to bend out and attach to the quarter panel. Slots are cut in the outer wheel house to help it bend outward to match the contour of the new opening. Using a 2 lb shop hammer the metal is bent outward and then welded in place. Excess material is then cut off and ground flush. In areas where there is no lip left to attach the moulding small angle material is cut and notched on either side to allow bending and then it is placed between layers of outer and inner body banels and welded in place. Now a 275-60-15 on an 8 inch rim fits easily.
You get started on something and it just snowballs! I swapped out suspension with a B-body 8 3/4 and 5th Ave front disc.
The before pic...
Looks like Bubba used a claw hammer on this side....
The stud welder has to be one of the coolest tools ever... I used to weld on strips of metal and then use vice grips, and a ball joint fork leveraged against a board to pull out spots like this.
Had to seal things up in case it rained, now I have a good guide coat and next will come some spot putty work with some thinset...
I have been saving some wheel well mouldings from a 5th Avenue with a thought in mind. I used the moulding as a pattern to draw a line on the body. Using a whiz cutter I removed the outer layer and then took a panel cutter and cut the outer wheel house leaving plenty of material to bend out and attach to the quarter panel. Slots are cut in the outer wheel house to help it bend outward to match the contour of the new opening. Using a 2 lb shop hammer the metal is bent outward and then welded in place. Excess material is then cut off and ground flush. In areas where there is no lip left to attach the moulding small angle material is cut and notched on either side to allow bending and then it is placed between layers of outer and inner body banels and welded in place. Now a 275-60-15 on an 8 inch rim fits easily.
You get started on something and it just snowballs! I swapped out suspension with a B-body 8 3/4 and 5th Ave front disc.
The before pic...
Looks like Bubba used a claw hammer on this side....
The stud welder has to be one of the coolest tools ever... I used to weld on strips of metal and then use vice grips, and a ball joint fork leveraged against a board to pull out spots like this.
Had to seal things up in case it rained, now I have a good guide coat and next will come some spot putty work with some thinset...
