Another straggler followed me home!

[gdrill]

and the the inner rockers........
They aren't too bad. It is only the bottom edge vs the whole thing! So it's actually an easy patch. The beauty of all this stuff is it is either hidden or covered in undercoat later! Don't have to grind to perfection.

 

[gdrill]

And it is sealed. I decided to give it a smear of seam sealer for good measure. Now I'm not sure if I will finish this section with the outer or move to the back and repair the drop off.

 

[gdrill]

Kansas..........."The point of no return!" The quarter skin has become a sacrificial lamb. I believe keep as much original steel as possible. This quarter is not very bad in this section so all it needs is a small patch. I will trim this to fit, tack it in place and then build the inner piece. There is a few inches of metal I cut out inside.

and a splash of white paint to show me the line to cut........

 

[gdrill]

It's tacked on. I'm happy with the patch, but the Goodmark panels are not perfect. That's OK for me though as I can do a bit of work and they will be.

 

[gdrill]

I'm very happy with this one! I am definitely getting better at this stuff.........if I do say so myself. The Goodmark wheelhouse lip is a little short of factory so I used the inner I built to transition it to the bottom. A bit of fiberglass will smooth that out.

 

[gdrill]

The rear section is actually fairly straight forward. I fabbed up an inner drop off section out of flat steel. Then I chopped another patch out of the skin. Look at all the extra steel they sent me with my patches! I had to use the body line on the skin as the rust had gone above it on the car. I gave it a test fit, that's where I'm at currently, OK actually I'm taking a beer break! I will remove the patch and weld in the extension now.

 

[Clelan]

This is a great thread!

Cley

 

[gdrill]

Thanks man. I'm enjoying this Duster resurrection. It will be a rock solid car in a couple days from now! I had a quick look at the driver side and the extension is actually good on it. So that much less work to do on that part!

 

[Clelan]

What is your background? Body Man? Welder? I am always too chicken to do this type of work. What do you do to ensure it won't rust again from the inside?

Cley

 

[gdrill]

LOL, righand! I taught myself how to do this stuff. I'm not a pro, but I read many a thread and learned from the members here and on other forums. On the inside I spray with welding primer, self etch or paint. Whichever suits the scenario. If I can't get at it again, I try to get some paint on it. Now my true opinion........these cars will not be treated like they were in their previous life. Many will never see a rain storm again and lots will live undercover of a garage roof. I love vinyl roofs and am not afraid to install them. Reality is, these cars will outlast me! It took them 50 years to get to the condition they are on now. I don't have that many left in me!

 

[Clelan]

Well I'm an Electrician and all I have ever been good at as far as welding goes is welding side cutters when accidentally cutting things I shouldn't. Great work!

Cley

 

[Dartnut]

LOL, righand! I taught myself how to do this stuff. I'm not a pro, but I read many a thread and learned from the members here and on other forums. On the inside I spray with welding primer, self etch or paint. Whichever suits the scenario. If I can't get at it again, I try to get some paint on it. Now my true opinion........these cars will not be treated like they were in their previous life. Many will never see a rain storm again and lots will live undercover of a garage roof. I love vinyl roofs and am not afraid to install them. Reality is, these cars will outlast me! It took them 50 years to get to the condition they are on now. I don't have that many left in me!

I fully agree with you.
Well, i need to say this.
You have come a long way in your welding and fabrication skills since i first met you, George.
A lot of this has to do with attitude, and the willingness to jump in, get your hands dirty, and not be afraid to try new things.
A lot of people would say, why not buy the AMD drop offs etc. because they fit better, blah blah blah.
These are also the people that insist on a $10,000 resto paint job.

For lack of a better way of putting it, you are showing the people on here what you can achieve by starting with a decent overall car that needs some love in the rust department, (and LOOKS a bit bad) using skills that a typical do it your selfer has or acquires by tackling projects like these.
(Having a decent shop and tools helps too i guess.)
You will end up with a car that is a good functional driver for someone when you pass it on, and though not a particularly rare car deserving a high dollar top end resto, it will be a nice car for someone to enjoy and have a lot of fun with and not worry about rust issues ever again.
This also represents a car your average joe that is on a lower end budget would like to fix up and personalize it after you get the metal work done and enjoy the rest of the build............

Isn't that what this hobby is all about?
Not everything needs to be bucks up and perfect to be a good functional car.
My hat's off to you for doing this and posting lots of pictures for all to see and learn.
Maybe this will inspire some others to tackle something similar and get another one on the road to be enjoyed.............
Thanks for

 

[gdrill]

Thanx Tom. You showed me a trick or two as well! I am doing this because the car deserves to be rescued. I'm also the "on a budget" example that would rather Build than buy. I know some cars deserve high end restos and paint, but I don't own anything that I consider to be such. My opinion is use them. Looking at them does nothing for me. I've let a few go due to lack of use. That's all good, I enjoy building. Seeing the end result of a task is rewarding. It's kinda like smiles per gallon! I hope I am an inspiration to someone and they tackle a task because they feel confident enough. There is no such thing as can't. Situations may limit, but little bits here and there still get the job done. I'm hoping this one will be done in a couple days and I will start assembling it.

 

[gdrill]

Oh ya, the inner is done! Welded, sealed and primed.

 

[gdrill]

Well, the passenger side is finished! Excluding I have to spot weld underneath to the extension and the little dogleg at the lower front. But this is a great feeling of accomplishment. This car looks 100 times better than when I brought it home!

1

 

[R4Sedan]

Looks Great GD!

 

[71GSSDemon]

Great work Sir! I just read this from the beginning. I am jealous of the abilities you have. I am not afraid to try things, just previous practice tells me I am missing something in the process of patch and rust repair.

 

[gdrill]

I didn't do much over the weekend and this morning was organize the shop day. But I did get to start on the driver side. The trunk extension isn't as bad as the other side but the front inner rocker is about the same. The quarter over all will require more replacement steel though.

 

[gdrill]

The inner rocker is good now. I may still go back out tonight and fit the quarter. I'm not 100% sure how I'm going to cut it in. I really want to keep as much of the body line as possible. So it might end up being a 5 angle shape. In any case, it will be a bit of work.

 

[gdrill]

Now the big part. It takes kahonas to chop a panel in half! But that's what I need to do so chopped it got. And it will be chopped smaller yet. I had to do a bit of repair to the wheelhouse lip but it was really solid other than that spot. I used a couple bolts in the marker light holes to keep things aligned. The fit is pretty good. Then I got a delivery........my vinyl top for the Swinger arrived.

 

[gdrill]

Here is the next chop. I overlaid the tape to get the line. I am doing this to use the lower body line in front of the wheel. As I mentioned earlier, the repop panel is very poor there. The back is ok.

 

[gdrill]

No turning back now!

 

[dartnlo]

Inspiring indeed! Can't wait to go pick up my purchase in Iowa and start getting dirty. I haven't done bodywork in about 15 years. I think I'll probably spend more in tools than parts. I went barely part-time in the last shop I worked in and when I went to pick up my tools for good I was short about half my stuff. Then about a year ago I got serious about cleaning out my garage and sold my welder that hadn't been used much for 15 years. Grrrrr.

Can't wait to see your progress on these two!

 

[gdrill]

Thank you very much. I swear with patience, almost anyone can do this stuff. Key word is Patience!
The long task begins! I trimmed the quarter close to where it would be cut at. Then I clamped the patch on. I use a 3/64 zip disc to cut. It gives a nice gap to weld. Then I just cut a foot or so, tack a couple spots and carry on. I used the tape for a guide. I cut about 1/4" below the body line. In the end you get a strip from the inside and one from the outside. I'll keep the marker light opening for future use.

 

[gdrill]

And that makes the driver side look good once again. This is a good feeling. I have one more patch to do and this Duster is rust free. There is a section in the driver rocker that needs replaced.That's an easy one! Other than welding up.