PocketAces
Well-Known Member
The battery leaked acid and rusted a hole through the inner fender. Welded in another piece from the donor car. Dressed the welds inside and out. Part of the seam is hidded behind the reinforcement.
Dad's Dart (or one just like it) Restoration
- Thread starter PocketAces
- Start date
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crvtec90
Well-Known Member
This car is gonna be soooo sweet
Iyamyas07
74 dart
Nice restoration. I really like the fact that it relates to your father.
Great work.I had the same problem under the battery tray. Totally rusted!
PocketAces
Well-Known Member
This car had the radio antenna mounted on the rear quarter instead of the stock location. Decided to weld the hole shut and move the antenna to the stock location on the front passenger side fender.
That thing in the picture to the left of the hole is a magnet from a hard disk drive. They have really powerful magnets in them that work great for holding metal prior to welding.
That thing in the picture to the left of the hole is a magnet from a hard disk drive. They have really powerful magnets in them that work great for holding metal prior to welding.
PocketAces
Well-Known Member
My car had a lot of rust in the trunk on the passenger side. I think I may have figured out why. It's hard to see in the photo, but this spot weld had holes in it which would leak water into the trunk right above where it rusted out!
PocketAces
Well-Known Member
I always hated the ugly lap joints that run from the bottom of the tail lights to the top of the rear bumper. I know I'm going for a stock restoration, but I couldn't resist the urge to fix this. It would have bugged me for the rest of my life if I hadn't done it.
I welded the entire seam, including where the rear valence overlaps the bottom of the quarter panel. This will give a water tight backing for the filler.
While I was at it, I welded shut the screw holes for that silly rubber trim that sits between the quarter panel and the bumper. Mine was dried out and cracked and I don't think reproductions are available. I never understood why they felt it necessary to fill that gap only on the corners, when the same gap runs clear across the back of the car with no filler.
I welded the entire seam, including where the rear valence overlaps the bottom of the quarter panel. This will give a water tight backing for the filler.
While I was at it, I welded shut the screw holes for that silly rubber trim that sits between the quarter panel and the bumper. Mine was dried out and cracked and I don't think reproductions are available. I never understood why they felt it necessary to fill that gap only on the corners, when the same gap runs clear across the back of the car with no filler.
PocketAces
Well-Known Member
When I replaced my voltage regulator a while back, I discovered that the holes were stripped out. There are 5 spots on the firewall where items are mounted using self tapping bolts threaded into the sheet metal. Each of these is prone to stripping out.
So I welded nuts to the backside of all 5 holes. They're up behind the dash under the firewall insulation where nobody will ever see them and I won't have to worry about the threads stripping out again.
So I welded nuts to the backside of all 5 holes. They're up behind the dash under the firewall insulation where nobody will ever see them and I won't have to worry about the threads stripping out again.
PocketAces
Well-Known Member
Convertibles have extra reinforcement between the frame and the rockers. I believe they're called torque boxes. Mine were all dented in. I tried to pull the dents but didn't have much luck so I decided to weld in new metal. They're 16 gauge metal, thicker than most of the sheet metal on the car.
PocketAces
Well-Known Member
Got the car loaded up and hauled it to media blast on Tuesday. You can see in the picture how the rotisserie is just a little too long for the trailer. I used two lenghs of channel iron to support the back wheels that were hanging off the end of the trailer.
A big thanks to Guy Grant for letting me borrow the trailer.
A big thanks to Guy Grant for letting me borrow the trailer.
PocketAces
Well-Known Member
I took the car to National Sandblasting. Here's a video of the car being unloaded. They used their overhead crane and a forklift. Much easier that way!
National Sandblasting is just south of downtown Los Angeles. It's an impressive operation. Kelly, the owner took his time and explained everything to me. They will be using plastic media on all the panels that are prone to warpage. After that they will hit everything with Star Blast for an even texture.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sES530JP-Ts"]Unloading Dart at National Sand Blasting - YouTube[/ame]
National Sandblasting is just south of downtown Los Angeles. It's an impressive operation. Kelly, the owner took his time and explained everything to me. They will be using plastic media on all the panels that are prone to warpage. After that they will hit everything with Star Blast for an even texture.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sES530JP-Ts"]Unloading Dart at National Sand Blasting - YouTube[/ame]
PocketAces
Well-Known Member
Yesterday I picked up the hood, trunk lid and doors from National Sandblasting. They did a really thorough job. Everything was spotless and no evidence of warpage. They also removed what little filler there had been. There was a lot less of it than I expected.
Mike, owner of a local body shop, is a member of South Bay Mopars. He has a beautiful 65 Dart GT Convertible. He graciously offered to let me prime the panels in his shop. He also gave me a lesson in dent removal using the stud gun and slide hammer. I thought they were good enough, but he got the metal to where there will be almost no filler.
We used Southern Polyurethanes Epoxy Primer in Red Oxide.
http://www.southernpolyurethanes.com/Product%20Info/Epoxy%20Primer.htm
That's me spraying. This paint is the first thing to go on the car that won't be coming back off. Sort of a milestone I guess.
Mike, owner of a local body shop, is a member of South Bay Mopars. He has a beautiful 65 Dart GT Convertible. He graciously offered to let me prime the panels in his shop. He also gave me a lesson in dent removal using the stud gun and slide hammer. I thought they were good enough, but he got the metal to where there will be almost no filler.
We used Southern Polyurethanes Epoxy Primer in Red Oxide.
http://www.southernpolyurethanes.com/Product%20Info/Epoxy%20Primer.htm
That's me spraying. This paint is the first thing to go on the car that won't be coming back off. Sort of a milestone I guess.
Thanks for the film John! Really easy to unload like that. But what a great work you are doing on your car. That will turn out great, no doubt about that!
PocketAces
Well-Known Member
Last week I picked up my second set of panels from the media blaster, front fenders, valance, and splash shields.
My driver's side fender is solid. I have some waviness from welding shut the molding holes, but definitely usable.
My passenger side fender was another story. This fender came from a salvage yard in Washington state. It looked really good, but it had some pitting on the bottom, both in front of and behind the wheel. I think the car was allowed to sit in the mud with no wheels on it. Anyways, it came back from media blast with holes clear through it. On top of that it had the same waviness from the molding holes.
My original fender was hit in the front and had a lot of bondo in it.
My driver's side fender is solid. I have some waviness from welding shut the molding holes, but definitely usable.
My passenger side fender was another story. This fender came from a salvage yard in Washington state. It looked really good, but it had some pitting on the bottom, both in front of and behind the wheel. I think the car was allowed to sit in the mud with no wheels on it. Anyways, it came back from media blast with holes clear through it. On top of that it had the same waviness from the molding holes.
My original fender was hit in the front and had a lot of bondo in it.
PocketAces
Well-Known Member
Rather than fix the rust, I decided to make one good fender out of the two. I cut the front off the rusty fender (which I had already primed) and welded it to my original fender. It turned out to be a lot of work to get everything straight and the correct length. I'll have some filler where I welded them together, but none at the bottom and none down the side from the molding holes being welded shut. I dropped the finished product at the media blaster on Friday.
Based on Murphy's Law, now that I've spent all this time cutting and welding on the fender, I'll certainly find a nice perfect fender to use instead. Anyone want to prove Murphy right?
Based on Murphy's Law, now that I've spent all this time cutting and welding on the fender, I'll certainly find a nice perfect fender to use instead. Anyone want to prove Murphy right?
John! Great progress! I really like the work with weldning the nuts on the inside so parts attached better on the firewall. Excellent idea!:coffee2:
rlevs
Well-Known Member
nice keep up the great work
PocketAces
Well-Known Member
I got the car back from National Sandblasting. They did a great job. Maybe a bit too good as they removed most of the remaining sound deading from inside the rear quarters.
PocketAces
Well-Known Member
I took the body back over to Mike's body shop on Friday to shoot the epoxy primer. I'm lucky to have a place to spray. I can get away with small jobs in my garage, but I think I'd have problems with the neighbors if I tried to spray anything that big. Working in front of his dust collector really cuts down on the fumes too.
I sprayed one coat of black, then two coats of red oxide, then finished with the second coat of black. The third picture is before the second coat of black, so you can see some red oxide overspray on the black.
It's really time consuming to make sure every nook and cranny gets painted. I'm sure I missed some spots.
I sprayed one coat of black, then two coats of red oxide, then finished with the second coat of black. The third picture is before the second coat of black, so you can see some red oxide overspray on the black.
It's really time consuming to make sure every nook and cranny gets painted. I'm sure I missed some spots.
PocketAces
Well-Known Member
Here it is back at the house and unloaded off the trailer.
So far I've used six quarts of Southern Polyurethanes Epoxy Primer mixed 1:1 with their catalyst for a total of three gallons on the body and all the body panels inside and out.
So far I've used six quarts of Southern Polyurethanes Epoxy Primer mixed 1:1 with their catalyst for a total of three gallons on the body and all the body panels inside and out.
Stunning work John!
Mountain Pilot
New to MOPAR
What wonderful work..
I am anxious to see the final results...\\
/
I am anxious to see the final results...\\
/
PocketAces
Well-Known Member
The media blasting uncovered some additional surprises. One of them was a crease in the rocker panel on the passenger side. The old repair consisted of some nasty holes for the slide hammer and some pretty agressive grinding.
I decided the best fix was to cut the damage out and replace it with some new metal from a scrap rocker panel. When I bought the replacement floor pan, the wrecking yard left the rockers attached. Luckily I hadn't thrown them away yet.
I cut the old section out and welded in the new piece. In the third picture, you can see the convertible reinforcement inside the rocker which was not damaged in any way.
I decided the best fix was to cut the damage out and replace it with some new metal from a scrap rocker panel. When I bought the replacement floor pan, the wrecking yard left the rockers attached. Luckily I hadn't thrown them away yet.
I cut the old section out and welded in the new piece. In the third picture, you can see the convertible reinforcement inside the rocker which was not damaged in any way.
PocketAces
Well-Known Member
Another surprise was this damage just behind the driver's side door. I replaced the door with a nice straight door I bought from CudaMark.
The metal was ground pretty thin in addition to the holes left by the previous repair. I decided to cut the metal out and weld in a new piece. In hindsight that might not have been the best solution.
After I finished welding, I had a really big high spot just behind the repair. I'm not sure if that was there before I started, if it emerged as soon as I cut the old metal out, or if it was caused by the heat of welding. I think the lesson here is to use a straight edge to check my panel level before welding.
I mounted the door and verified that it was indeed way too high. I tried to dolly it out but no way. I hit it pretty hard and it would not budge. At one point, it just inverted and then I had a massive low spot. Not acceptable.
The solution was to shrink the metal using the acetylene torch. I used the method where you heat up a small area about the size of a quarter until it's red hot and then hammer and dolly around it, working your way in toward the center. The theory is that the vibration of the hammer combined with the compression in the metal pushes the molecules together. It worked. I was eventually able to get everything just below the level of a straight edge running from above the wheel well onto the back of the door.
The metal was ground pretty thin in addition to the holes left by the previous repair. I decided to cut the metal out and weld in a new piece. In hindsight that might not have been the best solution.
After I finished welding, I had a really big high spot just behind the repair. I'm not sure if that was there before I started, if it emerged as soon as I cut the old metal out, or if it was caused by the heat of welding. I think the lesson here is to use a straight edge to check my panel level before welding.
I mounted the door and verified that it was indeed way too high. I tried to dolly it out but no way. I hit it pretty hard and it would not budge. At one point, it just inverted and then I had a massive low spot. Not acceptable.
The solution was to shrink the metal using the acetylene torch. I used the method where you heat up a small area about the size of a quarter until it's red hot and then hammer and dolly around it, working your way in toward the center. The theory is that the vibration of the hammer combined with the compression in the metal pushes the molecules together. It worked. I was eventually able to get everything just below the level of a straight edge running from above the wheel well onto the back of the door.
PocketAces
Well-Known Member
I used some body filler to smooth out my welds in the floor of the car, top and bottom. I wasn't going for a perfectly smooth finish, just trying to dress things up so the welds wouldn't be so obvious. This was especially true of the butt welds, but some of plug welds had low spots that I filled as well.
The repair inside the trunk (passenger side) was not my best work, but after the filler, it looks fine. I decided at the last minute to add some filler to the driver's side for symmetry. There were some low spots there and I also filled in the spot welds so now neither side has them.
There were a couple of dents in the spare tire well that I dollied out and filled top and bottom. The one at the back was tricky since it was in the complex area around the drain plug.
I didn't get pictures of everything. I filled along the butt welds on the inside of the rear quarters. I also used a tiny bit of filler on my repairs to the bottom of the trunk extensions. My repair to the front fender skirt near the battery tray also got the treatment.
I found quite a few holes in the body where the factory welders burned though the metal. The factory plugged these holes with seam sealer. I welded them shut and grinded them smooth.
I did a lot of dry sanding on the epoxy primer in order to provide a key for the second coat to adhere to. I sanded quite a bit more than necessary just to catch the overspray. This would be a lot easier if I was fast enough to get all this done within the recoat window of the epoxy primer (only 7 days). As it is, I will need to sand most of it again just prior to the top coat. At that time all filler should be encapsulated in epoxy primer so I can wet sand instead of dry sanding.
I may be going overboard a bit, but it really didn't take that long and I think it made a big difference. An expert will still be able to find my repairs, but he'll have to look pretty close. I think I'm finally finished with metal work. Now I can move onto the parts of the car that actually show.
The repair inside the trunk (passenger side) was not my best work, but after the filler, it looks fine. I decided at the last minute to add some filler to the driver's side for symmetry. There were some low spots there and I also filled in the spot welds so now neither side has them.
There were a couple of dents in the spare tire well that I dollied out and filled top and bottom. The one at the back was tricky since it was in the complex area around the drain plug.
I didn't get pictures of everything. I filled along the butt welds on the inside of the rear quarters. I also used a tiny bit of filler on my repairs to the bottom of the trunk extensions. My repair to the front fender skirt near the battery tray also got the treatment.
I found quite a few holes in the body where the factory welders burned though the metal. The factory plugged these holes with seam sealer. I welded them shut and grinded them smooth.
I did a lot of dry sanding on the epoxy primer in order to provide a key for the second coat to adhere to. I sanded quite a bit more than necessary just to catch the overspray. This would be a lot easier if I was fast enough to get all this done within the recoat window of the epoxy primer (only 7 days). As it is, I will need to sand most of it again just prior to the top coat. At that time all filler should be encapsulated in epoxy primer so I can wet sand instead of dry sanding.
I may be going overboard a bit, but it really didn't take that long and I think it made a big difference. An expert will still be able to find my repairs, but he'll have to look pretty close. I think I'm finally finished with metal work. Now I can move onto the parts of the car that actually show.
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