I hate puttin Vixen down because she's so fun to drive. I'll miss her. lol But the sooner I do it the sooner I'll get it done.
1964 Valiant "Get Runnin & Drivin"
- Thread starter RustyRatRod
- Start date
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You could try my trick. Get yourself 10 cars, only two of which can be driven. Then you can start projects willy-nilly with the other eight and have all of them torn apart at the same time. Then get disgusted and don't work on them for a while.
Luckily, I still own a bicycle.
Chit man, I caint afford what I have. lolYou could try my trick. Get yourself 10 cars, only two of which can be driven. Then you can start projects willy-nilly with the other eight and have all of them torn apart at the same time. Then get disgusted and don't work on them for a while.
Luckily, I still own a bicycle.
So I'm workin on the rust repair on the driver's side quarter in the wheel well area. Gettin it repaired and ready for the quarter patch panel. Naturally, when I started cutting, I realized like you always do that there was more rust than I thought. So I had to cut UP that innse panel from the 90 degree fold under lip some to get all the thin metal out. Only about 8" or so of the original lip remain, so I will have to fabricate the rest. Here are some pictures of where I am so far.
67Dart273
Well-Known Member
Good luck, for sure. If I ever started anything like that, I'd end up with a '50s style dune buggy --cuz I wouldn't know where to stop. Sorta like trimming your left sideburn, then your right, and they just keep getting shorter, and still uneven, LOL
I wish I had a shrinker-stretcher. A better vice, a bigger hammer, a better welder, a plasma cutter, a real metal brake, ...... oh well, just fancy stuff anyway. I still get it done.
Guess I'll find out the condition of my rear fender wells when I get to that part of the rebuild. I plan on raising and extending the wheel lip out about 3/4 of an inch for a little more clearance.
I had that worry for a moment, as I would barely touch the edge of the wheel well with the grinder and it would remove a good little bit. Then, I started getting to the solid metal and I could tell it. I did have to reshape the wheel well some to hopefully "get it right". My plan is to just "even up" the new lip I fabricate with the bit of original that's left and that should get me very close. It doesn't have to be perfect, just good enough to be able to clamp both lips together and then spot weld them together.
Here's what I have so far. Freddie gave me a scrap fender and hood for sheet metal awhile back and I used that to make my first patch piece. Don't laugh too hard, as I've never claimed to have good fab skills. Of course I'll come back and weld up all of the holes.
A little more progress on the front side of the wheel well. Where my finger is was a factory gap. I'll probably leave it that way. This is why I detest bodywork. I have about 10 hours in this and have barely scratched the surface. Still, it's forward motion.
Jeff Seighman
aka jeffnmo
You might detest it, but at least you know how to weld and you're getting it done. I don't know how to weld, can't afford a welder to learn and need to do just what you are doing, hopefully I can keep the rust at bay and when my son gets the Dart, he'll have it fixed! keep up the good work.
It's a challenge for sure. Thanks for the kind words.
RRR you are getting rid of rusty metal and welding in good metal. Good work for hand fab with no real tools but hammer and pliers!!
I've heard that the frame cracking there was what killed a bunch of those trucks. Though I've never seen one for myself.
The only one I've ever seen was an older (63) town panel wagon that my cousin had, a previous owner had swapped in a400 from a later c body, and what a hack job it was. The whole frame rail flexed when he turned the wheel. I think they crudely retrofitted the steering box from the car that donated the engine
The only one I've ever seen was an older (63) town panel wagon that my cousin had, a previous owner had swapped in a400 from a later c body, and what a hack job it was. The whole frame rail flexed when he turned the wheel. I think they crudely retrofitted the steering box from the car that donated the engine
Truck?
abodyjoe
Well-Known Member
i've had two lil red express trucks and both cracked the frame around the steering box.
Yup. In reference to a post a page or so back.
I don't know of it'll work on an a body but with where I saw it that was the idea I got...
I got that first three or four inches on the front side good, but everything else I tried to do today, just went to hell, so I stopped. I'll regroup and get back on it in a day or two.
Alway good to step back from a tedious job like that Rob, I understand, you have a good creative and productive skill set bud, hang in there, good rest and good food helped me on a couple thing on my early Plymouth, I am enjoying and learning from this thread
Cool I am glad there's a little good coming out of it!Alway good to step back from a tedious job like that Rob, I understand, you have a good creative and productive skill set bud, hang in there, good rest and good food helped me on a couple thing on my early Plymouth, I am enjoying and learning from this thread
JDMopar
Well-Known Member
If you're having trouble with it blowing thru on you.....if you have a piece of copper water pipe laying around, beat it flat and hold it behind where you're doing your tacks. It helps, but it also don't take the piece of copper long to get hot as a poker!
Sorry I haven't updated this in a while. I've gotten a lot done on the front half of the outer wheelhouse, but the rear half is posing a huge challenge. I took Vixen off the jack stands tonight, because I cannot stand that she's just sitting. I want to drive her some. I'm gonna run her over to Freddie's and let him look at what I have and maybe he can help formulate a plan. I'm just kinda at my wits end trying to figure out how to make the compound curves of the rear part of that outer wheelhouse. I'll update soon.
Not the outer wheelhouse, no. I have the quarter patch panel that has the entire outer body wheelhouse on it, but what I need is the panel immediately under THAT and it's not available. Me and Freddie talked about it around the bonfire last night and he gave me some ideas. I'm gonna run by there this week during the day so he can detail it a bit more.
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