Hot Rod Forum banner

53 Belair conv rust repair

1M views 6K replies 111 participants last post by  Eduramac 
#1 ·
I just brought home a 1953 Chevy convertible Monday that is 100% there. 100% there except for the bottom 6 inches that is. I have always built rusty cars no one else wanted but have tried to do a quality job of repairing them on a budget.

The key wordhere is budget. I admit to being frugal but friends all say I am cheap. Whatever, for me to be able to enjoy this hobby I must be able to build the car and have my money invested, not just spent

The cost of replacement floor pans, floor braces, inner rockers, outer rockers, lower quarter panels, tow boards, trunk pan, rear pan extension, tail pan, and rear splash apron is well over 3000 dollars. That is money that will buy front suspension, rear axle, and good buildable engine. Maybe even a complete parts car.

I have basic sheet metal tools but nothing exotic. Small 3' brake, Shrinker/stretcher jaws, home made slip roll, and a home made english wheel and 110v mig welder.

My purpose here is to show the new hot rodder who is apprehensive about what he can do what is possible with a little time and patience and not much money.

Below is the patient. She has stage four cancer but we are going to try to save her. If we don't who will? :mwink:








So far I have stripped the inside, removed the front fenders and adjusted the doors. If the body shifts or moves during the build process I want to know it before everything gets welded together. Frequently checking door gaps will let me make sure it has not moved.




Tomorrow I plan to cut the toe boards loose from the front floor brace and expose the brace. The first job will be to remove the brace and reproduce it.

I hope you guys follow along and feel free to comment share thoughts, opinions, etc.

 
See less See more
5
#2,663 ·
I am pretty sure I will use the convertible lid I am working on. The other one is much better on the inside put it has a few pin holes itself in the lower corner. Neither one is perfect but If I cut up the other lid than I loose whatever it is worth.

I know they make a tool to remove the flange but I am not familiar with a tool to fold it. You met Steve in Nashville last year. He has a skinning hammer I can borrow.

John
 
#2,669 ·
I have not posted for the last week or so since I have just been doing the same thing but on the other side.

I have all the pieces made except the outside corner for the drivers side.

These pictures will bring everyone up to date.

Finished welding and grinding the RH side of the deck lid skin after cutting out the inner structure so I could get behind it to planish it.






I was hoping to save the corner piece by sand blasting it and filling a couple of pits so I cut it out as well as the other section of the inside frame.

Now that the skin could be welded and I had access to both sides to work my weld seam it is time to be building it back.



 
#2,670 ·
Unfortunately the corner piece was much worse than I was hoping. (Aren't they always)?









I was able to make the inner frame work piece a little longer in order to replace the worst of the corner.









Next, I made the second piece that has the second bend.









Everything seems to fit together well. I will weld the assemblies together and brush some epoxy primer on both inner surfaces and button it all up.

I believe this is going to make a good repair. So far I am glad I decided to fix this lid.









Just a thought. The only thing I used for this entire repair was a bead roller with a tipping die and the shrinker/stretcher jaws. I did use my little three foot brake but could have gotten along just fine without it.

Brian Martin once said that any job was doable if you broke it down into enough small pieces. This is the perfect example of that.

John
 
#2,673 ·
Hey guys. Sorry to have been away so long. My wife's sister lost her long battle with emphysema Saturday. She was in intensive care for about a week and we laid her to rest yesterday. We will miss her greatly.

I did make it down to the shop while Barb caught up on some laundry today. The corner piece was the only part I had not made so I knocked that out and welded the inner assemblies together.







I have not installed the inner frame assembly because I wanted to brush a couple of coats of Epoxy primer in the bottom few inches. I have another coat to go tonight and maybe tomorrow or Thursday I can begin to weld the lid together.

So far so good.

John




 
#2,675 ·
Thanks Mike. She was on oxygen for years and years and had reached the point where she could not even eat without running out of breath. She weighed 63 lbs when she passed.

She will indeed be missed but we would not bring her back even if we could. She deserves the peace she finally has.

John
 
#2,684 ·
Today I finally finished welding and grinding the deck lid. It was impossible to effectively get behind the inner framework to planish the weld. I am pretty pleased with the limited amount the weld sunk. A thin coat of filler should easily hide it.





I will use the six inch line I scribed to make sure the skin folds over at exactly where I want it to. I would rather it be slightly short as long. The important thing is it is concentric.




The template I made indicates the shape is very close but the proof is in the pudding. Until I put it back on and see it fits I will remain nervous. There is inevitably going to be some distortion or shrinkage.





It seems to me the smart thing would be to go ahead and sand blast at least the inner side of the deck lid before I re-install it. Having the bottom of the lid and the weather strip channels cleaned and epoxied will save double work later on. It may be a few days before we see how it fits. Keep your fingers crossed for me. :D:D:D

John
 
#2,687 ·
There are several ways to coat the interior. Some places you can pour epoxy into the space and slosh it around. Some places an aplicator can be used which is specially designed for cavities. There are also products designed for this such as cavity wax but I have to admit, I have not used it.

I did recoat the inside of the quarter panel and the bottom of the door and will recoat the inner rockers.

In this particular place, I probably will not do anything. I used heavy 18 ga metal and there is no weld at the bottom. It is folded at that point and is epoxied. Also, keep in mind, this panel should not have water getting into it. Lastly, this is a car that will spend the rest of it's life in the garage. If this piece lasted 60 years it's first go round, it certainly is good for another 60.

The areas that have water draining into them are the ones I try my best to protect.

John
 
#2,690 ·
LOL, I am getting too old and decrepid to put this thing on and off alone Pugsy. I scribed a line 6 inches from the bottom when I started the skin replacement And used that measurement to hem the bottom so that will be very close.

The for and aft fit should be adjustable to some extent but right now, there is no tail pan to fit it to. As soon as I finish epoxy priming the bottom of the lid and the weatherstrip channels I will mount the it and check the fit. The deck lid and tail pan can be adjusted to each other some as I build the tail pan.......I think. :drunk::mwink::mwink::mwink:

John
 
#2,692 ·
If anybody tells you sand blasting is fun, you can just tell them straight out I said they were a liar.:D

I did get the edges and underside of the skin blasted as well as the welds. Two coats of Epoxy should keep it protected until I get back to body work.

I shot it in my un-mowed yard and just brought into the garage so the sun and bugs would not land on it. The light is not very good for pictures but as you can see, the deck lid is now solid again. :sweat:

John








 
#2,694 ·
If anybody tells you sand blasting is fun, you can just tell them straight out I said they were a liar.:D

I did get the edges and underside of the skin blasted as well as the welds. Two coats of Epoxy should keep it protected until I get back to body work.

I shot it in my un-mowed yard and just brought into the garage so the sun and bugs would not land on it. The light is not very good for pictures but as you can see, the deck lid is now solid again. :sweat:

John


http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t498/johnnbarb2/Trunk%20and%20tailpan/aa378fdfe5c0d1b5c81adbc4220a3411_zpsus7hd6ic.jpg[/

[IMG]http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t498/johnnbarb2/Trunk%20and%20tailpan/618242be696af1aa6ed79ff22da041b1_zpsz12qnaoo.jpg


Looks like you did a pro quality job once again! Heck, even your un mowed grass looks better than mine. This 100 plus heat has got mine turned almost completely yellow, but at least I'm not mowing nearly as often as I did during the spring. LOL
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top