[Jonesy_sa]

Hi all
Due to my parents divorce i never got around to working on a car i bought back in 1998. It was ready for paint but my dad cracked a fruity and it sat out in the rain till now. I’m a mechanical person not a paint and body person but wish to do as much work as i can do save some money.
I had a look on amazon for books on rust repair, panel beating, and spray painting and found lots...can anyone give any advice on which ones they recommend?
I will need to cut our some rust and weld in new sections, through to paint.

This is the same as my car except mine came with a few extra options this doesn’t:
http://australianmusclecarsales.com....t-falcon-coupe

thanks

[wayneooo]

where is the rust? how bad is the rust? rust repair is pretty simple cut the bad spot and replace with new steel u can buy body panels if its just surface rust grind down till smooth ans skim coat with a good filler

[deadbodyman]

Books are good and have their place but first hand is best books are written by writers not workers (in most cases) so you cant really go by them ,especially when one book tells you one thing and another tells you something else...
Your in the right place if you want to do it yourself thats why most of us are here...
I've been patching up and building all kinds of cars for a living and fun all my life.
you need to post some pics so we can see the spots that need work and set you on the proper path for you....But I'll tell you this there is nothing that cant be fixed...its only metal..
being that you have little experience I would suggest doing it in a way you can handle not necessarily the way we do it on show cars,that takes a lot of talent and years of practice and there's always something else to learn no matter how long you've been doing it....
First :Break it down into bite size pieces and concentrate on one spot until its done...you'll need a few basic tools and we can help you build or find them cheap..
I was where you are and I remember how hard it was doing anything on a tight budget I've figured out some ways to get around the cash part but it require a lot of labor ....you will learn something and THATS the important thing but the satisfaction of driving that car will be hard to beat...just don't give up...... Do you have a garage??? Anyways ,I know a little about fixing rust and I'd be glad to help....

[MARTINSR]

Originally Posted by deadbodyman

Books are good and have their place but first hand is best books are written by writers not workers (in most cases) .

I am BIG on school and "book learning" you just can't go wrong gaining info. But you are as right as rain on this, VERY FEW people who have the passion for this work have the passion for anything else, which means they can't write worth a crap. Same as most anything else "art" related (which is exactly what this is). I mean, can you find a book that tells you how to be a good entertainer or how to sculpt a masterpiece? There may be something out there with that on the cover but it isn't what you will find inside.

Most books I have seen will "demystify" the subject, but little more. They are written by a writer who interviews the technician I guess. And if it is like anything in publishing I have been connected with like Rod magazines, they get stuff wrong all the time! Info you give them in plain English written out for their use , they publish WRONG. How the hell do they do that?

"Text books", that is generally a different idea and they will be VERY valuable to anyone in this trade. But in general the "Books" offered at your local book store leave out a LOT of details, and we all know what is in the details (the Devil if you don't get my joke).

Brian

[MARTINSR]

By the way, a couple of VERY good books in my opinion are:

"Smarter than the metal" by Kent Caveny.
This book was written by a very skilled metal man and writer. It is a simple 18 page long crash course in welding and working with automotive sheetmetal. I bought it at a car show from Ron Covell. http://www.covell.biz/ I HIGHLY recommend it for newbes or experianced, you WILL learn something reading this book.

I just googled it and found it available at http://www.htpweld.com/products/tig_welders/books.html

"Metal fabricator's Handbook" by Ron Fournier
What can I say, ANYTHING that has Ron Fourniers name on it is going to be good, the guy just does stuff right. This is for fabricating stuff from scratch only, no "body repair" stuff, but if you want some ideas on how to make that quarter from scratch, this is a good starting point.
http://www.fournierenterprises.com/index.html

"Advanced Sheet Metal Fabrication" by Timothy Remus
This book takes off where Rons ends, AMAZING photos in this book of fabricated metal projects. This book makes you want to go out and make a fender from scratch, where you thought it impossible before, this book makes you go, hmmmmmmm I am thinking I am man enough to do that!

I HIGHLY recommend any video by Ron Covell as well, he makes VERY, VERY good videos. He is one of the best teachers I have ever seen. I was into his "Basic metal working" video about 5 minutes and paused it and told my wife "I could take this video and toss it in the garbage right now, that ONE tip was worth buying it". And every five minutes for the rest of it was just as good. VERY good stuff!

ANYTHING with his name on it is first class.

Brian

[dinger]

I'll have to echo Brian about on Covell, he is also on metalmeet.com, I am a fan. If you ever get a chance to come over to the states, there's a few seminars you could take. Good luck with the project, keep us posted.

[MARTINSR]

I have said many times that Ron Covell is the gentlemen's gentlemen. He is such a great teacher, he "wills you" the power like magic.

Before he even had these classes and videos and such back 20 years ago just with his encouraging words be changed how my brother and I looked at things. Just one meeting with him at a show discussing his work he looked at us and said "You too can do this, just do it". No cocky holier than thou attidude, just standing there like one of us nobodies "sure you can do this too". It was a life changing moment, and we did build a first class car and I give him the credit for it!

Brian

[Jonesy_sa]

Thanks for the info guys.
Regarding my car. The only sections of rust that im aware that need to be cut out and new sections welded in are the bottom of the front guards. Big holes like tennis balls, the front and top of hood aswell.
The rest is allot of painting, filler and body preparation before paint. I just asumed there was one generic way to cut out, weld in a patch, grind it down, fill it and then use an assortment of primers and paint. Detail such as best tools, what grit papers, how to go about welding lighter steel panels and best ways to repair etc... didnt realise there was so many ways of doing things.

Ill have to take a few photos and put them up.

[deadbodyman]

OMG ,yes, Ron Covell is the man.....he has an article every month in streetrodder magazine ...Every few years I get sick of seeing 32 fords and let my subscription run out ,but I miss reading "professor hammer" and resubscribe.
I didnt know he was at www.metalmeet.com ...He's my hero, Brian has been lucky enough to have met the man...
Now for some good schooling down under you should look up Micheal at rodderslife Im sure you've seen their show on wasabie tv...the last time I talked to them they were getting Skip foose to appear on the show....Mike is another great teach and puts things in a way everyone can understand....He can also be found at www.streetfire.net Gooday, mate