[37ford4dr]

hooray for a snow day!!!!

wrapped up some loose ends on the body so all the welding that has to be done before we take the body off the frame is now done. added some corner braces to the bottom of the rear door post, welded the trunk pan in place and welded the inner foot well area piece to the body mount. i am taking an hour or so break then will go out and start on the mechanical aspects of the body removal







test fit of piece

[37ford4dr]

I AM WORN OUT.... little Joe and i spent another 3 hrs tackling the mechanical items that need to be taken care to remove the engine
it helps having a worker...



we are not sure hes going to fit into when its done...




not to hard removing the master cylinder



however the car gots its pound of blood from the bolt that attaches the pedal assembly to the top bracketry....the pedals swiveled on the bushings but the bolt siezed in the steel sleeve



what a PITA....i was able to manhandle it through the opening once the ends were cut off. i could only get the bolt out the sleeve when it was in the vise.

[37ford4dr]

well we were getting set up to for the saturday body removal and then it happened....about 1 hours worth of work...










and this is where we realized we were almost there



yours truly



i accomplish so much more with helpers









and whamo its done



final resting spot



look dad i do fit

[37ford4dr]

well it was too warm out side so i rolled the chassis out and powerwashed it. I had a hot water added to my outside faucet just for moments like this

[37ford4dr]

took the wire brush ,grinder and degreaser to inner fender panels







straighetned out a little bump in the back



and a few clamps and hammering



back to cleaning



and some self etching primer

[37ford4dr]

the work thats left from this point forward really fits well into my 9pm to 10:30 pm schedule after everyone has gone to bed then i go out and play and no one misses me.....once on the 37 ford i got a real second wind and at 3:30 am the i see the wife coming into the garage with a flashlight and cell phone she said she figured i had a heart attack.... well music to a mans ear happened early today...the Mrs and our two daughters went to the mall.....woohoo that means more garage time on the 65* day

so i did the other side and the boot area....after the primer drys for a day or two all the weld seams will get a brushable seam sealer on them.



















what the F^%$....working all weekend long and i get this from picking up the grinder with the wire wheel to put it away at the end of the day

[37ford4dr]

tonight 2.5 hrs were spent on making the aluminum kick panel replacement pieces. i used 22 ga galvanized sheet steel i had laying around this will never deteriorate. as usual Barneys site has all the dimensions to help me piece together the puzzle



Barneys print outs are on the right





the first bend its hard to see



the third bend is what i am working on now and it was the hardest to make for me i had to work onthe jig to set it up



finally flipped it around to get it right









and then the same process on the other side





and yes i do have a lot of clamps and this is one of my favorites....the HF ones dont copmpare

[37ford4dr]

i had the day off today so i chased around some loose ends












IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/bobs77vet/MGA%20Coupe/Body%20work/coupe%20body%20removed%20from%20frame%20on%20saw%2 0horses/IMG01501-20130315-1028_zps6082cc44.jpg[/IMG]

[37ford4dr]

some more nibbles today

the challenge for the day








this is the 4.5" wheel the radius os too big


a used wheel has a better radius



a tab so i can put in the cut out area



the initial weld




now i just keep laying beads onthis to build it up to height











and now i tried new sanding wheel

[37ford4dr]

1 hour tonight.....did I mention I hate sanding...

first with 80 grit paper on an electric circular sander then with the 120 grit 3M bristle sanding disc. disc started at 16mm inside and 16 mm outside and 25 mins later it was down to 14.5 mm outside and still 16 mm inside i think i eyeballed it to be somewhere around 10+ sq ft

[37ford4dr]

well today another hour of sanding...did i ever mention that i hate sanding





out comes the window, i did about 30 mins with 60 grit and then 20 mins with 120













the bristle disc had 20 mins of use and at finished 13mm inside and outside

[37ford4dr]

another hour of doing my favorite chore....
20 more mins on the bristle disk and it was 13 mm inside and 11.5 outside

[37ford4dr]

so lets say about 6hrs today of play time....i was surprised how long it too to remove everything

[37ford4dr]

well it turns out i can drag my feet and whine and moan just like efverybody else.....i needed to tackle the radiator valance panel which was badly pin holed but have been talking my self out of it....so yesterday i spent 90 minutes filling pin holes which was a total waste of time, welding wire, welding gas....but it brought me here





admittedly i am a tool junkie but not necessarily a tool snob....my welders are all lincoln or hobart but this little baby was the least expensive plasma cutter you find on ebay...i think it was $170 with a 2 yr warranty



15 minutes later...

the guide for the straight cut, if you look to the right ontop of the saw horse you can see an 8x8 1/4" steel plate wrapped in copper sheeting that i clamped to the bottom in some spots to fill the pin holes









my 90 mins of pissing in the wind



and 15 minutes of light work



oh well the path is clear now.....

[37ford4dr]

one more hour



panel flanger from Jc whitney 20 yrs ago...





tomorroe night I will recruit some help and bead roll the X in the middle, you really need some one to turn the crank while you feed through the machine