E-tek Restorations: PROJECT THREAD

[e-tek]

Lots done today....some of it made easier with the new tools just purchased!

This is the patch on the inside of the R quarter. Normally this would be left fairly raw, maybe hit with some heavy undercoating, but then this ain't amateur hour. I cleaned it all up with several different dies, rocks and grinding wheels, then put a skiff of kitty hair on it. I'll sand that out and finish it so it's completely hidden - but more importantly - well sealed.





I treated the seams inside the quarter the same way. I did this on my Challenger and it looked like there had never been a repair there.



So......on to the last trouble spot (yay, but boo...). The previously damaged Left quarter was pulled with a frame puller with tabs welded to the quarters. These tabs rip as it's being pulled, tearing holes in the metal, which then need to be welded up. It's not the worst repair ever - especially since it was a collision repair (not a resto), done a long time ago (brass) and there were (and are still!) no new parts available for these cars.

However, there was a lot of filler in here, so by cutting out this section and working the metal we can get it closer to original (less filler), replace the weakened edges and come away with a better overall repair:







Here's the worst part of the repaired area:



I needed to put some contour into the new piece, so I got to use the new planishing hammer! First I grabbed some scrap to adjust and get used to the new machine:





Then I cut out the measured pieces:





This:




Helps make this:



The replacement will consist of 4 pieces, these 3, plus one to replace all the brass at the top (which will be behind the quarter extension piece).

Lotsa welding and grinding to come!

[Omphaloskeptic]

I'm guessing that new toy/tool of yours is like a (Metal) Magician getting to use a brand new 'Magic Wand'. lol

Hey Rocky, watch me pull a Cougar out of my hat.....

[e-tek]

Originally Posted by Omphaloskeptic

I'm guessing that new toy/tool of yours is like a (Metal) Magician getting to use a brand new 'Magic Wand'. lol

Hey Rocky, watch me pull a Cougar out of my hat.....

HaHa - well, maybe, kinda....

I am finding - like anyone I guess - the older I get, the smarter I get
....and how good tools can produce better results, easier.

[Kevin54]

E-Tek.....don't you have a shrinker and stretcher? If not, you ought to look into one. It would save you a lot of pounding for the tricky places.



I imagine the new planishing hammer will get a good workout with the cars you do.

[e-tek]

Ya - I' ve thought of getting a S/S many times. Not sure why I still form parts "old school"!??! Guess I was taught that way, enjoy it and don't really see the need to change it. The thing about the planishing hammer is that it can save me some time and give a smoother result than doing the same thing with my hammer on the anvil.

Speaking of which:





Also did a bunch of 'housekeeping' stuff today too, including helping the neighbor with her shower (drain!), cut the grass and killed weeds at 3 of our houses, hooked up a 5 speaker system in the Galaxie, laced up the FE Engine and painted a couple last bits, picked apples and repaired some stuff around the house.....







Mrs E-tek's MINI is going to get even faster. It's VERY quick already, but a new pulley will over-drive the Supercharger another 15%. She'll LOVE it.



I really have too much stuff now....



Yes - She got it "For Good Behavior!!



All while watching the Olympics from 3 TV's!! Usian Boooooolllttttt!!! Canada Womens Soccer, great wrestling, diving and Heptathalon too!

[onewaydave]

Hum, pickled apples. Might you post up the recipie? I've got about 12 trees busting with apples and need ideas and I don't think I've ever had pickled apples.

Dave, amazed at the things one might learn on GJ.com.

[Kevin54]

All while watching the Olympics from 3 TV's!! Usian Boooooolllttttt!!! Canada Womens Soccer, great wrestling, diving and Heptathalon too!

And some of my buddies thinks it odd that I have 2 TV's in my garage.

[wnstwolf]

Mr.s E-teck will love the added power you just gave the Mini. Prior to moving to the north country (well north here in NY) I had a 2008 Mini s and did the same hop up. I lived close to Helix Motors in Philly. The place is a Mini Hot rod shop that a lot like this forum once your in you can't get out. Amazing how fast you can make those tiny cars scoot!
Your a busy Guy E....

[MP&C]

Ed, I'll have to agree with Kevin, the s/s would be a good addition to your shop. Bending a 90 degree flange and setting the profile with the s/s IMO puts you ahead of the game over having to weld on a flange. If you can make your repair patches in one piece with no welds (or as few as possible), the better off you'll be. Even without a Lancaster style shrinker, one can perform tuck shrinking inexpensively and effectively.

[e-tek]

Originally Posted by onewaydave

Hum, pickled apples. Might you post up the recipie? I've got about 12 trees busting with apples and need ideas and I don't think I've ever had pickled apples.

Pickled apples??? I said: PICKING apples!!

Not sure I'd want them pickled!

Originally Posted by wnstwolf

Mr.s E-teck will love the added power you just gave the Mini. Prior to moving to the north country (well north here in NY) I had a 2008 Mini s and did the same hop up. I lived close to Helix Motors in Philly. The place is a Mini Hot rod shop that a lot like this forum once your in you can't get out. Amazing how fast you can make those tiny cars scoot!
Your a busy Guy E....

Yer lucky you had it done at a shop - the mini-est thing about the MINI is the engine bay - Arrgghh!

The pulley I need to change is down there....



Even the tool I made from flat bar stock barely fit!



Anyways, back to the Cougar...this is (hopefully) the LAST piece of metal I need to replace!











Just have to planish the weld area and bump it out a touch

[Omphaloskeptic]

Isn't it just great to find the component (supercharger pulley in this case) that was obviously the first piece to hit the assembly line and the rest of the car was built around it! lol

[onewaydave]

Sorry, receptive dyslexia. I guess thats why I haven't heard of or had pickled apples before, huh?

I am following the metal work too, though.

Dave.

[e-tek]

I'm so proud of my little apple tree. I planted it when my boys were born and finally this year I got it just right (pruning, Calcium, watering schedule) and got great apples - and tons of them!! I can taste the apple pies, apple crisps, apple dumplings, apple soup and especially....the apple pickes.....yum!





....and of course I can watch the Olympics while picking apples!



Then lay in the hammock on the last 2 days of my 1-month holiday. Shit that went by fast....

[machine_punk]

Good job on getting all those little jobs done, sounds like you had a productive day!

I thought it was bad just taking everything off the front of the van's engine to get to the water pump...that engine compartment is TIGHT.

I am pleased to see you are nearing the end of the metal replacement on that car. I'm not sure I would have had the patience to work through all those problems.

YAY! New tools. I remember, not too long ago, when I was cutting 1/4" aluminum plate into parabolas with a 4-1/2" grinder and and a disc sander. I quickly got the tools to 'make it faster and easier,' and I cannot imagine doing it the 'old' way anymore.

Looks like things are going well!

M_P

[jarhead]

Damn you Ed and your distracting avatar's

I don't know how you get all the work done that you do...

[wnstwolf]

Sorry E I bought the toy's at the shop but installed myself. Gotta love step 5 of the install process, remove engine mounts. I did have the special belt adjuster tool and pulley removers though. Amazing how little rom are designed into things. Then again my 68 CJ Stang has you removing valve covers to get to the plugs.. I am sure you know that one too!
Jarhead I thought it was just me. Mrs. E sure takes a nice Picture.. Must be all those Apples!

[e-tek]

Originally Posted by wnstwolf

Sorry E I bought the toy's at the shop but installed myself. Gotta love step 5 of the install process, remove engine mounts. I did have the special belt adjuster tool and pulley removers though. Amazing how little rom are designed into things. Then again my 68 CJ Stang has you removing valve covers to get to the plugs.. I am sure you know that one too!
Jarhead I thought it was just me. Mrs. E sure takes a nice Picture.. Must be all those Apples!

I ended up putting it back together and ordering the special pulley puller. I also learned how to remove the ECU from inside the airbox...Should go much easier next time!

[IGO2XS]

Originally Posted by e-tek

I ended up putting it back together and ordering the special pulley puller. I also learned how to remove the ECU from inside the airbox...Should go much easier next time!

I bet you cant say "pulley puller" 5 times real fast.........

[e-tek]

But I bet I can "Pull my Puller" 500 x fast!!

We where talking about welding wires in another thread. Here's the wire I've been using of late: ESAB's MIG-6. Although ALL the classification numbers are the same as wires you can get cheaper (Princess Auto) it sure feels like it welds with less power and lays down much cleaner and more smoothly - especially over a tiny bit of rust/filler/paint.



Anyways, I did some final welding and metalwork on the Left quarter today, getting it ready for a skiff of kitty hair. That's all it'll need - which is MUCH less than the 1/4"+ that was on there previously.

A couple guys mentioned the use of a shrinker stretcher - for which I'm sure there are many uses - but after 30 years of doing this, I've come up with some decent methods of making parts, even if they are deemed "rudimentary" by others! For example, I find cutting out flanges and welding them to a main piece, thereby making sections from multiple peices of metal and welding them together, I can make some very exacting, compound shapes. Case in paint was this quarter panel section - check the fit I was able to get with the quarter extension piece. And this was before any tweaking or grinding (meaning some weld was holding the piece a way from the quarter making it look less perfect than it really is):





When this side was hit way back when, then mangled together, the panel flanges where lost, along with about 1/8" of quarter panel length, which was then made up with brass and filler. The piece I made has these flanges attached which added the requisite amount to the overall shape and brought the extension out to the original dimension.

Right side - that flange was missing from left side, necessitating brass and filler to build it out instead



Old Left side - tons of brass, no flanges folded over from quarter panel, lots of damage that was filled up to 1/2" thick in some spots



New Left side - new flanges take up space that was previously missing/filled, removes major damage that was filled, strengthens corner that was still broken, cracked and brazed



And here's how it looks after some initial metalwork. I'll continue to work it until it needs very little filler (just enough to block it out)





I would have been able to finish off these pieces tomorrow, but duty calls and I'll be on the links most of the day! Hopefully I get a few hours over the weekend on it.

[DanCo]

Da23vidgd has been reported as a spambot