Projects Another 54 belair build

So I guess I've been posting in the wrong spot and nobody gets to see haha I'll kinda work a little backwards and show you where we are as of yesterday and go from there. This is my first oldie to build, my background with cars is mainly offroad suspensions and roll cages.

 

Heres where yesterday started, I got off early to come home and work on the beast

 

Gave her a haircut and put the lid back on

 

Looks good...

 

Jimenez Bros Customs

 

Thank you @Rynos63

 

Got the passenger side B pillar tacked in. Gotta give you guys credit that was not easy to line up

 

Here we go

 

If it was easy everybody would be doing it.

What's the plan for the rear window?

 

51 Shoebox rear window

 

Sub'd…looking sharp


David

 

Looking good so far.

 

Thanks guys

 

So upon piecing things back together and doing the ol' weld, grind, weld I find myself trying to make everything perfect and get every stubborn pin hole and I eventually get so thin from grinding it blows out. Any advice from thin metal welders? My background is more of a rollcage thick metal weld and grind. I might have a little bit of a heavy hand, but I'm deffinetly trying to be light.

 

Def sounds like a heavy hand . Try welding with less heat and more wire speed. If you get tiny holes or start blowing through , let it cool down and the zap the trigger two or three times and a lil bit on the trigger. Zapping it (kinda like flicking) creates a lil welding ball that helps you filll


Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

Same thing has been happening to me. Good tip. I'll try that next time.

 

Thanks for the tip. What are you guys using for grinding joints? Ive always used a flap disk but I'm hearing there might be other better father ways

 

Hi Heres a tip ...get your self a chunk of brass or copper about 1" in diameter ..long enough so you can hold it behind where you have blown through the metal ..... the weld wire wont stick to it and its easy to fill the holes or where you have to chase an edge where the metal is a bit thin...I use .6 wire on body steel and theres not much to clean up.... I use a 60g flapper disk.......

 

I use .023 wire . Don't use a flap disk for sheetmetal . I use a hard stone to get the weld down ton where it's almost even with the surface then go over with a 50 or 80 gt roloc . DA it with 80 if you wanna get extra smooth


Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

I love these cars.
Looking good
Godspeed
MrC.

 

While MIG welding is quick, the weld bead is very hard and difficult to hammer flat or grind. The "old guys" who did body work used a soft, low-temperature rod and a practiced gas welding technique. The really good bodymen made their own rod by shaving 1/16" strips from scrap auto body panels which is the same hardness as the surrounding metal.

You can combine these two methods by tacking your work into place with a MIG, then close the gaps with gas welding, hammering the bead as you go. Does it take practice? Hell, yeah, but you get nice welds that are easy to dress. And, you can/should hammer and dolly the panel into the desired shape as you go since it'll be warm from the welding and thus easier to move around.

Here's an appropriate page from a forum you might find interesting to your needs: http://www.metalmeet.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=74

 

Thanks guys, diggin all the tips. I gotta hurry up and get off work so I can get home and keep patching in.

 

I'm gonna have to do some research on this, it sounds awesome. I would really like to use a lead filler on my areas needing them instead if a bondo type filler also.

 

Started playing with the back window last night. Not sure I like the shoebox rear glass as an option. I would like something not as tall and bubbly. The flow on the sides are kinda bothering me. Any opinions?

 

lower that window down to the beltline and see what it looks like.

 

I tried that and the roundness of the frame is to much for the shape. I found a 49-52 Chevy rear that I think will work way better.

 

Heres the 49-52 Chevy glass I like the flow so much better

 

This is what I did to my daughters 53 a couple years ago, worst part of it was hand hammering the transition from the beltline to the new under window beltline, right there at the bottom of the rear window and then making little corner pieces to round the top corner of the opening, Stock rear window. we did make little turn downs for the rain gutter also.

 

That turned out awesome! Looks really clean

 

Anybody have any other ways to make the back window corners.. Im limited on tools, so I tried to do it old school and hammer them out, but I'm not thrilled how they came out.