OK - Haven't posted here in a while, because I've been busy with class and work on the Caddy I shifted over from the Body Fabrication class to the Chassis Fabrication class, because there's more to learn in the new one. My welding skills started out pretty bad, but improved over time. So far, I've been able to do the following with her: 1. Got the gas tank repaired and POR-15'd 2. Pulled the front fenders, disassembled them and sent them to the sandblaster/powdercoater 3. Disassembled the front bumper and sent it to the sandblaster 4. Removed the full interior and began to refinish the floors with POR-15 5. Disassembled the rear bumper and began the process of repairing the damage to it. Once that's done, the rear bumper will go to the sandblaster/powdercoater 6. Refinished the trunk with POR-15 and Duplicolor DM100 Grey and White Spatter paint 7. Began refinishing the remaining original underhood items with POR-15 I now have one calendar month left of class. In that time, my plan is to complete the following: 1. Build and mount custom tube grill 2. Build and mount custom insets for the rear bumper ends 3. Rebuild the original hydrovac unit for the brakes 4. Recover the rear seat 5. Shave the original mirror and the door handles, install solenoids and poppers for the doors 6. Repair the front fenders 7. POR-15 the original wheels, install wide whitewalls and chrome spiders 8. Paint two lace panels on the roof 9. Install carpet 10. POR-15 the entire undercarriage (planning to do it after class is over, when she's drivable and I can get her on a lift) Pics to follow - If you want to follow the build on my FB page, send me a PM with your FB name and I'll send you a friend request. Wish me luck with the massive list of what I have left!!!
Photos of additional body damage - The gouge in the driver's side front fender was filled with caulk!!!
More of the initial metal fabrication - MIG welding on the mini-roll pan Then we moved on to fabrication of a motorcycle gas tank, which was supposed to be TIG welded - I did ok with the metal shaping, but horrible at the TIG welding - That's when I decided this class wasn't for me and moved over to the Chassis Fabrication class.
Some shots of my instructor welding - His name is Brad and he's both an excellent instructor and a phenomenal fabricator - The class is great, too! Other shots are of the '48 Chevy Pickup chassis we currently have in the frame jig
Shots showing removal of the interior and disassembly of the rear bumper, which I had to use the cutting torch to separate!!!
Most challenging part of this class and build for me - Repair of the rear bumper ends. The passenger rear bumper end is exceptionally mangled and rotted. Good training!!!
OK - These are the most recent shots, which show me refinishing the trunk and gas tank. They also show my cool new "Peep Mirrors" and the start of covering the interior floor with POR-15.
That last group of pics also shows one which reinforces why you should wear long sleeves when using POR-15!!! One thing I'm really not happy with is the underhood items that I covered with POR-15. Normally, I would sandblast them to get a smoother finish - But lack of time and funding are starting to play a part, now that I only have 1 month of class left to do all my work - Wish me luck knocking it all out!!!
I think you have came a long nicely , and haven't given up on it. You should keep trying tig it is handy to use. And no to the 59 lights. Good luck
More work today on the Caddy ~ Trying to finish up the interior floor and found a small spot of rusty and broken metal in the under seat area that needs to be cut out and replaced - Which I'm actually happy about, because repairing it will be a good training experience. I managed to finish up painting all the underhood pieces and the tank straps with POR-15, which is good. Now I'll be able to start assembling and hanging the gas tank and put the underhood pieces together again. Most of the interior floor is now painted with POR-15, except for the area that needs repair and the very front area under the dash. Knocking it out a little at a time!!!
Very happy with metal shaping of the patch piece for my passenger rear bumper end today Gotta weld it in now!
Some more recent progress, from the past few days - Ground off some rust and paint, took the front fenders to the sandblaster, installed the repaired and repainted fuel tank, fabricated a bracket to push up the emergency brake cable and - repaired the right front fender!!!
With just over 3 weeks of class time left, I've had to adjust my expectations and remove unnecessary items from the "To-Do" list ~ With that in mind, here's the updated plan of action: 1. Repair the front fenders, paint and install the inner and outer fenders 2. Repair and POR-15 the floor 3. Install and wire the electric fuel pump 4. Rebuild the original hydrovac unit for the brakes 5. Shave the mirror and door handles, install solenoids and poppers for the doors 6. Build and mount custom insets for the rear bumper ends 7. Sandblast, powdercoat and re-install the front and rear bumpers 8. POR-15 the original wheels, install wide whitewalls and chrome spiders 9. Recover the rear seat and re-install the interior WISH ME LUCK!!!
This project is coming along nicely. Great job with everything, keep it up. We're looking forward to seeing the progress. And "no" as well to the '59 lights.
Thanks for all the posts and kind words, guys - I'm really loving how much I've learned while working on this baby... Still a lot of work left to do and not a lot of time left to do it - Wish me luck! Latest pics to post: Passenger Side Door Handles Shaved
More great work man. Keep at it. I'll offer one tiny word of advice, which you can either agree with or disagree with. You're obviously very talented and doing a great job, don't forget that your time is worth something, too. When it comes to certain things, sometimes it is more cost effective to just simply replace than to repair. Now obviously since the Cadillac isn't exactly ripe with aftermarket suppliers for most parts, there is a lot of reconditioning required. But, take that bent and rotten bumper corner for instance. If you could have sourced a good, used corner for $50-100, it might have been more cost effective to simply replace than to repair and metal finish the busted one you have. When I redid my car, it took me 2 weeks to hammer certain panels out of flat sheet metal. Now, those same panels are available from EMS for around $200. Makes that decision real easy. Just keep that in mind as your project moves forward; sometimes the cheap way is the expensive way. Keep posting progress pics, we're following this
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