Well Bob did tell me the El Camino needed new rockers and quarter panels and that the rockers had Bondo in them, well he wasn't lying. Here's the rocker cut out. Here's the backside of the rocker, it weighs at least 10 lbs.
I just bought a US made Hobart plasma cutter with built in air compressor, it is the most awesome tool ever, it cuts thru metal like butter, and leaves no nasty jagged edges to cut your hands on, I got it from Northern Tool for $800, damn good price, you can do a job in half the time with this tool and you don't need to keep changing cutting wheels and worry about them catching and flying apart.
Oh yeah Gator, I can feel inside the quarter, it's coming off next, there's roofing aluminum in there, pretty sure, pictures posted soon, I'm sure it'll be just as horrific as yours. In all fairness Bob told me the truth about the issues on the truck. I was hoping I could patch it but once I started going at at it with the wire wheel I knew it was time to cut the shit out entirely. I'm glad Bob gave me all the panels to do the job, it's coming along pretty fast.
Reminds me of the Datsun truck I had in 1973. I was prepping it for paint and found the seam on the bed where the bed floor to the bedsides had some bondo. So I decided to sand a little more. By the time I was done there was a 3-4" gap all the way around the bed. Turns out it had been a Pool Service truck and the chemicals had eaten all the metal away. They put making tape on the inside of the bed with a nice thin layer of newspaper and then bondo'd away. I bought another bed from J&S Speed Center's shop truck
Ha Ha, that is the best pic I've seen yet of bondo abuse. It takes the trophy for sure. Looks like the guy was a rookie. He forgot to put the old t shirt on the car before applying the bondo.
At least the guy you got it form was honest about the true condition. I would have never guessed it was that bad from the previous pictures you posted.
I think the Elco went to the same bodyman as my buddy's '59 Bel Air. And my '51. They can be saved, I just wish they'd leave em alone.
Plasma cutters are great, but I got a nasty surprise when I was cutting some rust sections out of a panel van, and the cut 'exploded' - I hit a patch of factory lead filler by a seam! The compressed air blows that shit EVERYWHERE!!
My little brother had a 442 where the windshield header rusted and had a big gapping hole that would catch the wind. He cut out the rust, filled the void with "Great Stuff" foam. Anybody who's worked with Great Stuff knows that it sticks to EVERYTHING! Once the foam was cured, he scraped it smooth, covered it with Bondo, primered and painted it. We laughed at his method however he had the last laugh as his repair looked perfect and held up the 10 years until he sold it. Sooo... If you think you have a nice 442... check the windshield header with a magnet!
That brought tears to my eyes, remembering some of the parts we made out of Bondo. In the northeast, it's considered an art form.
In my 1950 Jeepster the rear quarters were supported by newspaper and screen wire. The newspaper was 1967 and still legible. I like your new plasma cutter. Bill
I remember back in 1991 watching my buddy fix the rear quarters on a 1968 Chevelle SS.... Using those little wire patches the size of a business card, and a gallon of bondo. I bought that car a year later, and there were boil sized eruptions the year after. Found a lot of bad stuff in my Merc last year.
My 53' was patched up with steel mesh and some kind of roofing tar. One of the biggest messes I have ever had to try and fix. You would think you got it all off a panel until you started welding. And the smell of that crap burning was something else. I wish I had pictures of it. I've also seen people carve panels out of "Great Stuff" expanding foam then bondo over them. Everytime I see this stuff I ask Why do it at all if you aren't going to do it right?
I think that anyone that gets a car that has been repaired in this fashion and then goes through the process of repairing it properly should be thankful that it was repaired this way. It kept the car around long enough for you to get it. Had it not been repaired that way, it likely would have ended up in a salvage yard, never to be seen again. Had it been repaired properly, it likely would be out of reach financially.
i replaced the rockers on mine but they werent half as bad as those...the only thing that bothered me though was that the original rockers were really thick gauge metal like 14...and the patch panels are only 18...
Definetly. Thanks for pointing out the silver lining of the cloud. You must see the glass as being half full. Yay for bad body work...?
Forewarned is forearmed. Probably negotiated a favorable price base on the knowledge. At least he knew up-front what he was getting. Better than a 'speed-bump induced' surprise.
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