I need to seperate the inner skin from the outer skin on my duece decklid as the inner portion is rotted at the bottom. It appears as though there is about an eigth or so of an inch of a lip that folds over but how do you open that up without tearing up the outer skin and seperate the two? The outer skin on my decklid is very solid yet the inner will likely need replacing over repair.
Hey, You could grind the flange of the lid right where the metal 180s to the frame, remove the outer skin, replace the inner frame , and reweld the deck lid back together where you ground the flange. If you're careful, you shouldn't be able to tell a repair was made. Go slow with your work, and make small welds and watch for heat build up in the panel whyle the repair is being made. You're probably gonna find that repair to the outer skin is called for, once it's removed " Life ain't no Disney movie "
How much of the inner bottom is in need of repair? You can cut the bottom out with an .030" Cut-off wheel(just above the rust) and grind only the sides where it is "hemmed" over. If only the very bottom is rotten, only a small length of hem will need to come off (the sides). The bottom inner will then "tilt" out with some persuasion. You then can weld up or repair the section and reinstall it. Set your .030 gap and I use a M.I.G. to do the "butt" weld(one of the rare times I use a M.I.G.) Hope this helps.
I was thinking along these lines myself. The lower 3 inches or so of the inner panel is mostly gone yet the outer panel is in pretty nice shape and could be tigged up with minimal effort. Shaping the compound inner panel and making the latch pocket is doable but not necessarily by a moron like me. Then again I will never know or learn unless I try.
Hey Hogdriver, Start to do a study of the construction and usage of hammerforms. This fairly simply metalworking method can produce very exceptable results for little cash outlay. Check the achrives and the online metalshaping sites like metalshapers.org, etc. for examples of construction and usage. Ron Covell made a viedo some years back on the subject, also, a book titled "Metal Fabricator's Handbook" by Ron Fournier has a good section on hammerforms. Sounds like a fun project, how 'bout a photo of the panel you wanna build? " Life ain't no Disney movie "
i have opened up folded metal bends by sanding the edge with fine paper on a grinder. you want to make the sheet metal thinner than the rest so when you pry it open it wants to bend where it is thin.
I have see some of Ron Covell's fab literature but will look into this. I will try to get a pic up tomorrow to show what I am dealing with. Nothing too bad but a bit of a challenge to keep the project interesting. Thanks for the reply.
Hogdriver If you run a straight edge transversely along the inner you will find the only compound shape is the pinch flange (where the skin folds). It is a flat panel with some indentation for the latch and bumpers....go for it and remember you can fab the indents from multiple bits...if you can weld!!
I am ready to dive in and will get everything put back together in good time. Gonna blast the body and get it in epoxy to get ready for the paint and bodywork phase. Louvers are a posibility and will get some thought.
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