This is a mod I had discussed with the owner quite a while back, and she asked about it again last week, so I guess we're on the hook to shave some seams.. The bolting plates are cut out of the way, and the folded flange is trimmed, leaving a bit of extra to allow for fine tuning the weld joint. Bottom of the fender is cut loose from the bolting plate using the cutoff wheel. Then sanding the face of the fender leaves a contrast at the bend of the flange for a good guide for trimming with snips.... Planishing out the fold to fill the gap.... Clamps used to test fit. Still needs some fine tuning for zero gaps, but we'll finish that another day..
And some guys would just throw weld in the V and leave all the flange inside, waiting to rust. You are doing this the RIGHT way. Thanks for showing us.
Thanks for the comments guys! Got to trimming today, little to no gaps.... Used the new ER70S-7 wire. Looks to me like it lays out a bit flatter... Used the crowned hammer to planish the welds. This stuff appears to planish out a bit easier as well. After planishing, 1/16" wide cutoff wheel used perpendicular to the weld for grinding the welds with minimal contact patch and less heat buildup. Ground welds just proud of the metal surface, front and back, to make room for planishing the next set of weld dots. Then rather than weld the next dots in the middle, I overlapped each of the previous welds to help eliminate missed spots and pinholes. Weld, planish, grind, repeat. Then I got on a roll and missed some in process pics, but here is the result after dressing out all the welds... Back side.... Yeah, I like this much better....
while i think you did an awesome job and it looks great i personnelly think that line belongs on a 55 unless your building a"gasser" and remove the pieces below that line for weight savings
Your workmanship is outstanding. I'm wondering how you will address the bumper brace that bolted in place where the seam used to be. Jus wondn
Hey Mac, What, no coat hangers, kitty hair or hi-build used? If you keep raising the bar, and chevy guys the world over, will take ya off their Christmas card list
Great work, but I have a question...why cut off the mounting area on the back? Is it to dress the metal better? Sorry if its a stupid question. Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad
Just like the pinch weld seam inside the quarter beneath the tail lights, these adjacent flanges of the panels become areas to trap water, dirt, and then generate rust, normally from the inside-out. So this eliminates that possibility, and yes, as you indicated, makes it much easier to planish the welds for straightening out the panel.
WOW!!! Nice work. Personally i like the seam. That kind of looks like a guy that is going bald from the front to the back....... A little too much forhead Just kiddin Rod
I use Er70s-6 rod. Is there really a difference with -7? I will have to get some and see. Little more silicon content? Great job,looks a lot better getting rid of the seam!
The Mig with the -6 always has seemed to have a real hard weld bead, the -7 seemed to planish out easier and grind easier. Had a few minutes this evening so I hung the fender on the car to have a better look-see...
Thanks for the comments guys. One more piece to finish up the shave, the inner flange for the grille opening needed connecting together after trimming the bolting flanges. Trimmed and holes drilled for plug welds.... All welded and dressed out....
Thanks Bobby! I was going to start the shave on the driver's side, but a few stumbling blocks along the way... Mocked up all the front sheet metal just to see it together again.. Gotta love that hood bird.. Here's the factory seam to compare to the shaved version... Bumper filler panel had been tweaked at some point in the past 50 years, so let's see what we can do to straighten it out some.... Used a combination of the flat and crowned body hammers, the donut dolly, the 5" dia shot bag, and a round hunk of steel. Much better... Next on the list before the next shave, a bit more rust to attend to... Used a wide sweeping radius on the cut to minimize any extra shrinking that occurs inside tight corners. To get a good, consistent profile on the patch, I used the go kart wheel... Laying out the pattern.. One last test fit before tipping the flange... Dumb mistake number one....don't cut the patch so small you can't get leverage to force the flange to tip... Well, we do have a good crease to work from now. Some hammering on the 2" round anvil will work Trimmed to fit... Welded and dressed... Hey...the light even fits
Moving right along, some multi-tasking tonight... One valve cover wet sanded..... ....and started the prep for shaving fender number two.....
Thanks! I checked at my local welding supply, and they said ESAB wasn't making it any more (don't hold that as gospel, I haven't verified) but said the -7 was softer than the -6. I did find some info on it: In using the -7, it was noticelably softer when I planished the weld dots, the weld dots laid in flatter, and seemed to grind easier. So this was my alternative to the EZ grind...
Thank you for posting the steps to do this right. Very inspiring to see nice metal finishing. I have seen this done before with bondo......... Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad
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