I know I'm gonna take a beating on this one, but I've never had to do both at the same time before. I'm building a 50 Styleline Deluxe that needs floors, braces and rockers. I'm planning on making the parts myself, and thought I'd ask the question first before I really took a beating after doing it in the wrong order. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
this adjustment guide will piss off a few guys but it answers the questions for the average guy -------------------------------- 1-18-14 HOW TO INSTALL REPAIR PANELS AND BODY ALIGNMENT BY EMS AUTOMOTIVE With the thousands of questions fielded by EMS CUSTOMER SERVICE every year some basic thoughts rise to the surface about the most popular questions. WHERE TO BEGIN The main question is to which area of the car to begin, some think it depends a lot on the condition of the body. But in reality the starting point is the same the amount of work per step changes. Many start with the frame, and getting that ego boosting motor and trans in place . Well a lot of guys remove the the body to do frame and this causes problems if the rough metal work is not done. A rusty body is weak and will flex when removed, and even though the rust may only be the rocker panels. movement of critical body alignments points can move. So proceeding with at least the rough metal work completed is best before removing the body. The number guys who call asking about saggy doors and what to do happens often at ems automotive. Planning is the key to a successful resto job, although i complain about guys doing the engine and trans first. I would like them to plan for the the engine and trans when starting there body work. especially when doing major engine /trans swaps! The 2 most critical area’s of a old street body is the firewall and tailpan, why?? each of these part as often changed/damaged . The firewall on early pre 48 bodies usually is changed to handle the small block or big block motor . The changing of the firewall and tailpan can cause a twist in the body , it is best to set the firewall in place so it fits well to the surrounding front cowl. often the lower cowl panels need repair but it is not of concern at the moment. deal wit it after getting the firewall in place Then we need to jump to the rear tailpan under the trunk lid, the tailpan is a difficult job for a few reasons. Tailpans have a trunk lid to content with and often with some very shapely body line and reveals. these all must line up perfectly or the repair just looks bad. The when a tailpan is removed a number of issue’s are in play. First the rear 1/4 panels are basically flapping in the wind, cause the tailpan is removed and often the inner trunk floor extension has been removed also The 1/4 panel which often rolls around some to meet up with the tailpan , line up the tailpan to the body lines on the 1/4 panel. Now bring down the trunk lid to meet up with the tailpan set the height of the tailpan. We like to expect a gap between the trunk lid gap to be 1/8 of inch. although it could go as low as 1/16 or as large as 3/16 and it may never be the same totally around the trunk lid, do the best you can. If the trunk lid or body lines do match up a common issue is the height of the 1/4. the 1/4’s may need to be shimmed up or down to square the basic geometric shape of the tailpan. Now if the trunk lid still does not close or line up correctly . When can have worn trunk lid hinges allowing the trunk lid to move at every opening or closing.( more common then you think.) and now for the most unbelievable issue we have seen at ems automotive. The trunk lid is relatively a thinly shaped panel, even a car that has had soft clean life has experienced many openings of the trunk lid the closing (slamming of the trunk lid even by the center located handle. the trunk lid can and will slowly lose the arch or side to side curve of oem production, This means the trunk lid widens slowly as it loses its curve, even though there has not been any body damage to the trunk lid it will flatten slightly, with only a 1/8 on each side it does not take for much for the trunk lid to not fit the replacement tailpan. with all this to consider the way we look at is that to make the tailpan and both 1/4’s fit the trunk lid . The idea behind this it make the car look good at the car show. FLOOR PANS-- TRUNK FLOOR We have skipped the floor pans front and rear along with the trunk floor for a reason. Repairing the floors and trunk floor will lock in the body structure. Making the proper fit up of outer body difficult without having to cut the floor lose again. After the repairing the firewall and rear tailpan we can now move to the side of the car this would mean rockers lower front 1/4 and lower front cowl. on pre-48 cars the lower front cowl is more of a problem then the post 49 cars as well on the post 49 cars we have a larger lower rear 1/4 panel panel to deal with. The replacement of the lower front cowl on pre-48 cars is difficult cause it usually includes the lower front door post and the bolt pattern for the front fenders. 2 critical area’s to align properly, the front door would be the lead issue here as the front fenders have some flex built into them. so there is some latitude. Then lets jump to the lower front rear 1/4 and fill in with the rocker panel, here again we want the door to fit the door opening we do this by making the opening fit the door, This is the time we can adjust the panels to achieve the desired 1/8 inch door gap. Why do we do this, well when we are at the cruise night every one will see and judge how well the doors fit and the trunk lid, nobody will be lifting up the carpeting to measure to see if you have equal distance in floor ribbing. Now if you have a post 49 car then we add the lower rear 1/4 panels behind the wheel opening , this section is put on after the lower front 1/4 , for these years of cars the lower front 1/4 a controlling part on side repair. the rear section is just line up the wheel opening and go. if fender skirts are used then they must be check for fit before final welding. We have talked about alot of fitting and adjusting and there have been much talk on how to do this. I like the simple and unconventional method , I use steel pop rivets, it is easier to fit the panel put a few pop rivets in and check for fit, before doing final welding, drill out if a adjustment is needed! The problem with tack welding is it requires cutting or grinding to change and could make your weld edge a mess when final welding begins. Why? pop rivets are cheap and if you need a 100 rivets well it only $3 bucks. The steel rivets can be welded right through IF they get in the way. Rivets that are welded over can be ground down smooth . the cleco clamps can get in the way of welding. Hammer welding was invented before gas welding and gas before electric welding. We recommend m.i.g welding with a covering gas like co2. avoid gasless weld wire on sheetmetal panels. any 110 volt can do the job, Just get the biggest and most name brand you can afford. the cheaper ones only take a lot longer to do the job then the bigger ones. this applies to sheet metal only frame work will take a slightly bigger welder. T.I.G.welding is ok to, if you have that type of welder. Now that the outside sheet metal is in place it is time to finish the floor and trunk, pretty much drop it and go now if you need to fit and trim the floors to fit, so what, your car is gonna look good on the outside ‘cause that work is done! All floor pans are held up by some type of floor brace or stiffener. many of these are available from ems automotive some are not depending on your car. If there are none available angle iron can work but is not great looking underneath some type of square or rectangular tubing is strong and looks good, ( check www.ems automotive.com we have some universal floor braces ) On cars where there is modification/ new seat mounting , don't forget to beef up the area where your seat will bolt to the floor, we do not want the bolt to pull out. It is best to bolt the seat to the floor brace but it may not line up, some heavier steel plate 1/8 thick is good for this and make it big enough to grab your seat belt bolts too! When setting the trunk floor make it look good , but have some planning done for the gas tank. if changeing the gas tank check with the mfg. to see if any special mounting requirements are needed it is much better to weld them on now then after. LOWER DOOR REPAIR KITS: If using one of the ems automotive lower door bottom kits. The heavy gage steel inner will weld like normal, But for the thinner outer skin welding with out distortion is very tricky, The newer structural adhesives are a good choice, ( available from your local body shop supply) allowing some small welds on each end and using the adhesive the balance of the seam. Check with your paint supplier about painting these seams (unique procedure). LOWER 1/4 PANELS: On some the 50’s cars the 1/4 panels are getting longer and warp free welding can become a chore, the structural adhesive can be a help here also. Fender skirts, if you are planning to run fender skirts which are popular for the 50’s, then it is best to have them available when welding the 1/4 panels. Fitting the 1/4’s to the fender skirts is a very good procedure., remember fender skirts came as factory, dealer installed and aftermarket each having there own fit and finish issue’s HOW TO ADJUST THE BODY: Ok we talk about adjusting the body but how do we do this? Most bodies will need to have a slight amount pressure applied to push/pull raise/lower a section to make the door or trunk lid close nicely. even very clean untouched car need this after 60 or 70 years. The best and easiest is on the frame that your going to use. now many guys will use a older frame for construction as not to mess up there purchased aftermarket roller frame, this is ok but remember when switching from a construction frame to the final some shimming at the body bolts may need to happen To adjust the body i would bolt it to the frame using new rubber body to frame pads. clean the threads on the e body bolts good old rust and dirt cause problems. when a adjustment is needed i would avoid using a hydraulic floor jack they are hard to adjust apply to much force and nearly impossible to lower in very very slight amounts. EMS AUTOMOTIVE recommends using a mechanical floor jack ( what is this??) it can be a crank jack or the mechanical post jack found in many pick- up trucks. They provide sufficient force and are adjustable to very small amounts and are cheap at junk yards, I recommend 8 jacks for a major body rebuild. also handy to have a few wedges to push between the body and frame. wood wedges from hard wood are great. Now you will be able to move the panels around to get that great fit on door gap. you may have to loosen the body bolts to get the panels where you need to, this is ok and expected. When mounting the body on the permanent frame use a torque wrench on the body bolts over tighten can twist the body. during factory assembly torque on the bolts was controlled. I WANT TO USE MY BODY ROTATOR: But not for major panel installation. the body is hanging from each end with the weight of the body applying force downward installing panels in this condition can induce a stress and can cause some misalignment. it is ok for a few small panels but not for major work. After your panels are roughed in the body rotator is a great way to do all your finish work. Check out our web site: www.emsautomotive.com The leader in “usa made” repair panels
I brace very well and do the whole job on my rotisserie. I will never EVER build a car on the ground again! On really bad rust repair I make a truss for the underside. I rough cut out everything that gets replaced, and have the body blasted on the rotisserie. I also have a steel bench that fits under the car, that I use for the major structural stuff.Start at the cowl/rocker and work out from there. Check and recheck fit constantly as you go. Just don't weld till you KNOW it's right.
First weld the body on the chassis to a solid steel square jig , checking all the way that the frame is 100% level front to rear and side to side When certain it's square and level , weld braces between the A pillars and B pillars 12" above the floor . Weld brace front to rear between each of these, and as an extra an upright going through a cut hole in the floor from a brace at the B pillar to the steel jig is extra insurance. Now you can cut away to your hearts content and know it will stay the same. Cut the sills out first and replace any bad chassis out riggers the replace the sills ,constantly checking door gaps . We have just completed this extensive procedure today on our shoe box and finally removed all bracing and everything still fits!!!!! New full length rear fenders floors A and B pillars, roof chop, laid down rear window, etc etc. were it not suitably braced we would have a banana for sure.
Thanks for the help guys. Sometimes it's easier to ask the question first then try to clean up the mess later. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
The Jalopy Journal
