Its the final countdown, progress thread Options

[type11969]

I've had this 71 for 3 years now and I've only driven it for 10 minutes before I bought it. I figure if I haven't made serious progress by the spring, she is getting stripped and scrapped. You'll see why. Its probably only a parts car, but I want to learn how to weld, and if I can get this thing back on the road, I think I will be well on my way. I'll start from the beginning:

The exterior, looks harmless enough:
(IMG:http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b188/type11969/914/914.jpg)

The interior, looks pretty good (wait, what was that saying about wrapping a piece of poo in a pretty package):

(IMG:http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b188/type11969/914/914012.jpg)

Long looks okay at first glance:

(IMG:http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b188/type11969/914/914009.jpg)

Wait, umm, is this factory installed golf ball sized hunks of epoxy and bondo:

(IMG:http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b188/type11969/914/111404015.jpg)

Yum:

(IMG:http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b188/type11969/914/111404010.jpg)

Delicious:

(IMG:http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b188/type11969/914/111404012.jpg)

Craptacular:

(IMG:http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b188/type11969/914/914-2018.jpg)

Brace yourself (also have another brace running to the drivers side door jamb, couldn't find that pic):

(IMG:http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b188/type11969/914/111404001.jpg)

Couldn't find any pics of the lovely riveting and brazing job a PO did with re-attaching the portion of the fender below the sail, but I hacked that focker off:

(IMG:http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b188/type11969/914/121304002.jpg)

Mmm, clean:

(IMG:http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b188/type11969/914/121304013.jpg)

Also found after removing the interior that the passenger side was once used as a pool, the entire lower inner corner of the long and bulkhead was gone. PO crappily arc welded a new floorpan in, but didn't fix any of the other damage:

(IMG:http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b188/type11969/914/Picture069.jpg)

(IMG:http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b188/type11969/914/Picture070.jpg)

(IMG:http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b188/type11969/914/Picture071.jpg)

(IMG:http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b188/type11969/914/111404002.jpg)

Quick break, then pics of the repairs so far . . .

[McMark]

Looking good! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/thumb3d.gif)

Watch out for warpage with those long beads. It's surprising how much a car can bend. It looks like you're doing them in 1" segments which is good. Jump around a lot and let the welds cool. Take your time.

Those are some great shots of the inside of the long. Very informative for people who are wondering "What's in there?"

Keep going! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/welder.gif)

[type11969]

Looking good! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/thumb3d.gif)

Watch out for warpage with those long beads. It's surprising how much a car can bend. It looks like you're doing them in 1" segments which is good. Jump around a lot and let the welds cool. Take your time.

Those are some great shots of the inside of the long. Very informative for people who are wondering "What's in there?"

Keep going! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/welder.gif)

Yeah, I'm jumping around from one location on the patch to the next and joining the tacks, took me at least an hour to tack in then weld that plate. Hopefully that was taking long enough, any good rules of thumb for wait time? Warpage is definitely a concern considering where I am welding, I don't want to throw the rear end out of whack.

-Chris

[tdsmoonchild]

Yeah, I'm jumping around from one location on the patch to the next and joining the tacks, took me at least an hour to tack in then weld that plate. Hopefully that was taking long enough, any good rules of thumb for wait time? Warpage is definitely a concern considering where I am welding, I don't want to throw the rear end out of whack.

-Chris

At the hardware store they sell some spray stuff that keeps the surrounding metal cool. Anyone tried that stuff? Can't remember what it's called, but it seems like if it works it would help, especially with body panels.

[Boojum]

Yeah, I'm jumping around from one location on the patch to the next and joining the tacks, took me at least an hour to tack in then weld that plate. Hopefully that was taking long enough, any good rules of thumb for wait time? Warpage is definitely a concern considering where I am welding, I don't want to throw the rear end out of whack.

-Chris

At the hardware store they sell some spray stuff that keeps the surrounding metal cool. Anyone tried that stuff? Can't remember what it's called, but it seems like if it works it would help, especially with body panels.

Yep, it can also be had at welding supply houses for less money. I would advise against it, however, unless you know what you're doing... It can make buckling on this thin gauge metal even worse in the right conditions. I mainly use it when I can't avoid welding near plastic parts, wiring, etc. I use it all the time for plumbing, though. It's good at stopping heat-creep to valves and other solderable parts.