“Paint Ready Project” eh?

[7E-Bodies]

I almost always laugh when I see an e body ad for a project that says "ready for paint". This has been a wonderful project with zero disappointments. When I first began posting shots of it, having already been blasted top and bottom by the previous owner (nicely so far, with no warping), a scant few said "why strip it all down again?"  My answer (like most here) was, "never trust another mans body work". Here's a good reason...think this trunk gutter area may have come back to haunt me? It had brass and filler in it. First hint was a tiny orange speck in the gray epoxy.

[JS29]

Good catch! Do you have a spot blaster? that would be ideal for areas like that. 

[7E-Bodies]

Not yet. Not opposed to doing that, but I currently use small 1/4" shank wire wheels with a shop vac running next to the work area to hold down on dust in my shop. Seems to work well in most areas. I'll surgically cut this area out, fab a new piece identical, and stitch weld it in. Minor putty skim coat if needed, but typically not.

[Jay Bee]

Just thought I'd share this AMD part with you. Don't know if it'll work for you, or if you even saw it.

http://www.autometaldirect.com/amd-trunk-gutter-rh-70-74-challenger-p-2775.html

[jimynick]

Am I missing something here lads? The pic seems to show a couple of small holes. Why would brass be a problem? Why, indeed, would you not simply braze closed those 2 small holes, grind to please and then use the quoted "skin" to finish it, rather than sawing out a chunk, fabbing something, welding it back in, grinding all those welds and THEN getting to the "skin"?

[JS29]

After a through cleaning,  I have soldered small holes closed with good results.   

[7E-Bodies]

Hearing everyone loud and clear. This older repair is actually part of the Dutchman panel, just at the drop off in the right corner of the gutter. I'm tooled and good at precision cutouts and can replicate an exact piece to stitch in with mig, and grind flush with a die grinder and/or Dremel. I typically cut out an area about 2 times the size due to thinning near the hole. Then skim coat after epoxy and sand out. The rest of the Dutchman is rock solid. Always learning and trying new ideas and love the input. I'll post more pics on this thread as this repair progresses.

Kevin

[torredcuda]

Brazing is the old school way when hardly anyone had mig or tig welders, it can work but is still subject to lifting/separating if not done correctly, I`d rather just weld it up.

[jimynick]

Brazing is the old school way when hardly anyone had mig or tig welders, it can work but is still subject to lifting/separating if not done correctly, I`d rather just weld it up.

You're right if it's some bubble gum type weld, but I've brazed 100's of holes and panels and can assure you that if you do your part, it surely will not come apart- unless you reheat it red hot that is.