'71 R/T, fixing a parts car

[Flatdad]

I tried my best to repair the firewall+cowl on the new donor, but it was too far gone. I gave in and ordered a new firewall and upper cowl that I'm picking up at the Indy Swap Meet.

In the mean time, I re-repaired the front floor area of the car. Previously, I had fiberglassed over the rotten bellhousing area, but I decided that was a little too hack-job... even for me. I made a dedicated patch and hand formed it with a flange and all. Some of the shoddy floor spot welds got tuned up at the same time.

I'm currently working in the engine bay patching up the fender aprons. One rotten section above the passenger shock tower is fixed, probably four areas to go.

[Flatdad]

It was a productive weekend!

The rear of the passenger apron was rusted out, I made a patch with the necessary bends and melted it in. The passenger hood hinge mounting area was completely shot, It's a miracle it was still attached! I ended up making a 5x5 patch + a new backing plate with tabs similar to the factory and reused the threaded bit retained by the tabs. It ended up looking pretty nice, so I'm just going to duplicate it on the other side. Last thing I did was straighten the upper rad support and worked on the lower a bit with various hammers.

The welds still need ground, my least favorite part... 

[Flatdad]

Both hood hinge areas are patched, welded, and ground. There's still a rusty area on the front of the passenger side, and a spot on the rear of the driver's side. My brother grabbed a bunch of scrap square tubing from his work and brought it over for me to use as bracing for the roof swap and firewall work.

I've had a 26" radiator core support piece laying around for a couple years, and yesterday I just decided to go for it. I drilled out the the old 22" bit and fitted up the new one with sheetmetal screws. Everything appears to be square, but I need to compare some measurements.

[anlauto]

 

[Flatdad]

True, I'm on a mission to change that this week. I'm still rocking a flip phone, so any pictures need to be done with a dedicated camera and I broke the one I had a while back. Maybe I looked at it too hard, lol!

I did manage to find some old 'before' pictures of the rusty aprons, hopefully they'll suffice until I can snap some 'afters'. 

[Flatdad]

Friday at the Indy swap I picked up my new firewall and cowl, saving about $250 between shipping and the show discount. I also grabbed an underhood plastic clip kit for $10, and a metal brace I was missing for $5.

I was busy most of Saturday & Sunday, but managed to find time to prep the radiator support piece and spot weld it in. The fender apron still needs patched where it meets the support though.

[Flatdad]

Man, posting by phone is a pain. I figure this picture will convey the most information. After fixing the front door pillars with grafts from the new roof, I'm working on the rear sail panel webbing and structure. My brother helped me do one test fit so far, and the new roof is going to fit like a glove.

[Brads70]

Wow! Most " ambitious " back from the dead I've seen yet! 

[anlauto]

Yup, nice to see another one fixed 

[Flatdad]

Where the pillars meet the door posts on the donor roof, has been a real eye opener. I figured the donor pillar/posts would be rust free... as they looked rust free from the outside.

Spoiler; it was not.

After separating the roof pillar flanges from the door pillar, I discovered deep corrosion was already starting that would have been holes in no time, despite looking clean as a pin on the outside. It really makes me wonder now about all those restored (or racecar) e-bodies that have never been apart this deep.

[DeathProofCuda]

Where the pillars meet the door posts on the donor roof, has been a real eye opener. I figured the donor pillar/posts would be rust free... as they looked rust free from the outside.

Spoiler; it was not.

After separating the roof pillar flanges from the door pillar, I discovered deep corrosion was already starting that would have been holes in no time, despite looking clean as a pin on the outside. It really makes me wonder now about all those restored (or racecar) e-bodies that have never been apart this deep.

I always look forward to updates on this thread.

Would be great to see some pics of what you described above. 

[Blowout]

 

[70_440-6Cuda]

Just went through this whole thread and am doing all I can to NOT check out the YouTube channel mentioned earlier until the weekend!  Great thread, awesome work!

[dodj]

Man, posting by phone is a pain. I figure this picture will convey the most information. After fixing the front door pillars with grafts from the new roof, I'm working on the rear sail panel webbing and structure. My brother helped me do one test fit so far, and the new roof is going to fit like a glove.

Holy crap!
Gonna watch this. I'm impressed FlatDad. 

[Flatdad]

Ok, I went poking around the roof post base and... I found exactly what you'd expect, holes. After cutting out most of the base, I stabbed around on the wheelhouse top with a pick and picked out more holes of course. The Webbing behind the angled bit of roof post was bad too. Five layered patch pieces later and a shellacking with various sealers and chassis paints and it's now solid. Ugly, but solid. The angled pillar piece will be added after the roof graft is attached.

Next, I moved on to the window rail and corner. One patch welded in up high, one due in the corner. Then it's on to the driver's side roof pillar.