1964 Bali Blue SC Coupe Restoration Project

[Red911]

Now it is time to strengthen the frame work of the door so when the skin is cut off, no movement will take place.











That is where I am starting.

Tom

[John Pierce]

The door is looking better. The shrinking disc can only do so much however. As the saying goes: "You can't make chicken soup out of chicken shit." I have to agree with Justin that some of the metal you are trying to save is a bit gone.....too much hardening from all the beating. You might want to cut your losses and cut a bigger hole.

[Red911]

Thanks John, but I will continue to learn on this door so the rest of the car will be better. Time to forge ahead.

I liked the three part door repair Blog by Tom. The Restoration Design lower door skin is six inches tall from the bottom, so I scribed some 6" lines. I also marked where to cut at 4 1/2" so I can continue to smooth the door skin and get inside the door without worrying about over cutting.





Keep the comments coming in.

Thanks, Tom

[Red911]

Hello all,

Now time to work in the inside door frame and replace the rusted framework as needed. I have purchased the 6" door skin and the door bottom from Restoration Design.

I made a patch to replace the vertical framework.



I cut off the "holy" steel and below it was mostly enough solid steel to put the patch on top.





I soaked the steel with my chamois and POR-15 Metal Prep to take the steel down to bare metal.





Next to spray 3M Weld Through paint to protect the original steel.

Tom

[Red911]

Time to protect the clean steel from further rust.

To match the patch, I compared the other door and matched it.





The other door has as relief that is 1/4" deep, so I added that touch. I also had to shrink the top thin part of the patch so it bent slightly.





I also removed the lead on old frame so I can weld in the patch.

Tom

[Red911]

Hello all,

Welded two panels in today. I am using a Henrob gas torch.

Here is the larger one. I Googled how to remove lead (read solder) from steel. 1 part hydrogen peroxide and two parts white vinegar, use an acid brush to apply. let sit for ten minutes then wash off with water. The steel welded just fine.



I liked Tom's writing about the inside of the top of the door and leaving some "ears" on the patch so the ends will not burn off. Thanks Tom.



As you can see, I need a lot of practice to have cleaner welds, so I am happy these went as well as they did. As they say, "Practice makes perfect".

Tom

[Phil Planck]

Tom
As John said, not sure you are going to smooth that mess out. I don't think the shrinking disc was meant for that rough area. I posted a picture earlier of a special dolly I made to get in back of those tight areas. When I bought my disc from Wray I think it came with a DVD that showed, along with the shrinking disc use, how to use a hammer and dolly to raise dents. It consists of a good slapper rather than a hammer and a dolly that will fit behind and somewhat match the contour. Then with a wide tipped marker you cover the rough area. A 6" diameter of Baltic birch plywood with a 220 grit or so sanding disc stuck to it will highlite the low areas, as the dark marker ink will not sand off. These are the areas that need lifting.

[badsix]

tom, not to bounce off topic but how do you like the Henrob ? I have always wanted to play with one.
Jay D.

[Red911]

Hi Phil,

I do realize the door skin may be a lost cause, but I am practicing on it for the rest of the car. I do plan to cut off the lower door panel, per my measurements discussed recently and get at it with a slapping hammer and dolly similar to yours.

Tom

[Red911]

Hi Jay,

I love the Henrob.

I learned how to weld in Chicago at a night class when I raced FV's. The Henrob is a natural progression for my gas welding. I do have a MIG welder too for some patch panels and plug welding.

I did cut off the rear end of the car to replace some sheet metal in the engine tin inner cover.





Tom

[Red911]

Hello all,

I had a problem. The problem was the shop vac that I used to get the airborne dust out of my blasting cabinet.

For years, I have attached my 16 gallon Craftsman Shop Vac to a hose to allow me to see what I was blasting. I do all my own powder coating in my garage. At least what I can fit into my wife's old electric open. I can fit a 15" wheel inside and all other smaller parts. Works fine.

The issue with the shop vac is I vacuum out the dust and a lot of nice sand blasting particles. They all went into the dust bag in the shop vac, so I could not recycle the blasting material. When you buy blasting media in small 50# bags, it costs a lot.

So I was surfing the interweb a few weeks ago and came across the Onieda Air Systems, Dust Deputy DIY kit. $54 for the Dust Deputy on Amazon Prime, an 8' shop vac hose from Craftsman along with various nuts, bolts, washers, a tube of silicone and a piece of plywood to have on the inside of the 5 gallon pail that we all have at home or in you shop. The setup cost around $80.

It says the Dust Deputy collects 99% of the vacuumed material in the bucket and not in the shop vac. Come on, you can't be telling the truth.

Well it does collect 99% so I can recycle the blasting cabinet media now. For a test, I did some non-blasting cabinet shop vacuuming. It worked better than I ever expected.

Here is a photo:



Here is a Youtube shoot out between three systems:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ct5R6_bj80

Most of you have probably already heard about these kind of cyclone dust collectors, but I had not.

I like to work on my SWB 911's and the Bali Blue 356 but I have fun buying new tools as you may have guessed in my posting.

Let me know if you have any questions about the Dust Deputy.

Tom

[Phil Planck]

Thanks for the tip Tom. I ruined my 1st vacuum, and like you, my 2nd just collected a lot of media. Latest attempt is using my wood stove ash vacuum, where I can recycle, but what you have seems a better set up. I hate media bladting:
A) because I bought a cheap cabinet, and
because at 6'2" I have to stoop to use it, but I use it so infrequently that I never take the time to raise it.

Ideally, I would put locking wheels on it so I could roll it outside in warm weather so all the leaky dust doesnt cover everything in my shop.

[JTR70]

Thanks Tom! Love seeing DYI set ups that really work like this one.

[Red911]

Hello all,

Rust is not our friend. We are all fighting rust on this site and learning how to keep it away. I have an idea that I want to float to my fellow listers and see where it will go.

Lately, I have been working on my two doors as that recommendation was made as the place that everything radiates from on the restoration. About two years ago I had my doors and engine cover dipped in Worcester, MA, as I live i Rhode Island. It was nice, but all the blogs said that alkaline dipping will make the paint fail, so I wanted to see if that had changed. I found a restoration shop in Louisiana that dipped cars, and then I saw that they e coated the dipped car. Could this be my savior? Here is that shop:

http://selectmotors.net/automotive-chemical-stripping-and-e-coating/

That peaked my interest. I could have the car dipped, fix the clean, rust free steel then have the car e coated without fear of the alkaline dip ruining my paint job. (Remember, this is years from now, but I like to dream)

I continued to Google e coating of automobiles and found some interesting sites. First, is an English site that e coated a SWB 911 and the details are pretty impressive. However, be warned that the graphics and music are sketchy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwvF1SzwagE

In the US, I found a restoration shop in Charlotte, NC that is restoring "The Last Hemi". He sent his car to Wisconsin. Watch the dipping video and how he is finishing the e coat prior to 2K primer / surfacer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yS102LA5Os

Here is how 3M suggests the e coat is to be prepared for paint:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRBy5pFlhy8

More in the next post.

Tom

[Red911]

Back again,

The e coat process is detailed in this Oshkosh video. It is an extensive process, so if I chose to follow this route, I will have to be careful on my provider:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYNeHFwmWD4

And another British video on the multistep process from the same folks that did the SWB 911:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KK1r1GJqYjc

My plan is as follows:

Complete my doors, as you have convinced me that the doors are the key spot to start a proper restoration. Send the doors, engine cover that all were dipped a few years ago in Worcester, MA and gas tank to an e coat company that I have chosen. The gas tank as it is full of crud after sitting since I last drove the car in 1982, 36 years ago. I would be nice to just restore the gas tank instead of buying a new one. I don't like the gas tank cleaners and chemicals that are used on the inside of the gas tank.

Then have the car stripped and then alkaline dipped to get rid of the rust and paint. Remember, if I have the car sand blasted, it will warp and prior to this e coat conversation, the alkaline dipping will cause the paint to fail. Now with the multi step preparation of a class e coat company that I hope to find, no worries about the paint being ruined by the alkaline dip in five years.

MetalWorks in Oregon states in their FAQ's that acid dipping will ruin paint down the road:

http://www.metaldipping.com/faq.php

After the metal work is to about the 98% finished, I will send the car to be completely e coated. When the car is returned, "3M" the e coat on the top, and Wurth the bottom, maybe even Lizard Skin the inside and bottom then Wurth undercoat. 2K the top and paint my Bali Blue.

I will continue to work on this project for my car and I am interested in your comments.

Thanks, Tom