Coupe into Speedster Conversion

[Don C]

Great work Justin, you're amazing!

[merbesfield]

I might have missed it, but what are your plans to keep this puppy from rusting in the future? I am always torn with what and how to do it. Modern technology says apply seam sealers, undercoating etc, but we will the be covering all the amazingly correct details that show how nice these cars are correct etc. Logic says do the proper work to prevent this in the future but then when and if you go to sell the car in the future the potential buyer will think you have covered up crap with seam sealer to hide rust! I decided to use seam sealer on the front and and will do same to rear as I do not want water entering those joints. I have not Schutzed yet, but think I will, maybe....

[Trevor]

Oh man, you're crazy Justin.

Signed,
A fellow "crazy".

[JTR70]

Thanks a lot Don!

Mark, I'm just sealing the cavities in a good coat of primer and paint. I'll do the seams in 3M heavy drip check like I did on my coupe. Again these cars will never be subject to the eliments as they were in their previous life so cancer of this sort is never going to be an issue again; at least not in our lifetime.

Thanks again Trevor! when will you be getting "crazy" on your coupe again?

5/28/14
Right side inner frame section repair begins

I need to replace part of the top section right before this cut line but I needed to know if I had to go past it to remove more un-savable rot. Removal of the old mount flanges for the triangular reinforcements was next to determine how solid the rest of this was.

Other than a few holes that need filing it was in surprisingly good shape so the patch will just need to go up to this cut line.

New section welded on. Really won't be too much left of this side once I'm finished.

Flipped my templates over from the other side for a good jumpstart on the new template. Continuing on tomorrow. Thannks for looking! Justin

[merbesfield]

Always good to save the paper patterns . 3M heavy drip check? Is that basically a brushable seam sealer? Or are you using it out of caulk tube? Or both?

[Trevor]

Thanks again Trevor! when will you be getting "crazy" on your coupe again?

Soon I hope, I finished all the welding on my Caddy and am now block sanding.

[JTR70]

Mark, here is the 3M heavy drip check I use:

Comes in a tube with a small applicator tip.

This splash pan joint along with everywhere else under here has been sealed in it then painted over. This stuff shrinks up nicely into the joint once it cures. I don't like the brushable sealers for exactly the reason you spoke about earlier; it looks like your trying to camouflage sub-par metal work.

I'm still block-sanding on my coupe Trevor so I feel your pain!


5/30/14
Right side repair section going into steel.

With the rust being a little more severe on this side I changed the repair sections up bit.

Decided on making the entire rear vertical run out of one piece. All but ready to weld here.

Its taking shape, after the lower perimeter flange is fabricated I'll just have that additional square section in the center there to address. More of the same tomorrow. Thanks for looking! Justin

[John Pierce]

Justin,

You're an expert fabricator with all the rust back here. Your much earlier posts regarding the front longitudinal have really helped me out recently.

I've got a question for you about the steps of sealing the seams. It sounds like the area is primered, then 3M sealed, then primered and painted?

Thanks.

JP

[JTR70]

Thanks a lot John! I'm just feeling my way through the dark as best as I can but I am always glad to hear that some of these posts might be of some use! Yes, I'll primer the panel first just for added insurance in case the drip-check shrinks ,cracks or lifts creating a breach. Once primered I'll run the drip-check across the joint let it set then scuff, primer and paint the area for a final time. Probably overkill but I just feel better about it. Thanks again! Justin

[JTR70]

6/2/14

Right side closing section continued

New repair corner clamped flush with the rest of the relief cuts added to get the final shape and contour. Rear flange was also step relieved to make way for the anchor plate flange.

Old section fitted to make the final cut up to the new rear section.

Before making the cut I used about every clamp I had. I wasn't taking any chance of poor alignment like I went through on the left side because I got lazy.

trimmed back the old section to get rid of as much pitted metal as possible.

new and old joined with excess corner flap cut and welded like the left side earlier.

This nasty old part instantly became more "viable" once I hooked it onto that new rear corner.

New center patch tacked in and working on the lower flange section now. Thanks for looking!! Justin

[JTR70]

6/6/14
Right side repair sections almost complete.

Final trim and all tacked together now. A lot of test fits and double checking to make sure I didn't come up short like on the left flange before I committed to these final cuts.

Spent a solid session spent stitching it all together and filling the pie cut gaps.

I test fitted throughout this process as well to make sure it didn't change shape too much. A bit more tweaking on the forward corner to get the correct contour but I'll have this piece in for good before the weekend is out. Thanks for stopping by! Justin

[roy mawbey]

Justin,

Just looking at that repair should make everyone realise clamps are some of the best tools you can buy. If you know where to obtain them, it must so difficult to choose the style unless you end up buying the lot like you have . Well done on that repair Justin.

Roy

[JTR70]

Thanks a lot Roy! Yes, you can never have enough of the various clamps. There have been several instances where I wished I had just one more clamp or for one with a deeper jaw. However, this is where the sheet metal screws can get you by. Thanks again! Justin

6/7/14

Spent today cleaning up the weld joints and a bit of hammer and dolly work to bring it back into shape from all the heat.

All the heavy repairs to this piece are finally complete. tomorrow will be spent prepping the cavity for paint and punching holes in the flanges for the plug welds. If I get lucky I may get it tacked in before the day is through. BTW with all the heat and hammer work that forward gap opened up on me; just when I thought I was going to avoid that problem on this side. At least its a short run so it won't be too much trouble to correct. Thanks for looking! Justin

[JTR70]

6/8/14
Right side closing panel in!

A lot of loose ends had to be tied up making for a very long day but before it was over the panel was in for good.

These mount brackets for the parcel shelf was one of them. Since this was rusted out past the old ones a had no reference like I did on the left side. After taking some measurements I was able to locate them correctly. Squaring the top bracket to the rear flange.

Then squaring the side to the top bracket.

Cleaning, primering and painting the inner cavity was next.

At days end I was finally able to begin clamping for its final fitment. Being that more of this side was replaced and heated it did fight me a bit more than the other side.

Working my way from the corner once again I began running screws into the flanges and slowly worked forward.

Once this is welded up I'll finish the leading seam on the forward vertical wall/seat pan and begin the parcel shelf. I'm almost done back here! What an involved project this was! Thanks for stopping by! Justin

[Don C]

Great work Justin! If I ever have a question about how things go together you're the "go to" guy! Thanks for the updates.