The Swiss Miss ('64 C #126687)

[DG58INNM]

Jonesy,
Rivets came from McMasterCarr. 1 lb box cost a few bucks. Enough to last a lifetime! I cut them to about 1/2 inch long before using.


I also bought a rivet setting tool from them. Turned out to be intended for a different sort of riveting process, but found it useful anyway. Cut it down, welded it to a flat metal plate, and it made an ideal buck to set the rivets with. Had a nice relief in the end that the rivet head nestled perfectly in, allowing me to properly flatten and expand the rivet.



For setting, I used a small pneumatic hammer. Drilled a recess in the end of a broken off chisel shaft. Press down and pull the trigger. After it was mushroomed nicely, I finished it off with a couple whacks from a BFH.


Enjoying your project photos. Wish I could pound tin like you!
Good luck,
DG

[DG58INNM]

Next project, fixing some weirdness at the C pillars. There was an old brazed in patch here, with a bunch of bondo over it. From inside the car presented rough and rusty ragged edges. Cut all that away. The inner fender lip was rusted away in the area. So cut the rusted portion back to good metal.



Welded in a little partially bent flange.



Then hammered it over the rest of the way once the welding was done.



Exterior patch welded, but not fully finished yet. And you see that mess just to the rear of it? There was some funky looking lead in this area, and while fixing the C pillar decided I'd better melt it out and see what was going on there.



This is what was hiding beneath. I already know the Swiss Miss had been upside down at some point in the past. This damage must have occurred then. The lower right corner of the rear window frame was sculpted out of lead. Not a bad job actually, probably done way back when the car was nearly new. But time to do a better fix now.



And , fortunately, I scrounged this from out in the boneyard. Pays to never throw anything away!



Guess what I'll be doing this weekend?

Thanks, and take care,
DG

[John Pierce]

David,

Lead was like what Bondo is today.....hides a lot a bad stuff that was never fixed correctly. Nice work fixing that C-pillar area. Did you end up welding the new metal to the inner fender flange to tighten things up?


John

[DG58INNM]

John, not yet, but before all is done I will add a few spot welds there as the factory did.
DG

[JTR70]

Looking good David! So nice that you've got that donor section for a trouble free repair. I've been tempted to throw old sections away myself but your last entry is the perfect example as to why I just can't.
Looking forward to seeing the graft. Great work as usual!
Justin

[JOP]

Morgen David,

Like treasure hunting you never know what you will find...rusted out or fresh metal underneat
Good metalwork and liked your rivet set up.

McMaster have alot of nice stuff in their inventory

BUT it cant be shipped outside US
Look at my answer on my order for a small special fine Metric bolt.
And NOT even allowed me to buy via someone inside the US!

[Jbrooks]

MMC It's a pain but all you need to do is fill out a credit application and let them run a credit report to open an account. Look corporate they don't like little people. They are also probably the most expensive place to get items, but they have a wide range.

For one off small lots of hardware and tooling try
http://mdmetric.com/index.html?gclid=CKbYk8HHlc8CFQNufgodTuIMcA

[Jonesy_356]

DG, JOP, JBrooks, that's to all for your information. Perhaps I'll try to source someone down my way, it'll probably be easier. Alternatively, I could try to ,ake my own. I assume it's just mild steel rod, so if I peen it down evenly it might be ok. Bit of heat might help. Might play with that, see what I can come up with.

Thanks for sharing,

Jonesy

[Jonesy_356]

You know what they say...there's two types of country in the world, those who use the metric system, and those who've put a man on the moon.

[Phil Planck]

Per

Or, you could do it like I did with round, socket head bolts, and weld in the socket once hinge is clamped in final position:




Phil

[DG58INNM]

Hi Guys, been a while since I posted. I keep up with all of your great projects, but have just been very lazy about posting. Have been making progress on the Swiss Miss. Lots of stuff really, but today I'll just post the most recent shots. Finished up all the loose ends on the floor pan, and shot some DP40 on it yesterday. Its done! Hurrah!









Hope to shoot some color on this the next day or two. Still debating what color? Ruby red, as original? Or something I like?

Still have the left door to do, and I'm going to go back and address the low spot on the "frankenfender". Then the metal on the Swiss Miss is officially done, and she's off to the painter.

Take care,
DG

[John Pierce]

DG,

You must be psyched!! The inside and pan look great. Congratulations on getting to this turning point. I'll have to put in a bunch of hours to try to catch up to at this point.


John

[DG58INNM]

Thanks John. Yeah, I'm happy. But I've spent so much more time on this car than I planned. If I kept track of my hours like Phil does, I'm pretty sure I'd have shot myself long ago.
DG

[Jack Staggs]

I think you have earned the right to choose a color you like. What are leaning towards?

[JTR70]

The tub looks amazing David!!