58367 The $75 Junkyard Carrera coupe restoration

[Trevor]

Justin, we're here for you man! I made a mistake welding in a piece once (OK more than once). Thought I could live with it, tried some hammer and dolly work, that made it worse, ended up cutting it out and re-doing it. Damn was I pissed at myself. Experience is a great teacher though.

[roy mawbey]

Justin,

Been following closely these last 2 pages of your thread. You describe your pain very indeed. The same pain as mine when I gas welded the bottom section in on my drivers door. The difference is that you did not live with the error you knew was there. The work you did on the replacement panel looks so good and that area is going to look as good as the other side. Thats the problem with getting things perfect, in this case the other side was your 'bench mark'. Six months down the road and you will be so pleased to have made such an artistic repair on the rear fender. Well done indeed. I though have to live with a door that is a lot heavier than the other one becuase of the lead I had to use. You can't see the lead Justin but I know its there!!!

Roy

[merbesfield]

Justin, keep your head up, your doing a great job. Look at it this way, with only working one hour a day it is keeping you from going too fast and screwing something up, like I have done. Patience is not in my DNA. As Phil mentioned, I have had great success planishing each individual weld, then grinding it down and adding another tack. Only problem I have is I have zero patience and this method takes fooooorever! But it does help to minimize warpage and plastic. Keep up the good work and as always thanks for the entertainment.

[JTR70]

I appreciate all the support you guys, Thank you! I agree with everything your recommending Phil. The extension strip I added was welded on almost exactly like you described. Once I have a nice series of tacks under a half-inch or less apart I'll dress them down and planish the metal. The only difference is I'll go no more than a quarter of an inch with a quick seam weld to "connect the dots". I've found that this produces no more distortion than the series of tacks. The reasons I like this way is that its a little quicker and there is fewer pinholes which can be easily missed. The main reason I lost the initial repair was the English wheeling of that panel. It really stiffened it and once I joined it on that almost flat face of the wheel well apex it just sort of took over and imposed its own shape. I tried to correct it with a little heat but again it just made things worse. I just ran out of talent turns out I'm more cut out for replacing than repairing. I'll just have to accept that...
Correct Mic, welding two pieces of sheet metal together is something that cannot be rushed. If a guy thinks he's going to "caterpillar" weld the ends together with all sorts of heat distortion and make it pretty and correct after the fact he is sadly mistaken. I've tried it and it never produces the end result I wanted. The real trick is not to let it get out of control in the first place. Phil's recommendation avoids just that.
Thanks Tom! Normally 3 weeks would make no difference but my goal is/was to have this body shot in final color by at least April. As I write this the rest of the body is curing, shrinking and creating a nice base for the final paint job. I wanted to be done with bodywork by now to allow this left side to also cure and settle in before final paint. I guess I can wait until the fall for more temperate wheather if I have to..
Thanks Trevor, see what you have to look forward to Roy it can be tempting just to mud over unsatisfactory work but like you say it will always bug you.
I'm glad this is keeping you entertained Mark, see your life ain't so bad is it? I've always had a fair amount of patience with this car but as I approach the end of paint and body work I am finding myself more in a rush than ever to finish it...
Thanks again you guys, Appreciated greatly!
Justin

[JTR70]

1/16/14

With the new section tacked in and set I decided it best to close up the forward vertical run first. two reasons: Welding will go the fastest here because its shouldered and heat distortion will be minimal and second this frees me up to begin releading this area giving me a mental break from the slow tedious job of welding the rest of this panel in.

Began from this top corner and worked down slowly.

Once the upper corner was started I cut these two lower tack welds free so I could chase the panel tight as I continued down ensuring the area did not "bunch up" on me creating waves or irregularities in the fender. This is one of those things you pick-up after making lots of mistakes in past attempts. Not long ago I would have welded right into and over those initial tacks and wondered why there was now a stubborn lump in my surface that was once so nice and uniform before.

About half-way here. Taking extra time to grind and shape as it went.

Just getting ready to close up this lower corner. I cropped the corner like it had been done at the factory so it would line up with the original flanged lead.(lower corner) Not pretty and quite crude but at this point I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel here I'm just trying to get back what I had messed up. To make this clean I'd have to get into both the striker panel and the rocker but I just don't have the will to do it at this point. It left Reutter like this over 50 years ago so I think I can leave well enough alone.

Vertical run now complete. Still a substantial gap but about half the distance of what it was originally.

I spent some additional time filing and polishing this leading edge and though it will all be entombed in lead I was shooting for the cleanest repair possible regardless if it will ever be seen by human eyes again. If it is they might at least think some effort was made to create a nice repair.

Still going to require lead to bring this corner up but again it is only going to need about half as much to get it there as originally. Thanks for stopping by! Justin

[Phil Planck]

Wow! Nice work as usual Justin. I may be repairing that area on Foamcar soon, as the lead is still there and I know there is rust under a few areas.
Phil

[JTR70]

Thank you Very much Phil! Well as you saw when I opened up this one they all have rust lurking in there but the question is weather its gone through or not. Only one way to know for sure...Thanks again! Justin
1/17/14
Wired edge complete and jamb ready for re-leading.

Getting this wired edge mated together was one of the most critical details to get both correct and properly secured to make this replacement a success. As you can see I left enough lead on the rocker side to ensure the weld joint on the wire and on this skin wrap would overlap for better strength and support.

As the skin wraps around I needed to both trim and heat it then squeeze it with pliers for a uniform fit around the new wire lead. The lap joints at the rocker and the striker panel were at least looking promising against the new skin. Once I'm done you'll be hard pressed to tell I was in here at least until you read this.

Before I put down the first tack weld I measured the other side using frame landmarks. A paint stick was trimmed to length and used to pre-load this lip into position for its initial tack.

Wire lead was just fully welded to the rocker section here. with that completed I was now ready to close this little access window.

Closed. A lot of extra time was taken to both grind, file and shape this rolled edge to make sure its all steel when this is over.

Made my way to the back side to complete this repair. Ready for the final bead of weld here. BTW this was a total "PIA" sitting on the ground and sticking my head up in this well to both weld and grind this clean. I have really been spoiled these last couple of years doing all of this stuff on the hoist instead of a couple feet of the ground with hot sparks landing on me. Phil, you have both my sympathies and admiration for all that your doing off of those jack stands.

final shape!

Welding and detailing that blind corner was not fun and I am so glad to have it behind me.

Lip repair complete! Again the important thing was that this lip be all steel and for this junction to feel exactly identical to the other three original wheel well joints as you rub your hand over the area.

With that complete I wire wheeled the entire area in anticipation for lead.

I'll continue to bounce back and fourth to finish stitching this joint up. Only a couple of feet to go. Thanks for reading this! Sorry if this repair aspect was too detailed. Justin

[roy mawbey]

Fascinating series of sequences Justin, really great result You would never know running your hand up that wired wheel well edging.A super job, and the tip about removing those 2 bead welds something I doubt I would ever have done and no doubt would have had the bunching up as you describe.

There is so much to know when doing this work, often as you say the mistakes come first but its hell then putting it right. I know these points you make I will not forget. Can't wait to see the final stitching done and that area leaded.

Great post!

Roy

[JTR70]

Thank you very much for saying that Roy! Its my pleasure to share any info I can if it can help someone. A lot of this stuff I have learned the hard way through the years. Thanks again Sir! Justin
1/18/14
Re-leading the jamb

Applying the tinning acid laced with lead paste.

Lead-wiping next.Once its heated thoroughly with my torch the surface is wiped with a rag leaving this nice quick-silver like sheen for a bit. If an area doesn't not look like this its reheated and or coated once again until it does. This is the foundation for the lead solder to adhere to.

entire surface has now been coated and am ready to apply the solder.

My tray of tallow, wooden spreader and lead stick at the ready; just need some torch heat once again.

Lead is applied in clumps where needed then reheated and moved with the speader.

It gets tricky! Its a balancing act of getting it warm enough to move and shape but not too hot where you instantly lose it on the floor as run-off! All while acting fast. Then there is adding to it without disturbing what you've already created. Its going to take me a few sessions to get my "feel" back but I'll get there. The outside skin and door gap will be addressed after the inside. I'll be using the plate trick again to form the basic gap though this time I do not have the luxury of turning the body on its side to make gravity work for me. Going to have to do it old school... Thanks for stopping by! Justin

[MMW]

Thanks again for detailing your "adventures". I enjoy reading & looking at them as much a good novel. The attention to detail is very impressive & the amount of patience is amazing. Looking great!

[merbesfield]

Nice job as always.

[JTR70]

I really appreciate that post Mic, Thank you!

Thank you too Mark! Justin

1/22/14

re-leading complete.

A solid session was spent just building up and rough shaping this inner jamb step. Had to take care that the lead was thick enough so that once filed back very few toughs or low spots would remain.

First few passes with the file.

After some effort this inner detail was basically done with only a few mild low spots left. The outlook was promising.

I then went to refilling that nasty rocker joint. Surface was building back up nicely and the transition to the door was getting better.

Once I had that area almost level it was time to gap and set the rest of this outer surface. The plate trick of course was the key to making this all go so much easier!

Plate pulled and ready for an initial filing.

After a quick filing the plate-form creates an instant razor thin gap. I free handed the section below it and came as close as I could. The plate was inserted down there next.

Entire run completed here.

I love these initial super thin gaps, it was this result that pushed me to try and keep these lines as tight as I could.

A few nuggies and low spots remain but I'll catch these with putty.

The basic overall shape is at least from lead as originally.


After my first pass with my roloc disc to open the gap a bit. I am so relieved to have my body lines back here. I may chase a few more of these spots with solder tomorrow but either way I'm done with this stage by then. Thanks for looking! Justin

[JTR70]

1/23/14
Lead work now completed.

Some imperfections of course remain but I'll catch the rest of those later with plastic filler. I know lead gets respect but either way you slice it its filler...

I spent this afternoon grinding back the rough edges and tapering them back smooth.

Same story with the inside; some nuggies remain but again I'll perfect these lines with putty.

After grinding I followed up with some warm soapy water and sand paper to both smooth the surfaces and remove/neutralize any tinning acids. Lead contamination is now my number one concern.

The reason I finished this first was to give the area some time to settle in and breathe without a top coat. I'll let it sit raw while I finish up the rest of this weld joint. I also wash this lead a couple of more times before I finally seal it in DP 40 primer just to be sure.
Back to welding tomorrow. Thanks for reading this! Justin

[roy mawbey]

Justin,

As Mic says its like reading a good novel That series of work and the final result is really super. I once wrote to John Willhoit to congratulate him and his team on one of their restorations he showed in work stages. I told him they are metalwork artists. And its true you are as well. Art is another hobby of mine, look at a great painting and you just want to keep looking and looking at it. I paint and understand just how talented a good artist can be its not easy.

The main difference here is, you describe in detail every aspect of the repair the experiences good and bad. The tools to use the tricks that help. All that info I have never seen in any book. What a great thing internet is and the ability to follow this all in stages.

Again and again, no other forum comes close to these restoration threads by all you like minded fellows (like Justin) on here. Many thanks indeed.

Roy

[Phil Planck]

Justin
Amazing lead work. Can you re-explain the plate trick, or point me to the original post? I am about to remove the lead in this area on Foamcar, as I think I need to replace that area with the available patch piece. I am using a plumbers torch with acetylene. My only leading so far is on the passenger rocker.
Phil