bodywork advice plz
Thread Starter
2nd Gear Member
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 168
From:
bodywork advice plz
i may have a problem and i need some reasuring. i have to put new trunk floors, one wheelwell,and two quarter panels on my 65, now i had a guy lined up to do the work on the side but i think he is going to back out. The problem is if i do it myself how bad can i fudge my car up, iam a okay welder not the greatest thou. Ill try and add pics lat.
Last edited by timmyisevil; Mar 9, 2009 at 12:01 PM.
5th Gear Member
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 2,100
From: Texas Hill Country
I am no body guy, but I have watched this sort of thing done several times. From what I understand, the big thing is taking your time, making sure everything is square and level, and moving your mig welding around so you do not distort the panels.
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 45
From: IL
urban_cowboy is right, I had to do some panel replacement on mine and you want to use a MIG welder and start off by lining the panel up making sure it is level and use something to hold it in place. Use spot welds, not a continuous bead or you will warp the metal. Start at one side and spot weld and then move down a couple inches and repeat.
Also use a piece of scrap metal to set the MIG before you weld the panel and under no circumstances should you use a stick welder, you'll most likely botch it up as stick welding is for much thicker metal
If you take your time you should be ok, once your done welding then just grind down the weld so its flush with the body panels and cover it up with a bit of bondo.
Also use a piece of scrap metal to set the MIG before you weld the panel and under no circumstances should you use a stick welder, you'll most likely botch it up as stick welding is for much thicker metal
If you take your time you should be ok, once your done welding then just grind down the weld so its flush with the body panels and cover it up with a bit of bondo.
2nd Gear Member
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 259
From: Kansas
No problem. I assume you are going up into the lead then. A torch and wire brush work really well. Just wear glasses and gloves. There is a pretty good article on how to do it on the Mustang Monthly web site. I did not go back with lead. I filled the seam with short strand fiberglass then finished with a skim coat of glazing. A couple of things I learned along the way.
1. Take your time
2. Leave the doors and trunk lid on to help line up the panel.
3.Just tack in place until you see if everything looks good.
4. Also make sure the rear valance is in place to check the fit of the bottom of the new quarters.
5. Make sure to weld the quarter very well at the sail panel where the lead was. I even went as far as to spot weld from the inside.
You can check out my links. I have a couple of pics in there of this. I am by no means a professional body guy. I just jumped in with both feet!
Good luck.
If you have any questions along the way let me know.
Jeff
1. Take your time
2. Leave the doors and trunk lid on to help line up the panel.
3.Just tack in place until you see if everything looks good.
4. Also make sure the rear valance is in place to check the fit of the bottom of the new quarters.
5. Make sure to weld the quarter very well at the sail panel where the lead was. I even went as far as to spot weld from the inside.
You can check out my links. I have a couple of pics in there of this. I am by no means a professional body guy. I just jumped in with both feet!
Good luck.
If you have any questions along the way let me know.
Jeff
Thread Starter
2nd Gear Member
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 168
From:
No problem. I assume you are going up into the lead then. A torch and wire brush work really well. Just wear glasses and gloves. There is a pretty good article on how to do it on the Mustang Monthly web site. I did not go back with lead. I filled the seam with short strand fiberglass then finished with a skim coat of glazing. A couple of things I learned along the way.
1. Take your time
2. Leave the doors and trunk lid on to help line up the panel.
3.Just tack in place until you see if everything looks good.
4. Also make sure the rear valance is in place to check the fit of the bottom of the new quarters.
5. Make sure to weld the quarter very well at the sail panel where the lead was. I even went as far as to spot weld from the inside.
You can check out my links. I have a couple of pics in there of this. I am by no means a professional body guy. I just jumped in with both feet!
Sounds good were do you get your filler and FG, i have no access to a body shop store so i guess ill end up using a local parts stores stuff. Also did you use a weld thru primer?
Good luck.
If you have any questions along the way let me know.
Jeff
1. Take your time
2. Leave the doors and trunk lid on to help line up the panel.
3.Just tack in place until you see if everything looks good.
4. Also make sure the rear valance is in place to check the fit of the bottom of the new quarters.
5. Make sure to weld the quarter very well at the sail panel where the lead was. I even went as far as to spot weld from the inside.
You can check out my links. I have a couple of pics in there of this. I am by no means a professional body guy. I just jumped in with both feet!
Sounds good were do you get your filler and FG, i have no access to a body shop store so i guess ill end up using a local parts stores stuff. Also did you use a weld thru primer?
Good luck.
If you have any questions along the way let me know.
Jeff
2nd Gear Member
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 259
From: Kansas
I did use a weld through primer. That stuff is high dollar! I used DuraGlass short strand FG and Evercoat Metal Glaze. The FG you can usually find at Oreily's and the glaze you could probably order on line. The galze is good stuff. That is the blueish stuff you see them coating panels with on the TV shows like Overhaulin. It flows on sands very easilly and feathers really well.
4th Gear Member
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 1,483
From: Fontana, California
Timmy,
Likewise, I'm in the same phase and i have the left rear apart. The thing I would emphasize is take your time and don't drill too deep. The weld thru primer is only like 10 bucks a can so use it if you want to keep corrosion out of your new joints. I was amazed how much rust was in the factory sail panel joints. You can see my progress @ http://s454.photobucket.com/albums/q...%20Sheetmetal/ and look at the 3 albums there. good luck
JLG
Likewise, I'm in the same phase and i have the left rear apart. The thing I would emphasize is take your time and don't drill too deep. The weld thru primer is only like 10 bucks a can so use it if you want to keep corrosion out of your new joints. I was amazed how much rust was in the factory sail panel joints. You can see my progress @ http://s454.photobucket.com/albums/q...%20Sheetmetal/ and look at the 3 albums there. good luck
JLG
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