bent metal

That quarter looks nice, now.

I think I understand now that I'm not going to get this thing perfect. That's alright with me. But I do want it to be nice and not obviously repaired. I think it's going to be ok.

hightower2011

Looks perfect to me!

Seriously, you're doing an amazing job, and these guides are incredible too!

THUMPIN455

Still needs work, but its better. I gave up on perfect a long time ago, if I hadnt my Cougar would still be in Primer. What it comes down to is a realistic assessment of what you want from the car and how you will use it. If it is garage art, then it can be perfect. If its a driver then make it nice so it looks decent on the move. Its so much more fun enjoying them when they are done.

Watching you work on your 65 is a treat, you do nice work.

NoReins

Bent Metal, you have totally knocked our socks off. Seriously, who knew! This car is seriously going to be one of the most solid, awesome restorations on the road! I am so excited to see the finished product. I know you've encountered lots of frustration and aggravation - way to overcome that and show us all up! You've got some mad skills. I'm jealous! And I have to say that through your build thread, the 65-66 fastbacks have definitely grown on me. Might be taking on one of these in future. Keep up the great work, your progress is outstanding!!

bent metal

Thank you very much. You all have guided me through this project more than you know. I'm trying to return the favor through some metal working tips, which is all I really know how to do. So I hope some one gets something out of it, for sure.

bent metal

So the floors are done. They went pretty fast. Worst thing was the toe board area. But after some whining and crying about it all, it went fairly well.

So I'm doing the cowl next. I decided not to do the patch pieces that you can do on the inside of the cowl (where the heater/vent hole is). Because on this car the rust was in between all three layered sheet metal pieces and it was bowing up the panels. Especially noticable just above the firewall on that little shelf there. It needs to come apart....See pic.
[IMG][/IMG]

groho

Bentmetal, you were asking about pot metal. I was working on my head light buckets and went and bought a junker bucket to see how it would react to sanding, stripper, welding, glue, heat, hammer and dolly, etc. Front and rear extensions are made from the same material...
My findings...
1) Forget welding, to achieve reasonable penetration results in blowthrough.
2) Heat, a good heat gun to preheat the pot metal followed by a hammer and dolly has a good results. If you glaze or puddle the metal during preheat, you've heated it too much. It doesn't take much heat (20-30 secs), to make the metal malleable.
3) Glue the pot metal. JBWeld, forget it, too brittle. Once sanded it can't hold the bond, it snaps like glass. I found an excellent product, Loctite expoxy part # 81120. I reshaped and repaired my buckets some months back, they've been tossed around my garage for the last 3 mos waiting to get sand blasted and have yet to break. The bucket repair kit is junk = JBWeld and two strips of pre-bent 18 gauge.

Hope this help you out. BTW, excellent metal work! Makes me motivated.

bent metal

Well thanks! I'll give it a try. I was thinking of pre-heating the parts in the oven, after the wife goes to work. I'd probably better off using a heat gun. But I'm going to have to buy one.

Awesome, thanks for the info. I'll give it a shot!

bent metal

Ok, so here we go on the cowl. First, as usual, I look everything over to make sure I don't have any problems that need to be fixed while it's apart. The fenders fit the old cowl, the hood fits, everything looks good. Just rusty. So I cut off the little extentions that go to the inner fender, remove the wiper stuff and I'm ready to get to the cowl. Lots of spot welds to drill out, then I get out the plasma! What could go wrong? Love the plasma. Mine is a used rental unit that got retired. Works great. I like to use it cut out the majority of the piece I'm removing and then peal back the strip that is left over, where the spot welds are. Besides, it's fun to use the machine.
Here it is. Hood fits.
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Let's get to cutting!
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Rough cut the top. At this point I'm thinking lets just stuff a new roll of paper towels in the vent hole, mix up a half gallon of bond-o. Pour it all around in there and weld it back up! Haha, just kidding.
[IMG][/IMG]
The plasma is so cool you could almost draw with it.
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Top is gone. The inside isn't as bad as some I've seen. But I still want to replace it.
[IMG][/IMG]

bent metal

Looking inside.
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The other side.
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The inner panel gone.
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I don't want to get side tracked. But I saw the big hole in the firewall. I don't think it should be there. Atleast I hope not, cause I'm filling it while I can at both sides.
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