The 'Ol 55

[VW_Jimbo]

[tehillah1]

I've been using copper backers since I started this project and can certainly see how much they help.
I saw in SD's (esde) thread when he was doing his door skin that the panel "sagged" once the rust cut was made. I think this was part of my problem and needed to be addressed as I went along the weld seam. There was a smaller low spot when everything was fitted up and I incorrectly figured I could solve that smaller dip once I was all welded in. This is the learning curve I guess. Ordered me the tool you recommended to get at the back side.
Thanks for the input Jimbo it is always welcome.

[esde]

[tehillah1]

[tehillah1]

Winter is just about spent (I'm knocking on wood...April can get deep here) so I'm trying to get some traction back. I've been pecking away at the driver rear quarter panel over the winter but only gaining ground a little at a time. Learning some of these metal shaping processes is a practice in patience.
I decided to step back from that and take a look at some other areas that either need some finishing or planning for the next step so I started looking at the bottom left quarter in front of the A pillar.

Nothing totally rusted through but clearly some cancer needs to be replaced and in looking at it I figured I better get my eyes on the door to be sure everything lines up right once I dive into the repairs.
Well the door, as so many other parts of this car, has it's own surprises. I knew there was a wrinkle on the quarter right behind the upper hinge but the door, as is, fits and operates ok. I also knew that the driver door needed a small weld up on the bottom where the support bracket had rusted off. Pretty minimal compared to what I've watched get repaired here on TS.

On further investigation the door has about 5# of bondo, primer and paint on it especially around the lower hinge area. Dr. Bondo was here big time. I think the door got sprung at some point and this led to the dent in the quarter behind the upper hinge and the cave in at the lower hinge on the door.

I've got some head scratching to do to plot out this process. Seems I oughta get the door squared away first, then tackle the lower quarter in front of the lower hinge area. I'll bang on the LRear quarter in the meantime as I get a plan of attack for the LF quarter areas and door.

[VW_Jimbo]

Good to see an update! On the door panel. Get a flap disc fora 4 1/2” angle grinder. Set the door up on saw horses, outside. Then, sand the surface off that door. Might take 10 minutes.

Then decide what is required.

Good luck!
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Jimbo

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!

[tehillah1]

Thanks for looking in Jimbo...I'll get to working that door strip today...see what I've got to work with.

[VW_Jimbo]

[tehillah1]

I've got a few days elbow grease into the Driver's Door and I think I have been able to identify all of the areas that need attention.
Overall the door is in surprisingly good condition for 68 years of swinging from a tin can...

Dr. Bondo seems to have been a pretty good hand at the skim and fill processes. The door appeared pretty flat and the contours were all good...at the surface of the final coat of the black re-paint.... over primer, fill, primer, OG paint/primer. I took the 4.5" grinder to it with an 80grit flappy disc but given all the high spots around the depressions I was getting into metal too quickly/aggressively so I went to stripping to get it down to a point where I can see what needs attention.
The area right behind the front hinge is the point that took the beating from hyper-extension. I think that area can be pounded back to close and then skimmed, primed and sealed.
There are some spots, quarter to half dollar size, that have been leaded. There's a depression from the lower rear-latch side toward the hinge 6 to 8" long up about 4" from the bottom that was probably a crease at some point that got filled. I'm not quite sure how best to address this area. I'll try some hammer/dolly on it but the metal seems pretty fatigued. I'm pretty certain that whatever I try this area is going to get some fill. I'll do my best to minimize how thick/deep to call ok...1/16" seems like a good target...that'll be the next adventure: fill, prime and seal.
None of these areas had rust under the fill or showing on the inner side of the door.
The inner window brace? bracket on the bottom of the door rusted through the spot welds and got yanked out at some point so there's gonna be a patch piece I'll have to fab up there and then refit a new bracket. There's a dent above the window channel toward the front on the inside that'll need attention and the black paint removed from the inner side. It all adds up to a great start to spring shop/classroom time.

[esde]

The door skins are a tough repair. The curves are so gentle that they lack any strength, and the smallest dent can cause a ripple thats 12" long. After struggling with door skins forever, I bought a shrinking disc. Learning how to use it takes time, but it's definitely the right tool for high spots on a door skin, because if you don't shrink the stretched metal, you'll just push the problem around the door skin and make things worse.
Those doors are very nice BTW.
What are your plans for that spot at the lower A pillar?
_________________
modok wrote:
Bent cranks are silent but gather no moss. I mean, ah, something like that.

[tehillah1]

[VW_Jimbo]

Agreed, doors skins are the hardest repairs, metal wise. You need to exert a lot of patience and hammer a lot. The welding shrinks the steel. The hammering stretches it back out. If you do it slowly, a few tacks at a time, it can be a great experience. But if you go onto 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 tack welds sequentially, well……you will be screwed. That will make for a bad experience, for sure!

I have started utilizing a wet rag to cool the welding area down. Sounds like this. Zzzzzz. Zzzzzz. Psssst. Psssst. Ssssssssssss (air being shot across the area).

Good luck!
_________________
Jimbo

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!

[tehillah1]

[VW_Jimbo]

[tehillah1]

I've been in the hammer and dolly school for the past several months... studying patience and persistence among other things.
There was a pretty good oil canning dent at the latch side of the door

and a crease that runs about half the length of the door.

There's evidence of some previous work with a hatched hammer or slapping file (for shrinking?)on this area. It didn't seem to eliminate the oil cannning or low spots so it was all filled with 1/4" or more of bondo.
I've got the oil can worked out and most of the crease low spot moved back out to a reasonable level.

The lower hinge dent is kind of stumping me as far as how to get this crease pushed back out and flattened.

No way to get in behind it with a hammer to drive the dent out so I've been trying to get it to come out a bit at a time with pressure from the inside, gentle nudging from the outside...

I got a decent rear apron for a future project which is going to require a reposition of the rear rotisserie stand into the engine bay and supported at the rear body mounts.

Another head scratcher project to get done while the warm weather holds.
Once I get the rotisserie back in order I'll work on the front quarter panel cancer.

I've got the patch made so I just need to take the plunge and cut out the rot and weld in the new metal.

One small step at a time...

[markendee]

For the life of me tehillah1 I do not know how I haven't come across your build thread until now.

It is fascinating and so very well done.

Will be watching and looking forward to the finished piece of art.

Regards,

Mark.
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Member # 145244

[tehillah1]

Thanks for looking in on me Mark and the kind words of encouragement. I've certainly enjoyed following your build and hope I can accomplish something approaching your results...I'm just shooting for getting the 'Ol 55 back on the road in drivable fashion with whatever upgrades are logical and easy. Disc brakes, updated fuse block (similar to what you've done), '68 tranny, 1600 motor...those sorts of bits that'll make the experience that much more fun than last time I drove her.

Jim

[VW_Jimbo]

It is looking great Jim! Keep up the great work. That spot on the door is a BITCH to get to, to make flat. I am dealing with that same issue on my top hinge on one of the doors. My best luck has come from a long segment of steel bent to get in back of that spot. It takes a few hours to make, but worth it. Slide it in there, right under the deformed skin and back it up, tight. Then while holding all that together, small hammer taps, slow and steady. Create no heat. Don’t hit it to hard, either. No stretching. As you strike the steel lightly, slide the hammer, at the same time as the strike, so the hammer strike is across the surface, not just pin pointed in one spot. Like in framing when the nail needs to go a different direction and you hammer it down and to the side. I find this helps to shrink the area, just a little. Might be my hopeful imagination, but I really think it shrinks the steel a bit. I have had great results using this technique. Let me know what you get.
_________________
Jimbo

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!

[tehillah1]

Thanks for checking in on me Jimbo...I'm following along just like you've described though I've got a piece of doug fir shaped to the door curvature wedged in there and with lots of little taps things are moving back to something workable that won't have 1/4" of bondo filling the canyon. Baby steps...they'll get me where I'm going.

[tehillah1]

I thought I would throw an update out here since I've been stalling around avoiding cutting into the A-pillar.


I've got the left door pretty close, shape-wise. There were a couple of rust holes in the bottom of the door where the inner bracket rusted off from the inside.

I've cut out as little of the og metal as reasonable, put a couple of small patches in

and then set up the window track support bar ( I don't know what else to call this part...)Welded in the base bracket.

The door is in better shape than it has been for 40 years though it still needs a lot of paint prep

I love it when I find date stamps that match the date this car was made...

I've been doing little patches here and there to get my welding mojo in order before I tackle the repair on the lower a-pillar, outer on the driver side.
I dug out the left front fender anticipating some fitment installs prior to the a-pillar repair. It's in pretty amazing condition given it's age.

I don't think this is an original fender and it may be a non-bullet fender, period correct, from a semaphore car, or later (58-60???) non-bullet fender. I don't know all the nuances but the bullet signal on this fender looks to have been added, non-factory. The right fender bullet is much cleaner/tighter fitting

The fender has a few minor rim cracks that I'm gonna work over

and bottom of the headlight bucket could use some repair.

then, with a bit of prep I've got a serviceable fender ...