Late 1959 S/R coupe project # 108625

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Justin Rio
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Re: Late 1959 S/R coupe project # 108625

#46 Post by Justin Rio »

Cutting continued:
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Will have just enough room to work in there.
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Remnant of the inner wall flange was removed next. Again the rot went higher and deeper so I had to cut it just at the step flange relief detail along the bottom. Hope to preserve that step as the new section is eventually welded in.
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This door doesn't seem so bad now. For the last couple of days following I'd been planning my attack on how to best approach this repair. My number one concern is how well that lower skin section turns out and those who have tried it know what a bitch this can be. At the end I need a close contour with no oil canning. As it sits here you can see I have clean shot at both sides of this joint and it could easily be welded, shrunk where needed then Picked and filed. With that in mind I've decided my best shot is to weld and finish out the skin repair first. Before I do that however I'll tee everything else up. All the new lower flanges will be made trimmed and set screwed into final position. New bottom will also be trimmed so when the new skin section is finally done the rest of the door repair sections will fall into their predetermined place. This is the plan so we'll see how it turns out.
Thanks for looking.

Justin

Puygranier Antoine
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Re: Late 1959 S/R coupe project # 108625

#47 Post by Puygranier Antoine »

Impressive work on the driver's door ! Looking forward to follow on the next one!
Thanks for sharing,
Antoine

Justin Rio
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Re: Late 1959 S/R coupe project # 108625

#48 Post by Justin Rio »

Thank you Antoine, I greatly appreciate that. Justin

Right door bottom repair continued.
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Again with side being a touch rustier the bottom of the door stop housing is pretty thin most of the way through. A blessing at this point as it clears the way to remove it creating more access space while I mess around up here. I recap it with a piece of 18 gauge once everything else is all welded in for good.
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Begin cleaning out the remains inside the stop housing.
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Just about there with most of the bottom of the stop housing removed. Ample room to work now.
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I also get a much cleaner shot of spooning out that old dent as well.
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Door is cut back just about as far as it needs to go.
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Still have some cleaning to do at the corners of the inner wall flange but that can wait for bit.
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Mocked up with door frame to begin locating the new bottom.
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I can now start roughing it in.
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Quick test fit on the car to see how much of it has to go.
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Trim back just enough to get the door to close again then go from there. That initial trimming next.

Thanks for looking.

Justin

Justin Rio
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Re: Late 1959 S/R coupe project # 108625

#49 Post by Justin Rio »

PIA dent removal first.
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Looks innocent enough but this old dent and previous removal attempt turned into a real challenge. Its deep forward position didn't help either. Even though I have the bottom of the door open the narrow cavity made it nearly impossible to generate any meaningful hammer strike from inside.
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resorted to a couple of whiskers to try my slide hammer with. Mixed result at best.
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What made it so tough is that it was a "crease dent" so the surface is stretched and scored creating a nice trigger point. What ever went across it also knocked the leading edge back ever so slightly holding more tension. I only realized this after a quick heat attempt and the whole area just sank deeper. Added that relief cut to break its grip and allow the surface of the skin to relax upward; with more torch heat to help me move the surface easier.
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Couldn't work with it on either side so I had to string it upright to have any shot at it. Wedged two dollys in there so I could planish from the outside. You can see here I was in the middle of throwing everything I had (which isn't much) at it to get that area to raise back up where it needed to be.
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I wasn't out of the woods with it. Once I welded up those holes the area drew back down again and also began to oilcan just ahead of this area. Had to heat shrink and chase it back out again. PIA
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Just about the last of the pick and filing here.
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By sessions end it was close however not perfect but at a level that will need just a swatch of lead to get that last 10%.
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through the middle its still a little flat where that dent was but some lead less than the thickness of that ruler will correct that.
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Though subtle and light I was still tempted to keep chasing but I just can't spend anymore time here. Limited Time, limited tools, limited access, limited talent...A deadly combination.
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Glad its in the done column though. Areas like this are heart breakers but only so much can be done if you can't hit it squarely from the underside. Onto the next repair.
Thanks for looking.
Justin

Justin Rio
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Re: Late 1959 S/R coupe project # 108625

#50 Post by Justin Rio »

Begin small repair patches.
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All the breaches are localized so saving this original lower section was doable. drilled out the small rust holes and the knockouts from my hole puncher provided the plugs.
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Larger rust hole reamed out with plug ready to tack in.
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Rear vertical wall repair complete.

Onto the front
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Same Plan as with the left side repair. New donor section harvested from the old door skin.
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All stitched in.
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one more sliver patch to add on the lower skin flange.
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Begin making the door bottom lap/flange detail. Because of the lower door skin repair sequence and space needed to work this has to be done in a smaller and separate strip.
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Forward lap flange with "rivet head" detail complete.
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Far as I can go up here until the new lower skin section is stitched in.
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Began on the inner closing panel flange starting with the center relief shape.

Thanks for looking.
Justin

Justin Rio
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Re: Late 1959 S/R coupe project # 108625

#51 Post by Justin Rio »

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Adding in the drain arch as before.
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Then folded up the rest of this flange run.
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Onto test fits and repeated trimmings to get the new bottom into final position.
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Once I get the bottom set this previously installed flange section will be butt-welded onto it. Should be one piece but due to the tight work space this was the only option. The weld joint will be concealed and lap supported by the eventual door stop housing flange that was so rusty.
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Setting the outer flange on the door skin side at a depth that supports the skin and continues the line represented by this ruler. Also making sure there is ample clearance so I don't have any bulging issues like I had on the other door.
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The outer flange is not fully set as a test fit on the car is needed to confirm it 100% but I'm already having an issue with the inner flange overshooting the door on the inside. Same problem as before; at the very least its consistent. :?
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Mounted on the car one more time. The outer flange seems to sit pretty close
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but some trimming is needed so I can get the door to close fully.
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After some additional trimming the door finally closed.
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Flange aligns pretty close with the edge of the rocker. This new bottom is just about all but dialed in.

Justin Rio
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Re: Late 1959 S/R coupe project # 108625

#52 Post by Justin Rio »

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With the outer flange set I now know how much this side has to be taken in.
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About 5MM's. This flange actually needs to tuck under the vertical runs so it needs to be a little tighter still.
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New bend line etched. The rear corner of this flange also stands a touch too proud so I need to reset the entire run on this one.
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About that much. 5mm+ at the widest up front and then tapering down to 1MM+ at the back. Had to whip up a Jig on my work table next. The raised relief shapes on the bottom threw an additional curve in making this happen; Never straight forward.
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The new lower skin repair section had arrived.
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Quick test fit with the car to see how nice of a gap the edges would make. Pretty nice for starters. I can remember the ones from 20 years ago always having a badly set vertical run but not the case here.
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I think this one originates from Trevor's hammer works. It seems like his work and its coated with the same anti-rust goop found on everything else I have ever received from him.
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A ways yet to go before I can close this up but these fresh pieces are nice to look at.
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Resetting that flange run next.

Thanks for looking.

Justin

Justin Rio
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Re: Late 1959 S/R coupe project # 108625

#53 Post by Justin Rio »

But first an initial door skin trim.
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Not exactly sure just yet where the new bottom edge of this panel needs to be for a nice gap with the rocker but left myself with a nice margin for error.
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Good for starters
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All the basic pieces needed to complete this door repair. Now Back to making them all fit together.
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Onto resetting the bottom flange. Took some time figure out a steady holding jig that would clear the shape relief and turn a soft enough corner profile as it originally had. Ready to go here.
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Heated and gradually worked the run down in stages.
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Once I had the new turn established I mounted it directly to the table so I could really go to town on it by not worrying about that jig shifting or coming loose. At this point it was very rough and wavy and a fear slowly crept in of "did I just ruin this part" Thankfully as the hammering continued it began to true up.
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Initial test on the door. The flange itself is still very wavy but it was at least going in the right direction. Though it needed more work, new bend was at least in the spot.
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After more hammering and a little heat shrinking in spots I had the flange tamed down enough to trim away the excess making it more manageable in the process.
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Fitting pretty well by this point. The vertical flange section I trimmed back will eventually lay over top of this one so its just about where I need it.
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Just about done torturing this piece.

Justin Rio
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Re: Late 1959 S/R coupe project # 108625

#54 Post by Justin Rio »

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Remounted with window frame to recheck this new bottom for correct placement.
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Access hole dialed in and punched.
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With the frame all bolted down to the bottom the rear sits a few MM's to high. There really is no up or down adjustment in the footings so this where getting the bottom in at just the right spot before welding runs critical.
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I've gone about as far as I can for the moment here so I switched gears and began fitting the new lower skin section.
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Door bottom removed to begin dialing the skin section in. With the weld joint down here I'll have ample room to weld and work it from both sides. This part of the assembly plan is holding for this very reason. The skin will go on first and be fully welded and dressed as the other two pieces block this direct access.
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Remounted with only this skin section so its free to adjust and move where needed.
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Noticed it runs tight at the center as I tried for a uniform gap.
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The cause is old rocker damage where it seems it was jacked up by the leading edge causing the thresh hold to bow upward a touch. We are going to preserve the original rockers so I'll relax that back out some time down the road.
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My preliminary gap will be a touch wider than a paint stick at the front and back. I learned from the other door that once that flange is crimped tight its going to grow slightly closing this distance. Just trying to compensate for that but either way it will be reset to this finished doors edge when I reinstall the rocker. Its just some place to start. More later...
Thanks for stopping by.
Justin

Justin Rio
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Re: Late 1959 S/R coupe project # 108625

#55 Post by Justin Rio »

lower skin install.
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Repair section set screwed initial position.
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After more study I noticed with the edges lined up at the joint the corner profile shape tapers away just a little too quick so some slight adjustments in position will have to made before I can commit with a tack weld. Trying to stay conservative with the size of my repair patches I initially opened up those two small windows where it had gone through. I'm soaking this area in acid next so we'll see if I have to go deeper after its cleaned.
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step closer but its bottle necking where I can only go so far before I have to catch another repair section up.
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before the skin is welded up I have to make sure I can slide this bottom on and off so I don't lock myself out during the final assembly process.
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But before I'll know sure if I can do that I have to get this new inner flange section shaped and staged.
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I have to get this caught up now. Can't weld this on ahead of the skin as it will hang too low and be in the way.
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Will work from the center section outward.
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Mocked up with the bottom here so I can start trimming and bending it to seat down in there snug like it should. No access to do this after the fact.
More later...
Thanks for looking.
Justin

Justin Rio
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Re: Late 1959 S/R coupe project # 108625

#56 Post by Justin Rio »

Didn't catch a break.
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I was hoping to keep this troubled area to a minimum but after the acid bath the mating flange section next to the skin as too far gone.
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Which meant I had to cut the skin back to get at this flange to install a new section.
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Now I'm officially past it.
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I was going to use this remnant section from the repair panel I just got.
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but as I fitted it the skin profile was too flat. The skin has a slight crown so I started a new piece with a mild domed shape.
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They differ only slightly but the second try fit so much better and reduces the need for filler in the end.
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Tacked and so far so good.
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Pinch flange heeled over tight
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Always more trouble than you think but its done back here.
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More picking and filing yet but I'll wait until I have the next section all welded in to finish it out completely.

Justin Rio
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Re: Late 1959 S/R coupe project # 108625

#57 Post by Justin Rio »

Getting the flange ready for the repair skin run.
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Trimming away the excess on this outer flange is just about the last thing to be done on this piece.
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There is some flex/wiggle room on this bottoms outer edge so I had to mock up the window frame once again to firm up its correct position for an accurate final trim line.
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Flange trimmed and now both pieces installed together for the first time.
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Everything is getting really close. Now time to remount it on the car as unit to see what I ended up with.
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Ample space away from the skin so there is some room for error and adjustment if needed.
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First install as a unit. Bottom gap looks close.
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Door frame still sits nice in there.
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Levelness off the edge of the rocker within striking distance.
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Not without issues of course; still have shift this panel back slightly to close the corner then work the edge.
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I also lost the body line through that small repair patch I did previously. :( Its too flat so I'll have to relief cut it and bring it up. This is exactly why I wanted to disturb as little as possible. I knew that my new flange contour might be out and sure enough it is. This why I have to keep checking with the car as it goes.
A little closer to buttoning this though..
Thanks for looking.
Justin

Justin Rio
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Re: Late 1959 S/R coupe project # 108625

#58 Post by Justin Rio »

A mistake and a redo :(
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I tried correcting this patch contour after the fact and it just turned even uglier so I cut it all back out to start fresh. I know better so this is my responsibility and of course the time to redo it is on me.
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Next flange was shaped and contoured against the body profile this time. The way I should have done it in the first place.
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Curved ever so subtly but enough to cause me trouble.
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Trimmed, positioned and tack welded in relation to the car. Just like I should have done it in the first place. I learned on the coupster that I just can't free-style this stuff on the workbench and expect it all to line up and fit in the end. This is why I say I should have known better...I'm not that lucky...ever.
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New skin patch will harvested from the old original skin with flange already to go. Something I also should have done in the first place but it worked out as I would have burned that piece because of the flange issue.
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section harvested and ready for a final trim and fit. Everything was heading in the right direction.
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Skin trimmed and also oriented to the car body. No fooling around this time. Ready to be tacked. Almost back to even.
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Back to the rest of the lower skin repair. Etched in my line for the final cut.
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excess slowly peeled away and checking the new joint as it went.
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Initially tacked and remounted on the car for another confirmation fit.

Justin Rio
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Re: Late 1959 S/R coupe project # 108625

#59 Post by Justin Rio »

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Lower gap got slightly wider but more uniform in the process Its close enough as again I'll get another stab at setting this gap when I reinstall the rocker.
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With that more tack welds were added.
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Aligns and contours out pretty well for starters. Tack weld heads would be ground smooth next so I could flip it over clamp it to my table and really lay down some beads.
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Clamped at the center to my table/heat sink.
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With the table as a back up I turned up the amps to get a more thorough penetration. Did a section at a time dressed it down and repeated.
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There is a slight bow to this doors shape but my table is flat. To preserve this shape the center was clamped and welded first with no tension. As I move out to the sides I'll chalk the door up on a natural angle opposite side I'm welding then clamp it in. Before I called it I began some picking and filing; heat shrink too. The table helped but some heat warp of course did develop.
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Quite a luxury to have such clear access to both sides for this repair.
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More welding and shaping to come but good for starters.
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Finishing out this very long weld joint next.
Thanks for looking.


Justin

Justin Rio
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Re: Late 1959 S/R coupe project # 108625

#60 Post by Justin Rio »

Door skin stitching continued:
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Trying to preserve the crowned profile. Nothing scientific, just allowed the skin hold it shape with the rear corner clamped tight then propped the high side up front and back to support it while I welded.
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Moved onto the front and repeated the process.
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Gone about as far as I can up here as it runs under the hinges so the rest of the welding would have to be done from the outside.
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The rest of this back corner would also be easier to welded from outside.
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Though I couldn't weld it all from inside it was really nice getting most of this joint out of the way.
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A quick test fit before I finished up the ends to see if all that tilting nonsense on my table messed it up.
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Other than being curled in a little tight it ran along the rocker closely enough. The door bottom isn't on here, so this new lip section is hanging in space. Once its secured to the flange it should move back out where I needed.
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Rear edge profile was within range too.
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Trial fitment of the new bottom after skin welding. A little more tricky to reassemble with the new skin flange in the way and was forced to trim off the rest of the door stop flange to be able to slide the bottom back on. Just thankful it wasn't locked out.
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Test fit with the bottom installed and the alignment with the rocker improved.

Thanks for looking.

Justin

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