70chall440
Well-Known Member
Nice work, while looking at the pics I was reminded of a video I saw on youtube wherein a builder puts silicon bronze in all those seams, it flows really well and can be painted over or left visible.
The Willomet Charger
- Thread starter 1970RT
- Start date
1970RT
Well-Known Member
Thank you! I like that the silicone bronze has way lower heat input (like 1/2 with .045 filler), blends easy with a DA, doesn’t shrink nearly the same as 70S, and planishes very nicely. You just have to lay it over a really good series of 70S tacks. I’m almost certainly going to do that on the flat seams for the corner extensions where the cowl joins the pillars.
David
1970RT
Well-Known Member
Working to eliminate another lead filler line, and extend the upper cowl to meet the pillar.
One side:
The other side, and how I made the patch.
From there, it's just finely fitting the roughed in patch, and then more welding and blending, and maybe a smidge of planishing to deal with weld shrinkage.
David
One side:
The other side, and how I made the patch.
From there, it's just finely fitting the roughed in patch, and then more welding and blending, and maybe a smidge of planishing to deal with weld shrinkage.
David
Top notch as always David!
1970RT
Well-Known Member
Copy, paste.
I picked up fresh AMD wheelhouses, and I think I’m going to take a break from the cowl and turn my attention to the rear of the car for a bit.
David
I picked up fresh AMD wheelhouses, and I think I’m going to take a break from the cowl and turn my attention to the rear of the car for a bit.
David
Awesome work!
1970RT
Well-Known Member
One wheelhouse roughly fit. The AMD minitubbed inners are handier than pockets on a shirt.
3/8” gap to the rail came out as designed. Pretty cool to see this work out.
Other side is hacked and ready for fitting.
I still have to eliminate the outer hump, and I won’t fine fit these and lock them in until I fit the quarters and rest of the rear sheetmetal.
David
3/8” gap to the rail came out as designed. Pretty cool to see this work out.
Other side is hacked and ready for fitting.
I still have to eliminate the outer hump, and I won’t fine fit these and lock them in until I fit the quarters and rest of the rear sheetmetal.
David
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Super work!
1970RT
Well-Known Member
GREAT DEVOTED WORK THERE!!! Plus, i LOVE your statement.....'AMD minitubbed inners are handier than pockets on a shirt'. Love it!!
1970RT
Well-Known Member
Where did I last leave you?
Shortly after the last post above, I took a trip down to the Austin area to pickup an english wheel from a friend. After all, I have some plans for fender flares. It was a great day, learned a ton, and loaded up to drive back. Along my return trip, the crank in my suburban's 6.2 decided to leave the chat. So, I built a new all-forged 6.5, did a full shakedown, and campaigned the truck on its standard spring and summer rotation of offroad trips.
And so, here I am a little over 6 months later ready to continue on the charger where I intended. Tool updates:
All hardware is now organized into a single location. No more small containers of rando bits.
That english wheel, slightly modified so the outriggers don't get in the way of my feet.
Back on the car, the last of the nasty rot and bag repair is all out and I have all the AMD sheetmetal (plus one NOS quarter) in stock and ready for a careful build back:
The tack welds the PO used to build up from the rust ruined flat panels and actually would have made leaks even worse.
You can see the channel isn't really that bad. Just needs a few pieces of fresh steel.
Really excited to pickup where I left off.
Next up: a few patterns to repair the channels, fit some panels, and start seeing how this whole unibody is going to piece back together. Also, suspension stuff. That's coming, too.
David
Shortly after the last post above, I took a trip down to the Austin area to pickup an english wheel from a friend. After all, I have some plans for fender flares. It was a great day, learned a ton, and loaded up to drive back. Along my return trip, the crank in my suburban's 6.2 decided to leave the chat. So, I built a new all-forged 6.5, did a full shakedown, and campaigned the truck on its standard spring and summer rotation of offroad trips.
And so, here I am a little over 6 months later ready to continue on the charger where I intended. Tool updates:
All hardware is now organized into a single location. No more small containers of rando bits.
That english wheel, slightly modified so the outriggers don't get in the way of my feet.
Back on the car, the last of the nasty rot and bag repair is all out and I have all the AMD sheetmetal (plus one NOS quarter) in stock and ready for a careful build back:
The tack welds the PO used to build up from the rust ruined flat panels and actually would have made leaks even worse.
You can see the channel isn't really that bad. Just needs a few pieces of fresh steel.
Really excited to pickup where I left off.
Next up: a few patterns to repair the channels, fit some panels, and start seeing how this whole unibody is going to piece back together. Also, suspension stuff. That's coming, too.
David
RyanSchoen
Well-Known Member
.... never mind you answered my question before i even asked it. Nice build by the way, love what you are doing
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1970RT
Well-Known Member
Initial repairs on the window channel went pretty well.
Copper backers, all day.
The old steel spits and sputters, and I use a mix of TIG and MIG depending on how it's behaving.
I did a little more blending, but this piece is ready for a quarter panel.
Also, I hit the interior of the rear panel with the DA and a pretty liberal amount of rust converter. I'll scuff this again and seal it with my favorite e-coat primer.
It's nice to be able to do these small repairs without completely replacing a series of panels.
David
Copper backers, all day.
The old steel spits and sputters, and I use a mix of TIG and MIG depending on how it's behaving.
I did a little more blending, but this piece is ready for a quarter panel.
Also, I hit the interior of the rear panel with the DA and a pretty liberal amount of rust converter. I'll scuff this again and seal it with my favorite e-coat primer.
It's nice to be able to do these small repairs without completely replacing a series of panels.
David
As usual, fine work David!
1970RT
Well-Known Member
Next up is resecuring the unibody to the frame. I counted three basic connection points per side, all converging on some part of this inner fender well.
Roof structure - template, brake, cut, stretch, cope, weld, blend, cleco, repeat.
Some of the tiniest welds I've had to make.
Next up, the rear deck panel(s). I also pulled the truck hinge point, and will fabricate a simpler mechanism for the lid to open/close.
The shape of this support will have an OEM vibe while being very custom, and so the shape couldn't simply be cut, bent, and welded. It's three distinct panels. I use aluminum and copper backers to get a weld profile that will mimic that of a part that's been through a press brake.
To keep the OEM style, these will get a flange next.
And while I was at it, I fit and mounted the rear deck panel. One side needed a slice and stretch to match the car, but otherwise it fit great.
Also, if you're running into a shortage of clecos out there, that's my fault.
David
Roof structure - template, brake, cut, stretch, cope, weld, blend, cleco, repeat.
Some of the tiniest welds I've had to make.
Next up, the rear deck panel(s). I also pulled the truck hinge point, and will fabricate a simpler mechanism for the lid to open/close.
The shape of this support will have an OEM vibe while being very custom, and so the shape couldn't simply be cut, bent, and welded. It's three distinct panels. I use aluminum and copper backers to get a weld profile that will mimic that of a part that's been through a press brake.
To keep the OEM style, these will get a flange next.
And while I was at it, I fit and mounted the rear deck panel. One side needed a slice and stretch to match the car, but otherwise it fit great.
Also, if you're running into a shortage of clecos out there, that's my fault.
David
1970RT
Well-Known Member
Thank you. If I've done it right, it'll just look like a 70 charger to most folks. Only y'all here and a few others will see and know the details.
David
1970RT
Well-Known Member
Flange time! They're not really necessary, I wanted to make these supports have a somewhat factory look to them. Fillet welding directly to the fender certainly doesn't accomplish that, and it likely puts more heat into the inner fender than I really want to manage. A flange looks right, and will take a plug weld just fine.
The inner fender is actually a pretty tough buck for shaping the flange. I secured the mating seam first, then bumped the edges flush to the fender. It'll all distort from welding heat, but it's important to get a series of tacks in place so I can planish it to the correct profile after welding.
Mostly straight current, 37A.
A couple of hours of blending, using (what felt like) every abrasive and file I own.
Corners radiused, dimple punched and formed, and corners fully radiused in and out.
No one should know this is a custom piece except for the dimple. That's the kind of subtle detail I enjoy.
David
The inner fender is actually a pretty tough buck for shaping the flange. I secured the mating seam first, then bumped the edges flush to the fender. It'll all distort from welding heat, but it's important to get a series of tacks in place so I can planish it to the correct profile after welding.
Mostly straight current, 37A.
A couple of hours of blending, using (what felt like) every abrasive and file I own.
Corners radiused, dimple punched and formed, and corners fully radiused in and out.
No one should know this is a custom piece except for the dimple. That's the kind of subtle detail I enjoy.
David
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You're an artist for sure!
70chall440
Well-Known Member
Awesome work. Are you saying you at the TIG set to 37 amps? I typically set mine up higher but move fast on sheet metal.
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