you could save yourself alot of work and go forward without looking back...............................................................
Rebuilding LemonWedge.
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LemonWedge
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You’re not the first person that has told me that. My driver side fender trim was destroyed in the accident. The Satellite body trim is even harder to come by than GTX stuff. This car has always evolved since I’ve owned it, which is 24 years now. I’ve never liked what the higher belt trim does visually for this body shape. It makes it look longer, blockier, and heavier in my opinion. Ive looked at it this way for a long time. I’m ready for a change.
Don’t think I haven’t thought about that. If I were to start over with a new chassis however, I’d either go 68-69 Barracuda fastback, or 63 Dodge 330. In the end, it came down to money. There was just no way around the fact that rebuilding the Satellite was the most cost effective path forward. There’s also the fact that this car has been a never ending process of evolution both with the car itself, and my skill set. I decided back in the fall to embrace this as an opportunity to truly make it the car I envision it could be. And to challenge my own skill set by tackling bodywork, paint, fabrication, and creativity.
fullmetaljacket
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Satellite Academy.
My freind Dave's Satellite. Had no trim when he bought it. How it looks now.
Doug
Doug
fullmetaljacket
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This Satellite is OUT OF THIS WORLD.
6PKRTSE
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I agree. However, I would put the trim back on. I like a little extra bling. That is what I love about all the 50's, 60's and 70's cars is all the chrome and trim.
A friend in our mopar club decided to delete the trim on his.
LemonWedge
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Thanks for the input, guys. I’m settling in on the look being all Satellite emblems with the cleaner Belvedere wheel lip and Sill trim, and GTX stripes on the hood and trunk.
I cleaned and polished up the wheelwell trim today. It’s at least as good as the Satellite trim was prior. I’m pretty happy with it.
Hey Lee…. There’s that brace I set on my workbench a month ago so I wouldn’t forget to send it to you. I’ll get right on that.
I cleaned and polished up the wheelwell trim today. It’s at least as good as the Satellite trim was prior. I’m pretty happy with it.
Hey Lee…. There’s that brace I set on my workbench a month ago so I wouldn’t forget to send it to you. I’ll get right on that.
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fullmetaljacket
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No worries. Whenever you can get it out to me.
The trim is looking fantastic. I like the direction of a GTX exterior with trim moldings. Black stripes I assume, correct? I don't know those year stripe options that much. It's gonna look stunning.
LemonWedge
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Slowly but surely making progress….
Working in the firewall and trans tunnel. Trimmed the pinchweld seam flush to maximize room in the tunnel, and took a swipe at aDVW’s firewall modification.
Had a bit of excitement with some flames inside the car as I cut the seam with the plasma cutter. Apparently seamseal isn’t fireproof.
Got it all clean and continued without setback though. Still need to weld the seam back up. Working on that now.
I made a simple ram from a 4x4 to push the firewall. Doug was right! It moves pretty easily. Tedious process for one set of hands, but I got about an inch out of it (measured 29” from the backside of the K prior) and you’d never know from looking at it. This will definitely make header bolts and bell housing bolts easier to access. The shaved tunnel will certainly allow the blanket to fit better. Small wins that don’t cost anything but time.
Working in the firewall and trans tunnel. Trimmed the pinchweld seam flush to maximize room in the tunnel, and took a swipe at aDVW’s firewall modification.
Had a bit of excitement with some flames inside the car as I cut the seam with the plasma cutter. Apparently seamseal isn’t fireproof.
Got it all clean and continued without setback though. Still need to weld the seam back up. Working on that now.I made a simple ram from a 4x4 to push the firewall. Doug was right! It moves pretty easily. Tedious process for one set of hands, but I got about an inch out of it (measured 29” from the backside of the K prior) and you’d never know from looking at it. This will definitely make header bolts and bell housing bolts easier to access. The shaved tunnel will certainly allow the blanket to fit better. Small wins that don’t cost anything but time.
fullmetaljacket
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Chugging along.
LemonWedge
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Welding above you while laying on your back is no fun! My lack of skills really shows itself on lower settings with thin guage material. I got the seam welded up, but let’s just say I’m glad it’s in a spot where nobody will ever see it.
fullmetaljacket
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Talk about Fall Out Shelter
padam
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Grind and paint makes me the welder I ain’t
When I can see, my welds can look robotic. Laying under my trailer recently in the rain@40 degrees with about 14" of clearance welding the winch support. I could see the puddle, but lose sight of the gap that needed welded. Lets say what it lacked in quality, was made up with quanity. Pretty damn ugly. Sheet metal is tricky. Best to use short runs with higher amperage than you would think. Allows good penetration and flatter welds. You just can't run a continous bead or it'll burn through. The key is patience. Time spent running short runs and letting the area cool will be far quicker than time spent grinding. None of us became hero sheet metal welders instantly. The more you weld, the more tricks you learn, the better you get. I always tell people. Start with the floor pan. By the time you get to the stuff that shows you'll be golden.
Doug
fullmetaljacket
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How many Lava burns did you inherit LW?
LemonWedge
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This was exactly the situation. I too found better success with the amperage higher than the chart calls for, but with a slow wire feed speed in short runs. I found a pattern of welding into the previous weld and then stretching the puddle to the sheetmetal on each side. Stop, wait for it to cool, repeat. Between getting up to check for fire inside the car, and jumping up to put out the fire on my clothes, it took a couple of hours to go a couple of feet.
LemonWedge
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A few…. The gap between my leather blanket laid over me and my helmet, right at the base of my neck, took a little abuse. And I somehow lost one of my favorite t-shirts, even though it was buried under a hoodie and a sheet of leather.
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