Help repatching rust holes (PICTURES ARE UP!)

[irishluck]

does anyone know a good way to patch up holes in the body? also i had 2 very bad spots that i guess i just need to get a peice of sheet metal to do, how do i go about doing that and patch the hole with a new peice of metal, how do i bend it to shape without putting bad unneeded creases in the metal?

[b5blue]

If you post photos maybe someone has a body there cutting up? 

[Back N Black]

does anyone know a good way to patch up holes in the body? also i had 2 very bad spots that i guess i just need to get a peice of sheet metal to do, how do i go about doing that and patch the hole with a new peice of metal, how do i bend it to shape without putting bad unneeded creases in the metal?

Do you have a mig welder? Do you have any experience doing bodywork? Any holes should have new metal welded in place of the old metal. Post a few pics and there are alot of good bodymen on here that can help you out.

[NGC414]

Im not sure if anyone else does it this way, but after a lot of trial and error I came up with a way that works for me.

First I get a piece of cardboard and cut it about the size of the patch I will need. Then actually lay it over the area to be patched and conform it to any bends or body lines to make sure it covers the entire area needed replaced. Then trim it as needed making straight cuts (easier to cut the metal patch).

Then I lay the cardboard templet over my replacement sheel metal and trace it.

Then I cut the sheet metal the shape of my cardboard templet.

Then I take the metal patch to the panel and shape and dolly it to conform to the area being patched (this takes a while sometimes).

Once it lays over the area nice and looks like a good fit, I trace it on the car with a sharpie. Then I cut out the bad area following the inside of my line.

At that point the new piece of metal should fit in the hole nice since it was also the template. Then I use my mig welder to tack it in place. When you weld it just continue to do small areas at a time or the heat will warp it.



Hope this helps

[1BAD68]

Thats the best way

[irishluck]

thats what i will prolly do, is use a new piece of metal, but there are some spots where i possibly cant use a new peice of metal. ill post some pics up for you guys to take a look at and you can let me know what you think

[irishluck]

[irishluck]

[irishluck]

[irishluck]

[69*F5*SE]

 

[NGC414]

I guess the first thing to look at is what kind of budget you have for the repairs. Once you start cutting things out you will start running into other things.

I think your best bet would be to replace the rear 1/4 skins with aftermarket. Once those are cut out you might be able to patch up the inner wheel wells or buy aftermarket, It looks like the trunk extensions will need replaced.
How is the trunk pan?
Its kind of a chain reaction. If you repair the 1/4 panels, you need to weld them to the lower trunk extensions. If the trunk extension metal is rough it needs replaced, Then if you need to replace the trunk extensions, you might need to replace the trunk pan. Since the extensions weld to the trunk pan. And so on....
If it was mine I would set a budget first, then start hunting down body panels. I have seen some brand new body panels for sale on craigslist from abandon projects.
It looks like a fairly large project, but if you have the time it is do-able.

[superbirdtom]

you are exactly right  thats a big job,  and even if you patched it  you can bet after all thet work  a couple years down the road a bubble will pop out a foot away from your patches somewhere else.  its actually not all that bad replacing the quarters.  and just get another fender. theres a lot of them out there.   

[bobs66440]

you are exactly right  thats a big job,  and even if you patched it  you can bet after all thet work  a couple years down the road a bubble will pop out a foot away from your patches somewhere else.  its actually not all that bad replacing the quarters.  and just get another fender. theres a lot of them out there.   

I would replace entire panels when possible. Especially when the damage is this extensive. In almost every case, a patch will only last a certain period of time then will come back. Rust never sleeps! I see the inner panels are rusted also. They will be the most difficult to fix. This is a monumental undertaking that will likely take four times longer than you expect (ask me how I know) and will seem like an endless nightmare (ask me how I know) unless you really enjoy this type of work. Unless you have an emotional attachment to this car, maybe consider putting it up for sale and search for a more rust-free example. In this economic atmosphere nice cars are out there and good deals can be had. A friend of mine had a similar situation. He sold his car and shortly after found a rust free running & driving car for almost the same money.   

Hope it work out,  Bob

[TylerCharger69]

You have some serious deconstruction and reconstruction ahead of you!!!!  I see not only the outer skins need replacing, but inner as well.....consider what you can not see!!!!  There will be a lot of it!!!

[irishluck]

well to tell you the truth, the pictures look worse than it actually is. there really is not that much rust at all. the worst is the two rear wheel wells. the other spots are very small. the trunk pan is perfect also.

[irishluck]

sorry i forgot to ad that yea this car is has emotional value, me and my father bought the car and he died last year=/. its a car i wanna build in his name now

[elacruze]

Do what you can, with what you have. If you can't afford anything other than junkyard fenders and pop rivets, learn to work with that. You can always undo work you don't like later.
In a perfect world you'd just put all new sheetmetal on-that's what I've done-but I'm in a situation where I'm far from the car and can afford it. Time is your friend-find a resto or body shop that actually does sheetmetal repairs, and see if you can hang out a little and learn hands-on. Otherwise, I'm sure The Google knows bodywork. Lots of people on this forum have great depth of experience, also.
Start by telling us what you have to work with as far as tools, space, and budget.

[bobs66440]

sorry i forgot to ad that yea this car is has emotional value, me and my father bought the car and he died last year=/. its a car i wanna build in his name now

Sorry to hear about your dad. Definitely a worthwhile project.

There are many resources out there to learn restoration. I have done many restorations and fixed a lot of rust. I don't know how you are fixed for tools but the short list of things you will need are; mig welder, oxy/acetylene torches, good quality compressor, air tools like die grinder/cut off wheel, air chisel, DA sander, air grinder, drill, etc., vise grips, body hammers & dollies, full set of basic hand tools. A plasma cutter isn't necessary but will make your life much easier. And of course all this fun is very bad for your health, so you will need a respirator, safety glasses, dust masks and so on. The more you get into it, the more you will realize how much time is involved. TylerCharger69 is correct, what damage you see on the outside, there is usually at least double where you can't see. If you can afford it, strip the car down and send it to a bead blaster. Around here it ususally costs around $400-$500 last I checked. Well worth the investment. You will really see what you are working with from the start instead of being unpleasantly surprised later as you go.

With some Patience (and tools) you can pull it off.  

Bob

[TylerCharger69]

Well...actually...a picture is worth a thousand words....It may not look that bad from the outside....but i guarantee that once you cut into it....you will find some surprises...what you actually see...and what actually is are two different things, so dont fool yourself by the outside of the body....You need to get rid of the rust on the inner panels otherwise you are "peeing in the wind"  Anything can be fixed....so dont despair there.  And...body filler only hides the problem for a short time.   Since there is sentimental value in this particular car.....take your time, and do it right, and get rid of all that internal rust....you'll be glad you did in the long run.

[NGC414]

If it was my project I would start with fixing the easier things first and work my way toward the larger items. In particular, I would not mess with the rear 1/4 panels yet. Your time could be much better spent getting the car sorted out mechanically.
I would focus on fixing every bell and whistle mechanically, and then move onto other minor jobs. There are plenty of low cost items/ issues that you can fix with elbow grease. Unfortunatly, alot of the body work is going to be costly and very time consuming.

[irishluck]

thanks, for the feed back guys, i really apprieciate the help. I do have plenty of tools, thats not an issue, i even have a sand blaster. my father left me with all his tools, only thing i dont have is the plasma cutter (yet) and the torches. other than that i have likeevery tool ha.

mostly right now im just trying to get the damn thing running, but in the mean time while the engine is being machined and what not im just trying to work on the bosy and trying to get done what i can. i got the axle dropped a few weeks ago and have it all nice and painted now. i sand blasted it. the whole interior is ripped out, been sand blaster, and primed (minus the dash so far), im working on the engine bay right now cleaning it up.

to get my car bead blasted for 400-500 is a awesome deal, except i have no idea where wanna those are around here ha, i live in the kansas city area so i have no idea.

so can anyone maybe explain to me a quick 101 on how to do sheet metal repairs by chance?

[bobs66440]

so can anyone maybe explain to me a quick 101 on how to do sheet metal repairs by chance?

Well, the short answer is to cut out ALL the rust in the area you want to fix, make a cardboard (heavy oak tag works well) template  of the patch to be made to fill in the space, use the template to cut the patch out of metal (use clean, non-galvanized the same thickness as existing sheetmetal) and butt weld it in place using a mig welder. Tack weld the patch in different places around the patch (to keep from heating it too much and warping) until it is completely welded around the entire perimeter. 

Bob

[irishluck]

what about a plasma cutter?

i heard thats what you want to use when doing things like that.
im bidding online on ebay for one right now, brand new one for like 50 bucks, really hope i get it.
also how do i bend it and crease it without damaging it?

[bobs66440]

A plasma cutter is used to cut away the rust metal (and for many other things). It makes the job much easier. To bend the new sheet metal, the most important tool is to get a sheetmetal brake or borrow one. There are a lot of other tools like shrinkers/stretchers and bead rollers that will make it easier. Here's a link to some tools  http://www.eastwood.com/metal-fabrication.html. Learning sheetmetal skills is something that takes a lot of trial & error and time. It's not something that can be taught here. You would be wise to get a "how-to" book or cd/dvd. 

[irishluck]

that site you referred me to has alot of great stuff i will be buying now for my project, thanks for that.


so i heard though that a plasma cutter can be used to put in patches and new peices of metal, and was told its 10 times easier than using a mig welder. true or false

[bobs66440]

so i heard though that a plasma cutter can be used to put in patches and new peices of metal, and was told its 10 times easier than using a mig welder. true or false

I've never heard of a plasma cutter being used for anything other than cutting.

[Ghoste]

Having used a plasma cutter I can't even imagine how you do that.  I'm not going to say it's impossible but I can't wrap my head around the idea.

[69*F5*SE]

 

[bobs66440]

Having used a plasma cutter I can't even imagine how you do that.  I'm not going to say it's impossible but I can't wrap my head around the idea.

I did a quick search and found nothing. I think they are only used for cutting.

Bob

[irishluck]

hmm idk, maybe im just dreaming. i dont know.

either way, i think im going to hold off on the body patches for now cause all the panels will have to be replaced any ways. there in a place where its just to hard to fix. i did find a trunk lid though finally ill be picking up for like 30 dollars. and will be picking up my redone heads for the car tomorrow=D just going to cost a good 400 dollars=(

[irishluck]

hey by chance, do you guys know of any swap meets going on in the kansas city area? i figured i could go there to get myself some new body panels and things

[elacruze]

so i heard though that a plasma cutter can be used to put in patches and new peices of metal, and was told its 10 times easier than using a mig welder. true or false

I've never heard of a plasma cutter being used for anything other than cutting.

Some power supplies can run a plasma cutter and TIG also. You'll not find a good one for $50, either.

[69*F5*SE]

I think a plasma cutter is the last tool that you need. Get a mig welder and run it with 75/25 gas.  You can use spotweld cutters and  cut off wheel to remove things. Plasma cutters are nice to have but, not completely necessary.