72 Cuda Resurrection

[mrbill426]

I love watching this project 

[Edison1970]

Worked on a number of repairs over the last few days.  I kept forgetting to take pictures of everything but a few.  Striped the header panel and front valence down to bare metal.  Welded up a few cracks in the steel here and there.  Started to put a bead of weld on the edge of the passenger fender to close the crappy gap I have. Removed the head light bucket and replaced it with another I picked up.  Ran out of sun light so I'll have to burn it in tomorrow night after work.  It's Miller time.
 

[johns cuda shop]

Looking good Dave. So I take it your gonna save that fender ? 

[Edison1970]

Yeah. I took it to my friend's shop and he said he's going to shrink the area I'm having trouble with. 
I hope to prime the whole car in about 3 weeks.

[twalker]

Nice work

[Edison1970]

I worked on the passenger side fender to door gap today.  As you will see by the pictures, I got from the top of the fender to the body line done today.  I welded a piece of a coat hanger to the edge and then ground it smooth.  Came out pretty good.  The top portion of the fender is a different story.  The gap there is really poor.  I am going to have to cut away a part of the fender and re-weld the edge.  I also need to raise the top edge of the fender to make it meet the door better.  The bottom of the fender to the rocker is really bad.  I haven't figured what to do there yet.  I'll take a picture of it tomorrow.  Maybe someone can give me some ideas of how to fix it.

[Edison1970]

Stayed with the top of the fender today.  Welded a piece of coat hanger to the top edge of the fender to make the hood and the door line up better.   I also cut a slot in the area between the fender and the door and then welded it back together. The gap looks better now.



Just need to do some grinding to finish it.

[johns cuda shop]

Looking good 

[Edison1970]

Finished most of the welding work on the passenger side fender.  Going to do the same to the top of the driver's fender next.

[Edison1970]

I need some feedback on this one.  I have an issue with the fender and the rocker not coming level to each other.  I have been trying to find the best way to get it right.  I could build a weld on the edge and feather it about half way back with a filler or do you think I could cut the rocker open, pull the steel out to match the fender and weld the cuts shut?  Any thoughts?

[johns cuda shop]

Hi Dave, I might need to look at that one in person, But what if you slotted the mounting holes lower door hinge , so you can set the door back in towards the body , then cut the lower fender mount off and move the fender in, than fit and reweld. It should get you in the ball park. Looking good 

[Edison1970]

I thought about that but I don't think there is any more adjustment for the door to go in.  Are you planning any trips this part of town soon?  I'll be at it this weekend.

[daaboots]

A coat hanger... great idea! I'll have to remember that one.

[EbodyMod]

I used NP-1 sealant on mine just attached a piece of tubing to get into the tight spots after I welded in the upper cowl.

[Edison1970]

Things are moving slower than I would hope.  Still fixing the passenger side fender.  The area over the wheel well had a dent that I hammered out.  I stretched the steel a little too much and had to bring it to my friends shop and shrink it.  Came out pretty good.  After removing some paint on the lower leg, I found a weak spot in the metal so I decided to remove it from the bottom up about 4 inches.  I pulled the creases out that were above that area and welded in a piece of steel.  The metal got some distortion when I used the cut off wheel to remove the rusted area.  Got it pretty straight and ready for filler.