Barn Find Restomod Build

[AZ73]

try a heat gun and scraper for your glue and deadener under the dash.
might want to consider a good sealant to paint into your seams before you get into your bodywork.
www.buykbs.com makes some great products that will help your project out and keep it around for the next 40.

kbs also makes a spray "cavity coater" that works well for shooting inside panels.

Thanks Nick! Your work is an inspiration for me, and I'm probably going to "borrow" some ideas from your interiors. The deadener and glue actually came out with the media blasting even though they told me it wouldn't take the glue off. But there's a ton of black goop on the seams. I've actually used KBS on the frame, and am adding ceramic microspheres to their RustSeal primer that I'll be doing the underside and inside, and inside the top with before I do a final DP 40 and top coat. I'm going to prime the underside and inside but not the rockers with KBS, and prime the outside with DP40 just so I can get the metal covered. I want to minimize any flash rusting before I start on the bodywork. My understanding is that I should put the primer down BEFORE I put the new seam sealer in. That way all the metal is coated under the new seam sealer. That should keep the rust away from my freshly cleaned metal. Their cavity coater is interesting, but I think it's just a wax you can spray into the drain holes. I'm going to use their rustseal primer on the inside of the new rockers before I weld them on since I'll have access to them. Then when it's all together use the cavity coater for insurance in case the heat affects the primer. I was pretty happy with the RustSeal on the frame so I think it will work great on the inside and underside.

 

[Fireball05]

Well AZ, there are worse ways to spend a Thursday! That thing is looking great. Keep up the hard work. I removed all the old seam sealer from under the dash and redid it. It came out fairly easily with a run-of-the-mill painters 5 in 1 tool. Hopefully you'll have the same luck.

Nick, are you talking about a seam sealer? Or something else that you'd put on beforehand?

 

[AZ73]

Ok Nick, I went back and looked at that KBS Cavity seal. I read about it a few months ago so I forgot it was better than wax. I think I'm going to use it in that box area below the windshield and above the firewall. When I cleaned out the seam sealer there I blew it with air and some brown dust came out. I don't know if it was rust or media blasting, but I think this would be a good product to spray in there. Thanks for the tip!

 

[NicksTrix]

fireball, you'd want the rust sealer in the seams before sealer. you want to work it in as deep as you can get it. this will ensure all surfaces are coated.

tAZ he cavity sealer is great in the cowl area like you mentioned before you seal the ends up and don't forget the windshield frame. i'd bet it was rust dust you blew out. if i get a tub blasted we'll cut the ends open so they can blast inside of there and get it as clean as possible. that's a troublsome area.

make sure any over CS spray is wiped off after it dries before you paint or in some cases after you've painted, get any runs cleaned up while it's still wet. makes it easier to get off.

thanks for the compliment, appreciate it.

 

[AZ73]

Spent half a day welding up all the holes. Old fender flare holes, carpet hold down holes, 6X9 speaker housing screwed to rear wheel well holes, plus a patch for the large hole from the CB antenna. I'll be doing the rockers in the next week or so and I put this out there on another thread, but has anyone taken out the spot welds for just the outside part of the rocker on the old and replacement piece and left to foot sill there? I have to replace the inner and outer on the PS, but the DS only has some pinholes on the lower outside. The inner rocker is fine, and leaving the old foot sill in would keep my alignment of the door frame as well as the more of the original metal in place. (see red line in pix).

 

[AZ73]

Well after pulling off the rockers, I found some hidden rust on the PS. It was just a few pin-holes along the lower front bracket from the floor to the inner rocker, but when I pulled the rocker it looked bad. I cut the door post to get a better look and the Door post and kick panel will have to go too. Not a bad job, just more delay. Should have really poked this area when I bought it. I noticed residual marks from running water on the door in this area from the angle it was parked at for 22 years, but thought it was just on the outside. Parts ordered.

 

[AZ73]

Baja71 is getting too far ahead so I spent a day in the garage. PS was the big job. Took off the kick panel and door post. That rust was REALLY hidden, It was inside the door post and behind the inner rocker. Only a few pinholes made me suspicious. The new inner rocker fits like a charm, with just some minor bending of 1 tab for the test fit. The kick panel was a bear. The tabs on top were bent at too high a point so the "dip" for the vent wouldn't reach the cowl. Had to straighten out the bends, do a little fabrication, rebend, and test fit it again. Lines right up now, although I'll still have to bend the front top to match the inner fender. Mocked up for today, and will check my measurements, tack into place, put the door on for alignment, then weld it all up. Will be coating the insides of the rockers with KBS before welding for extra protection.

I did some test cuts and welds with a Harbor Freight spot weld cutter. The 3/8 hole made me nervous, but I dialed in the MIG and the test welds look great and no blow through, so that saved a ton of time cutting the kick panel out.

Also, in one of the pix you can see a new floor for the DS. I was inspecting the pitting and for about 2 inches they just looked too deep. Not through yet, but too deep NOT to replace, so that's a job for another day.

On another front, it was Christmas once again and my custom AGR steering box, cooler, and super pump arrived. When it gets on the road, I'll report in how it works.

 

[AZ73]

Had a spare 4 hours so I measured 20 times, readjusting each time until it looked good. MEASURE MEASURE MEASURE!!! used a few sheet metal screws to hold things in place and hung the door. Not too bad. Top looked good, bottom was off by 1/4 inch. Unscrewed the door post, rotated it an 1/8. and re-screwed. Hung the door again and it's lower by an 1/8, but gaps look good. Will raise door at the hinge AFTER I add the fender and rocker to this layout. Looks good but bottom right has 1/4 inch gap. Weird because the top looks good and the left side looks good. Measured gap on rocker and it's 1/4 on the left and nothing on the right. Will take rocker off, and work it to shift it left 1/8. That should bring the fender in 1/8 and should close the gap and have a nice even gap all around. Then I'll dissemble, paint the inner rocker, then reassemble, test everything one more time, then take a screw out at a time and weld it up.

Notes: The rockers need to be worked. They're cut sloppy on the curved ends even though I got the deluxe made with the Ford stamps. Not bad, just some grinding to make the ends fit correctly. The kick plate continues to be a nightmare. the grove on the edge which takes the door post isn't even close. When I disassemble, I'll have to rework it too. But all in all, this wasn't anywhere near as bad as I thought it was going to be. measure and brace. I also put the top back on to help make it as square as possible.

 

[AZ73]

After re-bending the lip on the kick panel so it better fits the door post, I welding the inner rocker on, then coated the inside of the inner rockers and the rockers with KBS rust seal. These should never rust again. Will have to wait till tomorrow to weld in the kick panel, door post, and rockers.

 

[AZ73]

Ok, this is getting old. 16 hours over 2 days lining up the passenger side gaps before I weld. EVERYTHING needed tweaking. The deluxe "factory" pressed rockers were a mess. every bend on them is bad and the tabs are too long. The curved sections that run up the jams were poorly pressed and had creases in them. The seams weren't lined up before they were spot welded. I would have save some money just buying the Taiwan made rockers for all the work I had to do on these "factory tooling" rockers. Because the end bends are so bad (they're "arch rounded", not square rounded like the factory) they're 1/8 too long on both ends. I had to re-bend the ends by hand, then add a bead of welding so I could grind it perfectly straight. Every bend along the length was bad also. Way over bent. At least the passenger side is now fitted and screws are holding it in place. Ran out of time to weld it in. That said, the gaps look good!

 

[AZ73]

At last some progress. I know this is a pretty standard replacement piece for a lot of guys, but this one piece seems to have taken the longest of anything I worked on. True or not, I feel as if getting this one piece finally done is the 1/2 way point of the project and everything else will be getting easier. I know block sanding is a pain, but it's pretty mindless work and easy to correct compared to this.

 

[AZ73]

After another full day, the DS rocker was gaped, welded, then the fenders, grill, and hood test fitted. Still have a small piece for the driver's floor (not rusted through, but pitted pretty deep so I decided to replace) and the PS tail light panel. That should be another day, then I can paint the underside, inside, and engine bay, before starting on the exterior body block sanding. Moving along!

 

[Fireball05]

You got that thing looking really good! Was going to make a joke the other day about the rocker panel being crooked, but not sure if that would've gone over too well

She's got the Dynacorn hood? How was the fit and finish? I've got one leaning against the side of my garage awaiting a test fitting here in a week or two. Did you lineup the fenders and hood all the same time? Any tips or tricks on that? I haven't played around with mine too much yet, but looks like the fenders need to be aligned with the lower rockers, and the hood, and the front grill all at the same time.

 

[AZ73]

You got that thing looking really good! Was going to make a joke the other day about the rocker panel being crooked, but not sure if that would've gone over too well

She's got the Dynacorn hood? How was the fit and finish? I've got one leaning against the side of my garage awaiting a test fitting here in a week or two. Did you lineup the fenders and hood all the same time? Any tips or tricks on that? I haven't played around with mine too much yet, but looks like the fenders need to be aligned with the lower rockers, and the hood, and the front grill all at the same time.

The rockers are probably crooked, but thanks for not mentioning it. I stared at them for so long and ran a measuring stick along them so many times, the stick might have worn down. As for the rest of the front sheet metal I only did a quick test fit. There's some issues with the new fenders they seem to be a little long by the rocker, and the tabs were funky, plus on the PS the piece that bolts to the apron is spot welded wrong. It's welded about an 1/8 too low towards the front compared to the passenger side, and that's making it a tight fit by the lower door post. I'm debating the best way to manage that. The hood actually fits really well. Nice gaps all around, although underneath the front the gap to the grill looks a little big. I might have to tweek the core support out a little. Also if you look at the middle edges of the hood it sits lower than the fender. When the fender gets bolted in, it will pull down at that spot so I think that uneven seam will disappear. It's all being held together with a few vice grips so it's not prefect, but I was looking for something being REALLY off. It doesn't appear to be bad at all. Get someone to help you with the hood. It's not that heavy, but it's bulky.

 

[Fireball05]

Was just pulling your chain with the rocker, it actually looks great. And reading what all you went through makes me pretty happy mine are in good shape! The leading edge of my hood was rusted out, so I bought a new one. The old one fit pretty well, but the fenders are off a bit and need to be aligned back perfect to the grille. Might be a balancing act getting it all sorted out.

Glad to hear the hood fits well! Hopefully I can say the same when I test fit mine.

 

[AZ73]

Fred Flintstone drive for a few minutes. New floor fitted. Rear tail light panel before. large round hole above rust holes was where I took the patch for the CB antenna hole for the other side. After I took the tail light panel off, you can see the rust holes and major pitting from the drive wheel kicking up crap. New panel fitted. Ran out of zinc primer for the edges so will finish up welding them in tomorrow.

 

[broncorick]

Looks good--nice fitment. If you think these are tough try a 1962 Jag e-type!! Were all fitted and "fettled" into position at factory and then leaded. I am working on one now, but want to get some work done on my Broncos too!!

 

[broncorick]

The tail light caps look far superior to what had been available in the past. And as far as straightness goes, panel alignment was done with large hammers and 2x4's in the day and the fitment was not what it is now--looks great though

 

[AZ73]

The tail light caps look far superior to what had been available in the past. And as far as straightness goes, panel alignment was done with large hammers and 2x4's in the day and the fitment was not what it is now--looks great though

Believe me, while it's a very nice piece, it still required a large hammer, large vice grips, channel locks, and grinding to fit. If I didn't already have the holes from the spare tire rack I considered just cutting off the bottom and welding on just the last 4-6 inches.

 

[AZ73]

Looks good--nice fitment. If you think these are tough try a 1962 Jag e-type!! Were all fitted and "fettled" into position at factory and then leaded. I am working on one now, but want to get some work done on my Broncos too!!

My old neighbor did an E-type. After watching him, I chose a Bronco to restore. I'm sure he doesn't remember now that it's finished how much he cussed doing the work!