NICE!! fill me up Buttercup!
A little fill up on Buttercup.. Just for you Tasker!;D
Buttercup had an ugly wound on the right side of the grill and the right fender that came about from the owner's son hooking a tractor to it in anger because of people asking to buy it, and snatching it from beside the barn to behind the barn... Out of site... yes.. and this was done years ago.
In a fit of rage, somehow he was able to jackknife the tractor into the corner of Buttercup and it bent the grill from the center right to the edge, completely flattening the nice contour of the outer edge of the grill shell (eyebrow grill), tearing the sheetmetal of the top of the fender, buckling it in the side, and kinking the inner fender. The grill and right front fender were compressed over 3"!! It was a pretty nasty injury, and I have always wanted it to 'go away'!
I have built the engine in Buttercup because I think it would be cool just to leave it in it's unrestored state , but have a nice running gear.... but the right front! Auugh... It's ugly!! So before I install the engine, I have decided to take on the challenge of repairing the original sheetmetal and not loosing the original patina. It's a challenge for sure but I'm the challenger!!
I have a ton of time in returning everything to it's original dimensions and contours, but I feel really good about it already, and I'm not hardly finished yet. Metal work is a time consuming but a rewarding skill that many had rather just replace the piece instead of repairing it. It's a very slow process, and if it's as major as this one was, you can very easily stretch the metal too much to repair. Repair with just one little bump at a time....