1970 Grabber Green Project

[latoracing 256]

Cars looking good. Question for you what type of pads/brushes you using to strip paint/rust. Just a wire brush or a 3m flap disc? Always looking to try something new.

 

Thanks for the complement.

 

Most of the rust removal has been by replacing the metal. The only parts left from the factory on the rear of the car are the quarter support structure, some of the sail pannel, the repaired B pillars, and the frame rails. I have used all sorts of products to remove surface rust on these components. It really depends on the area to what you can use to remove rust. My 4.5" grinder with a hevy wire brush has knocked out alot of the work as far as removing rust, and paint. A 40 grit flap wheel will take care of paint or rust on large flat areas QUICKLY, or a hand held wire brush on the inside of the floor supports, for example. But mainly, I have replaced with new metal as a standard. I am still considering replacing the floor support on the pass. side, and having to patch the frame rail on the torque box side as well. I have used rust converters and a bunch of epoxy primer to hopefully seal the metal as I go, so my new metal will last a while. Nothing fancy here, just some basic tools.

[Mike65 475]

Looking good, keep up the good work. I am at the same point in my project as you, replacing sheet metal. It is a good feeling to replace rusted metal with fresh new metal.

[ak70stang 11]

Keep up the good work. I guess there are a few of us crazy people that will replace over half of a car and call it fun, rather then find a clean rust free car. What would be the fun in that! haha

[Rcodenewf 44]

Latoracing, i ran into the same problem with those inner rockers in the 70 convert i'm rebuilding. The passenger side was worse than the drivers side. I had to drill out all the spot welds and pin it down to my 1/4 inch steel bench with C clamps and then redo all the spotwelds.

 

It couldn't be put into a press.

 

IIRC, those inners are made by MR. MUSTANG and obviously their jig isn't set up sturdy enough or else the welder is welding too much in one area as they 'pull' with the heat from the welding.

 

The rear torque boxes were warped so bad i also had to take them apart, press them out and reweld them.

 

When i first sent them a pic of the warped torque box they agreed that it shouldn't have left the plant that way, but after checking their stock they got back to my supplier saying that all the torque boxes were warped like that???? I guess that makes it right.

 

Be prepared to put some time into drilling out spotwelds and straightening those out.

 

Btw..keep up the great work!

John

[latoracing 256]

Latoracing, i ran into the same problem with those inner rockers in the 70 convert i'm rebuilding. The passenger side was worse than the drivers side. I had to drill out all the spot welds and pin it down to my 1/4 inch steel bench with C clamps and then redo all the spotwelds.

 

It couldn't be put into a press.

 

IIRC, those inners are made by MR. MUSTANG and obviously their jig isn't set up sturdy enough or else the welder is welding too much in one area as they 'pull' with the heat from the welding.

 

The rear torque boxes were warped so bad i also had to take them apart, press them out and reweld them.

 

When i first sent them a pic of the warped torque box they agreed that it shouldn't have left the plant that way, but after checking their stock they got back to my supplier saying that all the torque boxes were warped like that???? I guess that makes it right.

 

Be prepared to put some time into drilling out spotwelds and straightening those out.

 

Btw..keep up the great work!

John

 

I deal with welded metal assemblies on a daily basis. I have found it quite interesting how far a part will move when heat is applied to it. These inner rockers were an example of that. You have to think of how Ford made the parts, and then look at how the repop manufacture is making them. I worked on both of the inner rockers last night, and fixed the right side. I cut the MIG welds out and TIG welded them back. In order to make shure they didn't pull, I put a piece of 1/8" x 1" flat bar under the seam area, and pulled the rocker the opposite direction on the welding table. Welded it all up, and it is all nice and straight. I do this ALOT on parts that are welded in the center, and it works fairly well. The spot welds do bow the part a little, but I clamped it to the car, and the slight bow will pull out. I would not try to bend the parts straignt, it would probably creace the back or do something that would cause dammage to the part.

Taking the rust out of the torque box area, and found some more rust, imagine that...

[latoracing 256]

I thought I might share how to fix these things, it really wasn't that hard. All this was done in less than 30 min. I removed the "welds" that the factory had gobbed on the parts with a flap wheel. I removed enough to be able to see where to cut the seams apart, which I did with my Porta- Band Saw. Once the seams were opened back up, I placed some scrap pieces from who knows what on the table, a little more than 1/8" high, then the rocker. I clamped the rocker to the table, with the joints on the scrap metal, which bent the rocker the opposite way. Tack welded it first, then fully welded it. All vertical welds were done up hill, and I never moved the part untill I was done with that section. Welded the second section in the same mannor, and the last pic speaks for itself.

Now I have the fun of making 3/8" rosette weld holes in these, this might take a while, need to buy a drill press...

 

:punk:

[Rcodenewf 44]

"Weld" done latoracing! I have to get myself a tig welder for sure.

 

Keep the pics coming...regards...John

[latoracing 256]

I was able to finish drilling all the holes in my inner rocker pannels this afternoon. Looking at my floor supports, and the new Dynacorn parts I just recieved, and debating on whether or not to put the driver's side in. The pass. side is shot, so I know it will be replaced. The driver's side is nice though. It has very little pitting, and looks fairly good. Hate to cut out some part just to be doing it. I'll look at it closer when I do the driver's side.

Ran by the machine shop after work and picked up a 351W block to mock up with. This paticular model has a special vented cylinder wall, custom made. Paid the scrap price for it, a lot cheeper than buying one of those plastic blocks that I might not ever use agean. At least when I am done with this, I can get my $25.00 out of it, or at least most of it. Gota get some motor mounts, and my buddy's TKO to see how much trimming needs to be done to the trans brace, and possibly the new 1pc floor pan. The price to pay, when you use after market drive lines.

[latoracing 256]

Worked on the pass. side outer rocker area. I will be covering all this up with the new inner rockers, but I do not want a bunch of cancer to spread to my new metal, so I removed the offending inner web area. Looks like the usual heater core leak, along with a nice cowl pannel leak led to the demise of the factory floor and torque box. The PO had removed the torque box and seat risers with an air chisel, and didn't know how to use it. I got my patch all marked, trimmed and drilled just like normal. A little epoxy, and it was clamped to the car. Made a little patch to fix the air chisel hole, and fried all of it in place. Some work with a poly fan and it is ready for a inner rocker.

Need to repair the fresh air duct mounting areas, these are like everything else... but before I tackle that, floor extension replacement.

 

:punk:

[latoracing 256]

Removed and prepped the pass. side floor extension, that was fun? Nice and rusty, and had to be where you were laying flat on your back to do most of the work, my favorite. Not alot going on, guess I'll fry it Monday.

 

:punk:

[Klutch 17]

Ran by the machine shop after work and picked up a 351W block to mock up with. This paticular model has a special vented cylinder wall, custom made. Paid the scrap price for it, a lot cheeper than buying one of those plastic blocks that I might not ever use agean. At least when I am done with this, I can get my $25.00 out of it, or at least most of it. Gota get some motor mounts, and my buddy's TKO to see how much trimming needs to be done to the trans brace, and possibly the new 1pc floor pan. The price to pay, when you use after market drive lines.

 

Nice window in that cylinder.

 

I'll be paying close attention to your TKO mockup. I'd like to put the same trans in my Mach 1. I'm willing to do a little cutting and patching on the tunnel to make the trans line up properly, instead of arcing it down at the rear. I've heard that will make the shaker fit wonky.

 

I'm also wondering if I modify the trans tunnel, would it prevent the console from fitting correctly?

[latoracing 256]

Got home this afternoon, and went ahead and welded up my floor extension, more upside welding. I am going to solid weld all the structure parts of the car, so I fried all around the extension while I was there.

 

Started on my fresh air vent repair, this ought to be fun. Here is an interesting way to transfer an outline of a part to some cardboard (this happens to be a ceral box). Take some chalk, color around the outline of the part you want to transfer, place your cardboard (something a little thinner works better) over the area, press around the indentation, and try not to shift the cardboard as you run your hand over it. You probably can't see the chalk on the cardboard, but it is there. Cut out what you don't need, and you have a template. Transfer to metal, add 3/16" for the step of the lip, and some extra around the edge just in case. I went ahead and worked on the hard sides first, that is the curved sides, but I ran out of time, gotta go eat... More fab work this week...

 

:punk:

[latoracing 256]

Went ahead and finished beating my repair part into shape. I am still amazed at how strong this part is, considering it is 20ga. Checked the fit of the ductwork, and adjusted the inner lip a little. Removed all the crunchy flange from the car, and trimmed the new part to fit. Tacked in place, ready to fry. I like the way it turned out, now I have to make one for the other side...

 

 

:hammer:

[SWPruett 83]

I have never understood why Dynacorn doesn't offer these inner kick panels as repair parts for the 69-70 bodies. Especially since they make them for their complete bodies. :huh:

 

Great job on the patch! That's not an easy repair and yours looks like it will be quite the deal.

[latoracing 256]

Worked on my kick pannel repair for a while this afternoon. Finished welding, and broke out the grinders. No flap wheel on this one, just a 3/32" cut off wheel, and some 36 grit 3" disc made the new part look like it had never been touched. I got a little excited and mixed up some EP, and gave my outter rocker and the kick pannel a little shot. Started to shoot my inner rocker and saw that the end had not been welded shut. So a quick little filler job with some scrap 11ga, and a little TIG work, all is well. Got done with time to spare before the primer set up in my gun. Time to attach this thing!

 

:punk:

[rd49221 14]

Nice work!!

[latoracing 256]

A little more progress this afternoon. I checked the fit of my right side inner rocker for the final time, clamped it into place, and started welding. The outter rockers on '70 model cars have galvanized metal in this area. It is great for the fact of these parts are in fantastic shape on my car, but when you start welding multiple layers of this stuff, it can get ugly. As the gasses from the zinc burning (along with all the other coatings in the area) build up and can pop, screwing up your puddle, and blowing hot balls of molten metal all over you. Oh what fun when you are laying on your back on the concrete. Got it all welded up, and did some solid welds on the rear torque box area, just because I can. I like the way the trim to fit versus tabs on this area makes it look a little cleaner, and there is more surface area to transfer stress to. Did the same to the front end, even though it will get covered up soon.

On to the two peice torque box install!!!

 

:clap:

[latoracing 256]

Had quite the busy Saturday, so didn't spend alot of time playing. I did get the outter portion of the torque box installed. I put some extra welds on it, like the ones for the end of the inner rocker cover plate. I also went ahead and solid welded this together, on the inside and out, so it will not come apart. I will coat the inside and attempt to seal it up before welding on the top. There are a few areas that I don't like, and will fix before moving on...

[latoracing 256]

I was feeling crafty the other day, so at lunch, I made myself some pannel flanging jaws, since I don't have any flanging tools. Thought it would be fun, and I am being cheep these days (saving for wheels). I made them with a .070" step, and 1/2" deep, works great, up to 18 ga. I had an old pair of modified vicegrips in the bottom of my clamp drawer, and thought they would be perfect to modify. Cut out the jaws on my portaband, and welded them up. They work great, so I'm gona put them to use on my fire wall extension repair.

I did put the lid on my tourque box the other day, after priming and painting the insides with some epoxy I had left over. I used all I had left on this side, will have to get some more paint for the drivers side when I get there. Ran out of unimix on my MIG welder, gotta go get some more of that as well. Can't complain, that bottle has lasted since August.

[srsfunk 10]

Nice work!!!

[390mach1 49]

Nice build! I hope mine goes as fast as yours is.

[latoracing 256]

Nice build! I hope mine goes as fast as yours is.

 

Thanx,

I feel like my project is in reverse some times. Working on it here and there takes time, unlike putting in a 40 hour week on it. I have a little over 400 hrs in it at this time. I've got my Mom's MGB in the shop right now with brake issues, so no grinding can be done with that "jelly bean" sitting in my shop. We did the restoration on it back in 2000, it still smells new. I'll get back to the rust soon...

 

:punk:

[latoracing 256]

The FED-UP guy brought me my NOS, slightly crunchy bumper today. I thought I'd at least do something to the Mustang while I am still waiting on brake parts for the MGB. I bolted the bumper up and wow, it looks like a trailer stuck on the back of the car. This thing has to fit better than this. Rough measurement look like 3/4" on either side, and at least 3/4" off the mounting brackets for starters. Since the bumper is going to get sand blasted, I removed my pass. side door, and gutted it (been having too much fun playing with rust to finish taking it apart). I will go outside some time this week and remove the skin (the shop is a no grinding zone for a while longer ) so they both can go and get cleaned up.

I have the fire wall extension all but ready to install, need to grind some areas before I can do that.

Hope the FED-UP guy brings me some more parts, I know the UPS guy will visit on Wed., got some Man Jewelry comming, just checked the tracking #...

 

:punk:

[70mstang 11]

Just noticed you're little MG next to you Mustang .. I have an 80 MGB next to mine :yes:

[ATTACH]13962[/ATTACH]

[SELLERSRODSHOP 13]

what is it with mustangs & brit cars? I recently picked up a 66 triumph tr4a for my next project. gonna drop in a 5.0/t5 & narrow an 8.8 out back.