Horse Sense -  66 Coupe to Fastback Conversion

Horse Sense - 66 Coupe to Fastback Conversion

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i just could not stand it ,that dent had to go . i got out my stud welder ,another Harbor Freight goody. before you can say weld, it is welded .the tool i made from an old pop rivet gun .it pulls the metal up flush with the surrounding surface and stops. it took 6 studs and about 30 minutes and the dent was gone. a light brush with a file and it was almost perfect . no bondo will be needed. i hate bondo:nono: this thing works great on creases and dings but you need clean metal to weld .
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i haven't had much time to work on it , but i did get it sanded down. i was looking at it the other day and noticed blisters and lines in the black coating and the weld through so i sanded a spot .i found that there was writing under the coating in either felt pen or grease pencil so the coating didn't stick. i sanded it off with a D A sander. this is realy some straight metal....except for the wheel lip that i tripped against and hit with the sander:nonono:. now i have a dent. it's a small dent ,looks like i get to try out my new stud welder. it welds a thin stud ,and with a special puller i should be able to pull out the dent. not exactly how i wanted to try it out. once you pull the dent up you snip off the wire and grind off the left over nub :fuss:
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i rolled the lips on the front fenders today. started by getting a 1/8 inch wire cut to length and pre bent to fit inside the lip. i use the bench as the dolly it is soft wood and will not dent the radius of the wheel opening along with a moving blanket to soften the hammer blows and a rubber sanding block also as a dolly. i start in the center of the opening and slowly bring the lip down ,but not all the way i have to be able to slip in the wire .once i have a good bend started i pinch the wire in the center of the opening and just keep going until the lip is flat to the radius ,do not hit the radius inside or it will show as a dent on the out side, only hit the lip. the black coating flaked and cracked as i bent the lip so i sanded it off with a
D .A. sander. they came out perfect inside and out ,no bondo at all needed. and the wheel lip is stronger now than it was .
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i dropped the upper a arm mounting holes, 1 inch down and 1/8 inch back for 65-66 . simply one inch down for 67-70, you do not have to fill in the upper holes . start with a small bit so the holes don't wander off your mark then go to the larger bit . the a arm slides right in . there is a bit of flange around the holes inside the engine compartment that will have to be flattened so the nut will pull down. i also tack welded the hood hinge nuts in place ,they tend to spin in the apron .
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i rolled the rear wheel lips and tacked them to the inner tubs,they came out nice. then i started on the butchered dash . there was a 1 inch hole to the left of the key switch that i filled . the radio open had been cut out . i had an old dash with a good radio opening so i cut out the piece that i needed and sand blasted it .i then overlaid the new opening over the old one. i carefully clamped it in place so as not to dent it.with my trusty new home Depot saw i cut through both pieces at the same time so i could butt weld the piece in.it fit perfectly .i tacked the points first to make sure it lined up correctly ,then i stitch welded it in . a little grinding and it was finished, uh...until some one else decides to cut it up again:chair: