And then the unthinkable!

Once I get the replacement door back on, I do plan on still driving around town and maybe to the sonic next month. I had to pry the door open when I got it back to my parents basement and now it won't stay shut, so that's definitely got to be fixed before it can hit the streets.

Maybe we should post this near the scene of the crime...

But see, that deer looks like he is just peeking in and checking out the nice interior in that bus. I need to get one of those signs you see on the show cars "please look, but don't touch".

VW12step wrote:Maybe we should post this near the scene of the crime...

That's about how close I came to hitting a deer on GA-16 at the start of Bug Jam weekend.

fluxcap wrote:Once I get the replacement door back on, I do plan on still driving around town and maybe to the sonic next month. I had to pry the door open when I got it back to my parents basement and now it won't stay shut, so that's definitely got to be fixed before it can hit the streets.

hammer time , lol.

fluxcap wrote:
Got my fenders today from Eric(Votwing). Thanks again for the sale! Should be getting the door from Bryce next weekend, then I can get started on the work after the new year!

Well, it's the new year! Earlier this week I started a little prep work one of the fenders I got from Votwing. Used a wirewheel to get the rest of the paint off and most of the rust. Couldn't get all the rust, so I hit it with some por15. You are supposed to be able to apply light filler, primer, and topcoat over por15 so we will see. I'll have to replace some metal on the bottoms, but I'll tackle that after the 10th. I banged out a few of the bigger dents. I'll need to add a light skim coat in a few places, but a high build primer should take care of most of the rust pits.

Today I went to my parents house and after about half a can of PB Blaster, I got the hinges on the door Bryce gave me moving freely again. Then me and my dad bolted it up to the car. Need to do a little final adjusting, but it's driveable again. Again, after the 10th, I'll take it back off and tackle the rust along the bottom and get it ready for some paint! Thanks again to Bryce and Eric for the parts.


Here is a pic that shows the quarter damage, I hope to start banging on this next week.

The door matches the rag!

It does don't it...lookin' good

Got a little more done. Got the passenger fender primed. I still have to cut/replace some spots on the bottoms, but this last week I put about 10 hours into getting the minor dings out. I hate body work!


While that was drying, I went in and started banging away on the quarter.
Before


After


Still needs a little knocked out towards the bottom, but it's coming out fairly easy. Just a tight fit getting down in there to bang/pry it out.
I put it together hoping I could drive it to the Sonic. Next week, I'll pull the door and fender back off and start the rust repair.

Nice work!

Thanks Gordon! I think the white paint and camera flash make it look a little better than it actually is. Its still got a ways to go, but it's definitely getting better.

Had a little free time the last couple of days so I started the rust repairs on the replacement passenger fender.
Here is a shot of the replacement fender with the rotted front bottom next to the dented all to hell 62 fender.


I decided to replace it in sections to start with. Just do a little at a time since I'm not the greatest at bodywork and welding.
Started cutting, no turning back now.


Getting it lined up


In place, look away from the ugly welds


On to the next section


Eventually made it all the way to the outside. It aint perfect, and will take a little filler to smooth it all out, but it went ok. I truly hate this kind of work. I usually enjoy performing general repairs and maintenance, but metal work just plain out sucks!

Rear of the same fender


I decided to do this section in one swoop.


Seemed much easier to do it this way, rather than piece by piece


As with the front side, will need a little more grinding and some filler to smooth it out, but the hard work is done.

Update?

Nothing new yet. I plan to finish cleaning up my ugly welds on the fender tomorrow. Then I'll bring it back to my house to start the filler/smoothing process a little each night after work. I'll have a few free days this week, so I may get started on the door soon!

coming together nicely there eric....be back on the street in no time

Finally started fixing the rust issues on the door Bryce gave me.
The door is perfect except for the bottom. Here is what I started with. Replacement door, repair panel from Cip1, bottom of original door.


I would have loved to just use the repair panel only, but it's measurements were way off. Here is the original door bottom and the repair panel bottom. The bottom of the original is a good 1/2 inch wider at the bottom than the repair panel. That means the seal lip on the repair panel sits inside 1/2inch more than an OG door. This would not work when shutting your door!


Aside from a few smal holes that I welded up, the bottom of my original door was ok. But the "L" shaped lip the seal sits in was pretty nasty, so I cut that lip of the old door and grafted the lip from the repair section onto it. That's the only piece from the repair panel I ended up using.


Now I had my repair section ready. So it was time to measure and cut the replacement door. No turning back now. The hinge area was rusted pretty bad, so I decided to cut that out and use the hinge section from the original door. This was the real scary part since that has such a small margin for error if you want the door to fit correctly.


I took some measurements and trimmed up the repair section and tacked it in place in a few spots.


Then the moment of truth seeing if the hinges would line up. Perfecto!


Nice gaps all the way around



Now I just need to fill in the welds and start on the front, but I'm beat and calling it a day!

Good job!

Thanks. I plan on finishing up the welds on the inner piece Sunday. Then next week I'll start on the outside skin. That should be just an easy straight cut and weld job, but I'm sure the outside panel will get wavy and need a good bit of finishing work to straighten it out once done.

Eric...I found a guy in stockbridge with a ton of early stuff...I think...I don't know early from late on some items. Let me know what you are looking for...if anything, and I'll bring it to Y U Buggin.

Thanks Gordon. I had the guy who painted it come look at it and he gave me a great price to finish everything up. I'm just completely burnt out on bodywork. He said he should be able to fix all the panels I have, but if he needs any replacement pieces (maybe the hood) I'll let you know. He already got the bottom A-pillar back in alignment. The passenger door drooped real bad and was really hard to close. You really had to slam it! As soon as he saw the car, he could tell the pillar wasn't lined up right. He grabbed the bottom of the door and pulled straight up on it. I thought he was about to lift the car completely off the ground or rip the hinges off(he's a big guy). I watched that pillar just fold out. It's amazing how easy the door shuts now!

I appreciate you looking out for parts, but I've been having a good time working on my new front beam, and would honestly rather stick my head in a vise before I started working back on the damage area.

After making slow progress the last few months, I have a huge appreciation for those who enjoy and are good at bodywork. It's some tough stuff.

See you at Y U Buggin!