[Bullitt5339]

1st I want to say that these little mini-builds are what keeps me moving towards a complete project. I don't just want a fast car anymore, I want something that I can be proud of to pull in the parking lot and pop the hood, so there's a lot of attention to detail being spent in this one.

For those who don't check the build logs, or have lost interest in mine since I've been traveling for work, I decided to share a little of the work that goes in to this project. 1st, make sure that you're really dedicated to doing it, because once you start, there's no going back.

My engine bay had some damage from a previous accident that wasn't visible with the engine installed, so that will be a problem. The worst was the passenger's side strut tower and the firewall on that side. The strut tower wasn't realized until we pulled all the bondo out of it and noticed how wavy it really is. That doesn't work well for this type of project, so we're going to straighten it up a lot and then use some metal filler to build it up to where it should be.

The firewall......... well, I'm still a bit stumped on that one. It's bent, twisted and crimped, so I'm going to do the best I can with it and leave it at that.

Here's where we're at so far, more progress tomorrow:

Here's the beginning:




All the silver and primer spots at this point were holes in the strut towers that were welded shut. I also cut the front aprons out, there will be a reason for that later.




Here's what the driver's side looks like now that it's all smoothed out and ready for paint.



And here's what's been ordered already to help continue on with this project.




So I have most things in progress, I still need to order some liquid metal to ensure that I don't have 1/2" of bondo back in the strut tower braces when this is done. I also need to figure out how to make some of the corners a bit more smoot and what to do with a few unneeded holes now. I may just weld them shut and then use smaller grommets drilled out for electrical.

[04MidnightGT]

Wow it looks great! Not going to lie I was expecting it to look like sheit after you cut the panels out but nope I was wrong. Good on ya man, can't wait to see this thing done.

[4.6DreameR]

This will be good...... :menacing

[bandity2k00]

sweet man...almost did the panels on mine like where you cut yours out back when i painted mine last summer...

[bandity2k00]

Alot of work just for paint...props to ya bro...

Heres what it looked like before..all faded shitty factory paint job and dirty and thats only with 40k miles..most new edge cars are way worse lol..Mine was actually decent but not no where near my standards...Was just going to throw it back together when i swapped motor but glad i took the time to paint and do it right and really stands out.

[Bullitt5339]

Updated pics for the 4.6 crowd. Slowly but surely:

[eddy21x]

wooot

lets do mine next rich lol

[Bullitt5339]

Originally Posted by eddy21x wooot lets do mine next rich lol

I will never ever ever do this job again........

[eddy21x]

im gonna stop by soon to check it out

[Bullitt5339]

I was kind of dreading doing the corners and the edges, but I went to see a buddy of mine who does bodywork for a living, and he showed me a very nice, easy trick to do the corners that will save me a buttload of time.

He had some sand-able seam sealer that they use to do 1/4 panels and stuff and it dries really strong, is still pliable, is sand-able and when sanded and painted over is pretty much invisible. It comes in a tube like caulk, so you but a bead of it down, and then use a rag with a touch of lacquer thinner on it and run it down the seam, kind of like you do with caulk and the thinner makes it incredibly smooth from the start. Then you just finish sand it and primer and paint it.

I'm going to pick some up so that when I get done welding, I can try it out next weekend.

[MikeJones]

I wanna see some pictures of your welds
Practice your downhand and you won't have to do that much work.

In my opinion
Nice flat welds > Smooth. especially for corners. Looks great, keep it coming.

[Bullitt5339]

Originally Posted by MikeJones I wanna see some pictures of your welds Practice your downhand and you won't have to do that much work. In my opinion Nice flat welds > Smooth. especially for corners. Looks great, keep it coming.

There's nothing pretty or smooth about my welds....... Especially when working with 16/18 gauge steel....... I'm getting better all the time, but nowhere near enough to leave my welds exposed under there.......

[MikeJones]

Its okay.we all start somewhere

What type of wire are you using?

I\d recomend using metal core .45
Its pretty hard to fuck up with that type of wire when running mig

[Jason4.6GT]

Question..When was your car wrecked...? I assume it had a salvage title? Looks good though man. Keep it up. It'll be done before you know it

[Bullitt5339]

It was wrecked and rebuilt before I bought it, and yeah it has a salvage/rebuilt title. It looked good when it was done, but over the past few years, and while doing mods, I kept finding things that I didn't like about the way it was repaired. Namely, the amount of bondo that was on the strut towers.

[mell0]

Looks good Rich. What are the ultimate motor plans?

[number1gt]

Yeah I wanna hear some engine plans as well

[limited]

Originally Posted by MikeJones Its okay.we all start somewhere What type of wire are you using? I\d recomend using metal core .45 Its pretty hard to fuck up with that type of wire when running mig

pretty big for 16/18 gauge steel. I use no larger than .035 and .020 on sheet metal. I use the larger(.045, not.45) on plate steel 1/4" or larger

[Bullitt5339]

Originally Posted by mell0 Looks good Rich. What are the ultimate motor plans?

I have already got a 410W in the works. Have everything for the shortblock, including solid roller cam and lifters. I just have to choose heads and induction and of course, save up the cash to pay for them

Originally Posted by limited pretty big for 16/18 gauge steel. I use no larger than .035 and .020 on sheet metal. I use the larger(.045, not.45) on plate steel 1/4" or larger

I was using .035 and was debating on going smaller to finish it up. With the .035, it's hard to get the heat and wire speed right for me. It seems that I'm either too cold and not getting a good weld, or just a hair hotter and it blows through the 18 gauge.

I was told that a smaller wire would probably be a bit easier to manage on 18 gauge by another welder as well.

[bulloch27]

.023 is all you'll ever need to weld on factory sheet metal. Make the switch and you'll be golden.