Slowest resto ever - Project AmsterFoose / Current subject: The roof

[Vinnie]

Took the drivers' side door out and took it completely apart, everything bagged and tagged. After removing the drip rail and weatherstrip I was finally able to look into a possible issue. I was scared I was going to need to replace a piece of my window's edge but no, it was just filler gone crappy!

 

[Fabrice]

I see it's been painted blue as well. If only they could talk...

 

[Vinnie]

I think the blue is a primer used with previous repairs.

 

[Vinnie]

Amongst other things I managed to get the Grande emblem off of one side and in one piece, very pleased!

 

[Vinnie]

Currently working my way through the dash, after removing the LH door and fender. Found a small hole in the cowl above the heater. Awesome.

 

 

[Vinnie]

Meanwhile...

AC/heaterbox is gone and not coming back. Thinking of getting the classic auto air setup but I'm wondering if it's cool that outside air then only comes in through the side windows since it blocks off the entry through the cowl... Anybody with experience in this matter feel free to tell me about how you dealt with this.

Last night I also removed the windshield. It already had a crack so no need to be very careful as it's going to the trash (eventually) together with the heater I think.

Now my car looks burned... Can't wait to have the engine bay sprayed anything BUT black.... Possibly saddle bronze as well.

 

[Vinnie]

This weekend I started working on my cowl as I'm waiting on floor and RH quarter sheetmetal...

First this PITA needed to be removed. Too many spot welds in hard to reach places:



Done:



Plenty of holes in the upper cowl corner. Some due to spotweld removal and some due to rust:



After cutting the top cowl I thought I'd find 1 hole that was visible from inside but instead there were a lot more:



I used a trick I saw on Kindig Customs the other day. I used duct tape to get the shape of the bulge to transfer onto metal. And I used a part of my old LH quarter to make the patch





Transfered onto metal:



Made the patch:



Made the hole, slightly too large on the sides as you can see in the pic after this one:



And we're ready to start welding, just dunno when yet, as this is after all... the slowest resto ever:

 

[Vinnie]

Wow, finally I finished the LH cowl, what a pian in the ass that was! So much work for a little bit of rot...

In the previous post I started on the LH lower cowl. So this one starts with finishing that:



The upper cown corner I cut out also had rust holes that needed patching:





Upper LH cowl fixed as well:



Next up: the upper piece that has a name but I don't know what it is. It needed patching as well:



After patching I wanted the surfaces where I needed to weld to be rust free so I treated those areas with phosphoric acid:



Worked very well:



This is a stack of pancakes I baked:



Today I finally had time to weld it back in place:



Done:





Another rusty corner of my car done. Took me ages coz I only have a few days a month I have time to work on my car.

Next job will be the RH cowl! Oh joy, I can't wait! Pffff.....

 

[71 gbvert]

That’s some nice work there - both the metal and pancakes look great!

 

[rio1856]

Hey I'm glad you had the time to make the pancakes. You got to eat and maintain your strength and focus, if not, while you're welding a patch on your ride, you might feel a little light headed from low blood sugar and keel over over and go !BOOM! when you hit the floor. Great job by the way. Keep the pics coming.

 

[mach71351c]

Looking good!

 

[Sheriff41]

Mmm, pancakes.    :rofl:

 

[timachone]

Nice work  :thumb:

Especially the pancakes  :biggrin:  

But the welds too - well(ds) done! 

 

[droptop73]

Where's the syrup?? 

 

[Vinnie]

Where's the syrup?? 

Came later BUT, I actually prefer mine with caster sugar. And while on the subject of pancakes, in my opinion, pancakes are at their best the next morning, at room temp

 

[RIBS]

This is a great write up, I have leak in the same spot and was wondering how to get to it.  When you removed the frame  section does the front end stay together solid?  And how many hours did that repair take? I have to pay someone!

 

[Vinnie]

This is a great write up, I have leak in the same spot and was wondering how to get to it.  When you removed the frame  section does the front end stay together solid?  And how many hours did that repair take? I have to pay someone!

After removing that frame section that sits on top everything stayed together perfectly. Mind you, I have my car standing on the ground, not on a lift, might make a difference, dunno...

The hours, you cannot compare the time I needed as I am not experienced. Everything I do with the car takes a LOT longer compared to a professional

 

[Vinnie]

Today work started on the RH cowl. Starting by removing the thing on top that probably has a name but I have no clue what it is:





It looked kinda OK underneath:



I decided to try a new type of spotweld drill today. It makes bigger holes but less mess:



It worked very well:



The part under the windshield has some kind of sealant underneath that's rather sticky. I used these to loosen things up. Especially the pointy one was very helpful as it's easy to get in:



And then, surprise, surprise, a load of rust:



You can't see it very well in the picture but there are a few holes, especially undrneath the window it's bad. As I'm replacing the original heater with a modern one that doesn't use outside air, I'm going to put in a patch without the hole.



To be continued...

 

[Vinnie]

So there's a bit of progress. Before cutting away the crap there was one thing to measure, I just didn't know how. In the end I did it like this:

 

The heater bolts on to this and since I want to put one back I am going to need this piece of metal back at the same spot...

Now the cutting can continue! See:



Time to start making a patch:



There are a few clear and straight folds that are easy to create:



3 to be exact:



Worked on the front of the patch first, lots of little flat surfaces there:



Then the rear where it goes up in a curve:



This is our cat, he's fantastic:



Then finally I started to make it fit which involved walking back and forth from my car to the workbench 1000 times, each time measuring, comparing, bending, hammering, cutting or shaving to make it fit better. In the end it fits perfectly and I've made sure to have enough gap around it so that welding will be easy:

 

Next up will be welding it in!

 

[Vinnie]

Small update: The patch is in. Welding took me 7-7.5 hours in 2 days alltogether I reckon. Checked for pinholes a 100 times, there are none left.

Made sure water will run sideways, no vent hole anymore as the new heater won't require one. Also don't want any moist outside air to come into this car anymore, want it to be dry inside.