[Gandalf80]

Drill drill drilling welds gently all evening, merrily merrily merrily merrily, finishing is but a dream

Wheelhouses are the worst, i'm sure i'll have drilled a couple hundred of these by the time i'm done with the restoration. I'm actually probably about 80% done all the spot weld drilling at this point.

 

[drivejunk]

You've become quite the drill ninja

Flange cleanup in bodywork is like a pesky mid level boss in gaming. There is a definite satisfaction upgrade notch at that point because then you can start the "clean" parts fitting phase. O yea.

 

[Gandalf80]

Well it looks like I paid my dues on the passenger side. It was definitely a bad panel. I got the drivers side all cleaned up and cut out the outer wheelhouse. The replacement outer wheelhouse fit in like a glove. The tonight I fit the drivers side panel and it fit almost perfect right out of the gate!! I almost fell off my stool, couldn't believe it. The only modification it needs is narrowing the lip at the bottom corner of the window to bring it level with the piece that goes across the bottom of the window.

 

[SFD]

Nice job!

 

[Jayhawk500]

EXCELLANT! Nice job.

 

[Gandalf80]

Big progress in the last couple of weeks, I got both rear quarters and trunk dropdowns fully screwed in place and am satisfied with the alignment to the rockers and doors. Trunk lid is on and working on tweaking alignment, looks like it's going to be a bit of a challenge but it's not horribly out. Currently working on cleaning up the bumper mounts so I can get it on to make sure the panels line up with it as well.

Front fender is just hanging to be out of the way but the door and fender are good.

Really happy with the door gap on the passenger side. Sure hope it still looks as good after the new door skin goes on.

Trunk lid gap is ok. Will be workign on that more later.

Drivers side is good, door gap will need work though.

 

[123pugsy]

Looking damn fine.

 

[Gandalf80]

Over the last couple weeks I managed to get the whole rear end assembled and lined up so that it's supposed to be ready for welding. I say supposed to be because I still need to get the front fenders, hood, and bumper on and aligned first...

I have to say, for me personally I have yet to find a car with a better looking rear end than a 71/72 Chevelle.

Once that was all done I removed the passenger door and took the old skin off, it was in pretty rough shape with multiple old repairs and a rust hole in the bottom. I haven't finished the install but just hung the new skin on the door frame, looks like it's going to fit pretty nice, will get it lightly held in place and hang the front fender before crimping it on.

 

[Pete 67]

Great work. Really nice job setting the gaps on that trunk lid/rear bumper. I fought with that for a few hours on my buddy's '72 GTO until I realized that there was no way to get the trunk lid perfect without grinding the corner of one bottom side of the lid & rewelding the lip. My buddy didn't care as much as I did, so I left it as is, but if it were my car I would've done it.

99% of factory & restored cars show the same thing, but you'll only notice it if you go out of your way to look for it.

 

[Gandalf80]

Great work. Really nice job setting the gaps on that trunk lid/rear bumper. I fought with that for a few hours on my buddy's '72 GTO until I realized that there was no way to get the trunk lid perfect without grinding the corner of one bottom side of the lid & rewelding the lip. My buddy didn't care as much as I did, so I left it as is, but if it were my car I would've done it.

Thanks Pete, yeah i'm definitely a perfectionist about the gaps. They are "decent" right now and I have definitely seen a LOT of cars at local cruise-ins etc with worse. I got them as good as they're going to get for now. Once the fenders and hood are all aligned and I weld everything together i'm going to do any fine detail finishing up on gaps, and will modify the trunk lid as needed so the gaps meet my picky expectations. It will be a battle between my desire for perfect gaps and my patience for calling it done and moving on.

 

[Jayhawk500]

I have to say, for me personally I have yet to find a car with a better looking rear end than a 71/72 Chevelle.
View attachment 822150

I have to say, I like this rear end a bit better. But to each his own... 😁 😁