Your pics bring back so many memories {nightmares} as my '69 looked the same way when I started on it. I think what you've done so far looks excellent. I have seen a lot of these cars have this exact type of rust in these areas. Mine was one of those " the more you look, the more you find" kind of deals. I would be sure and epoxy prime or POR15 the repair areas as I went and you can forget about rust ever coming back.Once you get it welded up and ground down and primer on, all that work will be worth it. Keep whittling on it and good luck!
Rear Window Rust Part II (The Repair)
Got some time this week to work on the Rust on the rear window channel. Here's the link to my first post regarding the rear window rust.
Removed Trunk to rear window panel.... - Chevelle Tech
A few weeks ago I removed the part of the package tray that runs from the central part to the inner Quarter, The rear window leaked and caused water to sit on this piece rusting it out where it attaches to the inner quarter.
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I fabricated a box to hold a late model 3 point seatbelt retractor (more on that later, in a different post) that takes up a majority of the hole. I also installed a piece of 2X2 120 wall square tubing from one quarter to the other right below the bend of the package tray. The portion of the tray that was not covered by the box needed to be fabricated. I made a cardboard template:
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I made the piece out of 16 gauge sheetmetal and made the bends with a vise and a hammer, and welded it into place under the middle package tray (pay no attention to the ugly welds, I haven't dressed them yet, and I'm still trying to get use to the MIG conversion for my welder, It's very different from the Flux Cored...)
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Actually it turned out pretty good, and made this whole area much more stable and firm.
Here are some pics of the damaged areas. I realize that this damage is not really that bad, and a lot of people would not fix or repair this, but it drives me nuts.
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Next I made a cardboard template for the drivers side window channel. This is just cardboard from a gift box. Nothing fancy, just cut, fit, repeat... I left a little extra cardboard to keep it ridgid
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I had a mount for some garage cabinet that I didn't use, it had two 90 degree bends roughly 4 inches apart. it was roughly 20 inches long and worked perfectly. I did a lot of trimming, sanding, grinding, fitting, and a little welding (The MIG conversion made the welding of sheetmetal MUCH Easier) Below is the pic of what I ended up with as a rough patch. I need to finish welding the seam, and trimming it to fit.
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Here is that same piece set in place on the window channel. NOTE it's NOT Welded in place, it is not trimmed to fit, it does not have the trim screws installed yet. This is just to show how it follows the lines of the rear window.
Had to come in and cook some dinner for my Lovely wife, so that's all I have for today. I'll try to get somemore work done on this tomorrow or this weekend and keep updating this thread.
NOTE: This is my first time actually doing any real sheet metal fabrication. I am by no means a pro, I am using a Lincoln 155 welder (220V) with a Mig conversion (SO WORTH THE MONEY). If you guys have any tips or tricks that I'm overlooking or think I should have done something different please feel free to comment.
Steve
Removed Trunk to rear window panel.... - Chevelle Tech
A few weeks ago I removed the part of the package tray that runs from the central part to the inner Quarter, The rear window leaked and caused water to sit on this piece rusting it out where it attaches to the inner quarter.
I fabricated a box to hold a late model 3 point seatbelt retractor (more on that later, in a different post) that takes up a majority of the hole. I also installed a piece of 2X2 120 wall square tubing from one quarter to the other right below the bend of the package tray. The portion of the tray that was not covered by the box needed to be fabricated. I made a cardboard template:
I made the piece out of 16 gauge sheetmetal and made the bends with a vise and a hammer, and welded it into place under the middle package tray (pay no attention to the ugly welds, I haven't dressed them yet, and I'm still trying to get use to the MIG conversion for my welder, It's very different from the Flux Cored...)
Actually it turned out pretty good, and made this whole area much more stable and firm.
Here are some pics of the damaged areas. I realize that this damage is not really that bad, and a lot of people would not fix or repair this, but it drives me nuts.
Next I made a cardboard template for the drivers side window channel. This is just cardboard from a gift box. Nothing fancy, just cut, fit, repeat... I left a little extra cardboard to keep it ridgid
.JPG)
I had a mount for some garage cabinet that I didn't use, it had two 90 degree bends roughly 4 inches apart. it was roughly 20 inches long and worked perfectly. I did a lot of trimming, sanding, grinding, fitting, and a little welding (The MIG conversion made the welding of sheetmetal MUCH Easier) Below is the pic of what I ended up with as a rough patch. I need to finish welding the seam, and trimming it to fit.
Here is that same piece set in place on the window channel. NOTE it's NOT Welded in place, it is not trimmed to fit, it does not have the trim screws installed yet. This is just to show how it follows the lines of the rear window.
Had to come in and cook some dinner for my Lovely wife, so that's all I have for today. I'll try to get somemore work done on this tomorrow or this weekend and keep updating this thread.
NOTE: This is my first time actually doing any real sheet metal fabrication. I am by no means a pro, I am using a Lincoln 155 welder (220V) with a Mig conversion (SO WORTH THE MONEY). If you guys have any tips or tricks that I'm overlooking or think I should have done something different please feel free to comment.
Steve
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yeah what he said...glad i',m done and over with mine
Ok, So here's today's update.
I cut the drivers side portion of the chanel out. I cut about 1/8 of an inch below the bend for the channel. The upper part of the channel was pretty good, the lower part was the worst.
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The metal below was actually in really good shape, the only damage was from me removing the upper part of the chanel. It did have just a little surface rust, but the sanding disk took care of it pretty quick
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OK, Now here's my question for you midwest/southern guys that have had rust problems. The next few shots are of the inner part of the outer quarter. This is just surface rust, and is not flakey in any shape or form. Would you leave it? Try to sand off the surface rust and paint it with POR 15 or something similar? I won't be able to reach all of it... try to blast it? NOTE the other quarter looks similar (haven't started that repair yet...
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The next few shots are of the patch panel fit into place... It's not welded inplace yet. I still have to decide what to do with the surface rust on the inside of the panel and install the trim screws and weld them before permanently welding this in place.
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That's it for today... I may try to install the trim screws this weekend, or might try to get some of that rust out... Need to find a place that sells some POR 15 and some weld through primer... BTW where do you guys get your primer/POR15? some place local to you? or someplace online?
Thanks for watching
Steve
I cut the drivers side portion of the chanel out. I cut about 1/8 of an inch below the bend for the channel. The upper part of the channel was pretty good, the lower part was the worst.
The metal below was actually in really good shape, the only damage was from me removing the upper part of the chanel. It did have just a little surface rust, but the sanding disk took care of it pretty quick
OK, Now here's my question for you midwest/southern guys that have had rust problems. The next few shots are of the inner part of the outer quarter. This is just surface rust, and is not flakey in any shape or form. Would you leave it? Try to sand off the surface rust and paint it with POR 15 or something similar? I won't be able to reach all of it... try to blast it? NOTE the other quarter looks similar (haven't started that repair yet...
The next few shots are of the patch panel fit into place... It's not welded inplace yet. I still have to decide what to do with the surface rust on the inside of the panel and install the trim screws and weld them before permanently welding this in place.
That's it for today... I may try to install the trim screws this weekend, or might try to get some of that rust out... Need to find a place that sells some POR 15 and some weld through primer... BTW where do you guys get your primer/POR15? some place local to you? or someplace online?
Thanks for watching
Steve
10
I haven't had a lot of time to work on this lately, but I did manage to get the new panel welded into the drivers side. Overall I am very happy with the repair. I screwed the new trim studs into the new panel, and also welded them from the inside. Looks like I may have warped the sheetmetal ever so slightly, but I should be able to fix that pretty easy.
Now I just need to get cracking on the passenger side. I have removed the rotted part on the passenger side and am in the process of making the patch panel.
Enjoy the pics
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Now I just need to get cracking on the passenger side. I have removed the rotted part on the passenger side and am in the process of making the patch panel.
Enjoy the pics
3
Had a nice cool day in the Desert today (only got to 104 degrees today) So I spent a little more time on the rear window...
Anyway, When I removed the rear window to trunk panel I left about 4 inches on each side where that panel meets the quarters. The reason I did this is that the corners on the reproduction panel is no where near as crisp as the factory panel, and since I'm not going to fill in the seam, I'd really like to leave the factory seam there. So today I marked one inch from the factory seam and cut it off with a Dremel and a cut off wheel.
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I cleaned up the edge with some sand paper, and Re-Welded the panel underneath the rear window to trunk panel. I accidently cut this off when I removed the Factory panel. I also cleaned up the left over surface rust with a wire wheel on a 3/8 drill
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I then trimmed the edges off of the reproduction panel so I could lay it over the Factory panel to mark the cuts that I needed to make. Then used a flapper wheel to get it to fit nicely.
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The drivers side corner where it fits into where the trunk weatherstrip didn't fit very well, So I had to do a little hammer work, and add a small strip of metal to the end because the shape of the bend is different.
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That's pretty much as far as I got today. I need to get some paint to cover the metal under this panel, so that I don't ever have to do this again....
Anyway, When I removed the rear window to trunk panel I left about 4 inches on each side where that panel meets the quarters. The reason I did this is that the corners on the reproduction panel is no where near as crisp as the factory panel, and since I'm not going to fill in the seam, I'd really like to leave the factory seam there. So today I marked one inch from the factory seam and cut it off with a Dremel and a cut off wheel.
I cleaned up the edge with some sand paper, and Re-Welded the panel underneath the rear window to trunk panel. I accidently cut this off when I removed the Factory panel. I also cleaned up the left over surface rust with a wire wheel on a 3/8 drill
I then trimmed the edges off of the reproduction panel so I could lay it over the Factory panel to mark the cuts that I needed to make. Then used a flapper wheel to get it to fit nicely.
The drivers side corner where it fits into where the trunk weatherstrip didn't fit very well, So I had to do a little hammer work, and add a small strip of metal to the end because the shape of the bend is different.
That's pretty much as far as I got today. I need to get some paint to cover the metal under this panel, so that I don't ever have to do this again....
8
I do have a question for you guys if you wouldn't mind taking a look. When The new rear window to trunk panel in place (Not Welded yet) I noticed that the piece that is on the interior by the package tray, Doesn't touch the package tray. It's off of it by about 3/4 of an inch. Is that normal? Just wanted to make sure before it gets welded and i can't adjust it.
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Also I put my Decklid back on, It's not very level with either quarter, or the new window to trunk panel.... It's almost like the drivers side is sunk down about 1/4 of an inch, and the passenger side is ok, or maybe just a little high. I know I need to get my hands on some weatherstripping to do the final alignment. Do I just shim this? is there an adjustment I'm missing? I also removed my trunkrods about 9 months ago, and I don't remember how they attach to the panels and the hinges. Anyway here are some pics of the mis-alignment.
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Steve
Also I put my Decklid back on, It's not very level with either quarter, or the new window to trunk panel.... It's almost like the drivers side is sunk down about 1/4 of an inch, and the passenger side is ok, or maybe just a little high. I know I need to get my hands on some weatherstripping to do the final alignment. Do I just shim this? is there an adjustment I'm missing? I also removed my trunkrods about 9 months ago, and I don't remember how they attach to the panels and the hinges. Anyway here are some pics of the mis-alignment.
Steve
3
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