Body / Glass: Quarter and fin removal

[studelover]

Today to work the turkey off I got the rear quarters and fins removed from the hawk.[img][/img]

Studebakers forever!

[studelover]

My question is now that I have it off I see all this damage to the strip along the top is there a replacement part I can get so when I get new quarters I can bolt them back on?

Studebakers forever!

[rockne10]

No repair panels that I'm aware of. This looks rough but not undoable. Sandblasting may be desirable. Cut out rust back to solid steel. fabricate repair patches from new sheetmetal. Beer cases make excellent pattern material. They can be bent, folded and cut to the patch you need, then laid flat on the new sheet to trace. Then fold, bend and trim the patch to your needs; weld or, if you're old school, braze and, voila, you're a bodyman.

Seriously, this is a project. You can invest in a mig welder and learn to use it or become good friends with an old-school body man who appreciates your Hawk. Don't look at the big picture; this will discourage you. See each patch as its own accomplishable project.

I work in an office; I'm not a bodyman and have no trained skills, but once resculpted the front twelve inches of a 52 sedan front fender, cutting, forming and welding fourteen pieces of sheetmetal.

This is doable, and you can do it.

[valleyguy]

I just went through this process, or i should say i am still going through it; I did buy replacement strips and the small bolts/pins that attach the strip from CEI but had no luck in installing them;
maybe a good a good body man could bend them to fit (compound curves), but not me...
there was a recent thread on this in this forum and some people recommended using modern, pliable moldings to replace that metal strip. which is what I plan to do. After I reinstalled the quarter I tack welded the fin at the top and am still in the process of smoothing the seam before I get ready to install the molding.
Look for the other thread and check out the various recommendations. Hope this helps.

[valleyguy]

Oops! I thought you were talking about the little strip that covers the joint between the top edge of the fin and body. sorry...

[41 Frank]

Upper inner quarter panel strips are available from Classic Enterprises, on the home page go into valuable links and scroll to vendors Click on Classic Enterpriesand voila he has everything on his website there.

[JDP]

I'd be afraid to do a lot of sand blasting with that much rust, you'll blow through a lot of it.


JDP
Arnold Md.
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[Jeff_H]

I've got a similar picture I took 12yrs ago over the holidays in '94 when I dismantled much of my '53. As rockne10 says, its rough, but do-able. I've no formal training in bodywork either and self-taught. Nothing magical about it, just takes some working knowledge and practice. Tackle one rust hole at a time and try not to look too far into the project or you'll get discouraged. The repairs to the same area on my car took a couple months as time and enthusiasm permitted. I used to move onto some other area if I ran out of steam one place.

The strip along the top is actually 2 pcs of sheetmetal that overlap and are spot welded together. The inner vertical sidewalls of the trunk have a 90 deg bend and then the outside visible part of the body overlaps that. On my car, some areas had both rusted completely away. These patches are "relatively" easy to make with some angle iron, a good bench vise, C clamps, vise grip pliers, and some body hammers. I think the only patch parts I got from CE for this part of the car was the section below the qtr window that has the "H" shaped rib pattern stamped in it. Everything else I could make from flat metal. Except for some spots completely rusted away, I think you will find that most of that rust is surface rust and will clean up with the 'blaster or wire cup brushes on a angle grinder.

Jeff in ND

'53 Champion Hardtop

[KGlowacky]

Just my two cents worth. You may want tot try glass beads instead of sand. The glass beads are a little more expensive but they will not blow through as easily. Good luck.

[hank63]

Your photo looks remarkably similar to my 63 Hawk. The panel designs were CF (corrosion friendly). Rust would not have been part of the South Bend design office thinking, that's a safe bet.
I'm not a panel beater, either and I'm taking one small area at a time. Follow the advise and you'll be ready before I am (I'm not in a hurry).
/H

[Roscomacaw]

That photo is an example of why we advocate starting with a Stude that's spent it's life in the southwest. If I were you, I'd see if I couldn't find at least a good C-body tub from out this way. That's more work than I ever wanna tackle or pay someone else to tackle for me.[}] The sad thing is that I've cut up several solid C-body tubs because I couldn't GIVE them away.[V]

Miscreant adrift in
the BerStuda Triangle


1957 Transtar 1/2ton
1960 Larkvertible V8
1958 Provincial wagon
1953 Commander coupe

[studelover]

Thanks, alot of good suggestions, That is alot of surface rust, not as bad as it seems.I have already wire bushed alot of of it and have seen good metal. There is no area that is so weak that it feels like it will just give way. There are some jagg edges. I will just cut away. After sleeping on it I do se how that sreattachment area can be fabricated I have some very pliable metal around here that can be laid on and tacked.If your fanit at heart these cars can get you down however over here most of the cars we work are in this shape. I took this from this to this!

Studebakers forever!

[studelover]

The Studebaker I have now was a gift for working for a guy for one day, There were pro finishers that say the champion and did not want to touch it. These Studebakers in my neck of the woods are rough. I can't afford Barrett/Jackson so I have to work with what I got.[img][/img] to this[img][/img]

Studebakers forever!

[studelover]

The 1961 hawk is an amazing technical marvel, I have always said that the pt cruzer would be a much better car if you could detach the rear fenders. This hawk has the ability to have it's quarters front clip doors ,hood and trunk removed and you have hull that you can rebuild. with new transplant parts you can restore this car like a kit, just keep removing stuff til you get to the good part.I look forward to restoring it , would I have liked to start with a better car , yes. This is the second hawk I have purchased. The first one had no floor no trunk floor, did not run.This car looked like a car when I got it. The rust is something I have always seen in old cars as part of the overall picture.Thanks for the words of encourgement, this forum is great!

Studebakers forever!

[ralt12]

I would echo the advice of earlier replies and bead blast the car. It's the only way you'll know how much structural integrity you have. If you happen to blast through a bit that looked solid, you will save yourself a future repair.
We use baking soda for our blasting, and it does a remarkable job; it's the only material we've found that won't turn a carbon fiber piece into something that looks like a Chia pet, yet still gives good results overall.

'53 Commander