hawk floor patches

[swvalcon]

Thanks Bob. Looks like I may be able to go power doors yet. I found a door popper at Speedway that only needs 5/8" hole and is only 2 1/2" long. That should fit at the bottom of the door in the weatherstrip channel inside the inner 1/4 panel and be enough to push the door open at least a inch when you hit the key fob to unlock them. Going to do some measuring and if it looks like it will fit this thing is going to get electric doors and trunk.

[swvalcon]

Got most of the paint off the door and started on the bodywork. May be able to save the trunk as is without going custom. The top right at the crown had a huge dent in it and a crease that looked like some kind of heavy pipe or pole had fell on it. Got most of that out and just needs a little fine tuning. Also had a bend on the rt side where someone had bent the trunk opening it. Got that out but will have to reinforce the inner. The bottom is rusted all the way across and need the lip rebuilt inside and out. Good thing is I can cover the outside patch with the trim panel. The corners where rusted good on both sides. Got the lt side patched up and ground down most of the way. We'll see how much more time I get to work on it the next couple weeks. Using this for fill in when waiting for something else to dry.

[StudeRich]

Excellent job Steve, it appears that basically, this Hawk really HAD no Body!

[swvalcon]

Rich At one time it did but was restored back in the late 70's and it just kind of rusted and fell on the road from there. So there wasn't a whole lot left. It's kind of a case of using it to use up some parts I've had laying around for way to long that no one seems to want. Now to see if they want a complete car. Nice thing is when I get sick of working on it I can just let it sit until I feel like it again. Had time to patch the Lt side of the trunk corner today while waiting on bondo to dry on a Nissan.

[swvalcon]

Turned the trunk over to repair the inner structure at the Rt edge and Rt hinge mount. Looks like the hinge rusted and someone closed it anyway. Where the hinge bolts on was caved in and bent on the side next to the pinch weld. It was enough to bend and twist the old hinge. I pulled out what I could but it still had some small creases in it that wouldn't move I cut some 20 gauge which is about what the factory used for the inner and just rebuilt the hinge mount. Have a few pin holes in the welds but it's now twice as thick in this area so I will just put a glaze coat of filler over it so it's nice and smooth. As you can see a good hinge doesn't fit it to bad. Also there's a shot of what I have to do next to the lip where it's rusted on the inside edge.

[Jeff_H]

That work on the trunk hinge area reminds me of all the work I did trying to save the original lid off my '53. Both corners were rusted out and cracked. Lid had been left open out in the weather and was actually bent/broken down with hinges stuck in open position. I found another lid that had been laying on the ground as a water pan in a junkyard for years so the top was all rusted as well as dented in. So, I cut out the inner structure corners to graft into my lid. I tacked small turn buckles across the seams so I could tweak it until it would fit the car body. About that time, I started to strip it and found pin holes along the lower rear edge and then was lucky enough to find another lid that had relatively minor dents in the back but was totally solid and straight otherwise. That lid ended up on the car and the original one is still in a shed at the farm as some more work could likely finish it so its a spare.

[swvalcon]

Jeff I'am sure I could find a used one and it maybe cheaper in the long run. But at my age I don't have a lot of time and I have even less money than time so that tells you where that is at. But sometimes I like to just do one of these tough jobs to see if at 67 I can still do it. Kind of like Gee I still got it.

[swvalcon]

Got the drivers door body work done and ready to prime. Block sanded the 1/4 panels so that can get a second coat of primer at the same time. Set the front fender up so I could strip it with out chasing it all over the shop. Have a few dents that need some love taps and a little rust that needs patched at the door. Still not sure about the vent door. Either weld it up or leave it stock. The area around the vent is in very decent shape so kind of leaning toward leave it. Nice thing about these fenders they are thick enough that you can bump out the dents, grind them nice and flat and still have a fender. Not like the new stuff where if it's the least bit high and you hit it with a grinder now you have a hole.

[swvalcon]

Had time today to work on the firewall. The Rt side was rusted pretty good so I cut that out and put in a piece of tin. Not sure if I will put a heater in it or not. If I do maybe a heater AC in one unit. The Rt door post needs a lot of work so guess that comes next. One small spot to do in the corner of the firewall yet and I also had to do a little work on the firewall to frame mounts. I see the pictures didn't come out to good but you can get the general idea.

[swvalcon]

Got some time yesterday to start on the passenger side of the hawk. I had thought this was the better side but see I may have been wrong. It's rusted pretty good. I know the door was hanging on that side and now I can see why. The lower door post was just kind of floating in space other than the one small piece of angle iron someone had welded in as a rocker panel. Going to take some support of the body as I cut out the rust and build new panels.

[JoeHall]

I admire your talent, and you have a lot more perseverance than I. But the problem with working on one that far gone is, there is no end to the cancer. If first stripped and then dipped into a huge vat full of rust removing solution, only about half of the car would come back out. But at least you'd be working on clean, rust free metal at that point.

[swvalcon]

Thanks Joe. I agree there's going to be some cancer I'am going to miss. This a body and frame I had planed to cut up and send to China and the more I looked at it thought why not. I have most of the parts needed and it's just some fill in work. Will get the 350-350 auto out of a 77 Monte Carlo that is just holding down my floor anyway. Should still make a decent driver and out last me and maybe most of us.

[tsenecal]

I'm glad that you have the patience to save the body from the crusher. I thought that my C body was bad, but it just had a few bits and pieces that needed replaced. The work that you are doing, makes mine look factory fresh. Keep up the good work, and the photos. It is interesting to see the progress.