My Half A$$ Studebaker Rebuild

[Topper2011]

I'm going to try to plug the rear fender corners with the Flex-Seal.





You can see the daylight coming though.



Ok, that didn't work. The Flex-Seal is really watery and caused the tape to unglue and spill out. I think I'll order some Butyl instead and just pack it in.

[Topper2011]

I had a 1/2 can of expanding foam that had clogged nozzle and tip, so a l drilled through and it started coming out like The Blob!









At least it found and filled the openings. Going to wait overnight before carving it into shape.

[Topper2011]

Time to face the floor. I thought it would be a good idea to brace the opening, so I used some fancy metal.



Another free bed frame from CL.



I still need to make an upper brace, but I didn't think I could get back into the car to pull it back into the garage. I may make the upper piece bolt in. Ran out of time today, so going to call it.

[bensherb]

Funny thing is , I've used many bed frames for building stuff too. But, when I needed a bed frame, I had to make one from angle iron.

On that expanding foam; once you've carved it, spray it with the flex seal, latex calk or whatever and paint it. If you leave it on its own it will oxidize and turn to dust over time (several years). Looking good though! I was going to recommend getting one of those 1.5" diameter tubes of silicone and have at it.

[junior]

Sealing that spay foam from water penetration is a must because if it gets wet the metal against it will rust. The stuff absorbs moisture like crazy. That is what happened to my wife's VW beetle...someone shot the foam up the rear pillars of the roof(perhaps for sound damping?) and it rusted from the inside out. What a time consuming mess to clean it out and weld in new metal to what was otherwise a rust-free car. cheers, junior

[Topper2011]

Funny thing is , I've used many bed frames for building stuff too. But, when I needed a bed frame, I had to make one from angle iron.

On that expanding foam; once you've carved it, spray it with the flex seal, latex calk or whatever and paint it. If you leave it on its own it will oxidize and turn to dust over time (several years). Looking good though! I was going to recommend getting one of those 1.5" diameter tubes of silicone and have at it.

Sealing that spay foam from water penetration is a must because if it gets wet the metal against it will rust. The stuff absorbs moisture like crazy. That is what happened to my wife's VW beetle...someone shot the foam up the rear pillars of the roof(perhaps for sound damping?) and it rusted from the inside out. What a time consuming mess to clean it out and weld in new metal to what was otherwise a rust-free car. cheers, junior

Thanks guys. I am planning on carving and sealing it and painting it with my water based paint. I was worried the Flex Seal is going to dissolve the foam as it did with the tape that was sealing the openings. I'll experiment with the excess laying in the trash first and see what works.

[Topper2011]

Time to slay my next dragon.



I wish I had a shop to work in with a lift. This will have to do.



Added the second brace, but this one can be unbolted.



No rust through of the torque boxes here.



Starting to cut through the floor, nasty stuff.

[Topper2011]

Found a new mascot.





There must be a better way to approach this. I'll have to slowly disassemble the new parts to see what I can salvage and how best to reassemble this.



I did paint the lower repair section of the fender and of course, it doesn't match. Tomorrow, I cut out some more floor and start on the replacement pieces.

[pinehurstbob]

Reminds me of a Ferrari prancing horse
Bob

[Topper2011]

Reminds me of a Ferrari prancing horse
Bob

A hairy one!

[Topper2011]

Not too much done today. I find myself staring at the car a lot, wondering, how did I get myself into this mess. Good thing one of my kids was home along with my wife we moved the new floor to a better spot.





This is going to replace...



this.



I thought I did shoddy work. Guess I'm not using this.

[creegster]

I thought I did shoddy work. Guess I'm not using this.

Is that WOOD!?!

[mbstude]

I was really wondering why the red car was cut up, it looks pretty solid from the photos you’ve posted of the pieces.

The wooden rocker panel solves that mystery.

[junior]

" I find myself staring at the car a lot, wondering, how did I get myself into this mess." oh man can I relate. My Dad would always ask..."why can't you just leave things alone kid?" which was really a case of the apple not falling too far from the tree...ha! I have plastered old TW covers on the ceiling of my garage and a hanging storage shelve above my Stude, that way when I'm wondering what the hell I'm doing lying on the creeper I just stare up at all the beautiful Studes. Keeps me motivated, as does your build, so you can't quit now, look how far you've come!

[Topper2011]

Started the disassembly of the replacement floor. It helps me find where the tack welds are. It also helps me destroy the replacement piece.



Trying to get it to a manageable size by cutting the cowling off.



Outer rocker off and the inner doesn't look too bad, no rust throughs.



The "filler" piece. It was actually screwed into the inner rocker. The outer was just dented and a sliding hammer would have probably fixed it.



Replacement piece doesn't have the same curvature or the extension pieces that tack weld under the fenders. I will deal with it as I getting closer to installing them. Gotta go drop one of the kids off at the airport.