My Half A$$ Studebaker Rebuild

[Topper2011]

With my new experience, I started on the left side.



Cleaned up, preheated to remove any moisture, getting it ready for tinning.



Time to melt some lead.



Time to order some polyester filler for a skim coat. Not sure why there are pinholes where the tack welds are. I wire brushed them and tinned it, but couldn't wipe it down in there. I did neutralize the acid with a baking soda wipe down. Hopefully the filler will stick.



The right side after filing. Inching closer.

[Topper2011]

Roland , my car only has one hole in the fender/ gas door opening to bolt it to.

That "tinning butter" is a life saver! I love that stuff, makes all the difference in the world. That makes the hardest part of the job easy. The trick is getting the temp right. You need to get the metal a bit hotter than you would expect to get the butter to flow out , which you've probably found out, but once that's done leading is a "piece of cake" on a horizintal surface. It's hard to tell, but from the pic it looks like your "fill" is a bit cold. No biggie, just means there's more to sand down. Like most things practice makes , well, almost perfect. It looks about right for a vertical surface though. It's actually nice to see someone actually trying to use lead over plastic. There are some places I will only use lead, others plasic is fine. If you become discouraged with lead, you might try "all metal" plastic filler. I like lead at panel to panel seams, as was common for factories back when, but when not over "flexable" panel seams or other flexable places I find plastic acceptable. On motorcycle tanks I always use lead.

Great job bud! I applaud your efforts!!

Thanks Rick. I think I let the panel cool down too much while my lead was too hot and it pretty much kept rolling off. The vertical panel came out actually better than I expected, the horizontal went pear shaped though. I think it may be like soldering wire, it's drawn to the heat. The process is kind of fun though, but I wish I had more hands. One for the torch, one for the lead and one for the wooden spoon.

[bensherb]

Oh, a "mill cut" or "bastard" file works quite well to cut down that "xtra" lead. You'll likely still need to "glaze" the area. A two part glaze filler works well , I often use JB Weld on small jobs. Do not use a one part or lacquer glaze filler, it will lift!

[bensherb]

Roland , my car only has one hole in the fender/ gas door opening to bolt it to.

That "tinning butter" is a life saver! I love that stuff, makes all the difference in the world. That makes the hardest part of the job easy. The trick is getting the temp right. You need to get the metal a bit hotter than you would expect to get the butter to flow out , which you've probably found out, but once that's done leading is a "piece of cake" on a horizintal surface. It's hard to tell, but from the pic it looks like your "fill" is a bit cold. No biggie, just means there's more to sand down. Like most things practice makes , well, almost perfect. It looks about right for a vertical surface though. It's actually nice to see someone actually trying to use lead over plastic. There are some places I will only use lead, others plasic is fine. If you become discouraged with lead, you might try "all metal" plastic filler. I like lead at panel to panel seams, as was common for factories back when, but when not over "flexable" panel seams or other flexable places I find plastic acceptable. On motorcycle tanks I always use lead.

Great job bud! I applaud your efforts!!

[Topper2011]

Look what came in the mail yesterday.





Surface is cleaned, ready for tinning.



It worked out a lot better in my head.



I'm hoping the other side goes better and quicker.

[Topper2011]

On my '62 it's just a simple strap that fits around the tube and bolts to a small second piece that then bolts to the tab inside the gas door. Our '53 is totally different than this.

Thanks Rick. That's what I have, but the fender opening has two holes so I'm assuming it has a reinforcement bracket as well?

[bensherb]

On my '62 it's just a simple strap that fits around the tube and bolts to a small second piece that then bolts to the tab inside the gas door. Our '53 is totally different than this.

[Topper2011]

Been spending days trying to finish up the taillamp mounts and coated.



Primered



Seam sealed and coated with Eastwood's undercoating in a spray can. This stuff is way better than the Rustoleum undercoating. Of the products from Eastwood, I'm pretty impressed with the undercoating and the panel splitters.



Previous owner had these homemade mud flaps installed, so I would assume he towed a trailer that he didn't want pounded by gravel and what-not. This one was torn, so I wanted to give it a try and see how it looked. What do you think? Also, anyone have pictures of the fuel filler neck bracket that bolts to the fender? I seem to have misplaced it somewhere in my mess.

[bensherb]

You've only had it a couple years; you're making fast work of it.
I started this December of '98 when my daughter was born. This pic is probably 10 years later, shes probably 10 here and my son 4. She's almost 22 now, he's 16. The car looks the same today, with a bit less paint and a bit more rust. Shy keeping it driveable, I don't think I've done anything to it since many years before this pic. Still has 66 year old upholstery on the seats, no headliner, bare plywood door panels and no weather stripping.

[Topper2011]

Glad to see the orange chunks showing up and being put to good use. Your mig welding is improving.

I am so glad I picked these parts up. I cannot imagine trying to make these complicated compound curved parts.

I agree! The left looks even better than the right. It may just be the pic, but the deck lid gap appears tapered at the back on the right, not bad, but I think you're welding well enough you could easily add to the edge of the deck to remove the taper (just a thought). Looks great either way, certainly better than the factory fit of my car.

I could probably tighten up the right side by adjusting the left hinge forward, but that would widen the gap on the left side back edge of the lid. Goes to show, I didn't quite place the right side weather channel in the right place. At this point, I'm hoping the weatherstrip will keep most of the water out of the trunk.

I’m kind of jealous of the progress you’re making... I barely have time to touch my car though.

No hurry, these projects will wait for you, plus I've had this car for a couple years already. There's another thread someone had just gotten the car and has the chassis stripped and powder coated already, wow!

[Daan]

I’m kind of jealous of the progress you’re making... I barely have time to touch my car though.

[bensherb]

Your mig welding is improving.

I agree! The left looks even better than the right. It may just be the pic, but the deck lid gap appears tapered at the back on the right, not bad, but I think you're welding well enough you could easily add to the edge of the deck to remove the taper (just a thought). Looks great either way, certainly better than the factory fit of my car.

[Cruzzar]

Glad to see the orange chunks showing up and being put to good use. Your mig welding is improving.

[Topper2011]

I fitted the piece from yesterday.





Looks like I'm having a yard sale, what a mess.





For some reason, I'm running through my mig gas a lot faster with this bottle. Done for today.

[Topper2011]

Wednesday, the weird "Mars" sky is not getting any brighter. It's like night time here.

This was taken at 1:30pm, but the picture doesn't do the darkness justice. It looks more like 5:30pm. Too much smoke and it's like working at night in the garage, calling it a day. Temps drop from upper 90's on Sunday to 63 today. I feel like a dinosaur that just saw a meteor hit the Earth.