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Re: 1966 F100 Short Bed Styleside Metal/Body/Paint Work
Since the outside of the fender was too flat, the inner brace was also flat so it wouldn't clear the added depth of the new fender top.
https://i.imgur.com/4CKfbQLh.jpg https://i.imgur.com/MCRWylSh.jpg https://i.imgur.com/KRQcFf5h.jpg https://i.imgur.com/pcyMyChh.jpg https://i.imgur.com/uqiFvsHh.jpg https://i.imgur.com/kOAcStUh.jpg I used tuck shrinks and the shrinker to match the curve of the fender top to the hood and cowl profile. https://i.imgur.com/NJQZtZih.jpg https://i.imgur.com/ZqEznzDh.jpg Folding the inner flange over after getting the curve correct. https://i.imgur.com/mv9WCGuh.jpg Reshaping the inner brace to match the hood/cowl curve. You can see the incorrect shape with a kink in it in the first two pics. https://i.imgur.com/n41bZiYh.jpg https://i.imgur.com/9Zk28NHh.jpg https://i.imgur.com/Nuxg2IFh.jpg https://i.imgur.com/lhFexYVh.jpg Initial test fit. https://i.imgur.com/luLkrolh.jpg https://i.imgur.com/aJxCPQ9h.jpg https://i.imgur.com/g3er4HDh.jpg Since the fender bottom didn't have to match the height of the door bottom or rocker bottom (door bottom isn't established yet) and the top is all new so it's height can be adjusted, that let me move the rear of the fender around until the rear edge was parallel to the door with the correct gap. I can match the new door bottom edge to the fender bottom when I make a new door bottom. https://i.imgur.com/CbKpFgSh.jpg Checking the inner brace height vs where the new fender top needs to be with string to see if the brace is too tall or too short. https://i.imgur.com/LH0AcAzh.jpg |
Re: 1966 F100 Short Bed Styleside Metal/Body/Paint Work
Your skills are nothing short of amazing :)
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Re: 1966 F100 Short Bed Styleside Metal/Body/Paint Work
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Re: 1966 F100 Short Bed Styleside Metal/Body/Paint Work
With the fender top roughed in I wanted to address some issues with the factory fender mounting points before welding the new top on. The stock method of fastening the fenders uses clip in U-Nuts, which don't sit flat on the flange. That makes shimming the panel for alignment inconsistent, and the area the clip inserts into can flex since there are two openings for the clip- not a lot of solid metal supporting the clip. I want the mounting points to be as solid as possible so the panel alignment can't move around once the truck is on the road and the panel attachment points are under stress.
https://i.imgur.com/Kb0Hc4Qh.jpg After bolting the fender down using the stock clips the panel is warped around the clip. Having the fender on and off during the mock up/fit stage really made it obvious how inconsistent the panels go together, especially when adding shims into the mounting points to dial in panel flushness or gaps. https://i.imgur.com/2BNHizjh.jpg It also warps the panels that the fender was bolted to, again making shimming the panels apart inconsistent. There's a flat dolly held behind the hole to show how warped it is, which also was warping thin shims. https://i.imgur.com/qLo9dB2h.jpg To fix this, I cut out the whole area and welded in 1/8" plate with 3/8" nuts welded in the back side. The mounting face is dead flat this way, it won't flex, and the larger hardware can be locked down much tighter to keep the panels from shifting once it's being driven. Shims also fit dead flat each time the panel is test fit for consistent fit every test fit. Once the fender fitment (along with all other panels) is finalized I can make a chart of each mounting point to record each shim stack height, so during final assembly there is no guesswork needed to get the panels back where they were. https://i.imgur.com/i6K3400h.jpg https://i.imgur.com/vlu6kLyh.jpg https://i.imgur.com/h3Tfzazh.jpg The fender bottom mounting tab on the cab had been slotted for more adjustment range and was just made out of a couple of layers of sheetmetal so it was pretty flimsy. After getting the fender in the correct position it still needed more slotting to clear the bolt. https://i.imgur.com/te4C0g8h.jpg I cut it off and welded on 1/8 plate to make a stronger mounting point and to reduce the hole size to just what was needed so a huge fender washer isn't needed to find metal to clamp down on. https://i.imgur.com/hZcJk2Zh.jpg https://i.imgur.com/PGjFeeQh.jpg Bolt head cut off, sharpened to a point to mark the new hole location. https://i.imgur.com/lKdfIFwh.jpg I'll go back and add a couple of gussets around the bolt hole to make it even stiffer. https://i.imgur.com/8tlkcjnh.jpg The upper rear mounting point is impossible to reach to add or take out shims, so the whole fender has to be removed and shims taped in place to change the shim stack, but with the stock clip wobbling around shimming was never consistent so it was difficult to get the top fitting flush to the door. The bolt goes in from an access door inside the kick panels, so I drilled another hole just under the stock hole and welded in a nut to make a threaded adjuster to move the panel in or out. The fender has a 1/8" stainless pad welded onto the brace for the adjuster screw to rest against- I can leave it bare metal without having to worry about it rusting. Leaving it bare also means there won't be any coating that can chip out later and alter the fender to door flushness. https://i.imgur.com/3zvTy8dh.jpg https://i.imgur.com/hX0wbyvh.jpg https://i.imgur.com/tTperWLh.jpg https://i.imgur.com/XjnI6m9h.jpg |
Re: 1966 F100 Short Bed Styleside Metal/Body/Paint Work
As usual, simply remarkable!
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Re: 1966 F100 Short Bed Styleside Metal/Body/Paint Work
"simply remarkable!"...no kidding..!!!!!!
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Re: 1966 F100 Short Bed Styleside Metal/Body/Paint Work
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Re: 1966 F100 Short Bed Styleside Metal/Body/Paint Work
I ran into door seal fitment issues at the a-pillar. I wanted to go ahead and install the seals so they could break-in/settle, and to have them in place when finishing up final flush fitment tweaks before filler work starts. They push the panel out slightly so they need to be in place and settled when final adjustments and block sanding are carried out, otherwise the panels wouldn't be flush when it's assembled for the final time. I'll use wide masking tape over them during bodywork to keep overspray and filler off them so the same seals can be used for final assembly.
Earlier in the thread I posted that I had to make some hinge pocket tweaks to adjust the door hinges outward enough to make the door frame flush with the a-pillar. This made the seal have a few spots that didn't touch the pillar when the door was closed. The seals were also pretty lumpy which didn't help, which was remedied with a heat gun. https://i.imgur.com/iNk8lU5h.jpg https://i.imgur.com/t4MhrBCh.jpg https://i.imgur.com/yoYsgo2h.jpg The seals were temporarily held in place with a thin bead of Dekaseal. https://i.imgur.com/IrM1JTlh.jpg With a light held behind the pillar you can see light is coming through the gaps. https://i.imgur.com/GAk1y5yh.jpg https://i.imgur.com/Dk6hv4ph.jpg https://i.imgur.com/cF4FJv7h.jpg https://i.imgur.com/vd6SRCJh.jpg The starting point- cleaned with a wire brush on a drill to prep for welding and epoxy. I trimmed a piece of 1/16" steel to weld on top of the original flange. https://i.imgur.com/YmezFUNh.jpg 1/16" layer welded on, prepped for epoxy primer. Notice the slight gap left on the outside and upper edges to allow for seam sealer. https://i.imgur.com/Y3HWM9Ph.jpg https://i.imgur.com/thufI4Qh.jpg After the epoxy cured for a few days I applied filler to get the surfaces 100% flat and smooth. The inside corner edges were not filled to allow for seam sealer later on after more epoxy is sprayed. Leaving the edges unfilled will allow for any flexing that might happen, and seam sealer is soft enough to flex without cracking. I'm not a fan of jambs that are 100% smoothed with filler; cleanly shaped seams with cleanly applied seam sealer looks more detailed and allows for flex. The door seal fit was checked again with the light, and with no light showing I used a strip of paper about 2" wide to check that the seal had adequate pressure against the jamb. https://i.imgur.com/1UYm7N0h.jpg https://i.imgur.com/vElsdKzh.jpg This gap looks a bit rough since I was just trying to make the seal fit for now. There is a factory seam underneath here that I didn't want to fill over, but I wanted the transition from one section to the other to be smooth and level. I'll use a 1/16" thick piece of plastic in this gap and fill against it to make a consistent gap width, radius those edges so it looks stamped, then fill it with seam sealer for flexibility. Might have some people questioning the use of filler in jambs... all show cars are done this way (usually with the seams filled over) but shops usually don't show these details because of the negative connotation often associated with filler. Figured I'd post all the details and not hide anything, and show the reasoning behind what I'm doing so people can see that filler used correctly has no drawbacks. https://i.imgur.com/H5GR8ogh.jpg |
Re: 1966 F100 Short Bed Styleside Metal/Body/Paint Work
Building the lower door skins. I started by making templates of the cab corner and fender bottom so I can match the skin to the adjacent panels.
https://i.imgur.com/SfDshTdh.jpg The inner door flange was marked and trim to make room for the outer skin. https://i.imgur.com/Q6Yw9Imh.jpg Skin shaped on the english wheel using an inner tube on the upper wheel to make the top to bottom curve without adding any crown front to rear. I did make a few passes without the inner tube to add a slight amount of front to rear crown to match the shape above the patch. https://i.imgur.com/ZdxuXZWh.jpg https://i.imgur.com/UfON7IAh.jpg https://i.imgur.com/Fbu3QAOh.jpg Lower edge bent in the brake as far as possible. https://i.imgur.com/ITO5VAMh.jpg Using a slapper to take it from this angle to nearly flat. https://i.imgur.com/PDu4Xe3h.jpg Pullmax with delrin dies leftover from the fender top, with a strip of 1/16" thick metal as a spacer so the flange isn't fully flattened. This leaves enough room for the skin to slide over the inner flange but leaves minimal hammer/dolly work to make the hem snug on the flange. Also minimizes the change of stretching the flange when hammer/dollying the hemmed flange flat. https://i.imgur.com/kTypkhoh.jpg Test fit at the correct height to match the fender bottom and cab corner. https://i.imgur.com/mrXDBXyh.jpg Scribing the fold lines using a tool that references the fender edge for a consistent gap. https://i.imgur.com/gAzCH1Wh.jpg https://i.imgur.com/GjbTXDih.jpg Establishing the fold on the bead roller. https://i.imgur.com/UaGlOzCh.jpg Test fit. The door needs to be adjusted back a hair to even out the gaps front and rear. https://i.imgur.com/eOVnOKfh.jpg https://i.imgur.com/xlAAk5Ch.jpg https://i.imgur.com/PvrgSrfh.jpg Overlapping the blacked out original skin to scribe the cut line. https://i.imgur.com/D3lUwnch.jpg After cutting, zero gap except a slight amount at the outer edges for tweaking the flushness with a thin pry tool- no rear access due to the inner flange. https://i.imgur.com/Zp6S7roh.jpg https://i.imgur.com/CkjuVi9h.jpg |
Re: 1966 F100 Short Bed Styleside Metal/Body/Paint Work
To weld the skin on, I started with a few tacks. I used a piece of aluminum c-channel to show the low spots that are created when welds shrink, since it flexes in an even arc. Each weld was planished/stretched via hammer on dolly stretching until the arc returned. In the spots I over-stretched and made a high spot, the next round of weld dots would shrink the high spot back into shape. I've mentioned hammer on dolly stretching to reverse weld shrinkage before, but showing it with c-channel gives a clear visual on what's going on.
The low spots before planishing. https://i.imgur.com/iark6tQh.jpg https://i.imgur.com/ZajiqHSh.jpg https://i.imgur.com/niE6RrVh.jpg No low spot in between the welds. https://i.imgur.com/Z8TzUOSh.jpg After planishing the first and second rounds of weld dots- the arc is restored. https://i.imgur.com/vt104P0h.jpg https://i.imgur.com/vs5Y599h.jpg This one was over-planished which made a high spot. Welding directly beside it shrunk it down to the correct arc again. Welding directly beside another weld dot lets the previous weld act as a heat sink so the HAZ isn't quite as big for less overall shrinkage. I can keep the HAZ down to about 3/8" wide using this method. https://i.imgur.com/DqjFpnKh.jpg https://i.imgur.com/03PAgeoh.jpg Thin pry tool used to align the flushness of both panels. https://i.imgur.com/8aMaspHh.jpg Flange detail. https://i.imgur.com/hzuPm63h.jpg https://i.imgur.com/OItoKiBh.jpg https://i.imgur.com/02MW9A8h.jpg After way more weld dots and a lot of hammer/dolly work I had the overall shape pretty well where I wanted it. I used the shrinking disk to pull down the high spots along the seam, and there was a high spot from top to bottom about 6" inward of the front edge which gave the door too much crown front to rear and made the front of the door dive in at the fender edge. https://i.imgur.com/HBxT31lh.jpg https://i.imgur.com/bM8jfwJh.jpg Cleaning the fingerprint rust off with a wire brush before DA sanding the skin. https://i.imgur.com/1CfCFgJh.jpg https://i.imgur.com/YJzQ6Cvh.jpg https://i.imgur.com/EOo45kHh.jpg Wiped down with mineral spirits to check the reflection. Not perfect, nowhere near metalfinished but should be good enough to be skim coated. I'll still probably need to do some final tweaking to the overall contour to get an even arc across the fender and door once it's reassembled. https://i.imgur.com/Tsw5BL7h.jpg |
Re: 1966 F100 Short Bed Styleside Metal/Body/Paint Work
I swear, you should be teaching an autobody class!!
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Re: 1966 F100 Short Bed Styleside Metal/Body/Paint Work
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Re: 1966 F100 Short Bed Styleside Metal/Body/Paint Work
I'd sign up Ricky..!!!!!!!
That's pretty slick to over planish and let the weld pull it back... And of course as always..outstanding workmanship..!!! |
Re: 1966 F100 Short Bed Styleside Metal/Body/Paint Work
Just got caught up on what I had missed. As always, enjoy seeing the progress and learning from your techniques. Thanks again for the detailed updates!
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Re: 1966 F100 Short Bed Styleside Metal/Body/Paint Work
I've been absent from this thread for a while, so had to go back for few days. All I can say is WOW! Man, you have the skills and patience that very few people have. Reading your posts is like a class on metalworking. Another thing I've noticed from watching your restorations for several years is how sloppy vehicles from older years were assembled. I had a black 65 F100 like this truck and I thought it was beautiful and never noticed the flaws that would probably stick out to me now.
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