Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window

[G&R's57GMC]

Here's a theme that you might consider, OR not ...

[Dan in Pasadena]

Oh, you mean military themed cause my truck is sorta/kinda Army drab? Hadn't thought of that but I wouldn't do it because I was never in the military. I'd feel like a phony.

Side note? I went to high school from '68-'72. For my Frosh thru Junior year I just assumed I'd get drafted and be going to Viet Nam. My lottery number was #49 so I KNEW I was screwed. I was classified 1A. Then Nixon put a hold on new draftees and I was reassigned 1H - for "Holding". I lucked out, but I was on edge for awhile there.

[Dan in Pasadena]

A bunch of errands took up the morning but managed to do a little. I've got four of these uglies to repair.

Tossed my first attempt as I'm trying to get a tighter fit. I finally just pulled the latch actuator so I could get my arm down inside the door to hold the blank directly against the hole. Since door has "waves" from the factory so you've gotta make sure the patch is "clocked" right or these waves will not look right afterward. Using a piece of cardboard you never know. Putting the patch directly on the inside ensures it's clocked right.

Ground paint off all around & on small screw holes.


Close up #1. So far, so good!


Close up #2, NOT as good but it's gonna have to do:

[Kim57]

Looks good.
Kim

[SCHRUMGMC]

What is with the Hole ?

[Dan in Pasadena]

It's a speaker hole the original owner cut into the door. Problem is there are two of them in EACH door! They're like 5" diameter too. Short of replacing the doors ($$$) there's no other way to address them. Unless I put speakers back in them - NOT. They looked amateurish....cause they are!

[rgunlock]

Hi Dan. As I mentioned in your other welding thread, I'm not that far ahead of you on this patch panel welding, but I do have a suggestion that has worked for me. On panels you can't really get behind for tracing. Cut out a patch that is a shape you desire, and large enough to cover both the speaker hole and why not, the screw holes as well. Lay it on the face of the door over the hole. Your wavy profile should lay right in. Trace around the edge of the patch itself onto the door. Then cut the door to fit your patch. I think you'll get a lot closer on the first cut and have less fitting to worry about.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Thanks Rick. That approach would make my patch bigger though, wouldn't it?
After thinking it over, I can try it and see how it works.
A square patch with straight sides WOULD be much easier than trying to make a custom, squiggly edged patch. I'll give it a shot and post the results!
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[rgunlock]

You wouldn't have to cut out much more of your door if your patch only slightly overlaps the existing hole. But I do think it would make matching the patch to the hole much easier. Besides, you already have a pretty large gaping hole anyway, right

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by rgunlock

...Besides, you already have a pretty large gaping hole anyway, right

Ha ha, yeah. The only thing that WON'T fit in that hole right now is my entire head!

But seriously, I should be able to cut a square hole with straight sides much much easier than the way I've been trying to do it.

I'm wondering if I can cut my patch on my tablesaw if I put a metal cutting blade on it? Much straighter, cleaner cut & easier than by hand using my angle grinder!
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[Baldeagle SR]

Dan I use a saw zaw it works good for cutting , Just brace your metal in a vice or use vice grips to hold it . Rich

[rgunlock]

I don't think I'd use the table saw. I've had pretty good luck using a jigsaw with a metal cutting blade, but as Baldeagle said, be sure you brace the metal you are cutting firmly. Otherwise, it will try to bounce around and makes it tough to keep a straight cut going.

[Dan in Pasadena]

I've been planning to cut the "blank" out of the spare door using the angle grinder - but it is hard (for me) to get a true straight line. Which is why I mentioned using the table saw - to "square up" the blank prior to placing it over the hole for tracing.

Then there's cutting the hole out of the door after I've traced it. In my experience, a Sawzall or a jig saw will be hard to control on the wavy metal the doors have. I can try it but I've got minimal metal to spare here and still three blanks to make.

[SCHRUMGMC]

I've seen people cut the Panels half Assed, and it really makes me mad..My Ocd goes insane

[Kim57]

I use a cheap delta table saw with a metal cutting wheel all the time for cutting sheet metal. You just have to go slow and let the saw do the work.
Kim

[SCHRUMGMC]

In a perfect world, the Metal would cut itself the Perfect way by itself

[Dan in Pasadena]

I'm not a good enough welder to be able to get away with half-assed fitting patch panels. GOTTA be well fitting or I'm gonna blow holes. Hell, I may blow holes anyway!

I'm feeling a little case of "anal glaucoma" coming on (I can't see my ass going to work tomorrow!) so I may have photos to share tomorrow!

[Dan in Pasadena]

I know this is old hat for most of you but it's my first time attempting patch fabrication and weld repair. So I've been cutting, fitting, grinding, & cussing the last few days. I've got all four patches to this level of fit:



Each patch needs some touching up along the edges for final welding. I'm not sure if that'll happen tomorrow or have to wait for the weekend.

I DID go out and get some of those sheet metal clamp things but they leave a .040" gap around their perimeter and someone(?) told me the rule of thumb is the gap shouldn't be bigger than your wire - .023" in this case. So I think I'm just going to use the magnets shown in the photo.

Any/all opinions appreciated.

[Dan in Pasadena]

PS: A big thanks to "rgunlock" (Rick) for his advice to cut the patch first and match it to a square hole. It was MUCH easier than trying to make 4 wavy round patches.

Plus, I'm such a bonehead. I cut 2-1/2 of the patches before my jig saw blade broke. Went and bought a much finer blade and the rest of the cutting was butter.

[Kim57]

The patch looks good.
Kim

[Daze57]

x 2 ^

[SCHRUMGMC]

X3 !

[rgunlock]

Hot diggity!!! That may well have been my 1st actual useful post then
That patch does look like it fits very well.

[indynick]

Coming along nicely

[Dan in Pasadena]

Thanks for the positive comments guys.

Like I said before, it feels like Chinese water torture...one drip of work at a time...

I WILL get rid of all the rust, the feels like hundreds o miscellaneous holes drilled in it over the years, but there are SO many small areas to be dealt with!