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[Bennett68C10]

Hood mods look good. Question for you are your front fenders re-pops and if so how did they fit. Any problems with them or things you didn't like.
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[jtp67-72]

Then cutting that zig-zag out of the door where the outer moulding goes on the 1-piece windows out 2 be a cinch!!! just did mine ...and looks way better...i'll send pic a little later............jim

[ccracin]

Originally Posted by Bennett--G4L

Hood mods look good. Question for you are your front fenders re-pops and if so how did they fit. Any problems with them or things you didn't like.
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Thanks! They are re-pops and fit about as good or as bad as the rest of it. I'll be posting as I go along on what I have to do to fix them. Lets put it this way, I am going to have to cut the tops of both of them for about a foot and a half to fix the hood gaps. That's just the start! Stay tuned.

[ccracin]

Originally Posted by jtp67-72

Then cutting that zig-zag out of the door where the outer moulding goes on the 1-piece windows out 2 be a cinch!!! just did mine ...and looks way better...i'll send pic a little later............jim

Oh, I'm good at cutting now! Pictures are always good. I'll be looking forward to it. By the way, where's the update to your thread?

[Bennett68C10]

Originally Posted by ccracin

Thanks! They are re-pops and fit about as good or as bad as the rest of it. I'll be posting as I go along on what I have to do to fix them. Lets put it this way, I am going to have to cut the tops of both of them for about a foot and a half to fix the hood gaps. That's just the start! Stay tuned.

Wow guess I'll be looking for rust free originals or fix mine. Thanks for the info.

[ccracin]

Originally Posted by Bennett--G4L

Wow guess I'll be looking for rust free originals or fix mine. Thanks for the info.

Kieth,

If you can find rust free, then I would say go for it. My issue has always been the rust. These panels were made with tons of spot welded lap joints. No mater how much blasting and sanding you do, you will not get the rust that may be in between those joints. If you plan to do high end paint work, the last thing you want is that rust to leach back out. This is why we went this route. When you look at the gaps and tolerances they used on these panels back then, chances are you will be doing some sort of work like this to any panel to make it "perfect". We had very nice fenders, no holes etc. But the insides were covered in surface corrosion. Not bad but we weren't going to take the chance. These are just my thoughts. Good Luck!

[69CST-V]

You have some serious skills and guts. Keep up the great work and pics. I like seeing how the people who really know what's up do it. That how I learn being a person who doesn't know.
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[ccracin]

Originally Posted by 69CST-V

You have some serious skills and guts. Keep up the great work and pics. I like seeing how the people who really know what's up do it. That how I learn being a person who doesn't know.
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Thanks very much! I'm working on the skills and guts! I spend a lot of time on this forum and others doing the very same thing. No one knows it all and there is always someone that knows something you don't. Thanks again.

[BrutonLS1]

Wow those exhaust headers are incredible. Nice job. I guess there aren't many options on the market? I just posted a thread about this.

[Bennett68C10]

Originally Posted by ccracin

Kieth,

If you can find rust free, then I would say go for it. My issue has always been the rust. These panels were made with tons of spot welded lap joints. No mater how much blasting and sanding you do, you will not get the rust that may be in between those joints. If you plan to do high end paint work, the last thing you want is that rust to leach back out. This is why we went this route. When you look at the gaps and tolerances they used on these panels back then, chances are you will be doing some sort of work like this to any panel to make it "perfect". We had very nice fenders, no holes etc. But the insides were covered in surface corrosion. Not bad but we weren't going to take the chance. These are just my thoughts. Good Luck!

Thanks for the info Chad and your right about the rust, just can't get it all. I wouldn't say I'm doing a high end paint job as I will be painting it myself but I would like for it to be as nice as possible.
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[ccracin]

Addition is definitely better than subtraction. Started putting the front nose back on the hood. I'm liking it so far! here's some pics, everybody likes pics right?















I would think that should be close enough for a good bodyman? Yes/No?

Stay tuned!

[ccracin]

I figure since I'm getting better at it, I would go ahead and do some more just for good measure. I'm trying to finish up this hood fitment project. After getting the front edge tacked back on, we put the inner structure back in.



After we put the structure back in, we found that it too had the wrong profile. After looking at it and doing some hammer and dolly work, we decided that to make the front hood to grill gap good more material was going to need to be added. Since this is the case, no more cutting. I can fix the rest with the added material. We tacked a 3/16" rod to the front edge. This will allow us to grind the gap properly and even everything up.









Now that the round stock is tacked on it's time to finish weld the sheet metal front edge of the hood before we take it off again to weld up the round stock.

















Sorry for so many pictures, but the fit was so poor before I am excited at the fit now. As always, comments good and bad are welcomed! Thanks for looking.

[ccracin]

If you remember from the previous pictures, the hood to fender gaps were also horrible. Now that the hood is close, it is time to address the side gaps. You guessed it, the solution is to cut the BRAND NEW fenders and weld them back together. I would really love to try something else, but it has to be done. Here's today's progress.



























Thanks for looking!

[Xeen]

Wow those fenders were way off talk about a worn out die.

[72BlckButy]

Amazing skills!

What kind of welder are you using?

[ccracin]

Originally Posted by 72BlckButy

Amazing skills!

What kind of welder are you using?

Thanks Nate, it's a Lincoln Precision Tig 225. I also use a Lincoln SP-125+ Mig.

[72BlckButy]

Amazing work... wish I had your skills.

[rkintn_68]

Totally Amazing Work !!!

[Nsanehotrodz]

Chad it looks like your fenders were alot of the problem with the hood fitment. I'll send you the pic of the side contour we were talking about. Great job!

[jtp67-72]

That's why I'm always buying oem fenders and stock pilin em'....nice work Chad but U would think this day and age they could repop better stuff....jim

[ccracin]

Originally Posted by Nsanehotrodz

Chad it looks like your fenders were alot of the problem with the hood fitment. I'll send you the pic of the side contour we were talking about. Great job!

Definitely a big part of it, but the hood was off along the front edge as well. I think I got it licked! Thanks for the compliment! How was SEMA? Maybe I'll get to see you there next year!

[ccracin]

Originally Posted by jtp67-72

That's why I'm always buying oem fenders and stock pilin em'....nice work Chad but U would think this day and age they could repop better stuff....jim

I just can't get past the rust thing. Even if the OEM's look good you never know whats in those lap joints hiding. Who knows! Yes for sure the repop stuff should be better. Talk about a take it or leave it attitude! What's up with your project? I'm anxious to see more!

[falconizer_62]

Great work, man and thanks for the insight on poor quality repops... sorry it has to be so much harder than it should.

[Bennett68C10]

Great work on the fenders, just sucks you had to do that to brand new ones.
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[Xeen]

You are doing a really nice job man and all that hard work is going to pay off, I cant wait to see the finished product.