first time welder, what u think?

[jrsmith_2010]

hey guys, i got the other side welded in tonight, hey are some pics!

heres the prep area, alot bigger than the other attempt




all welded up, i think i might be gettin the hang of it!

[D-Day]

Damn, now you're making me wanna shave my door handles.

[jrsmith_2010]

thanks man, yea it looks really good to me, expecually the doors, no mirrors, handles or locks, i love it

[70LonghornCST]

You're making good progress. Keep it up.

[willett]

where are you gonna relocate the door handles to?
or is it some kinda keyless dealio?

[jrsmith_2010]

yea its key less, theres a pic on the front page with the door panel and the sylinoid on how it opens the latch then pops open the doors

[jrsmith_2010]

yea now that im seeing what it looks like shaved i dont think i can stop! i made a filler plate for the cargo light tonight and will prolly weld it in tomorrow. and im trying to score a set of caddy lights to put in it, and maybe a 3rd brake light out of the same caddy to put where the cargo light went, if it would look good. anyone know what else i can shave off? i think im addicted

[D-Day]

What door popping kit did you use? Relatively simple to set it up?

[jrsmith_2010]

i used SPAL 45 lb. kit. yea it was pretty easy to set up after i figured out the best place to mount it, works perfect now

[N2TRUX]

Keep in mind if you don't fill in all the tacks with weld, it will be prone to rust from underneath. Tack, cool and grind, tack, cool and grind, tack, cool and grind, then repeat till its all metal.

[merca]

heres another tip . if you have a local snap-on or matco type truck running around ask them if they have any small used welders that use the gas.i got a matco 110v mig with the gas setup for 200.00 and it works great.

[jrsmith_2010]

well i got some stuff done today. but it snowed last night, so all the bare metal in the previous pics had surface rust on it, so it wasnt a good way to start out the day







grinded it all down and got it as close to done for the night

[jrsmith_2010]

well it seems like forever since i posted pics up here, but ive been workin like a mad man! heres some pics, i recently inharitaded the family garage so no more snowy days for this 79! i got it all bondo-ed smooth on both sides, im loving how it looks!















next project will be....... i just bought a set of caddy lights that i will put in where the tail lights are now, i cant wait then weld in the tailgate (maybe make it smooth??), and then shave the slots in the hood and it should be ready for paint!

[d10s69c10]

befor you get to Shave happy. was this all past plans or are you thinking of this as you smooth out the doors.

reason being i have got 6 tattoos in 1 month and 3 i dont regret getting.

[jrsmith_2010]

well it was kinda both, i really like the way caddy lights look, and the tailgate was planned. the hood, i think it would look cool

[smashingchuck]

Originally Posted by jrsmith_2010

the hood, i think it would look cool

the hood is a TON of work to get right, you are dealing with two different curves (the hood curves up to the windshield vertically, and also around it horizontally). You might want to invest in a nice long sanding block. Even in the pictures you can tell that the areas you have been working on are not yet flat.

[spr85gmc]

Originally Posted by smashingchuck

the hood is a TON of work to get right, you are dealing with two different curves (the hood curves up to the windshield vertically, and also around it horizontally). You might want to invest in a nice long sanding block. Even in the pictures you can tell that the areas you have been working on are not yet flat.

couldnt have said it better my self .. i say just go get some scrape metal and prctice practice........... practice then when you think you got it practice some more... you dont want to jump in head first and end up with a not so great outcome because you rushed it.

[jrsmith_2010]

Originally Posted by smashingchuck

the hood is a TON of work to get right, you are dealing with two different curves (the hood curves up to the windshield vertically, and also around it horizontally). You might want to invest in a nice long sanding block. Even in the pictures you can tell that the areas you have been working on are not yet flat.

hey smashingchuck, how did u shave them? did u do them individualy or did u cut them all out and weld in a single piece of metal? looks good btw i love it

[jrsmith_2010]

hey guys, i got some work done today, i got the drip rails completly done, and started to work on the door panels. with the door panels, since i dont have locks, im thinkin about takin the chevy bowtie off the cab corners trim and mounding it in to the hole on both sides, and painting it blue and black like my interior. and i have some spare trim that would look nicely on there as well, not sure how, any ideas, im open to opinions. heres some pics







heres the door panel idea

[dubdeuce80]

you might want to keep your inner handles..."just in case"

[jrsmith_2010]

thats where i have my door pops, i took them out, made new linkage and the silinoid is there instead of the handle

[jrsmith_2010]

well ive been messin with my door panels waitin for the caddy lights (should be here tuesday) and i cut out the lock switch for the chevy emblem, i like it, what u guys think?






heres the idea i have about the trim, im not 100% sure what to do yet tho.. so its just taped on, and not the total length of the panel


heres a shot if both

[Colin B]

Originally Posted by jrsmith_2010

thats where i have my door pops, i took them out, made new linkage and the silinoid is there instead of the handle

Do you at least have an emergency cable, those things fail. How you going to open the door when it dies and its shut with no inner door handles.

[jrsmith_2010]

sliding glass window

[spr85gmc]

so what happens when is cold out and your batteries dead leavw the inner door handles please do it for us