55 Wagon Progress

[Dieselwrencher]

That looks really sweet!

[MP&C]

Thanks for the comments guys. Well after block sanding the latest coat of epoxy....

















We had a local car show we could attend, but didn't know whether to take the body or the frame...







I didn't think the rotisserie would fit in my 16' trailer for some reason, but another measurement proved otherwise. Since it showed more of our metal fabrication, we opted for the body.. All loaded up, height limitations on the ceiling do require inverted travel...







At the show with the "trailer queen"

[Hart_Rod]

Outstanding! I'm not sure what you are charging the guy that owns this, but it's worth every penny!

[oldman3]

Bet that drew some attention...Jim

[MP&C]

We pulled in and was promptly directed to "trailer parking" where we could unload and "drive" on in.. Uh.. yeah... that's not going to work...

[67ChevyRedneck]

Caster wheels can barely roll over a zip tie, I bet that was fun (perhaps a little scary?) to load/unload?

Ridiculously awesome work so far.

[MP&C]

Two of us to load it up at the shop, and to unload at the show. Five to load it up from the grassy knoll..

[duallyjams]

You didn't even need a easy up it provided plenty of shade to even catch a nap.

[MP&C]

At one point we did roll it up on the side and stood in the shade!



Today was more blocking on the 55, and moving forward to get it ready for the Linex that will go on the bottom side. We need to get seat brackets complete and welded into the floor, finish epoxy prime on cavities (rocker and inner quarter), install wheel houses, etc. Yesterday was a road trip to get a paint sample and other paint supplies. here's the proposed color for above the quarter...








With the H/K Organic Green Kandy basecoat on the quarters down. To better get a feel for the test sprayout of the Kandy, a panel was made to simulate the top of the quarter, so we can better see the effects in the sunlight...





Next, epoxy in the cavities. I had looked at cavity spraying wands and the like, and did not care for what was available. So lets get basic, after all it is unseen when complete..





This area doesn't have to be pretty, so picked up this goodie at the local hardware store..





.....which should get enough on the inner quarter to seal things up..


For the rocker, needed a bit more reach, both to scuff things up and roll on some paint. Here's the new multi-tool, with a 4' lift kit.





Scuffing attachment





Target area..














These dividers sit above the wheelwells inside the top of the quarter, and a bottom flange serves as a welding anchor for the top of the wheelwell. If they both had a bottom flange..





On top of those was a nice foam seal, which also served to trap water and cause one of our pits in the original quarter that we removed.





So the thought is to replace these with new ones made of 16 gauge, using a bulb seal at the top for less water absorption/retention...








With these now removed, you can see the still bare 1955 sheet metal that we'll also get covered with epoxy prior to installing the new brackets..





After all this fun, we loaded up one of the Biederman fenders and took it over to Saufley Sandblasting to get a quote on those. We'll get all the parts blasted individually, then sealed in epoxy primer, then assembled. After assembly, one more dose of Epoxy and they're off to the painter..

[Bomp]

Wow, thats what I dig about this build. Going to any and all lengths to make it right.

[MP&C]

Thanks Bomp!


Working today on fitting up the wheel wells. The front half is re-popped and uses the same part as the sedans, the rear part is not available. Fitting the front, notice the right lower corner (as shown) tapers up with less overlap for plug/spot welding.





The rear section has a notch to clear where the leaf springs used to be attached outside the frame. As the leafs are now suspended inside/under the frame, these notches aren't needed. So we'll make a new set that fills that in...





To fix our front repop, a piece of 18 gauge is TIG welded to give us a square corner...








To make the new piece for the rear, we'll need a method to add beads that cross each other. This will entail a small table to use on the Lennox, an upper punch, and two pieces of matched MDF. Slots will be cut into the MDF, the top used as a guide for the punch, the bottom acts as our bottom die as it "rests" on the table..

The table will be supported in the lower tool holder using a 3/4 shank. The end is turned down to 1/2" to mate into a 1/2" hole in the 4 x 12 table, which is then plug welded.

















For an upper punch, we'll use some 3/4 oil hardening 4140, making it less pointed than the original just in case we want to use it for something besides the 55.











For a bead guide we first need to get a good template of the inside of the quarter. The adjustable spline comes in handy...











MDF is screwed together and then the edge profile cut..





Cutting our bead pattern..








The offset of the original for the quarter seal is added using a tipping die in the Lennox, slight modification on the backstop for the correct width..





New matches the repop....








This seal will be used against the inside of the quarter..





Running a test pattern... The table height is adjusted to set the punch depth...














All clamped up, ready to go. Kyle has already left for the day so we'll finish up next time..

[Bomp]

Yup, bucket list:
Get a Lennox TRU-EDGE

You have mad skills, like spinning straw into gold.

[dug224]

Agree with Bomp!!! dug

[MP&C]

Thanks guys. Bomp, that has been one of my best finds.


Made our table slightly larger to better hold the panel level for punch depth consistency..





More holes for screws added to keep things snug





A few holes to fill, we'll get the other side done and weld them all in one sitting.








Motion picture version:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCIv27b4dPs


.

[reaper71]

Super nice Robert!


Mark...

[MP&C]

Thanks Mark!


Last night we used the poster board template to check the fit of our pattern to the passenger side. Only a slight shave in the middle for a good snug fit. Then we test fit the repop front section of wheel well, which was horrendous. if we were to trim it to fit there wouldn't be enough step flange left over for the seal. So, Kyle added a 1/2" strip of 18 gauge cold rolled to the outside so we will have enough to trim for a proper fit. Still needs to add that corner on this side as well.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNiSM9Oyp2s


While he was welding away, I trimmed the second panel for the passenger rear wheel well, used the Lennox with the tipping die to add the step flange for the seal, and got it prepped for the bead detail work, which we'll get to on Saturday.

[MP&C]

Here's a test fit of the reproduction wheel well for the 55, this is the front section. Note the poor fit to the rear side of the quarter panel. I don't know if these are an EXACT reproduction of OEM, but have heard others having similar "gaping hole" issues with their original cars.

This is the driver's side:








video version....


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiSaQXkkowc


This is the passenger side we modified Thursday, adding a 1/2" filler strip and then trimming to fit to the quarter panel....





.......and shown here with seal in place...





Here Kyle is adding the 1/2" filler strip to the driver's side reproduction wheel well.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=penIygidVUc


With the rear section not available in reproduction (blessing in disguise), here is the final layout and trim of our version..





Flanges are tipped using the Fasti swaging machine..





Test fit of the driver's side wheel wells. The front reproduction piece has the filler strip added but still needs trimming, the rear section is a much better fit than what came out from the factory..














Video version:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BvNqdKQf3U


Once the front section has been trimmed for proper fit, we will butt weld the front and rear section together to eliminate another overlap rust trap.

[Bomp]

[MP&C]

Thanks!


Finishing up on our drivers side wheel well today. The front "modified" reproduction is trimmed and fitted. A light is put behind it to check for gaps...





The baffle that sits above the wheel well is made differently as well, this time using a piece of 16 ga cold rolled steel, and trimmed to fill the void. We left a slight gap that we plan on sealing with seam sealer.





Shown here with bulb seal against the quarter....





The trouble with the factory version of sealing above the baffle is that the expanding foam encapsulates the surrounding area, to include surrounding the slot for trim hardware. It is here that water intrudes, and is held against the quarter causing rust.





Our version will leave this hole unobstructed so that any water intrusion that may occur will pass on through.


Now to fill in our screw holes that held together the "MDF Sandwich" that we used for beading the panel. A piece of 1/4" thick X 1" copper flat bar is used as a backer, I find it leaves the back side of the weld much cleaner than using flattened copper pipe.








Video version:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2k5_RqRnzc





With the front and rear sections having been fitted and trimmed for a butt weld, next we tack the panels together with the TIG..











Now we have a one piece wheel well, no overlap joints to trap moisture and start rust, as the originals had done.








One piece wheel well test fitted using the bulb seal....


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViIPhYNsEb0


Moving on to the passenger side, both front and back are trimmed and test fitted. Some minor tweaks and we will be ready to trim for a butt weld and TIG these together next time..

[oldman3]

Robert, that is some super nice work, looks great...Jim

[reaper71]

As usual really nice Robert!!

Mark...

[MP&C]

Thanks guys!


Progress from this past week.. Kyle got started on media blasting the drivers side wheel well and I "assembled" the two components for the passenger side..











We plan on epoxy primer on these prior to installation, so the media blasted surface will give a good bite for the primer.

Here's the test fit of the assembled passenger side wheel well...








Next, the road trip on Friday.. To preface, a couple weeks ago someone had posted a link showing a Baileigh English wheel on eBay (the big one). In the background was one of the Baileigh power hammers. So I called the contact number in the ad, asked if the hammer was available, which he said yes. He gave me a price, asked for a deposit, and this past Friday was the pick up day. I left the house at 1:45 am, picked up my nephew Chris, and drove to CT. Got it loaded up, made it back to the house by 10 pm, quite a long day. Wait....it's supposed to rain tomorrow, let's unload! So we got it off the trailer and inside by 11. Saturday, after sleeping in, was spent locating a spot for the machine, hooking up power, and trying it out on some scrap metal..





Excited to have this additional capability in the shop.

[Advanced Design]

Very nice work on the wheel wells Robert! The power hammer was a nice find and will be useful with your fab work.

[MP&C]

Thanks!


Was working on finishing blocking roof and quarters Saturday when the high winds took out the power for a couple hours.. Not to be deterred, the Milwaukee flashlight comes to the rescue...





Power came back on just after lunch and we got the next dose of Epoxy applied. These sure are some long quarters, I think I'll try a Yugo for the next project, shouldn't need anywhere near the paint prep...








or the video version:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06HesZWWT5I


.

[MP&C]

This is the first sprayout sample... we'll view these again tomorrow in the sunlight to see the true colors...

Chrysler pewter over H/K organic green.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GniinTcVDw


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgDecIZdv04