Fuel filler patch

[Fenhold]

I'm way behind on posting updates on the 52 five window I'm building, but I'm really happy with this and thought I'd share. This is my first attempt at a patch on an actual visible body panel so I wanted to see if I could get it "paint ready" without any filler. I have an obnoxious attention to detail coupled with self doubt so things like this keep me up at night. My main concern was getting both sides of the cab the same exact shape. I started with drawing out a grid on both sides of the cab with lines 1/2" apart. I checked the pass side against the drivers side with a profile gauge and it showed what I was hoping it wouldn't. When the filler hole was punched out it distorted the panel and thus had a completely different radius. I used a variety of body dollies to bump the panel out to match the drivers side. Once it was close I set some really strong Neodymium (rare earth) magnets at the edge of the filler opening and set a piece of sheet metal on the inside. Even though the steel was flat (and thus touching in the corners only)the field from the magnets held it while I used my champion dolly to bump the patch piece close to the shape of the cab. Once It was close I used a Sharpie and scribe to mark the cut line.

[booger1949]

that bad a_ _ for sure, good job

[Fenhold]

With the piece cut out I set it in place with the magnets and began the slow tedious task of tacking it in place. I took care to make sure the patch was perfectly level with the original panel in each spot I welded. The magnets held incredibly well and I simply slid them around to hold each new spot. They will last a while as long as you don't get the arc right up next to them or they will loose strength. I went slowly back and forth bumping where needed to keep it flush.

[jimig1]

Looks great!. I never thought about the grid like that I may have to give it a try

[Fenhold]

Once I completed the welds I carefully ground down the bead as close as possible to the body without taking any of the original material down. I wanted to keep the thickness of the material as uniform as possible because unlike thickness material will shrink at a different rate. Once I had it close I made a second pass where necessary and ground down again.

[Fenhold]

With the welding done it was time for straightening. I started with Sharpie and blocking to identify the highs/lows and did all the standard hammer/ dolly work. Once it was close I used a shrinking disc sparingly (only made and corrected a couple of flat spots). once it was close I hit it with an extremely worn 100 grit pad with a backing plate to heat the panel evenly and quenched it with soapy water just like the shrinking disc.

[mknittle]

Should do nicely!!

[Fenhold]

I hit the panel with 80 and repeated the process several times redrawing the grid each time and expanding my coverage to be sure the panel was even.

[Fenhold]

All done. Ready for epoxy.

Thanks for looking!

[booger1949]

real good job

[BlueJeep]

Looks fantastic!

[Dan in Pasadena]

Incredibly good job. What's the INSIDE look like?

[Fenhold]

I shot pics of the inside so you can see. I didn't put any effort into the final outcome of the inside because I knew there would be thin spots that would have to be tapped out. There will be trim panels and a subwoofer enclosure behind the seats so it will not be seen. I haven't sanded the inside yet, but there are just a few minimal weld voids which you can see as dark spots. Epoxy and 2k should easily fill those.

If you're in Pasadena you're only about 15 minutes from me (not during traffic of course) off the 210. Let me know if you want to come check something out.

Thanks to everyone for looking.

[torchlight]

That's not just great work - its gorgeous!

[MrDude_1]

You did an exceptionally nice job. I find it hard to believe that this is your first patch attempt.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by Fenhold

...If you're in Pasadena you're only about 15 minutes from me (not during traffic of course) off the 210. Let me know if you want to come check something out.

I'm in East Pas, walking distance from Victory Park. Drop me a PM with your contact info so I can come over a drool over your project.

Hopefully it'll spur me to get off my butt and start doing the rust repair on my '55!

[Fenhold]

Originally Posted by MrDude_1

You did an exceptionally nice job. I find it hard to believe that this is your first patch attempt.

Thanks! Yes this is the first time I have done an actual body patch. I have welded sheet metal before (floor pieces mostly) but nothing where cosmetics were a consideration. Start to finish I did spend 3 Saturday afternoons (12-15hours).