Rust revival

[iceman510]

I'm floored.  No, I guess you are floored. 

 

 

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

My God! That car was dust. Hopefully everything lines up when you get it all welded back together.

[DARIN 510]

Amazing work as usual !! Loving the updates. Keep it up 👏👏👏

[Rustbin]

Thanks guys. I got such feeling of elation and accomplishment when, finally the welds were ground smooth and cleaned up. I had to show off to my friend Gord and his wife when they came by.

I did take measurements off my four door and measured side to side to make sure the doors and rear 1/4 panels will fit, I also leveled the body side to side, when I put it up on the saw horses, so I could place a level where the diff bolts on, the block at the front of the rear seats, the cowl and the front frame rails. The A pillar brace was also put in level to keep things from twisting. I have seen some ugly repairs where the body was out and things were just shimmed to make it work, I don't want anything like that.

I learned a lot from the work I've got done so far, the fabricating and welding mostly. Being a novice at both I have watched A LOT of youtube videos and read almost every thread here on Ratsun and the Realm, then just started trying to make parts. I had actually given up on the inner rockers that I used on the car but then got inspired by something I saw or read and tried again. I do love the new welder, for years I struggled with a cheap piece of shit that I bought for $300 but the Lincoln can do every thing I need up to 1/8 plate. Some good tips I've learned are to clean the metal where you're going to weld, do a practice piece when you start, make sure everything is lined up correctly and to wear safety gear. Welding splatter can set you on fire, grinders go through skin and bone faster than metal and dust hurts your lungs when you try to breathe.

I've also had time to dream, like how would I build an integral roll cage and what would it take to make a 510 convertible? Ya the roll cage would be a lot more doable but it could fit into the convertible conversion and you'd need a mechanism for the top and a coupe body for the right lines but I can dream.

Although there's rain in the forecast for tomorrow I will try to get the left side outer rocker in before the end of the labor day weekend then it's back onto the couch upholstery. I'll keep you posted.

[Rustbin]

Since I got the floors in it's felt more like I'm putterin on the car, much more relaxed. I finally got the grass cut in the back by the fence (first time this year) because my wife bought some stuff from the Plant land that was closing down do to the guy's retiring (soon to be reopened as the Garden center). She bought some lilacs and hydrangeas to plant there cause the neighbor's galvanized corrugated fence doesn't have much eye appeal and he doesn't like lilacs. 😉 She also bought a 12 by 14 foot Zebo the she wants as a centerpiece for a Japanese inspired garden, which she wants me to paint and set up this fall. With all this going on in my life I still got some stuff done on the car starting with the mystery piece, since I didn't have a big enough piece of 18 gauge I just put one together now that I getting better at welding.

 

 

 

Next I pulled the old patch off the wheel well to find... um ya rust.

 

 

I split the seam and removed what was left of the original piece.

 

 

I cut off the remains of the rear 1/4 just at the top of the rocker to attach the new piece, then removed the old rocker.

 

 

 

 

I remover the lower bit of the A pillar that I repaired and made another one as it was easier than grinding the welds on the inside.

 

 

 

I forgot to take pictures of welding the old rocker piece into the recess on the new rocker but that was shown on the right side rocker. I also found a can of green rust paint in the basement that actually sprays so I coated the inside of the rocker with it, worked so good I sprayed the outside too. I wonder why it took so long to dry?

 

 

 

This is most of what I took out of the car plus some off cut bits from the patch metal I used, just had to take a picture to remember just how much rust I did get out of this car. The bucket on the left that doesn't have bits sticking out of it is filled with the rust I swept up off the driveway.

 

 

I'm going to try to repair the lower portions of the A pillars next because I'd like to have them finished. Should I put the seam seal on before winter hits or just put some paint on it and leave it for when I have some real paint to cover it?

 

[DARIN 510]

I would prime the areas then seam seal before winter 

[Rustbin]

Thanks again Darin, I'm taking your advise. After I posted the question I started thinking of the fir needles and debris that might fall in and decided to seam seal, but priming it first make the most sense. I started making the lower bits for the A pillars by patterning and cutting out some small pieces of 18 gauge and though I would just bend and shrink the pinch seam since it is such a small flange but it turned out to be a lot more difficult than I expected with the thicker metal. I pounded with the ball peen hammer and squeezed it in the vise to get it to the curve in and just before welding it in used the disc grinder to smooth the wrinkles  out of it, anyway the straighter bits went easier.

 

 

 

 

 

That is all of the green paint, I thought there was more in it than that. When I was sitting back pondering my approach to the left side A pillar I noticed something hanging from the back of the car.

 

 

It was the 5/8th wrench I have been looking for for months, it must have been there since I put it up on the saw horse because that's when I tried to take off the bumper. I might try the sawzall on the bolts cause I can't get the cut off disc in there.

 

 

[Rustbin]

Well the labor day weekend has passed and the weather is cooler, the forecast called for rain so I got busy finding more paint to cover the repaired and replaced panels. There was a little bit of blue and some purple left over from some project I had done somewhere back in time so now the car looks like it's getting ready for the pride parade. It would be sweet if I could have it going by the next pride parade but I don't think I will, there is still so much to do.

 

 

 

I had to clean up the shop so I made a sophisticated portfolio for my patterns and templates.

 

 

I actually used a bold sharpy to label it 510  templates. Yes the box says no modesty. A modesty panel sits beneath the top of a table and hides the top portion of a persons legs while they are sitting.

 

 

I've been doing the neglected yard work, cutting up firewood digging holes for lilacs and prepping a spot for another shed. I wont be allowed to put car parts in this one, gardening and yard stuff only, she wasn't impressed when she found the bicycle and lawn mower covered with the stuff I pulled out of the wagon. With the shop being put back to doing upholstery, I wonder what things I can work on in the basement?

 

 

[Rustbin]

Happy New Year. I got a little done on the car since September, when I wrapped up the 510s in tarps and found a label on the edge just as I was finishing up. Mmm, do not use as shelter, on automobiles or extended use on any flat painted surfaces, Oh well.

 

 

   

 

I've been trying to sell my Dodge Caravan and pillaged the grey donor van for parts then realized I could get the seat belt floor mount brackets out of the seat base. I measured the thickness of the metal, it was the same as the bracket I need to replace so cut it apart I did and started hammering it into shape, which didn't go to easy. I was almost done the first one when a remeasure with the calipers told me there was both 16 and 14 gauge metal in the seat base and the piece that was the right size was 14 not 16 like the 510 bracket. I persevered.

 

 

 

 

My friend Gord found a rotisserie for sale and bought it for repairing his 71 Buick Riviera, which I will be helping him with, but he won't be able to get to it for at least 6 months and he needs a place to store it so I get to use it for my project.  Can anyone recommend tips and tricks for mounting a 510 on the rotisserie?

 

 

I took the bumper off thinking I would attach to the mounting holes but the rear valance is not square across or perpendicular to the road so a flat plate isn't so easy. I dragged in the bumpers from both cars and noticed the different ways they were made to bolt to the rear quarter panel. The PO put a 68 bumper on the 72 so the plate light hole was obvious but I didn't realize the mount was different too.

 

 

 

I checked out Futofab and only found chrome bumpers. Ultimately I would like them painted but I haven't found any good ways of removing chrome myself, but if I do I may be able to repair these.

 

[Rustbin]

Happy 510 day! It's been a year since my first post and a few things have changed in my life since my last. I quit my upholstery business and got a real job, two actually. First I worked as detailer for a body shop for six weeks, then I got on as casual with the local Red Cross as a health equipment loan program technician, which I really like. I ended up working full time from mid January to end of April so not much time for cars. What I did do besides yard work and getting my 4runner on the road as a commuter vehicle was to make brackets to mount the 510 on the rotisserie.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was hoping to get the car on the rotisserie this week but got called in to work so it didn't happen. I did get started on making a jig to position the pin boxes for the rear cross member, finding pipe with the right inside diameter took the most time. The old mustache bar is of unknown origin and in too rough shape and was just used for reference.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I got the mustache bar section welded up but not the spreaders for the cross member mounting pins. My idea is to build a triangle with the pins at the outside points that I can just mount in the two door when I weld the pin boxes in. I will also have to make a center point mounting tab so I can be sure things will be aligned for and aft.

 

I did have a moment last weekend where I could take the tarps off the cars and clean up under them.

 

 

 

Just curious does anyone know if this is a Nissan jack? I found it in my pile of jacks and am using it in my 4Runner, it fits perfectly in the stock jack slot.

 

 

I'm planning on getting back on the 510 project and doing regular updates. Again Happy 510 Day.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

I am overly cautious when mounting a body on a rotisserie. Simply mounting it to the bumper bolt holes allows flex in the body. It would be wise to run a tie bar from one side of the rotisserie to the other to keep the flex to a minimum.

 

Here's a pic of my Sprite race car on the rotisserie. You can see how much tubing I used to keep the car straight.

 

 

[Rustbin]

Your rotisserie set up looks first rate Stoffregen. After reading your comment about being cautious, I did reinforce the back end of the car because of the rust and the  lack of integrity of the rear quarter panels.

 

  

 

 

 

We had a BBQ on Saturday that celebrated the mothers so I had Mothers day all to myself so I got the car up on the rotisserie.

 

 

I checked things as I went, swapped in larger diameter bolts where things had play and looked for flexing. There was all kinds of noises when things slid and when the rear window fell open or closed as I rolled it sideways but it is actually quite stable. I did have to run and grab a jug when the coolant started pouring from the heater core, we have two small dogs here so I had to wash away the stuff that spilled onto the ground so it wouldn't damage their kidneys.

 

 

 

I went down into the basement, dug through the pieces I made last summer and dragged out everything that goes under the back seat. I decided to weld in the gusset I made last July first because it looked easiest. There was a little tweeking the flanges but it went well, drilled some holes for plug welding, sanded off the paint in the appropriate spots and welded it on.

 

 

 

Notice this image is of the other side, it was so nice to just rotate the car so I didn't have to weld uphill. I so wish I had this last year. Looking at what I have to tackle next leaves me wondering in which order do I approach this? Do I start at the solid metal at the center and work out or start at the rockers and work to the center? Does anyone have a good order of operations for repairing such things?

 

 

I'm going to work on finishing up my sub frame mounting pin jig while I try to figure things out.

 

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Looks good.

[Rustbin]

Since my last post I took the time to clean up the underside around where I welded in the gusset. I wanted to get some paint on the bare metal before it rusted so I cleaned of the oily gunk, scraped off the undercoating and took a wire brush to the surface rust that was there. I coated it rust converter then when it was dry primed and painted it, I guess that part is done till I redo the undercoating.

 

   

 

Next thing was to put the fourdoor on the Rotisserie to make the jig. The uneven gravel and extra weight of the front suspension made it much more difficult but with the wheels sinking into the gravel I didn't have to worry is I had the wheel brakes on. Once I had it up on it's side I did put props and supports it take some of the stress off the rotisserie and the bumper mounts.

 

 

This weekend I did get to doing the jig, it took longer than I thought and the amount the metal shrank surprised me. I made the pieces then put them in place on the car, tacked them then removed then for full welding, placed them back on the car for the next piece and it got tighter and more difficult each time. The mustache bar pins are 410mm on center, as I made that part first it seems it shrank the most down to about 405mm so I cut the back two pipes almost off wedged them back into place and tacked them, good enough. The curved thing on the front is to locate the center line of the car, I measured and drilled a hole in the same spot on each car so that I could accurately mark where the subframe pins should be.

 

  

 

Now back to figuring out how best to go about replacing the floors and pin boxes.

 

 

[Rustbin]

I pondered for a while, looked at the pin boxes and pondered.

 

   

 

   

 

I pulled the left side one off with my hands, not much left of it, then drilled the spot welds holding the right hand side and removed it as well. It became apparent that I have to do the pin boxes first and then fix the floor from above. Of the right side only the taper block was in tact, thankfully I don't have to try and build one. I don't know how I would get the taper right. Looks like I'll be building the rest from scratch. I dug out the pieces I had already built and the patterns that I had in safe keeping and set out make them.

 

     

 

The base cup is 12 gauge metal which I don't have a lot of so I searched through what I had collected and found the top of the minivan rad support and some discarded bath support handles. Two layers to separate plus to many holes in the rad support and not quite enough width on the bath handle, I'll go with a little extra welding. It looks like I'll be building these from scrap.

 

   

 

     

 

I spent so much time pondering so I didn't get much actually done on the car but I did get some practice welding on the 22 gauge metal lid of the 70's era kitchen garbage can my wife wants to paint (she is tired of the classic gold with the greeny grey fogged edges) and put the summer wheels back on her Nitro. Both of these skills will be useful later on my build.

  

 

 

 

[iceman510]

From rustbin to dustbin...  

[Rustbin]

I forgot to take a picture of it finished but it looks good in the kitchen. I kept on working with the bath handle bits for the pin boxes, I thought it was 12 gauge  with lots of paint but after striping the paint it was still a little thick. Do they make 11 gauge? I had .023 wire in the welder and .035 was recommended, I had some .035 fluxcore and almost no gas so that's what I used for welding, what a pain. I did get good penetration but it splatters like crazy, with tons of pinholes, luckily after I'm done no one but me and the readers of this thread will know.

 

   

 

 

 

I slid the part that I had made last year behind my jig, lined it up, held it in place with a sheet metal screw then marked the pin placement. My template mark was almost perfect. I started with the right hand side where there was still enough metal for reference then completed the right pin box before tackling the left. I copied the factory spot welding pattern for my plug welds and did use the zinc primer though I don't think it would rust out in my lifetime.

 

 

 

   

 

Comparing scratch (scrap) built next to factory original.

 

 

 

I painted it with rust paint to hide the welds then installed it with the pin in the  jig. I then went onto the right side using more measurements because of the lack of car body for reference. I didn't take as many pictures but I was just repeating the process. I will tweak the flanges when I weld them in, after I get a full cylinder of gas.

 

   

 

 

 

I removed the rear brake line, unfortunately it broke, and used the cardboard speed nut method to keep things in order for when I putting it back together.

 

 

Does anybody have a picture of how the sheet metal was shaped originally? This is all I have to go by for making this part of the wheel tub.

 

 

 

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Man, this car is serious swiss cheese.

[rattyrat]

ship of theseus comes to mind with this...incredible work!

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Grandfather's axe.

[Rustbin]

It's been a busy couple weeks, the tree service guys brought down four trees for our new driveway access, with last weekends swap meet and I helped my friend Gord get his car ready for a fathers day car show. Also I got the pin boxes welded in while they were held in place by the jig I made. With that done I got this crazy idea that I should check them with the rear suspension and diff.

 

 

 

 

 

The right side brake was seized so I spent some time using, pb blaster, a big hammer and some heat to remove it. The linings came out with the drum and everything spun freely again. The left side must have fallen out years ago because I can't remember taking them out. Can we still get drum brake parts? I guess I'll worry about that later.

 

 

 

Well with a lot of struggling with the cart and blocks and jacks I managed to get it under the car and over the connecting brace of the rotisserie to lower the car and lift the it and slide it smoothly over the pins. Yes a perfect fit! Not as good as sex but still very satisfying.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since I'm planning to use coil overs how much strength is needed around the old spring perch? There isn't much there now.

 

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

If using coil overs, all the weight is put on the shock tower. The old spring perch becomes moot. If possible, build or buy some sort of tower brace.

[Rustbin]

Thank you again Stoffregen for your insightful advice, it is very much appreciated.  I haven't had much time to work on the car in the last couple of weeks, with wood splitting and moving plants for the new driveway but I snuck out to the shop a few times and got one of my self made trimmed and fitted then welded the access hole into so the rubber plug will fit in. I also looked at how I might connect and support the lower edge of the wheel tub.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    

 

I think my welding has improved since last year. I have to repeat this process with the other side but I don't have to be super precise with the hole placement, as long as I can get the socket on to tighten the pin. I hope to get time for it soon.

[Rustbin]

I took some time away from moving wood this past weekend to rest my back and work on the car. I got the left side patch panel welded in and the right side partially welded in, would have needed a four day weekend to get it finished but "oh well". Most of the time was spent trimming and fitting, I don't know how many times the new panel went in and out to make sure every edge fit tight for welding but when I did get to welding it in there was no major struggles.

 

   

 

 

 

 

   

 

I had to make sure I had rust paint in the boxes before I welded things together. It's black because that was one of the colors that were on sale at Home depot, I ran out of the old stuff I had in the basement last fall.

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

I didn't take many pictures of the right side because it was basically a repeat but with more metal there it was easier to position but less room for access to weld the flange for attaching the wheel tub.

 

     

 

    

 

I'll get to grinding the welds and finishing the forward edge near the inner rocker panel next weekend. I was impressed on how well my original layout lined up. I sometimes think about hammering those V shaped indents into my floor panel but I don't know if it's worth the time. I'm happy to be back at it though.

[DARIN 510]

God damn that thing is fucking hella rusty! But you’re doing some amazing work. My current project has really bad rust but it’s not that bad and I’m bitching lol. Keep up the good work I love the detailed photos of your build.