Automotive Bodywork - Special Projects and Procedures - Muscle Car DIY

Automotive Bodywork: Special Projects and Procedures Muscle Car DIY http://www.musclecardiy.com/bodywork/automotive-bodywork-special-p...
P E R FO R M A N C E R E B U IL D R E S T O R A T IO N M O D IF IC A T IO N
s in m ost other endeavors,in autobody m etal w ork there are M ARCH 22,2015 BY M U SCLE CAR D IY
any specialprojects and procedures that are needed to m ove
ork along,and/or to com plete it.Som e of these are huge and
aunting tasks like fabricating a com plex assem bly. O thers are jobs that m ust be done
peatedly and routinely, like hanging and aligning doors or decklids. This chapter details
m e ofthese projects and procedures,starting w ith a very diffi cultand im pressive exam ple of
is kind ofw ork.
This Tech Tip is From the FullBook,AU TO M O TIVE BO DYW O RK &

RU ST REPAIR.Fora com prehensive guide on this entire subject
you can visitthis link:
LEARN M O RE ABO U T TH IS BO O K H ERE
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bodyw ork/autom otive-bodyw ork-special-projects-and-procedures/
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t first, as I w atched M att, a m etal crafter at LCars in Cam eron, W isconsin, fabricate a
production splash shield for a vintage Ford m ilitary am phibian vehicle,I w as am azed that
hat he w as doing could be done at all.Parts of the job,like patterning and cutting,w ere
raightforw ard and fam iliar to m e, but other parts of it stretched m y concept of w hat is
ossible to accom plish w hen custom form ing sheetm etal,w ithoutusing stam ping dies.
O riginaland duplicated new splash shields fora vintage Ford am phibian vehicle are
show n here.The reproduced item ,in front,w as form ed and outfitted in a little m ore than a
day,using no significantspecific tooling to produce it.
s Icontinued to w atch M attw ork on this project,tw o m ore form s ofam azem entjoined m y first
nse of aw e.Ifound it incredible that he could progress as quickly and certainly as he did,
d Ifound the quality and precision of his results quite beyond anything that Ihad expected
see,or even thought possible.At tim es,his dexterity w ith the m etalw as so great that Ihad
rem ind m yselfthathe w as w orking w ith 21-gauge m ild-steelsheetstock,and nota sheetof
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m e kind ofm alleable plastic.The m etalseem ed to w illingly respond to his every action.
tep 1:
This paper pattern has alm ost m agical 3-D capabilities.

H ere it w orks flat,to outline the shape of the new splash
shield.Later in this project,the cuts in it w ill allow it to
indicate specific areas of the new parts shape,in three
dim ensions.
tep 2:
At this point, it w as not necessary to cut out the m etal

from w hich to m ake the new splash shield very
accurately. The part w ould be trim m ed to exact
dim ensions, later. Still, M att m ade his cuts accurately
because thatis the standard to w hich he w orks.
tep 3:
These Steck form ing dies, m ounted in a Pullm ax, form

very quickly. The dies back areas im press V-shaped
grooves into the w ork piece.Then,as it is draw n forw ard,
through them , the dies crow ned front surfaces flatten
and upset the V-shaped grooves,shrinking,and form ing
the m etal.
tep 4:
The Steck die operation left the m etalpretty uneven,but
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w ith shrink areas in the right places.N ext,a large English

w heelw as used to sm ooth out the m etal.N ote the area
below the form ing w heels that w as m ade uneven by the
Steck process.
tep 5:
These Eckold shrinking heads w ere used to produce very

com pact, local shrinks, and to sm ooth the m etal. They
w ork by m echanically gathering the m etalbetw een them
in a controlled upsetting pattern.The result is the ability
to create very specific localshrink areas.
attbegan the job by selecting m aterialsim ilarto thatin the originalsplash shield thathe w as
pying.H e created an elaborate paper pattern of the originalshield by out-lining it on paper,
d then cutting reliefs,sidew ays into the paper,so that w hen it w as deform ed to close them ,
e papertook on the shape ofthe original,am ounting to a three-dim ension-capable tem plate.
his w as not done so m uch for checking his final result w ith the splash shield,as it w as to
ake itpossible to check specific sections ofitas he w entalong.O fcourse,he alw ays had the
riginal shield that he w as copying to check his finished result against.The paper tem plate
rved w hen he had questions about a particular bend or contour,as he w as form ing the new
iece from rough.Essentially,itw as used to guide his progress.
tep 6:
The early stages of this job required plenty of hum an

intervention betw een m achine operations. As the piece
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evolved,M att used the Steck,Eckold,and English w heel

devices to m ake his bends perm anent. H e did this by
relaxing the m etal into the shapes that he w anted it to
take.
tep 7:
At tim es,M att stopped to com pare his w ork piece to the
original splash shield.You can see that at this point,he
still had a long w ay to go. H e had created the basic
contour of the piece,and the beginnings of som e of its
crow ns.
tep 8:
As w ork progressed,the pieces crow ns began to appear.

M att used the English w heel to sm ooth areas disrupted
by the Steck heads.N ote one ofthese areas underand to
the rightedge ofhis lefthand.
tep 9:
This paper pattern is being used to indicate one of the
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w ork pieces corner crow ns.As the grooves in the paper

are closed, it bends into three dim ensions, indicating
other angles of the crow n that are supposed to be in the
m etalunderit.
rough outline ofthe fabricated item w as m arked on the m etal,leaving plenty ofextra border
aterial for later trim m ing and w ire edging operations.The outline w as cut out of the stock
etal w ith an electric hand shear, along its straights and looser curves.Aircraft snips w ere
sed in its tightradius areas,its ends.Allofthis w as pretty routine.Then the fun began.
he shape ofthe splash shield had been indicated roughly on the m etal,w ith m arked vertical
es at som e of the cuts in the paper tem plate.D ifferent distances from each line to the next,
d the lengths and angles of the lines,indicated curvature in the panelcrossw ise and,at its
rner bend radii, lengthw ise. Starting w ith the corner bends, w hich had curves in both
irections (am ounting to crow n),these areas w ere w orked into the m etal w ith Steck form ing
ols,m ounted in a Pullm ax device.
s the Pullm ax cycled closing,separating,and closing again the Steck shaping dies on the
etal,the Steck diesfrontarea im pressed considerable V-shaped bends into the m etalbends
atstopped shortofstretching it.Then,as M attpulled the m etalback through the Steck dies,
eir slightly crow ned front area flattened the bends that had been V-bent by their rear area,
reating an upset in the m etal,and shrinking it.This also shaped it.It took a com bination of
ill,judgm ent,and experience to use this device effectively,butarm ed w ith these attributes,it
incredible w hat M att accom plished,in a relatively short tim e,w ith the Pullm ax and Steck
ies.It w as equally am azing that there w as alm ost no collateral dam age surface abrading,
aring,stretching,orcracking to the m etalthathe w as form ing.
tep 10:
The paper tem plate indicated excessive crow n in the

m arked area on the panel. Adjustm ent to the required
crow n in this area w as too sm allfor the Steck dies,w hile
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the crow n radius w as too tight for the Eckold heads.

Another solution to shrinking and form ing it had to be
found.
tep 11:
The solution to upsetting and shrinking the m ild inboard

excess ofcrow n w as to push the m etalthrough this cycle
press,w ith a dom ed,steel-bottom die and a hard-rubber,
flat, upper-die receiver (a hockey puck). This action put
sm all,dom ed im pressions in the m etal.
tep 12:
The dom ed im pressions w ere then ham m ered flat from

both sides,and w heeled flatter in an English w heel.The
result w as to slightly upset the m etal, causing local
shrinks.This leftitsm ooth,and in the correctcrow n.
com parison ofthe Pullm ax/Steck com bination to a less advanced m ethod ofrough shaping
etal,like the good old plastic m alletand shotbag routine,m ightgo like this.Itw ould be like
e com parison ofa sportutility vehicle to an F1 racing carthey are both vehicles designed for
ansportation,butone ofthem gets you there m uch fasterifyou know how to drive it.
he Pullm ax/Steck com bination m oves m etal incredibly quickly but,understandably,it does
t leave a sm ooth surface.To sm ooth his w ork and,to a lesser degree,to provide additional
rm ing,M attused an English w heelto w ork the area that he had shrunk and form ed w ith the
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teck dies. H e em ployed a diagonal approach, from tw o directions, to sm ooth aw ay the

ughness created by the Steck dies.
he above-described operations w ere repeated several tim es, until the basic shape of the
ished splash shield w as pretty w ellestablished in the new m etal,including the crow ns that
ere inherent in its shape.As w ork progressed,M att added the use of Eckold shrinking heads
his tooling routine.The Eckold heads w ere m ounted in a press thatcycled them tow ard and
ay from each other,pressing against the m etalinserted betw een them .The Eckold device
m ly grips sheetm etal, and then com presses it laterally. Think of this as a m echanical
athering action.The surfaces of each heads halves grip the m etal as they com press it,and
en m ove tow ard each other a sm alldistance.This creates a sm all,com pact upset a defined
d localshrink.The operatorcan controlthe am ountofthe shrink in severalw ays,in particular
adjusting head pressure the distance betw een the heads in theirrepeated strokes and how
any cycles he orshe allow s the m etalto be com pacted in a given area.
tep 13:
Behold the rare and lovely M agee W ire Edger. It

uniform ly w raps sheetm etal edges around w ire cores.It
can handle m ild curves in three dim ensions. That
am azing feat qualifies it for m y list of the Seven
Sheetm etalW onders ofthe W orld
tep 14:
The next step in fabricating the splash shield w as to roll

the first of three lengthw ise beads into it.A tape line w as
pulled in the position ofthe firstbead,and m arked on the
m etal.The bead w as rolled slow ly and accurately w ith a
hand-operated bead roller.
8 of 59 9/6/2017 5:54 PM
o notthink thatallofthis sophisticated toolw ork w as occurring untouched by hum an hands.

s M att alternated use of the Pullm ax/Steck operation w ith w heeling on the English W heel,
d Eckold head shrinking,he also did som e good,old-fashioned hand bending,to m ake the
iece go into the correct curvatures.O nce he had the right contour in his w ork piece,he used
e m achines to refine itand to m ake itperm anent.Because M atts shaping approach involved
quential force and stress relieving operations,the panel acquired im pressively little stress
d hardness as he w orked it.H e also avoided producing any thin spots.
ave seen m etalw orked w ith conventionalhand tools in dim ensionally sm alleram ounts than
is,and becom e so brittle and stressed that it cannot function as it is supposed to,w ithout
ringing out of shape,or even cracking.By com parison,the m etal in M atts panel rem ained
pple and resilientthroughoutthe process.
f course,M att checked his evolving fabrication often against the original piece,as his w ork
rogressed.As the crow ns and curves in the new piece becam e m ore and m ore regular and
uthentic,its surface becam e sm oother.Itbegan to look finished.
o m atterhow good the piece looked,how ever,itw as criticalto its dim ensionalcorrectness to
ep checking it against the paper tem plate.Those com parisons provided better and m ore
seful indications than could be derived from com parisons to the original splash shield. To
rify specific areas of the new piece,checking against the paper tem plate inform ed exactly
here the new fabrication m ightbe off,because itw as possible to position the papertem plate
actly over any particular area in the w ork piece.At one point,the paper tem plate indicated
cessive bulge in the crow n atthe new shields cornerbends.
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correctthis,M attperform ed som e radicalcold shrinks and reshapings w here the m etalw as
ulged.This w as done w ith a cycling press that im pressed the m etalbetw een a dom ed steel
ol,and a hard rubbersurface,basically a hockey puck.The resultw as then upsetw ith a body
m m erovera shotbag,and sm oothed outon an English w heel.This corrected the lastm ajor
im ensional deviation in the basic shape of the fabricated part. M ore w ork w ith the Eckold
ads and English w heel fine-tuned m inor areas of the piece, until it very closely
proxim ated the originalitem w hen com pared to the papertem plate.
he originalsplash shield had m ostofthe length ofits edges w rapped around a w ire core,the
ception being the attachm ent areas at its ends.To duplicate this configuration,M att used a
agee W ire Edger.This w as a com m on production tool,from M odel T days into the 1940s.
om ehow , Bob Lorkow ski, the am iable proprietor of LCars, has resurrected one of these
trem ely rare m achines for use in his shops restoration w ork. A sheetm etal edge, not
cessarily a straightedge,is fed into the m achine along w ith a piece ofcore w ire.The M agee
ends the edge of the sheetm etal uniform ly around the core w ire,w ith absolutely no fuss or
isible distortion.Itis an am azing process to behold.
tep 15:
W ith the firstw ire edge installed,and the firstbead rolled

into the m etal,it took on a new firm ness.M att now did
som e m anual shaping.N ote the contour outline m arked
10 of 59 9/6/2017 5:54 PM
on the floor for checking the pieces shape. The first

rolled bead is clearly visible.
tep 16:
The second and third beads w ere now rolled into the
splash shield.A little re-rolling touchup in a tightly curved
and crow ned section ofthe third bead is show n here.
tep 17:
At this point,the Eckold heads w ere used to shrink and

sm ooth a sm allbuckle in the edge ofthe m etal.This w as
in preparation for installing the second w ire edge in the
w ork piece.
tep 18:
The second w ire edge w as rolled into the m etal, using

the m iraculous M agee W ire Edger. W hile this m achine
m akes this look sim ple, it takes skill, judgm ent, and
experience to achieve good results w ith it. The hardest
partofusing the M agee is setting itup correctly fora job.
11 of 59 9/6/2017 5:54 PM
tep 19:
W ith the second w ire edge com pleted,the piece w as in

its finalform .Itrem ained only to refine som e ofits details.
H ere,M attis fine tuning one ofthe beads.Later,he uses a
body ham m er and a die that he had fabricated to m ake
the beadsends uniform .
tep 20:
The M agee W ire Edger couldnt follow the sharp bends.

After shaping and w elding in w ire,M att bent the edge of
the m etal over the w ire w ith locking pliers. H e had to
annealthe m etalonce to finish this bending job.
ith the first of the tw o w ire edges on the w ork piece form ed,M att and som e helpers used a
ead roller to rollthe bead nearest to the w ire-cored edge into the w ork piece.This required
e use of a deep-throat bead roller w ith a m anualdrive.The bead w as rolled slow ly enough
precisely follow a tape line thatM atthad m arked on the m etalforguidance.
he rolled w ire edge gave the piece strength,and the first rolled bead added to thatstrength.
ow ,M attm anually bentthe piece into finalshape.U p to this point,itstillhad been too floppy
hold its finalshape.N ow itdid.
he othertw o beads w ere rolled into the piece,w ith dim ensionalchecks and sm allcorrections
ade to it along the w ay.The Eckold shrinking dies w ere particularly useful at this point for
12 of 59 9/6/2017 5:54 PM
abilizing the m etalin its correctand finalshape.
tep 21:
M att fabricated these shield m ounting brackets from flat

stock, and spot w elded them onto the splash shield. Talk
about detail! Even the brackets that he fabricated w ere
faithfulreplicas ofthe originals.
ith the third bead rolled into place,and the m etalchecked and rechecked forfidelity to the
riginalpiece,the second w ire edge w as added.At this point,the piece becam e quite strong,
hile show ing no tendency to w ant to spring or oil can into and out of shape. The m etal
ntained little stress.M etaphorically,it seem ed happy and at peace w ith itself.M aybe you
sthad to be there to sense this.
he second w ire edge w as added to the new splash shield,and m inorcorrections w ere m ade
the rolled beads,and to the m etalaround them .The ends ofthe beads w ere m ade uniform
ith a ham m erand a specialdie thatM atthad fabricated forthis purpose.
inishing details and features w ere added to the new splash shield.Tw o three-dim ensional
rap holes w ere form ed near its bottom edge.W ire edging w as com pleted around an indent
its top edge,w hich contained turns that w ere too sharp for the M agee W ire Edger to follow .
his w as done m anually,by w elding in a shaped piece ofw ire thatfollow ed the contourofthe
dent,and rolling the splash shield m etal around it.Annealing heat w as used to soften the
etalin this area to allow com pletion of its severe deform ation around the w ire.Top brackets
ere fabricated to duplicate the originals,and then spot w elded into place.Finally,m ounting
d rein-forcing plates forthe splash shields ends w ere form ed to duplicate the originals,and
otw elded to the splash shield.
he authenticity of M atts fabricated duplicate piece w as superb.This w as one of the m ost
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ffi cultm etalform ing jobs in steelm aterialthatIhave everw itnessed,and itw as done w ith an
actness ofshape and detailthatis atthe farlim itofw hatcan be accom plished in fabricating
eet-m etal.N ote that w hen the finished fabrication is put into service,it w ill be visible from
oth sides. It w ill be subjected to severe service,in term s of im pact, vibration, exposure to
eather,and possibly to corrosive sea w ater. Surviving these factors m ade it im possible to
ke the easierroute offabricating itfrom w elded-togethersub-sections.
also is im pressive that the w hole process of m aking this piece took less than a day and a
lf, and that included considerable tim e that w as spent answ ering m y questions, and
opping w ork so thatIcould photograph it.
rom replacing quarter panels to m aking grille or headlight trim surround pieces fit properly,
utobody panelw ork constantly requires adjustm ents ofthe dim ensions and positions ofparts,
m ake them to w ork together properly. This is a continuous battle in this w ork, w ith no
m ple, or general, attack plan available. Som etim es early-on m inor m istakes, or botched
etails,can cause big problem s in fitting things togetherlater.O thertim es,w hatm ay appearto
e big problem s are surprisingly easy to solve. The follow ing photos of a range of fitting
erations w ere taken atM uscle CarRestorations,Inc.,in Chippew a Falls,W isconsin.
he only general advice that applies to these things is: You m inim ize the potential for big
roblem s w hen you attend to dim ensionalaccuracy as you go along.
hen it is done correctly,quarter-panelreplacem ent can be a long job.This is w ork that can
e done very w ell or very badly. D oing it w ell involves m aking everything fit nicely, w hile
oiding forcing fits in any m ajorw ay.Such forced fits can cause distortion in the finished job.
he firststep is to plan exactly w hatm etalyou w antto rem ove and replace.In large part,this is
ictated by the dam age that is the cause for having to graft in the new m etal.It is tem pting to
place allof the old m etalthat is included in the new panelthat you are installing after all,
14 of 59 9/6/2017 5:54 PM
u paid for allof it and often,this is the best w ay to go.It alldepends on the soundness of
e old quarterpanel,the quality ofthe replacem entpanel,and the logic ofw here you have to
eld in the new m etal.It is possible that there are features of the old m etal that are sound,
aking them superior to their counterparts in the replacem ent panel.This m ay be the case
ith regard to the positions of character lines,or of accessory m ounting points that have to
atch other features in surrounding panels.Every partialpanelreplacem ent has its ow n logic
d im peratives.W here you cutand w eld in new m etalm ay be an easy decision,oritm ay take
nsiderable forehead-w rinkling thought.
tep 1:
Part of this quarter panels low er section had already

been rem oved to gain access for a structural repair to
part of the unibody. N ow , tape w as applied to it to
indicate the cut line for rem oving the rest of the
quarter-panelm etalthatw ould be replaced.
tep 2:
Cutting outa quarterpanelw ith a plasm a arc torch is fast

and accurate. W ith a car stripped as far as this one is,
there is no reason notto use this technique forthis job.
15 of 59 9/6/2017 5:54 PM
tep 3:
The alm ost-rem oved quarter panel is show n here,

dangling (just for m y photograph) from the rest of the
body.N ote that the w orker is w earing gloves,a w elding
helm et,and dust m ask.That kind of protection is a very
good idea w hen you use a plasm a cutter.
tep 4:
Even a good quarter panelcan have problem s.It pays to

correct the obvious ones before you install it.This panel
has bulges generated by stretched m etal.Shrinking the
m etal w ith a shrinking ham m er saves tim e later,w hen it
w illbe m ore diffi cultto gain good access.
ny of the m etal cutting techniques described in Chapter 4 m ay have a place(s) in your

proach to cutting outan old quarterpanel.O ne thatis notdescribed there,the old air-chisel
ethod ofseparating large m etalsections from panels,is pretty obsolete,but som etim es has
place in cutting outareas in som e quarter-panelconstructions.Plasm a arc cutting is often the
stestand bestw ay to severold quarter-panelm etal.
ny supporting structure behind a quarter panel that you replace m ust be repaired if it is
am aged.Areas like inner w heel housing attachm ents m ust be confirm ed for alignm ent and
ntact,before you w eld in a new quarter panel.It is m uch easier to correct structural issues
efore a quarter panel is m ounted than after.In m ost cases,any supporting structure behind
uarter panels is at their edges.The exception is m onocoque quarter panels,w here a skin is
retched overstructure during m anufacture to give rearvehicle quarterareas added structural
rength.An exam ple ofthis construction is the JaguarXK-E.
tep 5:
16 of 59 9/6/2017 5:54 PM
H ere,you can see how rough this panelis.U nfortunately,

there w as no other choice for this application.Rew orking
this panel,before itw as installed,saved tim e.
tep 6:
It is best to cut a tem porary line into either the old or the
new panel,for a trial fitting.After that,you can refine the
fitofyourseam and m ake yourfinalcuts.
lthough it is alm ost im possible to duplicate m onocoque construction in repair or restoration

ork,dealing w ith it does dictate the use of special m easures that are beyond the scope of
is book. Just rem em ber that if you ever encounter m onocoque construction, you have to
count for it. Sem im onocoque rear quarters are fairly com m on. H ow ever, the am ount of
ructuralstrength contained in the outer m etalin these units is relatively sm all,and they can
e repaired orreplaced using conventionaltechniques.
key to perform ing successful rear-quarter-panel replacem ent is the som etim es
isappointing realization that reproduction quarter panels are m anufactured to varying
andards of accuracy and quality.A few are im pressively good,w hile others are nearer to the
nk category.Itis necessary to know how accurate yourreplacem entpanelis,and to begin to
rrect any deficiencies in it,before you try to w eld it into place.It is far easier to correct m any
these problem s before you attach new m etal,ratherthan after.
17 of 59 9/6/2017 5:54 PM
ood panelfitis critical,before you attem ptto w eld in new quarter-panelm etal.U sualpractice
to hang and position the new quarterpanelin place w ith Clecos,and then to w eld itw ith lap
r occasionally w ith butt) w elding techniques to the old m etal. Your choices of w elding
chnique and jointtype depend on yoursituation,and on yourskills.Atthe high end,this joint
perform ed as a buttjointw ith TIG equipm ent.In the m iddle range are lap joints w elded w ith
IG equipm ent.And,at the low end are spot-w elded lap joints that have to be slathered w ith
ler to hide them . Chapter 8 describes the relevant fixturing and w elding techniques for
uarter-panelreplacem ent,in detail.
o m atter how careful you are in fixturing and w elding in new quarter panel m etal,there is
w ays cleanup shaping w ork to do,afteritis w elded into place.The bestw ay to m inim ize this
ork is to controlheatbuildup in yourw elded joints.Som e ofthe tips in Chapter8 help you to
oid unnecessary w elding heatbuildup.Anything thatyou can do to reduce itsaves you tim e,
lim iting m etaldistortion.This also im proves the quality ofyourw ork.
hrinking and stretching are often needed to m ake a quarter-panel replacem ent w ork.
em em ber, quarter-panel replacem ent is a fairly advanced job, one that should only be
tem pted afteryou have m astered basic m etalw orking and panelw elding skills.
oor re-skinning w as once a fairly com m on procedure in autom obile repair and restoration
ork.About the third tim e that Ire-skinned a door,Idid it right,and w as able to com plete the
b acceptably and in a reasonable am ount of tim e.Those first tw o tim esw ell,Idont w ant to
lk about them . Lets just say that a Three Stooges com edy routine has nothing on them ,
ceptpossibly being funny.
recent years,door skinning has becom e pretty rare in collision w ork,but it is stillperform ed
m e-tim es in repairand in restoration w ork.The reasons forthe decline ofthis procedure w ill
ive you som e idea ofthe problem s w ith it.The firstis the availability ofdecentnew doorskins.
he ones m ade by O EM m anufacturers tend to be expensive.They also can be hard to find for
ldervehicles.The door skins sourced from afterm arket suppliers are often m ore trouble than
ey are w orth.Sim ply put,they frequently do notfit very w ell.It can take enorm ous am ounts
labor to m ake them fit properly and look good.D ue to their light construction an em phasis
n w eightreduction m odern doors are often dam aged in collisions to the pointthatre-skinning
18 of 59 9/6/2017 5:54 PM
em is uneconom ical.Itrequires so m uch w ork to straighten theirfram es,(orcores,as they are

lled in the industry), that the labor cost in these jobs m akes replacem ent w ith new , or
lvage doors,look pretty good.That,at least,is increasingly often the conclusion of m ost
surance com panies.In m any cases,they sim ply w illnotpay fordoorre-skinning.
oor re-skinning is still done in restoration w ork, but m any restorers prefer to use salvage
oors ifthey are available in reasonable condition.If rust is the reason for re-skinning a door,it
likely that the core requires so m uch w ork to m ake it sound that a salvage door looks like a
etteralternative.Still,there are tim es w hen doorre-skinning is the bestoronly w ay to go.
Afterallfold-overflange spotw elds have been ground,orotherw ise broken,a pairofdoor

de-skinning pliers like this one helps to rem ove the skin.This w orks bestafterthe edge of
the skin has been ground orsanded through.Then,the pliers rem ove the rem aining
folded-overm etalstrip.(Photo courtesy ofthe Eastw ood Co.)
19 of 59 9/6/2017 5:54 PM
he first im perative in this w ork is to start w ith a good door skin.Avoid econom y skins like the
roverbial plague.After you have rem oved the subject door and stripped it of all rem ovable
arts trim , door handle and latching m echanism , w indow regulator, w indow tracks, w iring,
tc. it is tim e to rem ove the old skin.After you have rem oved the spot w elds that secure the
in to the doorby grinding,drilling (w ith a spot-w eld cutting drill),ordisc sanding them aw ay,
u are ready to rem ove the originaldoorskin.This can be accom plished by various m ethods,
cluding edge grinding,seam chiseling,or seam prying.Special pliers-type devices that are
ld to rem ove doorskins w ork w ellto unfold doorskin edges from doorcores.
arefully grinding the fold-over edge of the old skin is often a good gam bit for starting the
ins rem oval.A grinding w heelora disc sanderoutfitted w ith 24-gritabrasive is a good setup
rthis job.Ifyou go this route,be carefulto stop grinding orsanding justas you go through the
ld skins folded edge.If you w ork slow ly and w atch carefully,you should be able to see a
ark,early separation line appear in the folded m etalas you cut through it.Be carefulto stop
rinding before you grind into the cores flange area.
pot w elds betw een the core and skin in the door handle area are com m on,so look for and
m ove them . Som e doors have internal bracing, particularly in their upper areas near the
indow edges. The spot w elds that attach these braces to the door skin w ill have to be
roken.G rinding carefully through the skin is one w ay to getatthem ,w ithoutdestroying m etal
at w ill be needed later to attach the new skin.Som etim es these attachm ent points can be
utapartfrom the top,afterw indow s and theirtrim have been rem oved.
terthe old skin is rem oved,eitherby grinding its flange orby prying its edges back,allm etal
d w eld residues m ust be rem oved from the cores flange areas. They should then be
raightened,ground flat,and sm oothed,as necessary.
he new skin should be held in the door opening and visually checked for contour m atch
ainst,and fitto,the m etalthatw illsurround it.Then itshould be checked againstthe core.If
u discoverany dam age to the core,itm ustbe corrected before you try to fitthe new skin to
Ifthe skin does notposition on the core naturally and easily,you have to determ ine w hether
e problem is in the skin,in the core,orin both,and correctit.
lm ost all skins com e w ith the 90-degree closing bends already form ed at their bottom and
de flange edges.A skin of this type m ay have a top bend that slips over the core,or it m ay
tbe configured thatw ay.In eithercase,a good skin should slip into place overits core easily
20 of 59 9/6/2017 5:54 PM
d authoritatively.Som e skins allow for lim ited adjustm ent of their positions on their cores.
hese allow som e m ovem ent of the core w ithin the skins edge bends,after those edges are
artially or fully closed overthe core.This m ovem entis only possible before they are w elded,
rotherw ise perm anently fastened,to theircores.
kins ofthis type have to be positioned in the doorjam b before they are fully attached to their
res.This usually is done by tem porarily hanging these doors,before final flange closing is
m pleted.At this point,it should be possible to m ove these skins on their cores vertically,
terally,and diagonally by sm all am ounts,to m ake them fit properly in their door openings
d to m ake character lines align.You w ill not have m uch m ovem ent to w ork w ith,but there
ould be som e.These types ofskins are m oved on theircores by very carefully tapping their
dges w ith softtools.H am m ering on w ooden blocks held against them ,ortapping them w ith
lastic m allets,often w orks w ellfordoorskin finalpositioning.
21 of 59 9/6/2017 5:54 PM
These door-skinning pliers do an accurate job offolding the edge ofa new skin overa
doors edge flange.Alw ays begin folding the skin edge atits centerand w ork outtow ard
its corners,alternating from side to side from the center,as you go.(Photo courtesy ofthe
Eastw ood Co.)
H am m ering a door-skin edge overand flatis the old w ay to do this job.Iw ouldnt
recom m end itforinstalling a new doorskin,butitis very helpfulfortouching up the
seam s thatyou have flattened w ith pliers,pneum atic crim pers,orrolling tools.(Photo
22 of 59 9/6/2017 5:54 PM
courtesy ofthe Eastw ood Co.)
close the bottom and side skin flanges over the core,you m ake your bends;w orking from
e centerofeach area,outw ard,in both directions,to the doors corners.Thatsequence helps
avoid distorting,buckling,and stressing the installed skin.
som e configurations,the tops of skins are positioned and secured by the bracket areas that
u m ay have ground through w hen you rem oved the original skin.In these cases,the new
in w illhave brackets orflanges that m ate to them .These m ay be adjusted for skin-to-core
ap,and then secured w ith sheet m etal screw s or by w elding them .O nce this is done,the
oor skin flanging can be com pleted. There are several w ays to do this. You can m ove
-skinning pliers along skin flanges to close them .This gives you finer control.There are also
neum atic crim ping and rolling tools available that are m uch faster than closing pliers,but
erless controlas you m ove along w ith finalseam flanging.
o m atterhow good yourflange closing tools are,m ostre-skin jobs stillinvolve lim ited use of
e grand-daddy of all closing tool sets, a door skinners ham m er and a dolly (or block of
ood)to finish and refine som e ofthe areas ofyourflange.
here are tw o possibilities forbonding a doorskin to its core:You can spot or plug w eld it into
lace,oryou can use adhesives to bond and sealit.
odern practice is to use adhesives to attach skins to cores. These adhesives are special
o-part m aterials that are designed to adhere skins to cores,and to seal them .They should
e applied to both sides ofthe cores flange,thatis,to its out-side before itis low ered into the
in,and to its inside flange before the skin is crim ped or bent over it.These adhesives have
asonably friendly cure tim es,but dont plan on any extracurricular activities too soon after
u have applied them .D oor skinning that is perform ed this w ay often involves tw o or three
eople, and those people tend to m ove pretty fast, once the adhesive has been applied.
ultiple tools are often em ployed to bend the skins edges overits core.
he otherm ethod ofadhering skins to cores is to w eld them in place on theirbottom and side
dges,afterthose edges are fully closed.This can be done w ith spot,M IG ,orTIG approaches.
ttachm ent w elds should be m ade at intervals of every few inches,along each bottom and
de seam .N o prizes are aw arded form aking excessive num bers ofw elds.In restoration w ork,
23 of 59 9/6/2017 5:54 PM
e num ber and spacing of w elds should be as close as possible to the originalconfiguration.
hile it is possible to spot w eld skins to cores,this requires special equipm ent,and has no
articularadvantage.Plug w elding is often used in restoration w ork to secure skins to sim ulate
e appearance oforiginalfactory spotw elds.
ew skins com e prim ed on both sides.Be sure to paint the inside of any skin that you m ount
ith a w ater-proofand resilientpaint,before you installit.Itis critically im portantto rem ove all
stfrom the flange areas ofcores,and to paintthem ,before you installnew skins overthem .I
com m end a good w eld-through prim er for this application.Also apply seam sealer to the
riticalfolded area ofthe skin,afteritis installed.
ver the years,there have been so m any different w ays that door hinges and latches have
een configured and adjusted thatit is im possible to describe allof the m ajor ones here.D oor
nging has aspects of art and science about it.Ihave no statistical proof of this,but Ihave
ticed that the people w hom Ihave know n in body shops w ho w ere really good at this job
ung it perfectly right on the first or second try also tended to be excellent poolplayers.Like
ool, hanging vehicle doors involves m anipulating several variables in your head,
m ultaneously. This is because every adjustm ent that you m ake m ay not only change the
ctorthatyou are adjusting,butone orm ore otherdim ensionalfactors,as w ell.
he firststep in adjusting doors is to understand the logic ofthe particularsystem thatyou are
justing.Basically,you usually have tw o hinges to adjust.In the best situations,each can be
oved in,out,up,dow n,and back and forth.This can be done w ith threads,w ashers,shim s,
m s,or sliding plates,am ong other possibilities.W ith w elded hinges,after you run through
e possibilities on the rem ovable side attachm ent,youroptions m ay be lim ited to bending the
etalthatsupports the w elded attachm entside.W hen both sides are w elded and only hinge
in rem oval is provided for door rem oval,bending the hinge-m ounting m etal becom es your
nly recourse.
he sam e m otions and m ovem ents that are used for adjusting hinges are possible for
justing door latches and latch receivers,w ith sim ilar configurations of their hardw are.And
at is only the beginning of the possibilities.In older cars,body shim s betw een bodies and
am es w ere often used in m aking doors fit properly. Thats right, you som etim es had to
24 of 59 9/6/2017 5:54 PM
position the hinge and latch posts,them selves,to m ake things line up correctly.
M ostdoors are heavy,bulky item s thatm ustbe adjusted to fine dim ensions to look right
and to w ork correctly.M any ofthem require orbenefitfrom a crew oftw o orm ore to
m ountthem .
25 of 59 9/6/2017 5:54 PM
A straightedge,calipers,and thickness gauges are useful

tools forconfirm ing properdooralignm ent.A piece ofstring
draw n tightis also very helpful.To use these item s
effectively,you need a good eye,orsom eone w ith a good
eye,fordim ensions,spacing,and sym m etry.
26 of 59 9/6/2017 5:54 PM
O lderdoorsystem s used threaded fasteners and m oveable m ounting plates to secure

doors to theirhinges,and hinges to theirbody posts.Add som e shim s as needed and you
can m ake any adjustm entthatyou w illeverrequire.M odern,w elded hinges are notas
convenientorforgiving.
This alignm entproblem is notas bad as itlooks.Thats w hy the installeris feeling the gap
27 of 59 9/6/2017 5:54 PM
w ith his righthand,to assess its extent.D espite appearances,the problem is notthe jam b
panelcontours;itis dooralignm ent,w hich is m uch sim plerto correct.
Although door-alignm entadjustm ents are perfected in sm allincrem ents,the w ays that
you m ake them often look heavy handed.Since any adjusting operation runs a pretty
good chance ofovershooting its target,scribing position lines ateach stage ofthe
adjustm enthelps to determ ine the nextm ove.
ost door fitting involves m aking m ultiple adjustm ents to hinges and latches, to have
erything properly lined up.Each adjustm ent should im prove one factor,generally reducing
isalignm entthere,untilperfectalignm entis achieved w hen allfactors are accounted forand
roperly adjusted. At every stage of these adjustm ents, this puts a prem ium on know ing
actly w here things are in relation to w here they w ere,and w here you w antthem to be.
ny technique that you can m ake w ork for sensing alignm ent m akes the job easier.This m ay
volve the use of reference tools,like straightedges,to check surface alignm ents.O r,it m ay
quire eyeballing,orfeeling surfaces,to spotdeviations from properalignm ent.
28 of 59 9/6/2017 5:54 PM
ne ofthe problem s in m aking doorand otherpaneladjustm ents is thatas you com e closerto
final result,the necessary changes becom e sm aller and sm aller.M ost adjustm ent system s
o not particularly accom m odate very fine, increm ental adjustm ents. It m ay take several
tem pts to m ake an adjustm ent right, w ithout destroying som e other aspect of panel
ignm ent.It alltakes clear thinking,good m anualtechnique,and even a bit of luck.Luck isnt
solutely necessary,butw hen you have it,itspeeds this w ork along.
ounting trim has the sam e, basic consideration as hanging panels you w ant to m ake
erything line up.O ver the years,in the quest for invisible w ays to attach trim ,m anufacturers
ve developed and adopted a dizzying variety of m ethods for affi xing trim to panels.Som e
re pretty straightforw ard, w hile others range from am using, cum ber-som e, or diffi cult, to
ow nrightstupid.M odern trim is often affi xed w ith adhesives,w hich has the distinctadvantage
not puncturing paint and m etal, thereby rem oving a potential source of rust. O therw ise,
rious types of plastic or m etalclips,threaded fasteners,expanders,and the like have been,
d are,used to attach it.Snapping,sliding,and pivoting m otions often are required to affi x and
rem ove it.
29 of 59 9/6/2017 5:54 PM
This grille section needs to be perfectly aligned w ith everything around it:the headlight
surrounds on eitherside ofit,the m etalpanelunderit,and the hood on top ofit.Any
m isalignm entin the visible surfaces ofthese item s w illbe painfully visible.
30 of 59 9/6/2017 5:54 PM
Trialgrille m ounting revealed thatthe substructure center-attaching pointneeded to be

m oved forw ard.U sing this large slide-ham m erand robusthook end w as a good w ay to
exertthe force needed to m odify the grille-m ounting substructure.
Everfineradjustm ents are the routine in m osttrim -m ounting procedures.H ere,the heavy
31 of 59 9/6/2017 5:54 PM
slide-ham m eradjustm enthas given w ay to a finer,ham m ering adjustm ent.Afterthe grille

is in place,there is a finalslotted-screw adjustm entforfine tuning its centers fore-and-aft
position.
Ifthis grille is slightly m is-positioned,m ating the headlightsurround trim to itputs that
piece out-of-position,as w ell.In trim w ork,one errorcan lead to anothererror,and
another,untilthere are no m ore w ays available to hide the errors,and the job stilllooks
bad.
m alladjustm ents to trim position can involve m odifying trim clips,orotherattachm entitem s,
bending,filing,orgrinding them .W here new m etalis involved,itis necessary to puncture it
r m ost trim clip attachm ents the exception being the attachm ent of trim to the edges of
anels.
om e trim attachm ents are adjustable, w ith slotted bolt-through configurations, and other
ethods.At tim es,after structural and panel repair,adjustm ents of this sort do not provide
ffi cient range for proper alignm ent.In those cases,either the adjustm ent or the m ounting
ointhas to be m odified to m ake trim fitproperly.
s w ith other alignm ent propositions,finalfit m ust be determ ined visually,by feel,and by the
m forting sense thateverything looks right.
32 of 59 9/6/2017 5:54 PM
W ritten by M attJoseph and Posted w ith Perm ission ofCarTechBooks
Ifyou liked this article you w illLO VE the fullbook.Click the

button below and w e w illsend you an exclusive dealon this
book.
ED U N D ER:BO DYW O RK,RESTO RATIO N
RECO M M EN D ED FO R YO U
M axim izing Cylinder H ead

Com pression Ratios for M ore
Pow er Part 12
33 of 59 9/6/2017 5:54 PM
The Com plete Perform ance

Exhaust Pipe G uide
M uscle Car Interior Restoration:

W here to Start?
Drag Racing Traction:Front

Suspension:Double A-Arm
34 of 59 9/6/2017 5:54 PM
Com plete H istory ofthe H olley

Carburetor
Engine Tuning:Data Logging

w ith a PCM
H ow to Blueprint Engines:O iling

System G uide
35 of 59 9/6/2017 5:54 PM
Axle Shaft Selection for O ptim al

Perform ance
H ow to Blueprint Engines:Engine
M ath G uide
The Tools and Equipm ent G uide

for Engine M ath Procedures and
M easurem ents
36 of 59 9/6/2017 5:54 PM
Autom otive Bodyw ork:Repairing

Collision Dam age in a Decklid
Pow der Coating:M echanical

Parts Cleaning G uide
Engine Tuning:The Ignition

G uide
37 of 59 9/6/2017 5:54 PM
Elim inating Cylinder H ead Valve

Shrouding for Im proved
Perform ance Part 9
H ow to Rebuild Factory Lim ited

Slip Differentials
H orsepow er Secrets:Intake
M anifolds
38 of 59 9/6/2017 5:54 PM
M uscle Car H andling U pgrades:

W heels and Tires
Exhaust System s for

Supercharged and Turbocharged
Applications
M astering Exhaust System M ath

to Build H igh-Perform ance
Engines
39 of 59 9/6/2017 5:54 PM
Autom otive H orsepow er G uide:

Cam Event Criteria
H ow to Build Racing Engines:

Cylinder Blocks G uide
U nderstand the Lim its of

M aterials,Equipm ent and Skills
40 of 59 9/6/2017 5:54 PM
Cylinder H ead Porting:Tools &

Equipm ent G uide Part 6
Atm ospherics and Perform ance

Engine Com bustion G uide
M uscle Car Interior Restoration:

Electrical& W iring G uide
41 of 59 9/6/2017 5:54 PM
H ow to Build a W iring H arness
Drag Racing Traction:Rear

Suspension:CoilSprings and
Three-Link
H olley Carburetor Calibration

Requirem ents
42 of 59 9/6/2017 5:54 PM
M anualTransm ission Clutch

Basics
H ow to Blueprint Engines:Tim ing

System s G uide
H ow to Installthe M SD Atom ic:

Carb to EFIConversions
43 of 59 9/6/2017 5:54 PM
Interesting Studebaker M uscle

Car Facts
Pow der Coating:Chem icalParts

Cleaning G uide

Springs,Rates and Shocks
44 of 59 9/6/2017 5:54 PM
Drag Racing W arriors:G rum pys

Toy 1974 Vega
H ow to Select the Right H olley

Carburetor for Your Car
H ow to Blueprint Engines:
Crankshafts G uide
45 of 59 9/6/2017 5:54 PM
H ow to Design and Installa

Turbocharger System :
Step-by-Step G uide
Engine Sim ulation and M odeling

Softw are G uide
Interesting Dodge M uscle Car

Facts
46 of 59 9/6/2017 5:54 PM
H ow to Blueprint Engines:Intake
M anifolds G uide
Turbocharger Failure Analysis:

W hat W ent W rong and H ow to
Fix It
Autom otive Painting G uide:Full

Disassem bly Paint W ork
47 of 59 9/6/2017 5:54 PM

Sum ps and O iling

Planning and G etting Started
U sing RealCam shaft Science to

Increase H orsepow er
48 of 59 9/6/2017 5:54 PM
Selecting Afterm arket

Differentials to Im prove
Perform ance
Autom otive W elding:H ow to Cut

and G rind Part 4
Drag Racing W arriors:Kroona &

Sandberg
49 of 59 9/6/2017 5:54 PM
W iring Afterm arket Equipm ent

and U pgrade Com ponents
H ow to Create a Pow er Coating

W orkspace

Sw ay Bars
50 of 59 9/6/2017 5:54 PM
U nderstanding Piston Speed in

H igh-Perform ance Engines
Cam shaft M ath to Design

Com petitive Perform ance
Engines
Interesting Chevy M uscle Car

Facts
51 of 59 9/6/2017 5:54 PM
H ow to InstallH olley H P:Carb to

EFIConversions
Air Induction Basics to Increase

H orsepow er
Developing H ighly Functional

Ports in Cylinder H eads Part 8
52 of 59 9/6/2017 5:54 PM
H ow to Blueprint Engine Blocks
Basic W elding G uide:Prep,

Adjustm ents,Beads and Joints
Part 3
Introduction to Engine Tuning
G etting Started:Autom otive

Bodyw ork Projects
53 of 59 9/6/2017 5:54 PM
Abandoned Dragstrips:The
M idw est
Rear Axle Fundam entals:

Building for Perform ance

Torque and H orsepow er G uide
54 of 59 9/6/2017 5:54 PM
The Com plete G uide to Brake

H orsepow er and Torque

Crankshafts G uide
Suspension Basics and Drag

Racing Dynam ics
55 of 59 9/6/2017 5:54 PM

Piston Technology G uide
Blueprinting Engines:Valve,
Springs,Retainers,Locks
Autom otive Speed Secrets
56 of 59 9/6/2017 5:54 PM
Autom otive Bodyw ork:H ow to

Repair M inor Rust to a Fender
Edge
Superharging to Increase
H orsepow er
Drag Racing Traction:

Suggestions for a M ore
Consistent and W inning Car
57 of 59 9/6/2017 5:54 PM
H ow to Restore Convertible Tops

in M uscle Cars
H ow to Blueprint Engines:
Cam shafts G uide
Interesting M ercury M uscle Car

Facts
58 of 59 9/6/2017 5:54 PM

Front Suspension System
The Rise ofDrag Racing
H ow to Blueprint Engines:Block
M achining G uide
Copyright 2017 N ew s Pro Them e on G enesis Fram ew ork W ordPress Log in
59 of 59 9/6/2017 5:54 PM

Automotive Bodywork - Special Projects and Procedures - Muscle Car DIY

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Automotive Bodywork: Special Projects and Procedures Muscle Car DIY http://www.musclecardiy.com/bodywork/automotive-bodywork-special-p...

This Tech Tip is From the FullBook,AU TO M O TIVE BO DYW O RK &

LEARN M O RE ABO U T TH IS BO O K H ERE

This paper pattern has alm ost m agical 3-D capabilities.

At this point, it w as not necessary to cut out the m etal

These Steck form ing dies, m ounted in a Pullm ax, form

The Steck die operation left the m etalpretty uneven,but

w ith shrink areas in the right places.N ext,a large English

These Eckold shrinking heads w ere used to produce very

The early stages of this job required plenty of hum an

evolved,M att used the Steck,Eckold,and English w heel

As w ork progressed,the pieces crow ns began to appear.

This paper pattern is being used to indicate one of the

w ork pieces corner crow ns.As the grooves in the paper

The paper tem plate indicated excessive crow n in the

the crow n radius w as too tight for the Eckold heads.

The solution to upsetting and shrinking the m ild inboard

The dom ed im pressions w ere then ham m ered flat from

teck dies. H e em ployed a diagonal approach, from tw o directions, to sm ooth aw ay the

Behold the rare and lovely M agee W ire Edger. It

The next step in fabricating the splash shield w as to roll

o notthink thatallofthis sophisticated toolw ork w as occurring untouched by hum an hands.

W ith the firstw ire edge installed,and the firstbead rolled

on the floor for checking the pieces shape. The first

At this point,the Eckold heads w ere used to shrink and

The second w ire edge w as rolled into the m etal, using

W ith the second w ire edge com pleted,the piece w as in

The M agee W ire Edger couldnt follow the sharp bends.

abilizing the m etalin its correctand finalshape.

M att fabricated these shield m ounting brackets from flat

he authenticity of M atts fabricated duplicate piece w as superb.This w as one of the m ost

Part of this quarter panels low er section had already

Cutting outa quarterpanelw ith a plasm a arc torch is fast

The alm ost-rem oved quarter panel is show n here,

Even a good quarter panelcan have problem s.It pays to

ny of the m etal cutting techniques described in Chapter 4 m ay have a place(s) in your

H ere,you can see how rough this panelis.U nfortunately,

lthough it is alm ost im possible to duplicate m onocoque construction in repair or restoration

em is uneconom ical.Itrequires so m uch w ork to straighten theirfram es,(orcores,as they are

Afterallfold-overflange spotw elds have been ground,orotherw ise broken,a pairofdoor

courtesy ofthe Eastw ood Co.)

A straightedge,calipers,and thickness gauges are useful

O lderdoorsystem s used threaded fasteners and m oveable m ounting plates to secure

Trialgrille m ounting revealed thatthe substructure center-attaching pointneeded to be

slide-ham m eradjustm enthas given w ay to a finer,ham m ering adjustm ent.Afterthe grille

W ritten by M attJoseph and Posted w ith Perm ission ofCarTechBooks

Ifyou liked this article you w illLO VE the fullbook.Click the

ED U N D ER:BO DYW O RK,RESTO RATIO N

M axim izing Cylinder H ead

The Com plete Perform ance

M uscle Car Interior Restoration:

Drag Racing Traction:Front

Com plete H istory ofthe H olley

Engine Tuning:Data Logging

H ow to Blueprint Engines:O iling

Axle Shaft Selection for O ptim al

The Tools and Equipm ent G uide

Autom otive Bodyw ork:Repairing

Pow der Coating:M echanical

Engine Tuning:The Ignition

Elim inating Cylinder H ead Valve

H ow to Rebuild Factory Lim ited

M uscle Car H andling U pgrades: