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December 18, 2002

Front Sheetmetal Disassembly

My goal today was to get all the front-end sheetmetal off the car. I got about halfway there, when I ran into a problem:

Seam between front fender and rocker panel seems to be leaded over: more
evidence that there was a problem with the left front fender at some time in the past.

I removed most of the lead with a torch and my wire wheel, only to find
that it was welded, too! I'm concerned that the fender is twisted, and this was
the only way it could be "massaged" back into place.

My suspicions that the left front fender was tapped at one time are true. The body repairs were well done using lead, but I found that the left front fender was welded to the rocker panel, then covered with lead. I didn't notice the repair before because there is a strip of stainless trim that covers it. Because of this, I wasn't able to separate the front fender from the body. I'll probably end up using a cut-off wheel to cut the weld and evaluate the condition of the fender from there. I'm concerned that it is "sprung" out of shape from the collision and welding it was the only way to keep it in shape. I can't imagine what it'll take to find another front fender--maybe Doug Seybold has one I could purchase (how much will it cost?!?). Only time will tell.

But I did get the right side fender off the car without a problem. Tracking down all the mounting screws was a little tricky (there is one hidden in an inaccessible area, and I only found it when the fender was hanging by it, but no damage done), but it came off without any damage or problems. I still haven't broken a single bolt, and few have given me any problems. The worst was probably this one, but it came off with the help of some penetrating oil:

I'm just noticing the rust around this fender mount on the driver's side--I took
this picture blind. The bolt itself, however came off... Eventually.

Julia also came out to help me remove the hood. It just lifts off
and it isn't very heavy, so even she could move it. She also
tried to "help" me using the only tool she knows how to use.

The last thing I noticed that I didn't expect was a cracked support bracket on the passenger's side firewall. I don't think it will be difficult to weld back together, but I'll have to track down the source of the crack--probably the hit to the left front corner, or maybe it just got old(?). This won't be a big deal to fix.

This bracket is located just behind the battery on the passenger's side
of the firewall. This should be an easy part to weld back together.

Here's where we stand today.

Next up, I'll try to get that driver's side fender off by cutting the weld. That might happen tomorrow night or over the weekend. We'll see...

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E-mail me at toolman8@sbcglobal.net

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Last modified on 02/06/2005

Thanks, Fidget!