First of the Texas Twins, First Build Options

[Puebloswatcop]

Today I decided to start working on the rocker covers, converting them to fit the new fender flares. To see what I had to work with I temporarily hung the passenger rocker cover. You can see in the picture that there is about an inch and a half to bend and reshape. Not only does it have to come out to match, but it needs to go up as well. And there is an angle that needs to be bent to facilitate the angle in the fender. Time to bust out the pattern making cardboard.

[Puebloswatcop]

I used the door opening as my beginning reference point and ran the patern to the rear opening of the fenderwell. Then I included where the horizontal bend had to be. Then transferred it onto a piece of 18 guage sheet metal and let the cutting (and cursing) commence. In the forst photo you can see the horizontal bend. Unfortunately I don't have a metal brake, so I improvise using a vice and a hammer. After cutting out my metal for the top shape, I had to do the unthinkable and cut a perfectly good rocker cover.....

[Puebloswatcop]

Since I knew I would have to continually install and remove the rocker cover, I invented some very expensive tools to make it easy...okay, i didn't invent them, Craftsman did, but the did come in very handy

[Puebloswatcop]

Then I bent the rocker cover at the 2 cuts to about where it would line up at the completion of the new frame pieces. You can see that it pretty much follows where the new frame sits, but of course it will have to be extended upward to batch up the body line. At the bottom, it lines up perfectly with the corner of the new metal and the rocker. At the top (Red Arrow) you can see that there is still some trimming to do to match up the body line .

[Puebloswatcop]

You can see the bottom of the new meat lines up exactly where the rocker cover lines up at the bottom corner of the new metal.

[Puebloswatcop]

And with that I called it a night. but the new framed part of the flare is starting to take shape. Sorry for the first pic. My phone seemed to want to focus on my I-25 sign instead of the car...

[Puebloswatcop]

After looking at how these flares would line up once the car was painted, I didn't like the fact that It would be black rockers high at both fenders but then would have a squared off space about an inch lower where the door would be. So I changed my aproach back to using the flared ends that I purchased from another member here.

I did have to do some tweeking so they would match the angle of the curvature of my flares

[Puebloswatcop]

Then came the part I hate the most, cutting a perfectly good part to make a new part. After setting it on the car and getting the alignment of the rear flare where I wanted it, I welded it in place, went and re-hung it, just to see the alignment was not correct, So I had to cut the entire edge where it attached to the rocker, and re-do the alignment.

[Puebloswatcop]

After I got the rear flare in place, I moved to the front. These were not completed ends, so that meant not only putting them onto the rocker, but closing in the flare its self. The front flare contained a compound curvature that was a bit difficult for me to work out. But I found that tacking it as I went and hammering the piece to match and overlap the curves made it go fairly well. Then I just had to trim off the excess metal and fit it in place.

[Puebloswatcop]

After getting both ends attached to the rocker (after a lot of cussing) I went back and added bulk weld to the edges so I would have plenty material to grind off into rounded edges. I forgot how much I hate welding together metal of significantly different thicknesses. Nothing wanted to go right and the welds were coming out horrible. and some of the weds had hollow spots in them like they werent getting enough shielding gas. Sure enough the nozzle was blocked up where the shielding gas comes in. So I spent a half hour changing that out. Worth the time spent.

[Puebloswatcop]

I hade ugly welds, but since I knew I was going to grind them all down in the end I just took a breather and regrouped. As I started to grind the welds and surrounding metal into the rough shape I started to feel better about it. What I liked bes was that today I could work ouotside without baking.

[Puebloswatcop]

With the lessons learned on the front flare, the rear was much better. I re-hung the rocker and see some issues I am going to have to address in the way the spacing is, and I will still have to do a lot of finish work, but at least now I have one flared rocker.

[friethmiller]

With the lessons learned on the front flare, the rear was much better. I re-hung the rocker and see some issues I am going to have to address in the way the spacing is, and I will still have to do a lot of finish work, but at least now I have one flared rocker.

Boy, I've been there. I typically forget I turned off the gas and there's enough in the line that I don't notice it till about the 2nd or 3rd weld. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/headbang.gif)

I'd fill the pin holes the best you can, clean, prep it, and then hit it with epoxy. At that point you're ready for a skim coat of filler. I can't imagine having to add flares to the rockers. Great job! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[Puebloswatcop]

Not getting much done on the car this week. Trying to get the shop floor done, so I can move the body over there when it comes time for paint. So of course I had to move all of the parts , pieces and other modes of transportation over to the side where the floor is already done.

I hate doing it because doing the floor is about a 1 week process. Scrub, rinse, etch, rinse, rinse and rinse again. 24 hours of dry time, mask, paint, scatter little fairy dust flakes onto the paint, and am halfway there. Tomorrow I will mask it again and put a more durable epoxy clear coat, then wait another three days for that to cure, so I don't really have access to the shop for working all that time.

[Puebloswatcop]

I did spend a little time building a small test lead for the wiper motors. Makes it really simple. Considering I have 8 or 10 to test, it should make it a quick process.

[bkrantz]

The competing fun of a project car and a project shop. Both look good.

[Puebloswatcop]

The competing fun of a project car and a project shop. Both look good.

Thanks Bob, right now I am feeling like a one-legged man in an ass kicking contest (IMG:style_emoticons/default/av-943.gif)