Auto Restoration 101

Well today it’s All Hallows Eve or better known in the United States as Halloween. So I thought it would be a good day to post something creepy. I knew that there were people that liked Hearses but I didn’t realize how popular they were until I started searching the internet. Obviously there are a lot of people that like them. To me it seems a little weird why anybody would want one. But the people that own them probably like all of the attention that they get because they are different and unique. I can understand that point of view.
So here are some websites that I thought were interesting.
The first one is the site of Eddie Terry from Australia. The site seems a little weird at first but I checked it all out and read about his restoration of a 1915 Studebaker Hearse. He taught himself how to do body work and paint. He also built his own sand blasting cabinet and was short on space so he stored car parts under his house. The car looks like it turned out nice in the end. Go HERE
The second site is www.hearsedriver.com I liked THIS page.

I continued all the way around cutting out the old panel and tack welding. When I got to the other side, I had to add another small patch which was fairly flat and easy to fabricate. I did have some problems when I was tack welding because I kept welding the old panel to my new panel. I would tack weld and then have to put the torch down so I could get to the other side of the car to pry the old panel edges in. To solve this problem I found a thin putty knife and was able to slide it through the cut to bend the old panel in and away from the area I was welding. This made it alot easier and faster because I didn’t have to stop and put everything down just to make the next weld. When I had it all tacked welded together it was time to remove the old piece. I was able to grab it with some pliers and pry on it a little and it lifted right out.
I don’t know if I had mentioned this yet but I am using an oxy-acetylene torch to do all of the welding. The torch makes a softer weld compared to a MIG welder. MIG welds tend to be hard and brittle if you hammer on them to much. Oxy-aceteylene welds make is easier to work the metal after it is welded in. Another benefit of torch welding is the smaller welds which means less grinding. I am using my Henrob 2000 on this. I also use a small Victor with a #000 tip that works great for thin sheetmetal.

I continued cutting out the old and tack welding the new piece all the way around.

This is the small piece that I had to fabricate for the other side.

The old spare tire well came out easily and in one piece.
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Well, it’s been 8 months since I first started this blog. This is my 100th post. I’m averaging about 12.5 posts per month. I still have hundreds of articles to write about restoring old cars plus all of the extra stuff that I throw in such as artwork, history and other stuff. I want to say thanks to all of the subscribers and everyone else who reads the articles. My subscriber list is slowly growing which I think is great.

For my 100th post I wanted to share a picture of one of my favorite cars. The Supercharged Auburn Boattail Speedster. I searched all over for the right picture and I came up with this one. Plus black, red and chrome (or polished stainless on this car) is also one of my favorite color combinations. This photograph is amazing. The photo is courtesy of www.twoblueday.wordpress.com

For more pictures of Auburn Speedsters visit conceptcarz.com

Bonhams & Butterfields is auctioning off some classic cars from Bruce Willis’ collection as well as some items of Steve McQueen. The auction is taking place at the Peterson Automotive Museum on October 25, 2008. Read more about it HERE and go here for more information Bonhams

This is another great site that I came across. I wish I had found it sooner. There is so much information on this website that you really just need to visit it and check it out. Make sure and check out the site map and also the links page.
There are thousands of old car brochures, pictures, wiring diagrams and technical information. I have been on it several times and the more you click on stuff the more you find.
This site was started by some old car buffs that thought shop manuals and old car reference material should be free for people who work on old cars and are keeping the hobby alive. You can also become a contributor if you want. I also came across a page that had a donate link to help them out if you find their site useful.
The Old Car Manual Project

The next step was to fabricate the right side of the spare tire well. I did not want to fabricate the entire right side so I made a panel that went about half way up from the bottom piece. There is some small rust holes even above this piece that I will cut out and add a small piece in later.

This is where I left off from the last post. This is looking towards the front of the car.

This is the right side panel. I have it attached with a few Clecos. I made this panel by hammering the edge of the panel over a dollie. I also put in few shrinks in the lower edge with the hand shrinker. I then ran it through the wheel just enough to give it a slight dish.

I then tack welded the side to the lower panel. All of this time the old panel is still underneath the new panels. It is working really good keeping it at this point because it gives me something to attach the new parts to while I am working on them.

I am using a 3/32 cut off wheel to cut the old panel out and at the same time tack welding the new part to the car. The small gap is easy to weld, I just had to make sure that I didn’t tack weld it to the part that will be removed.

This is what I will do all the way around the panel. Cutting the old panel and tack welding in the new. After I have it all tack welded I will then pull out the old rusty piece.