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Penny's bodywork begins

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Drew fender beading looksgood. Glad it worked out. Any tips on fender beating you want to share.
 
Drew, In the one picture is that glue or some sort of seam sealer coming through on the backside. What did the shop do to ensure rust was gone in the seam between the hood and the fender where the fender bead goes and how did they glue down? Cut the back of the bead so it fits? Just curious.
 
Jim_Gruber said:
Drew fender beading looksgood. Glad it worked out. Any tips on fender beating you want to share.
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Pay someone else to do it. :grin:

In all seriousness, we're doing what was recommended by folks here -- ground out as much of the old beading as we could and trim the tang of the new beading to fit. The shop and I talked about rust mitigation, they will treat the remaining area as well as they can. It's the best we can do without separating the panels.

I do believe they are going to glue the new beading in place. It's just decorative at this point, so that should work just fine.

I'll be down at the shop later this week to drop off some patch panels for them, so I'll find out some more and report back.
 
Looking nice Drew! I'm not sure if I mention it? This far along into their work since filler is being applied, may be too late? The apex of front wheel arch is very stressed and cracks can develop in the center. You can use 1/4" or 5/16” round stock to strengthen the wings by tucking tight up into the fold and weld into place.

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Got a recommended type of round 1/4" stock and where to find? Frank used to say 1/4"rebar but looking for a source on where to find. Is this something Lowes or HD would carry?
 
I know JB Weld has also been tried to put this round stock in place. Not sure how it would hold up long term but I need to reinforce a stress track or two on Bugsy's bonnet. Cracks may come from more spirited driving and tires rubbing on inside of fenders as well. The Bonnet I'm using came off of a BE that was using some sort of 13" US type wheel( car was sitting since 1978) and offset and width was far greater than stock BE Rims. Car was auto-Xed. These aren't Vega Wheels something far older with a 4 x 4" bolt pattern.
 
Jim_Gruber said:
Got a recommended type of round 1/4" stock and where to find? Frank used to say 1/4"rebar but looking for a source on where to find. Is this something Lowes or HD would carry?
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I have used a piece of 16 gauge flat metal about the same width as the lip. Spot welded it in all the way around the arch. Once finished it was hardly noticeable. The round rod might be stronger. You can get all kinds of metal stock and fasteners from McMaster-Carr. www.mcmaster.com
 
Steve,
Thats kinda what I was thinking, a strip that fits the inside width of the lip and spot welded to it...trying to get a 'factory' look.
Rut
 
BlueMax said:
Looking nice Drew! I'm not sure if I mention it? This far along into their work since filler is being applied, may be too late? The apex of front wheel arch is very stressed and cracks can develop in the center. You can use 1/4" or 5/16” round stock to strengthen the wings by tucking tight up into the fold and weld into place.
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Thanks for the tip. I'll chat with the shop.
 
Moving right along, finally! Got a note from the shop that they've got the left rear quarter done -- just the right side to do and we should be pretty much ready for paint. I'm going to get down to the shop later this week and see Penny in person.

Getting excited now, really want to get the car home so I can get focused on the rest of the work.

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Very nice Drew, I know what your feeling. Drove mine for the first test drive last weekend w/o bonnet before final fitting and paint!
 
Drew,
Our body guys must be communicating. My bugeye is in almost exactly the same situation. I hope to have it home by April.
 
Nice! Looks like Penny's cosmetic enhancements are turning out better than many we've seen on "A List" celebrities.
 
Excellent pictures! I'm in the process of replacing both the inner and outer pieces and this helps me immensely!
Thanks, Rut
 
aeronca65t said:
All my cars are decent-condition drivers but some day, when I'm old ( :playful: ) I'd love to do up a Spridget to the level you are doing this one. It looks great!
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Thanks. I'm building Penny for the long haul -- despite my history I really do plan to keep this one permanently. Really is my favorite car so worth it to me to spend the time and money to do it right. I don't expect to do another restoration, it's not my favorite thing.

BlueMax said:
Very nice Drew, I know what your feeling. Drove mine for the first test drive last weekend w/o bonnet before final fitting and paint!
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Excellent! I'm at least a year away from driving Penny.

Keith_M said:
Our body guys must be communicating. My bugeye is in almost exactly the same situation. I hope to have it home by April.
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Great news, Keith. I'm hoping for a similar-ish time frame. Worst case will be sometime this summer. Will feel really nice to have her home in the shop so I can get working on, well, everything else on the car.
 
SaxMan said:
Nice! Looks like Penny's cosmetic enhancements are turning out better than many we've seen on "A List" celebrities.
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The shop's doing really good work, I'm very happy. It's not cheap, that's for sure, but fairly priced (so far) for the quality. I want it done right, and they want to do it right, so we're a good fit.

Rut said:
Excellent pictures! I'm in the process of replacing both the inner and outer pieces and this helps me immensely!
Thanks, Rut
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I'm going to get a few more pics today when I go down and visit the shop (these pics came from them). This area had been badly patched on Penny before (new metal just slapped on top of the old, rusty metal) so it's nice to be fixing it correctly.
 
This morning over breakfast I came up with an analogy to help folks understand what having a shop do bodywork feels like.

"Paint a room in your house. Turn off the lights. Sit in the middle of the room and light a stack of $100 bills on fire so you can watch the paint dry."
 
drooartz said:
Great news, Keith. I'm hoping for a similar-ish time frame. Worst case will be sometime this summer. Will feel really nice to have her home in the shop so I can get working on, well, everything else on the car.
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I was in Heber City last week. If Penny had been home, it might have been worth a visit to compare notes. When both cars are home, we'll want to stay in touch more. My front suspension is ready to go (rebuilt shocks, new kingpins, etc), and I'm working on the rear axle. When mine comes home, I should be able to convert it to a rolling chassis pretty quickly.
 
Keith_M said:
I was in Heber City last week. If Penny had been home, it might have been worth a visit to compare notes. When both cars are home, we'll want to stay in touch more. My front suspension is ready to go (rebuilt shocks, new kingpins, etc), and I'm working on the rear axle. When mine comes home, I should be able to convert it to a rolling chassis pretty quickly.
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You're a bunch closer than I am. I've got a few things done (master cylinder rebuilt, 5-speed kit purchased) but mostly I'm waiting for the bodywork to be done so I can see how much cash I have left for everything else. I'll definitely be in touch once I have Penny back.
 
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