65 GTO

[Thumpin455]

Damn another month got by me, but I made a nice trip back home to hang with the kids. Also waited on engine parts, but now all that is done and waiting to go in vehicles.

And we are back to working on the 65! Today I cleaned up the inner wheel wells, hit them and the grille surround with POR15. Should be ready for a bit of metal work tomorrow, and then I will do the front fender patches. The engines I have been working on are almost done, so its time to get back into the body work.

I am only waiting on one part that was back ordered, the headlight harness. I have the rest of the electrical system, so this thing should not have any wiring issues when its done. It wont be long and I will be shooting primer on this beast. Tomorrow, lots of welding.

Here are the parts I painted today.

[Thumpin455]

Man the shop looks messy, boxes of supplies and carbs everywhere.

Started some welding today, also straightened the grille surround. Started on the fender rust, so far it is turning out pretty good. Should have the drivers side fender done tomorrow, then I can slather it in POR where it is pitted and get the pass side done. Still need to finish the dash and the pass side A pillar, probably a days work there, just been putting it off.

Here is the fender in progress.

[SuperBuickGuy]

I admire the work you've done saving this car - it's a testament to your skills, and your stick-to-itness. I say this with tongue firmly planted in cheek - so is this car more patch then panel?

[Thumpin455]

Thanks man. Sometimes I wonder just how much car you can replace before it isnt the same car. The pinholes in this thing are killing me, so on the pieces I cant get patches for, or in places I cant make a patch, I am being creative. It isnt a show car, it just has to be a relatively leak free nice driver for Dave. I think I will call this car Frankenstein because it will have so many parts from other cars on it and welds going here and there. All it needs is a big bolt through the C pillar.

Here is what I got done today. I continued the patch where the hood rests, and patched the rusted out lower section. The welds came out better than I thought, I must be getting better at this stuff.

[6 Grrrs]

I've just finished reading this entire thread. You have some serious determination and great skills. Great to see another one saved.

I have a '66, but I love '65's too.

[Thumpin455]

Thanks, I like every year GTO, even the 73s and the new ones. I dont know about skills though, I am having to rework some stuff I did a while ago. Looks much better this time though.

I didnt have the trunk lid on when I welded the filler panel in, so it had 1/4" overhang when I closed the trunk. Had to pop the spot welds and make it all fit right. I think its pretty close this time, and once its welded in I can weld the other quarter panel on. Once that is done, then its time to start on the doors and finish the cowl.

This is what I had before, can you say oops? I know I can, and many other expletives.



Here is how it looks right now, still need to reweld it.

[SuperBuickGuy]

If it makes you feel any better, I've done that too.... but the opposite direction - I didn't have the window.... yep, words were said.

[Thumpin455]

I dont have the window but I do have the channels on the 1/4 I didnt cut off. So it was 1/4" lower there than it should have been, so now it is probably right on the money. I also moved the trunk lid out just a tad, I dont mind a bit of overhang with the end caps, I can make that work. So it should have plenty of room for the window, and the trunk now fits.

The car came to me without the back glass, it had been shattered, and unless I order one from OPG they are like $900, so its going to wait until I can get one from OPG.

[Thumpin455]

No pics today but I got the quarter panel welded to the car. its lined up pretty good and the trunk fits. Tomorrow more finish welding, some grinding, and start on the doors!

[A/Fuel]

Just got caught up...nice work, most people would have given up or not even started a project like that.

[Thumpin455]

Most people have better things to do with their time, I can play with cars all I want... So I do. Also I cant afford a nice one, so I have to build one, and I needed enough car to start building.

That is what I did today, and I enjoyed every minute of it and just got in the house. Really nice weather, just warm enough but not too hot, even if it is raining like a cow pissin on a flat rock.

I have to weld up the filler panel behind the C pillar and the quarter is done. I havent ground the welds down yet, but it is pretty darn straight considering where the quarter came from, and what I had to do to get it on there. The car had been hit in the rear quarter right above the wheel so I had to make things fit and move them back. The door lines up nice, and even closes good. Not bad for my first full quarter replacement.








The door was full of filler where it got hit and they sorta pulled it out then just slathered on the bondo. So I ground all that out a while ago and decided to fix it tonight. You can see the rusted lower corner in this pic too. The dent was about half an inch deep, and when the metal is stretched that far it gets ugly fast when you try to bump it out. So I just cut right down the middle of it, and welded it back together. It is only a slight low spot now, so it wont take 1/2" of filler, maybe 1/8" instead. Really I should have just replaced the entire lower section, but I need a piece for the quarter right behind the door, and what is left will work great.

Messed up door.



Patch cut out and you can see the rusted under structure here along with the cut through the deep dent.



Here is the patched inner and welded up dent. Not the most time efficient way to do it, but it works. Sorta.



And the patch welded in and ready to line up with the door edges while folding the seams. It has a low spot that I will work out later, did a little of it before I came in tonight and it seemed to be easy to fix.







This is the rusted front half, I am going to use a patch from something else instead of cutting more of teh door skin patch. Its tweaked a bit on this end, and it would be easier to make a patch than fix this one.

[Huskinhano]

Every so often I go back to the first page. It's so dramatic seeing the progress you've done. Nice work! Page by page doesn't do it justice.

[Thumpin455]

Thanks man, sometimes I go back and look at the first pics I took when I ripped it apart. It feels like it was a lifetime ago it came here on a trailer and blocked the yard for a couple days. I can see light at the end of the tunnel now, even if nobody else can. The metal work is progressing nicely and its turning out good. I seem to have picked up with the skill a bit since I first started doing this stuff. My welds dont take nearly as long to grind down now, and the panels are much less prone to oil canning.

Here is the patch I did on the last rust hole in that door above. I just hacked up a scrap piece and welded it in. Nice and smooth, came out surprisingly well.



Ground the welds on the quarter too, now the door will close better.





Patched up the A pillar I had left, and finished the cowl so I can weld in the lower window frame.



Started on the rusted dash, this one is better than the original, but still had a large hole in it. I used a piece of the quarter panel I frankenstiened last year for a patch, put a nice bend in it and welded it up.

[Huskinhano]

Even the dash was rusted...? Wow.

[SpiderGearsMan]

JUST SAW THIS FOR THIS FIRST TIME
nice work bro