Inner Fender Repair

Earlier in the spring I had a friend, who owns a powder coat company, sand blast a number of large parts to get them cleaned up and prepped for paint.

Over the years, battery acid completely destroyed the battery tray and ate away at the driver side inner fender where the tray is mounted. Before I could prime the parts with epoxy I needed to replace the missing metal.

The first step was to create a pattern that I could transfer to a new piece of metal. I just used a piece of paper and made reference marks so that the holes that are supposed to be there would end up in the right spot. I traced the pattern into sheet metal and then hammered the edges over a form to create the compound curves. A couple of relief cuts in the corner made things easier. I used a cutoff wheel to remove the cancerous metal as marked.

With trimming, grinding, and several test fits, the piece was ready to weld. Then it was just a matter of recreating the two holes that are supposed to be there. The larger hole is for access to install a J-nut into the smaller one. The battery tray is anchored here with a bolt.

I finished the day out by laying down some epoxy primer to protect a number of large parts until they can be finished. The dash frame has some rust pits to be filled before it's resprayed black.

Heater Box Repairs

Like most components on this car, the heater box has seen it's share of neglect and abuse. Someone has been into in the past, perhaps for a new heater core or to just try to figure to figure out why something didn't work. Probably started when the heater blower motor seized or vacuum controls got sticky, or wiring fried.

In any case, the fiberglass housing was severely cracked and broken in numerous places. A couple of the mounting studs (that hold it to the firewall) were completely broken off with chunks of fiberglass still attached.

I sent old seals and gaskets off to Detroit Muscle Technologies months ago for them to recreate. Much of them were part of the HVAC system and found in the heater box. Sadly, they haven't responded to any emails or attempts to phone them so I may end up making all of my own - we'll see.

In the mean time I'm attempting to repair and restore the box. With all the cracks, breaks, and missing bits it's pretty flimsy. But, with the help of fiberglass mat and resin it's shaping up nicely.

Most of the repairs are on the inside where they won't be seen. By necessity, some are on the outside which will serve to add much needed strength and reinforcement. Little will be visible once it's fully reassembled and painted - and even then you'll have to be standing on your head under the dash to see it.

Time out for a diversion

For the past several months life, as it often does, has pulled us in various directions. For example, a tight economy, ailing parents, a daughter going off to college and a myriad of other events have slowed our progress on this project. Stuff happens, right?

Our Rat Kool Monster Kart (before graphics)

One diversion was a Boy Scout related project in which Austin (14) and I built this reverse trike go-kart. which was fabbed from a Manco go-kart, an old Honda SL100 dirt bike, a Kasea Mighty Mite ATV, and various rods and levers from a riding lawn mower. Rear bodywork was formed from the Honda's tank and additional sheet metal. We wanted it to have enough ground clearance for off-road use.

In the spirit of Monster Garage, parts were collected from items we had laying around. Good, clean (but scary) fun!