This worked for another member so I will try the same. Anyone tell me how to fix this. I cant find a battery apron anywhere so I will have to try and fix this one. Any help appreciated.. I know it is bad but I cant afford a better car..LOL... My first time trying a pic hope it works......

Same general idea as the fender well / trunk but in more pieces. make cardboard patterns, find metal in the right thickness . Tack the metal in
place, then bend to fit (might need a torch). Don't try to do too many
curves in 1 piece, find logical places to seam it.

...MJW
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Mark J. Whitmore, MSgt, USAF (RETIRED)
63 Fairlane 2dr Ht

I know I am at risk for everyone telling me how bad I did but keep in mind this is my first attempt ever. I have not welded until now as I am sure you can tell. I am wondering if this is the general Idea on how to do this. I cut the piece to fit with for a butt weld and should have made the fit a bit better. I have since grinded the welds and noticed a few pinholes. What should I do with them? I am too nervous to try and weld them shut they are so small. Also think I may be grinding off too much weld. I know I got alot to repair elswhere but I just wanted to try a small section to see if I could even get it welded in at all. I do need to take more time the gaps are hard to fill if the fit is not flush.. If I do go on what is the name of the fiberglass product for the welds?.....Should I continue on or pack it in??




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Last edited by Fair 67 on Fri Apr 28, 2006 6:31 pm; edited 1 time in total

Don't ever give up! I know this is a bit of a stretch, I was looking at the same panel on my 65 Mustang and 64 Fairlane, If you could get a look at Mustang panel there might be enough material there to get at least the bottom part done, the panel is about $23.00

Sheet metal is the hardest to learn to weld so don't get too down about it. It might help to find a friend with welding experience to take a peek at your welds & check them for penetration. Good welds sometimes look bad! It takes time & alot of practice, so don't give in. Speaking from experience, I don't do enough overhead welding on sheet metal at all (so aside from alot of burn scars) and about every 2 years I take on another restoration & have to crawl under something & replace frame rails or torque boxes and you can see how the welds progress from ugly at first to pretty good at the end. Undercoating hides things well. Just check the welds for good penetration & be slow with the grinder. Durabond I believe, or Kitty Hair fillers have fiberglass strands in them & fill robustly, however they can be tough to work back down as they get rock hard. There are several body fillers that are polyester based that fill well, but still get quite hard, but sand down somewhat easier. Check with your local bodyshop supply house. Good ones have experienced employees that can guide you.
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Scott
1963 Fairlane Mini tub 10pt cage New 408" C4 Canfield 195CC heads Comp solid roller Victor Jr. 9" w/4.11? gears Moser spool & 35 spline axles. www.marksullense85carburetors.com

i weld like that every inch of weld = 1 grinding disk
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66 289 mild port work edelbrook 600 cfm proformer intake msd/duraspark long tube headers roller tip rockers crane cam flowmasters 3.55 gears b&m transpack

I did some ugly welding,after grinding and smoothing with JB weld it looked pretty good.
' old '

is this with a stick welder?
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NMCB 28 Seabee Battalion

I hate to admit it but it is with a mig..

The only way to get better is with practice, so if that is your first attempt it aint to bad.
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66 hardtop downunder

Practice is the way to improve your welding ability. No one is a born welder, you'll get better. Did you stitch it with short welds to avoid burning the metal? Did you turn down the amps?
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Welcome to AMERICA..........Learn to speak english!

To ALL my fellow Veterans.....Thanks!

I did not expect all the replies. I wanna thank everyone for the kind words.
It really was my first attempt. I did stitch weld it I hit it in one spot then the other side away from the first weld and after some time they kinda joined together. I am not gonna tell you guys how many grinding discs I used..LOL.. I since practiced on some scrap metal on the bench. It turned out better but I was standing with good access to the metal not layin on my back with limited view . Also had thin but solid metal to use the car has some thin spots at times that blow through and then I get real stressed filling that new hole. I am going to try and go the bottom of the apron next . I first will try and make a pattern out of paper . Then cut it. I will have to figure out where to cut the bad metal out though. It should be interesting.. I will go to my local autobody dealer to find the products suggested for filling. Again thanks too all I read everyones posts a few times before I decided to carry on....