Some Fixing, Finishing, and Some Prepping

I lightly sanded the feet and sprayed another coat of primer on them. This should do them until the white paint... or more primer after I cut the motor holes.

I then fixed the skins in the the area where the Super 77 didn't adhere the skins very well. I mixed up some JB Weld and clamped the skins together.




Next I started preparing the front skins to be bonded together. First I needed the coin slots to be able to attach to the skins. I had already cut the holes, but I needed to coutner sink the screw heads to be flush with the inner skins. I then used some of the JB Weld mixture and welded the screw heads onto the inner skins.




Yes, from the images you can see that the coin slots are backwards. This is to keep the coin slots away from the JB Weld on the screws but still keeping the screws aligned and in position.

The Prime Directive

After another quick cleanup I primed the feet. I made sure that the inside got good coverage, especially on the welds and seams. I will probably lightly sand the outsides tomorrow and give them another light coat on the outside. The CLR really took the rust right off. I just applied teh CLR liberally to the foot shell and let it sit of a minute. I scrubbed the shell with a metal brush and wipe it down with another rag soaked in CLR. I did this about 3 times. After the 3rd time I coated the shells in CLR again and scrubbed them with a 3M scuffing pad and wiped clean with a dry rag. After they were dry I primed the shells.




I still haven't decided how much foot work I am going to do just yet. I know I need to get the front skins done so they are out of the way.

Feet

Wow, something besides skins. Well I pulled out my feet today and noticed a little bit of rust. Yea, I know I should have primed them before, but they were stuck in the back of the storage unit and I couldn't get to them. I rearranged the whole thing this weekend, so I found the feet and decided to prime them. Well I saw the rust, so out came the wire brush, chemical rust remover, and sander. The rust remover took the rust right off. I had to do a couple of passes of the chemical and wire brush, but they are now nice and shiny. The feet are now rust free and will be primed tomorrow.

Full Frontal

Well with the rear skins adn door done, I have moved onto the front skins. I got all the doors and panels cut out and the small door and the 2 long doors JB Welded up.


For cutting I have found the best tools to use is a hacksaw blade. The blade is just the right size for the slots, so it cuts almost all the tab away. It also only take about 3 swipes of the hack saw to remove each tab.

The Rear is Done

Well I attached the last of the panels to the back door. The rear skins are now done. I just have to attach the doors, when I decided on hinges. I also have to make a mounting system for the rear door.

Time to move on to the front skins. I have to also cut the LDP slot back in the front. I am not really looking forward to this. I also may rewire the front logics and start wiring up the rear logics. I have to start figuring out what to do for hinges too. The dome maybe next on the list of items to cut. As it stands the outer dome panels are cut and filed, but the inner panels need to be cut. All the circular holes have been cut as well. The Radar Eye has also been mounted, so I really just need hinges to really move the dome along.

Method to My Madness

OK, so I am working on the skins at the moment. There really is a method to my madness. The first thing is to cut the inner rear door before all the panel are removed. This gives the skins a more rigid structure so the skins don't get a bent out of shape. After the inner door is cut and double checked, the inner panels are removed. I then removed the outer panels and JB Welded the inner and outer doors and panels together. I fit the doors and panels to the skins while the skins are clamped to the frame. This gives the correct curve the panels and doors. If you have handled the inner and outer skins for a while, it is amazing how rigid they get when glued together.

With the panels JB Welded together I used them on the rear door to make sure it was at the correct curvature.

So my steps to forming and attaching the skins were:

!) Remove the outer panels.
2) Cut the Rear Door
3) Remove the inner panels.
4) Clamp the skins back on the frame
5) JB Weld the doors together using the frame and skins to make sure the doors keep their curve
6) Super 77 the skins and door together, using the frame again as a guide.
7) Since the skins and door are still flexible, now use the doors and panels on the skins to shape them while they are JB Welded together.

Thanks to Darren for the Super 77'ing the skins together idea.

More Rear End Work

The little panel on the rear skins wasn't holding too well, I could push it out with my finger very easily. I decided to JB Weld it in from the back side.

I then went on to attach the large panel on the rear door. I again JB Welded this panel on to the door. After a while I checked to make sure the clamps did no adhere to the door.