fc ute @lone star body shop

[Turns]

We don't often work on FC Holdens and seeming as Waynos owns one, he thought he would post some pics for all of you FE/FC enthusiasts. As a team, we hope that the pics and sharing of knowledge will help some person building a car at home in some way.


I have a few pics in my phone that I thought might give Wayno's thread a bit more content - I will try not to repeat stuff.


After the rear floor graft from the panel van the rear of the ute needed to be addressed. This is where I started





I cut the panels off that bookend the spare wheel door under the tailgate and they were crud


 



 



First job was to rebuild the inner sheet metal - layer by layer 








The outer panels that were cut off were fairly rusty and had to be remade





The inners were coated in super etch and the outer panels were welded back in. The spare wheel door was mocked up to ensure good panel gaps / fit of the new pieces







The spare wheel door needed some repairs to the lower edge due to rust and also the client requested that a stainless hinge be fitted. I got the repairs ready and Waynos TIG welded the new piece in. The stainless hinge and reinforcement pieces for the door were spot welded.



This pic of the TIG weld and small HAZ

[Turns]

On the rear of the quarter panels there are some metal strips that hold a splash gasket between the quarter and the bumper bar. This is the good side before it was tidied up



The passenger side needed replacing and would be fiddly  . The quarter needed some attention before the new piece was fitted



A simple 90 degree fold was made and the angle was shaped to match he quarter in the shrinker/stretcher



Made oversize to be cut down



The edge was tipped over and spot welded to the quarter panel for another lifetime of duty





The front subframe needed some attention due to rust





Replacement parts needed to be fabricated



There is a lot going on in this part that insists on accuracy ie bumper bar mounts, sway bar mounts etc



It can be hard to assess what is what on 50 year old cars due to rust  



One of the subframes' lower legs needed some attention also due to rust

[Turns]

This is the crush tube piece that I have cut out for the repair - this is a structural area remember. I am sure there are lots of cars out there getting around with these sort of rust issues



New parts were fabricated to repair the area - the crush tubes have been discussed elsewhere



There was still rust in some sheet metal situated below the radiator



A cardboard template was made



A panel was fabricated and shaped to fit



Always a crap photo but this shows the insides of this repair getting a squirt of super etch to minimise future issues



Another piece was made that had some bead detail. The OEM 'nutserts' were reused and spot welded to the new panel repair



And all fizzed in









These pics don't show the work to the subframe after these repairs were made. Lots of small dents were fixed

[fcwrangler]

Great stuff guys, it is great to see how much is being done and the quality of the work is fantastic. Keep the photos coming and don't worry about some of the negative comments, as you can see, most of us DO enjoy what is being done and look forward to seeing the progress.
Regards,
Jim

[Stewy]

I totally agree. It is great to see the skill involved in close up detail. I for one fully appreciate the time and effort being put into this build.

If I were the owner I would be very happy to see these progress pictures.

Keep up the good work and please continue the pics through to the finish.

Cheers Stewy   

[DJ]

That's serious stuff in those shots. I'd hate to think how long it would take me to fabricate some of the pieces, and how many attempts I'd need before it was good enough.
Thanks for sharing the approach to each repair & the end result.

[RET]

Welcome aboard, Turns. That's some bloody impressive work. Thanks for sharing it.

To everyone else: the comments that were the source of some angst have been removed. Let's hear no more about it.

[Gordon]

Yes  please keep this thread going with all the Photos, helps with motivation to finish mine, great work
Gordon

[Maco]

Great body work, I have the Seals for the body to bumper if you required.
Cheers
John

[FireKraka]

You guys should seriously consider making some of these rust repair panel for sale I would definetly be interested in the inner tray panels

Please keep the photos coming as the other guys have said.
Regards
Neil H

[detective]

...waynos  ..  i tip my hat to your outstanding work...i own the 5th oldest "surviving" Holden (48-215 FX body number 149) which is totally knackered, and up until now thought that she would've been unrepairable...

...now i can see by your skills.. that's just not the case.  I may have to look you up for advice and a possible appraisal of her....thanks for the great thread....cheers from Phil

[waynos]

I can't take credit for any of the work.We are a team and I am just lucky enough to be working with some highly skilled hotrodders, that really love what they do, I'm just  the apprentice really,learning everyday, trying to be a better car builder.

[Longman]

That's some remarkable work guys. Was there ever a point where you considered just buying a better subframe?  Just curious, I like a challenge myself.

[waynos]

It was good to meet Gary (Zulu) today. He cruised down to our workshop in this nice Panelvan.

Wish I wasn't so busy.would have liked to have chatted more.

[waynos]

That's some remarkable work guys. Was there ever a point where you considered just buying a better subframe?  Just curious, I like a challenge myself.

the one being repaired in the pics,
was a better subframe that was sourced by the owner,
can you imagine how bad the original was?

[waynos]

Great body work, I have the Seals for the body to bumper if you required.
Cheers
John

thanks i will tell steve the owner

[zulu]

It was great to meet you too Waynos and the rest of the Metal Whisperers team, Stuart & Turns

After doing a mini grand tour with Stuart I was amazed to see some of the other projects in the works and the extent of the repairs being undertaken

Certainly an eye popper and well worth the visit

Regards, Gary

[Not Happy Jan]

what Neil said.
Love the photos
Nick

[lonestar395]

As a new member here, I should introduce myself as Stuart, and part of the team responsible for the restoration of the FC Ute being discussed in this thread.
I don't own an FE or FC, nor do I have any allegiance to any specific make...I just like interesting old cars.
My background was in collision repair and always had an acute interest in shaping metal.

The owner of the Ute (Steve) recently delivered the doors and tailgate down to the workshop for repairs, Waynos has been working with the doors to align/adjust fit and refine door gaps, then lower door skins were wheeled and edges tipped, and they are a work in progress...we are waiting for the door frames to be abrasive blasted and epoxy primed. Meanwhile the tailgate was assessed and we decided to re-work the frame by replacing the inner face with new metal that we worked in the Pullmax and Turns is making a jig to assist in alignment when we weld the old to the new...An outer skin has been wheeled, the top margin rolled over and radiused, and the edges tipped to provide parallel gaps when fitted to the frame.

[Ole]

It's great to see that there is still this level of craftsmanship out there, and also pleasing to know that there are people out there willing to spend the money to achieve this quality of restoration.