Found Object

[ardiesse]

. . . and also with you.

It is noteworthy how much more I can get done now that church services have been cancelled.
And as for the on-line streaming services, I will treat them with the contempt they rightly deserve.

Rob

[KFH]

Amen

[ardiesse]

Yesterday, while the sheet-metal shop at work was still open for business foreign orders, I cut a long section out of a donor panel, and folded over a ~10 mm return for the outer skin.  And "I 'ad a fink, an' a cuppa tea", and figured that it would be less trouble to turn the donor panel into a quarter-skin (or maybe a sixth-skin).  I traced the outline of the bottom 150 mm of the door onto cardboard, marked up the "quarter-skin", trimmed it and put the extra folds in.  The wheel-arch profile was fairly straightforward.  I started on the B-pillar fold, and found that the skin was about 5 mm too long.  I got the length right on my third attempt at the fold.

I think the effort in fabricating the replacement panel will be worth it - a straight-line weld is always easier than turning corners.

More crud came out of the door when I cut the rusty part of the outer skin off.  There are a few craters in the bottom of the frame to repair before I splice the repair section in.

Rob

[ardiesse]

I was foolish enough to say, "a few craters in the bottom of the frame to repair . . ."  It more resembled a colander, once I'd chipped the rust scale away and wire-brushed it.

It's repaired now, but took all day.

Question for the brains trust:  What is the best paint/preservative to use on the inner parts of a door, especially freshly welded parts?

Rob

[Errol62]

If you have a nice clean surf@ce to put paint on you couldn’t go past the Epotec 2k I’ve been using.
 Then cavity wax or synthetic fish oil.


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[ardiesse]

I didn't like the idea of two-pack paint (no experience, don't have a functioning spray gun at the moment, would prefer to brush the paint on . . .) so yesterday I tried the black epoxy from Super Cheap.  It says you can apply it without primer.  Anyway, wire brush, some sandpaper, Deoxidine, and then a lick of paint.



(Sorry, over-exposed highlights)

And then, by the time sunset came around:



The 90/10 rule applies to welding sheet metal too.  Preparation, preparation, preparation.  Get the gaps even.  Line the donor piece up carefully.  Quenching block in hard contact with the seam is absolutely essential.  I have a ~1" thick x 10" long piece of machined aluminium, and I drilled and tapped it M3 in five places.  I notched the parent and donor pieces to take the screws, and then spent a lot of time moving the quenching block from place to place.  Tack welds first.  Sand them down with a disc and backing pad.  Then a series of half-inch welds.  I put a folded wet towel about an inch above the seam.  Double duty: it keeps the panel cool, and it damps out sound when I use the angle grinder.  Weld.  Tap weld while still hot.  Wipe with damp rag to cool weld site.  Go somewhere else.  After a half-dozen welds, sand them down, planish.  Do not rush.

I'm quite happy with the result.  I still have to "tip" the folds over and then massage the door to suit the opening.  A quick hit with Deoxidine, and some clear-coat, and the Frankenstein scars will still be visible.

Rob

[Errol62]

So a two pack Rob?

Nice work keeping the skin flat.

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[Luke Healey]

Some good tips there for a beginner welder like myself. Cheers, Luke

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[ardiesse]

The RHR door is now rust-converted, red-oxide-primed and matt-black-epoxy enamelled on the inside.

I started "Found Object" up, drove it out of the garage, and set to work on the passenger's side doors.  The car now weighs about a kilo less than it did this morning.  The amount of rust scale and dirt that came out of the passenger's side doors . . .

And it was the usual amount of trouble stripping the LHR door down.  Window seized solid in the bailey channels, and the window glass lift channel came off when I tried to pull the glass down.  And the division channel stud was rusted firmly in place.

Hint for the amateur door dismantler:  Use a MAP gas torch with a gentle flame, aimed directly upwards on the stud and the threaded tab.  Heat until just red (and make sure nothing else catches fire), allow to cool, and the stud will come free.

LHF door will wait until the sun is shining again.

Catastrophe narrowly averted:  My nephew has been flogging his Xbox to within an inch of its life.  Its "most exquisite quality" replacement power supply got hot and let out the magic smoke, complete with exploding electrolytic capacitor, depriving him of existence in his MMORPGs.  Replacement ordered, but several days' delivery time.  Oh no. Existential crisis.  What to do?  I suggested a car battery and a pair of jumper leads, because an Xbox runs off . . . wait for it, 12 V.  He still had the power supply which came with his previous Xbox, but of course Microsoft designs the accursed things with sui generis power connectors, which (of course) they change with each model release.  The previous model power supply's ratings are about the same as those of his present model's power supply.  So Muggins here defeated the bloody tamper-proof Torx screws with a centre-punch and a drill, exchanged the DC supply cords, bridged out the +5V and +12V return terminals, and replaced the covers with duct tape, as befitting an emergency repair.  My nephew is now back in the Metaverse with his Adelaide cousins.  Phew.  After all, what else would I be doing on a sunny weekend afternoon?  Hmm.  Let me think . . .

Oh yes, there was yesterday's effort with his A6 and its aftermarket fulli-sik wirelessly-controlled exhaust bypass gimcrackery, which allows him to go from stealth mode to annoy-the-neighbours mode with the touch of a button.  Except when the butterfly valve actuators only drive in one direction when attached to the vehicle, but yet in both directions when removed from the vehicle . . .  That was a subtle one.

Rob

[ardiesse]

The RHR door is now reassembled with all internal hardware.  Jobs like these are much easier the second time around.

The LHR door is red-oxide-primered inside.

The LHF door is stripped down, wire-brushed internally and rust-converted.  It was the usual fight to get it apart (read entry for LHR door), but it must have had some replacement internals in (say) the '70s.  The division channel bailey was in excellent condition, good enough to read 7408509 in pencil on the rear, and the window glass and lift channel were also in excellent condition, with 7408344 in crayon on the rubber flap (still pliable!).  Quarter window was shattered, and the frame's festy, but I've got a replacement in good enuff condition.  just waiting for Rares to get a LHF quarter window rubber.

Rob

[my8thholden]

Rob..Got my front 1/4 rubbers from Old Auto at Penrith ,they were Rares product ,they may still have stock if Rares are out ..Vern..

[ardiesse]

The best place to store panels is on the vehicle . . .



It's enough to make me think there's some hope yet.

But I'm in a bit of a quandary with the passenger's door:



There's really only paint holding the rust together.  The holes are just big enough to make me think I should try patching them.  But if I start welding, I'll need to replace a strip about fifteen inches long.  Maybe a few tack welds and a liberal coat of seam sealer on the inside, once I've rust-convertered and primered the inside surface.

Rob

[ardiesse]

"The sun comes up, it's a new day dawning . . ."

I ummed and ahhed for a while.  I have neither bog nor seam-sealer.  But I do have a welder.  And I found an offcut from the donor door that was about the right length.  So I bit the bullet, marked up and cut the graft, took a deep breath, and sliced out the diseased section of the door.

Mister MIG had been acting a bit ornery for a couple of years now.  Sometimes when I started an arc, there'd be a loud "bang", the feed would go "rrrr-r-r", and the welding wire would melt into the tip and stick.  Or I'd start an arc, and there'd be an empty "hmmmm" sound, and I'd watch a ball of melt go from sand-grain to peppercorn and not actually transfer to the job.  Then when I pulled the wire out to free it, there'd be a quarter-inch length of melt, next to the feed wire.  It had melted inside the tip.

And then a "no shit, Sherlock" moment:  I haven't replaced the tip in all the >20 years and three restoration jobs I've had the welder.  The welding wire had at least its own diameter of clearance inside the tip.  That means it's worn out.  I remember that a small bag of accessories came with the welder when I bought it.  After 20 years?  Well, I found it.  New tip, and the welder is transformed.  It now operates reliably on the lowest current setting.  Useful when trying to weld paper-thin metal.



My intention is to use no bog.  Just welds.

This one makes it four doors rescued.  Front guards next.

Rob

[JOX515]

>20 years and it is not working properly...… they just don't make things to last these days..   

[ardiesse]

Umm, yeah.  I was getting to the stage of thinking I'd have to buy another welder.  But I couldn't cope with the thought of just putting it in the bin.

Hare and Forbes most likely won't have replacement parts for a twenty-year-old el-cheapo MIG welder, so I'll reverse-engineer the tip and get the machine shop at work to make a few for me.

Rob

[my8thholden]

Your planning on welding for another 20 yrs !!!!!..Rob ,if your stuck I can loan you a gasless " el cheapo " welder ..Vern ..

[ardiesse]

"Found Object" is now a four-door again.  I know where a lot of the weight in a Holden lies: the front doors.  With all their hardware, they're heavy.  And swinging a front door single-handed [sarcasm]is no trouble at all[/sarcasm].  The usual gotchas in rebuilding a front door applied:

The Rare Spares quarter window rivets need reworking to fit FE-FC quarter windows.  The hole in the outer frame is 1/8" (3.2 mm) diameter; the hole in the quarter window frame is say 5.85 mm dia.  The Rares rivet is 6.20 mm (so not even 1/4") diameter on the first shoulder, and 3.53 mm dia on the stem.  It's easy enough to drill the hole in the outer frame to 3.5 dia, but I didn't want to rework the hole in the quarter window frame for fear of breaking the glass.  So I chucked the rivet into the drill press and filed the first shoulder down until it fitted into the hole in the outer frame.  The rivet stem was a good press-fit in the 3.5 dia. hole.  I used a 3" G-clamp and a 5 mm socket and eased the rivet into place.  Peening the rivet over is a job for Vishnu (you need four hands . . .) but manageable.

The bailey channel kit supplied by Rare Spares is an inch too long for a rear door and an inch too short for a front door.

The front quarter window division channel strip has two "ribs" that run down the sides on the face that attaches to the division channel.  It's best to grind these off before fitting the strip.  (bench grinder, patience).  And ordinary super-glue bonds the rubber strip to the division channel very well.

Remember to put the window winder in place before installing the front division channel.  Otherwise you'll have to take it out again to get the window winder into place.  The best order of installing internal components is:

Door lock mechanism, rear bailey channel retainer, rear bailey channel, window glass in door, window winder, rain deflector, quarter window assembly, then the division channel.  Install the division channel stud from inside the door, before putting the division channel in place.  Push the quarter window assembly into place and loosely install the lower two screws.  Put the window into the rear channel, engage it into the division channel, line the division channel up, install the top quarter window screw, slide the window half-way up, install the two screws at the rear bottom of the quarter window.  Adjust the division channel stud, tighten the locknut, slide the window all the way down, engage the lift channel with the window winder.  Now is a good time to install the door belt weatherstrips, if you are happy that the window glass slides freely.  Install and tighten the window winder screws.  Install the top bailey channel.  Job done.

Rob

[mcl1959]

Good job Rob, that’s a good set of instructions. I’ve done up and undone that many components in the front doors it’s not funny. It’s like you say, half do something and then put another piece in. Then put another random piece in and go back to the first thing you were working on.

Ken

[Errol62]

Yep  good description Rob

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[my8thholden]

hey Rob ,,Ive just done mine ,and ditto , I elected to put top bailey channel in before side ones ,support on the ends  ..Vern ..