1956 Chevy Wagon- Hit by a Deer
 

Getting you up to speed on where this rebuild id at. Quite a few posts to so bear with me. :)
17 August 2019_On my way to Downtown Flint for Back to the bricks... Less then a half mile from the house. Two bucks running hard out of a cornfield. JUST missed the first one, the second one ran right into the side of the right front fender.
Police report and a claim in to Hagerty and we will see how this goes...
https://media.fotki.com/2v2EG7Ahdx9EDKg.jpg
https://media.fotki.com/2v2EG7ACyx9EDKg.jpg
https://media.fotki.com/2v2EG7AL5x9EDKg.jpg
The whole clip was pushed to the left. The hood gap is non-existent on the hit side and it is opened up on the right side. Like it was shoved over and then didn't spring back...
Hood at the front.
https://media.fotki.com/2v2EG7AqMx9EDKg.jpg
Hood at the rear is popped up and won't go down... And you can see where the paint is chipped at the door and cowl.
https://media.fotki.com/2v2EG7AL5x9EDKg.jpg
It doesn't look that bad until you start "looking" at it... :(
Mark

After pulling the front clip off I went after the bashed fender with a dead blow hammer.
https://media.fotki.com/2v2Edw2DNx9EDKg.jpg
Still lots to do but it is getting there... The paint has to come off though. I can't see or feel where the actual surface is because of the heavy layers of paint. I can tell it is close though.
https://media.fotki.com/2v2Edw2mGx9EDKg.jpg
Getting the outside straight took some time but it is very close right now.
https://media.fotki.com/2v2Edw2Tnx9EDKg.jpg

Lots of work to do.
I'll be rebuilding the cowls on both sides as well as the inner structure.
https://media.fotki.com/2v2EyVWwzx9EDKg.jpg
I got the front fenders, inner fenders, inner hood latch and baffle, bumper brackets lower fender extensions back from the blaster today.
https://media.fotki.com/2v2Eyhtsvx9EDKg.jpg
The wrecked front fender is a piece of junk. The left is better but not by much. I'll get better pics of those tomorrow while I am priming them.
The inners will need some work but are savable. Lots of straightening, hole welding and rust patching on both. I got those buried in epoxy tonight.
Yea... This corner was all bondo before blasting.
https://media.fotki.com/2v2EyVqRUx9EDKg.jpg
A little paint makes things all better?
https://media.fotki.com/2v2EyVqiEx9EDKg.jpg
See all the holes?
https://media.fotki.com/2v2EyVFVJx9EDKg.jpg
The hood brackets all came out looking like brand new! The blaster also does powder coating so he ran all of the smaller brackets thru his oven in satin black.
https://media.fotki.com/2v2EyVq9Hx9EDKg.jpg
https://media.fotki.com/2v2EyVqQEx9EDKg.jpg
https://media.fotki.com/2v2EyVqHUx9EDKg.jpg
Thanks for looking.
Mark

I worked on smoothing the fender out a bit more and trimming off the lower part.
I worked on the fender for about an hour and this is what it's looking like now. Still a few highs and lows so I'll hit it with the D/A and some 100 grit paper to start fine tuning. I picked out a lot of low spots on this thing and took down some high spots, it was oil canning quite badly when I started but I have that eliminated now so I know it's very close.
https://media.fotki.com/2v2EjC13ux9EDKg.jpg
https://media.fotki.com/2v2EjCctGx9EDKg.jpg
I also trimmed off the bottom of the fender. Now I can work on the brace as well.
https://media.fotki.com/2v2EjCc2ox9EDKg.jpg
What a mess... Now, you have to realize this brace probably looks just like this ALL the way up the fender... :(
https://media.fotki.com/2v2EjCcaox9EDKg.jpg
This is the piece I cut off with a hunk of the brace that was cut out.
https://media.fotki.com/2v2EjLov8x9EDKg.jpg
The new lower fender will get trimmed to fit and I'll make a new chunk to fix the brace.
https://media.fotki.com/2v2EjCchyx9EDKg.jpg

After opening up the outer cowls...
Rebuilding both inner cowl panels and the non-existent rain channels is on the list now. Fabbing the new inners should be fairly simple after I get all of the rust cut out...
Passenger side.
https://media.fotki.com/2v2E8BiR2x9EDKg.jpg
Drivers side.
https://media.fotki.com/2v2E8Bis3x9EDKg.jpg
Fuse block...
https://media.fotki.com/2v2E8BiD8x9EDKg.jpg
HVAC box...
https://media.fotki.com/2v2E8BiCUx9EDKg.jpg
Some preliminary floor pics... :(
https://media.fotki.com/2v2E8Bic2x9EDKg.jpg
https://media.fotki.com/2v2E8Biw3x9EDKg.jpg

Working on the drivers side cowl. I took the old cowl completely out, even along the top, which I had left on the other side. I will go back and take the rest out on the passenger side as well. It will make for a cleaner job.
https://media.fotki.com/2v2E8mVMqx9EDKg.jpg
What I cut out...
https://media.fotki.com/2v2E8mhodx9EDKg.jpg
Cleaning up the rust on the inner panel.
https://media.fotki.com/2v2E8mhvNx9EDKg.jpg
I used a scrap of aluminum to protect the fuse box and wiring while I was cutting.
https://media.fotki.com/2v2E8mhunx9EDKg.jpg
https://media.fotki.com/2v2E8mhQrx9EDKg.jpg
Doing a test fit of the new cowl outer. A "little" bit of trimming and this will pop right in.

Worked on getting both sides cleaned up. Cut more chunks out of the driver side at the lower door hinge reinforcement.
I will probably clean this up some more as I develop the patch panels.
Before doing a bit of trimming.
https://media.fotki.com/2v2E8L8cox9EDKg.jpg
I was laying on the floor looking at this for 15 or 20 minutes... Using the angle grinder to trim out junks that will serve no purpose when the patch is welded in.
https://media.fotki.com/2v2E8L8t8x9EDKg.jpg
I came up with a plan to fill this hole. The passenger side will be similar.
https://media.fotki.com/2v2E8L8s2x9EDKg.jpg
I also got the rest of the old cowl cut out of the passenger side. A little bit of finagling and I got the new cowl panel set in place. This fits very well. From what I can tell the driver side will fit well also.
https://media.fotki.com/2v2E8L8JMx9EDKg.jpg
https://media.fotki.com/2v2E8L848x9EDKg.jpg
https://media.fotki.com/2v2E8L8irx9EDKg.jpg
Still need to build the inner patch panels.
Mark

I marked up a pic with my plan. This repair will be done in four pieces. Let me know what you think.
https://media.fotki.com/2v2E8ngM2x9EDKg.jpg
The black and silver pieces I would like to do "one piece" but getting them in, behind the old steel is the trick.
1). Spot weld in the black piece.
2). Spot weld in the silver piece.
3). Spot weld in the red piece.
4). Spot weld in the blue piece.
Fabbing the patch panels for the lower A Pillar hinge reinforcement. I'll do some adjusting of the fit before these get welded in. There are two more plates to make. One that will weld to the left hand wall and another that covers the nut plate.
The upper (black) piece.
https://media.fotki.com/2v2E8y65vx9EDKg.jpg
The lower (silver) piece.
https://media.fotki.com/2v2E8yt3vx9EDKg.jpg
Fitting the top piece.
https://media.fotki.com/2v2E8y6Mzx9EDKg.jpg
Fitting the bottom piece.
https://media.fotki.com/2v2E8yta3x9EDKg.jpg
Pulling everything together with screws and clecos.
https://media.fotki.com/2v2E8y6C3x9EDKg.jpg
https://media.fotki.com/2v2E8yP2vx9EDKg.jpg

Making progress. I got the "red" piece made along with a smaller "gap filler" to strengthen the gap between the new piece and the original steel on the side of the cowl.
https://media.fotki.com/2v2EM39cZx9EDKg.jpg
This one will get some plug welding holes punched into it and be ready to go.
https://media.fotki.com/2v2EM39wQx9EDKg.jpg
I also got a good start on the inner cowl patch. I cut a piece of 16ga to fit the upper opening and put a roll on it to match the curve of the cowl. It's amzing what a block of wood and a dead blow hammer can do in 10 minutes... :)
https://media.fotki.com/2v2EM39Tex9EDKg.jpg
The curve developed pretty quickly using the dead blow hammer.
https://media.fotki.com/2v2EM39Nzx9EDKg.jpg
It was getting close at this point.
https://media.fotki.com/2v2EM39yux9EDKg.jpg
https://media.fotki.com/2v2EM395Jx9EDKg.jpg
A little more tweaking and it will be good.
https://media.fotki.com/2v2EM39Wox9EDKg.jpg
Fits like a glove! I'm pretty happy with this piece. It will plug weld in nicely.
https://media.fotki.com/2v2EM39FUx9EDKg.jpg
https://media.fotki.com/2v2EM39FUx9EDKg.jpg

Spent more time taking out useless metal. I stripped out the leftover flange from the inner cowl, the piece I am replacing. Now all that is left is the firewall flange so, with the patches I am putting in and the new outer cowl panel the thickness will be back to three layers which is what it should be.
The cleaned off firewall flange.
https://media.fotki.com/2v2EMEzGzx9EDKg.jpg
Surprisingly this is pretty solid. The new pieces will weld to this just fine.
Making the inner patch. I bent this flange to fit over the firewall flange. Dead blow hammer comes to the rescue again!
https://media.fotki.com/2v2EMEzN8x9EDKg.jpg
https://media.fotki.com/2v2EMEzMyx9EDKg.jpg
I'll get out the shrinker/stretcher to roll this flange to match the cowl.
https://media.fotki.com/2v2EMHov8x9EDKg.jpg
https://media.fotki.com/2v2EMHo3jx9EDKg.jpg
Punching some 1/4" holes for plug welding and getting all of the joints cleaned up is next on the list. Getting this welded up will be a big step.
https://media.fotki.com/2v2EMHoHNx9EDKg.jpg
Next on the list is the drain channels....
Mark
https://media.fotki.com/2v2EMHo2rx9EDKg.jpg

I have the left hand side panels ready to weld in. Finished up the piece and worked on fitment. Got everything fitting pretty sweet so I pulled it all out and punched and drilled the plug welding holes. Ran the flap disc over a lot of the mating surfaces to clean things up a bit more but I think it's as ready as it will ever be.
Now, on to the passenger side!
This is the fit of the side piece under the cowl top piece. Took three hits with the shrinker die to pull this around.
https://media.fotki.com/2v2EMbytzx9EDKg.jpg
https://media.fotki.com/2v2EMbyYox9EDKg.jpg
Worked on fitment.
https://media.fotki.com/2v2EMbymox9EDKg.jpg
After drilling and punching the plug weld holes.
https://media.fotki.com/2v2EMbyL8x9EDKg.jpg
https://media.fotki.com/2v2EMbyS3x9EDKg.jpg
Nice tight fit all around. This should weld up beautifully. I made a small patch for that gap in the back. it will get welded in when I do the rest of the parts.
https://media.fotki.com/2v2EMbyGox9EDKg.jpg
https://media.fotki.com/2v2EMbyq3x9EDKg.jpg
Mark

Got a good start on the passenger side. Went through the same routine removing dead metal from the firewall flange as I did on the drivers side.
https://media.fotki.com/2v2EMA38ox9EDKg.jpg
After a couple of hours of drilling, cutting and grinding... Same as the other side, the flange cleaned up very well so I will get good welds when I stick all of this together.
https://media.fotki.com/2v2EMA3dNx9EDKg.jpg
Cleaned out the lower A pillar pocket and got two patches fabbed up for that area. Went pretty smooth and the fit is really good.
https://media.fotki.com/2v2EMA3Gzx9EDKg.jpg
https://media.fotki.com/2v2EMA3oax9EDKg.jpg
https://media.fotki.com/2v2EMA39ux9EDKg.jpg
This gets you caught up to where I'm at with the car right now. Getting the passenger side panels done is the goal. It's getting cold and the car is sitting on the unheated side of the shop so I need to get this done.
Once the cowls are put back together the car will be going to a restoration shop to do the floors and get the body ready for paint. I will finish up the fender work while they are prepping the body.
Thanks for following along!
Mark