1949 Cadillac Roadster Build

[Jack 1957]

This is the finished inner sleeve for the left side. Much cleaner looking and a better fit. I had expected to at least get them both tacked in today but got set back a little. I don't mind that, I'm much happier with the shape and fit of the new inners.
I'm going to be experimenting a little tomorrow, gas welding with silicon bronze rod. It is as strong as steel rod and doesn't require as much heat.
We'll see what happens.If you look at this picture, you can see that I'll be cutting off about 3 1/2" of the fender and replacing it with the new outer sheet metal. You can see why i did this if you scroll back up to the picture where I have the Studebaker bezel bolted on. Look across the top of the fender.You can see that the original fender dives downward then the bezel sticks straight out. The new outer smooths this this out.

[Maxakarudy]

Hi Jack,
Great looking project and what you've done so far will be a big improvent.
I might be getting ahead on things here, but you said you will be gas brazing, if you were considering joining the new section to the old, then personally I wouldn't, I'd just weld it and hammer and dolly the distortion out, you won't be able to do this if you braze it.

[Jack 1957]

The process is similar to brazing in that you are not heating the parent metal to the point of melting but that's where the similarity ends. SiBro is an incredibly strong bond. It's as strong as steel and has better elongation. If done right, there should be a lot less heat distortion. This method is being used in auto manufacturing on high stress areas of cars where exotic steel alloy gussets are located. The bond is superior and the HAZ is minimal.

[crystallographic]

Originally Posted by Jack 1957

The process is similar to brazing in that you are not heating the parent metal to the point of melting but that's where the similarity ends. SiBro is an incredibly strong bond. It's as strong as steel and has better elongation. If done right, there should be a lot less heat distortion. This method is being used in auto manufacturing on high stress areas of cars where exotic steel alloy gussets are located. The bond is superior and the HAZ is minimal.

... and it takes chrome nicely.
... but your machine won't need much of that ...

[Maxakarudy]

Hi Jack,
The only reason mig brazing is used in auto repair is high strength steels should not be welded as it weakens it and they use lap joints with a 1mm gap for penetration, I assumed you would butt weld the joint
Where you are joining the fender it will have minimum distortion and will easily planish out.
A welded joint is always stronger than a brazed joint.

[Hansa1100]

Cool project. There's a 49 Caddy build thread on the HAMB these days, maybe that would be of interest to you. Lots of metal shaping and modifications:

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/t...custom.873919/


(It's not my intention to direct traffic off this site, delete link if inappropriate.)

[Jack 1957]

Originally Posted by Hansa1100

Cool project. There's a 49 Caddy build thread on the HAMB these days, maybe that would be of interest to you. Lots of metal shaping and modifications:

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/t...custom.873919/


(It's not my intention to direct traffic off this site, delete link if inappropriate.)

I saw that. That's Mirko, I've been watching him.. He's far more ambitious than I am. That car was pretty badly rusted out but he is in Italy. There probably isn't much to choose from in the way of American cars. He's done a great job so far.

[Jack 1957]

I started out this morning welding the inner and outer together with the silicon bronze rod. It did the job but is too fussy with O/A welding. I can't imagine doing much of this on a project this large. I cut off the part of the fender that won't be used and welded the new sheet metal on with the MIG. It will need some planishing but not much. I like the results. The old and new flow in a smooth line.

[Jack 1957]

I welded up the inner and outer fender extensions for the right side today and tacked them to the fender. I'll weld them up tomorrow.


Next it's time to get to the serious stuff. I need to stiffen up the rocker area since I'll be cutting the roof off and losing the rigidity it provides. I'll have to take a look and see what's the best way. I think I'll probably end up replacing the inner rocker with .090 or 1/8" plate. I'll see what it looks like under there. Sorry about the poor quality pictures. I'll try using my other camera.

[Jack 1957]

I finished the headlight area on the fenders. I still have more work to do on the fenders but not until I get the rockers and doors done.