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  #1  
Old 12-20-2009, 01:19 PM
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Default Where to split Panel below trunk 39 La Salle

Hi Guys

I'm making the panel below the trunk (like a rolled pan) sometimes called a tool box, most late 30's & 40's cars were made this way. when the trunk lid seal leaked they filled with water.

When I recieved the car that panel had already been removed so I needed to get the needed information to build the sheet steel panel. The trunk lid shows the basic shape of the back of the body side to side and the back of thefenders, the shape at the ends of the panel. along with the car were three stations cut from 3/4 plywood to show the shape vertically in the center & two other areas. still not enough information to make the panel.

I hot glued 2" foam insulation chunks between the stations & filled in the irregular areas with "great stuff" let it cure over night. rough cut it with a hand saw and sanded it to shape with 36 grit on sanding block.

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to make flexible Tape patterns require a smooth surface for the transfer tape to stick on, to save time I vacuumed the loose foam off and applied 2" masking tape which stuck well to the foam, then made my FTP over that, it worked well, the FTP peeled off great.

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I now have the information to shape the part but need to make some decisions reguarding the gasket groove design, and attaching the panel to the body at the ends where the fenders mount. the repair patches that were made on the fender mount area are wrong & hold the fender out at the back end, so they will need to be modified or replaced.

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I think I know how I want to do it but would appreciate any and all suggestions.
1. How would you join the ends of the panel where the fenders mount to original body?

2. How would you make the offset for the gasket groove shown in the following pic. ?

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3. How many pieces to make the offset, since it has the curved end and a changing depth from the side of the lid to the bottom?

Thanks in advance for the suggestions

Steve
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  #2  
Old 12-20-2009, 10:32 PM
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Steve, I have to make some assumptions but this is the way I would approach the job.

I assume that the fenders use a welting along the body interface. If that is true then you need to make a flange of some shape that will put the back of the fenders in the right position and have enough length to bolt through.

It looks like the corners are completely missing at the trunks lower curved ends. I would make the curved end section with the channel in it and weld it in before doing anything else. That would give you a lower reference point and a place to clamp.

Next make the lower panel below the trunk, roll pan. Probably make it in two pieces leaving enough metal to form the bottom, horizontal, and back, vertical section of the channel. You should be able to tip the curved bottom and if you have deep throat shrinker/stretchers make the bottom of the channel. Then tip the back. vertical section, so that the decreasing radius is correct.

I would make the top of the channel with a flange that would fit behind the vertical flange on the roll pan panel and spot weld it. This makes the channel two pieces plus the corner pieces.

Interesting project but very doable. Hope this helps.
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Old 12-21-2009, 03:03 PM
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Default selecting where to weld

Hi Joe Thanks for your reply. Seems we are thinking alike. I see now that there should be more pic/ diagrams to show what I'm thinking.

I agree that tipping the top of the pan should work where it is very low crown which is most of the area that meets the trunk lid. I'm just not sure which way to make the corners.

1. option one tip the edge of the panel over 1/2 inch to create the edge of the opening. then make a 90 degree (like angle iron) stretch & shrink the legs to create the rest of the 1 1/4" part of the offset and the flange to attach to the other part of the gasket groove. This way the weld seam would be in the jamb area rather than on the outer face.

2.secon option make the 1 1/4" part with a flange tipped on each side one up one down. shrink & stretch the flanges as needed then butt weld the one flange to the skin. this would be a curved weld parallel to the curve of the trunk lid corner & showing on the outer face.

Where the panel meets the fender I was thinking to tip the new panel and shrink the edge to get the curve to match the fender. make a new part to butt weld into the body with an offset of one metal thickness where the new panel meets, the two can be plug welded in the mounting area that is covered by the fender.

I've already decided to make the panel in two sections with a vertical weld seam at the center line of the car.

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Last edited by Steve Hamilton; 12-21-2009 at 03:38 PM.
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Old 12-21-2009, 05:32 PM
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Steve, played in the shop for a little while seeing what I could do quickly.

Cut a piece of metal and marked a curve about like the trunk. Using the deep throat shrinked after tipping a line to form the 90 degree flange about 1-1/2 inches wide.




Tipped a line at 1-1/4 inch and then formed a flange that could be welded to the body skin.




There is metal on the flat section that could be used to form the top of the channel. I think I would cut it off and make the top of the corner part of the piece that goes all the way across the trunk.

It would have been easier to bend a ninty and shrink on the short side to form the curve for the corner.
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Old 12-23-2009, 08:30 PM
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Steve, after looking at the pictures some more and making another small piece I think your option 1 is the way to go. Less work and you don't have any welds on the outside panel.
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Old 12-23-2009, 11:48 PM
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Joe do you have any other photos on how you created that piece?

Thanks
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Old 12-24-2009, 02:13 AM
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I don't have any pictures of making the piece. All I did was to cut a piece of metal, 18 gauge, with a curve on the edge. Marked a line about 1-1/2" that followed the outside edge. Followed the line with a tipping wheel in the bead roller and lifted the piece as it was being tipped. Took the piece to the Group build shrinker with eckold dies and started shrinking the edge. Kept shrinking until it was at about 90 degrees. Worked it with a slapper on a post dolly and then more shrinking.

For the second flange I marked off 1-1/4" and tipped a line while lifting the piece. Took it to the stretcher with the Marchant dies and worked the edge until it was basically flat. A little work with a hammer on a post dolly.

If this was a piece that I was going to use I would have done some planishing along the way to get rid of the tool marks. Hope this helps and answers your question.
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Old 12-24-2009, 05:11 AM
TheRodDoc TheRodDoc is offline
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You don't always have to be afraid to make things from pieces. The easiest and fastest and most acurate way to make those corners is to weld them together like in this drawing. If you want you can bend and shrink the inside corner where the yellow pointer is but I would just make in pieces and weld together. Sure a lot simpler. And welding the skin right on the corner is better in this case then trying to make a lip on the small piece. For one thing you can adjust the gap perfectly very easily.

To stretch the weld if need after just use a chisel hammer and lightly hammer on the weld from the outside straight down on the edge of the skin. It will stretch very easily this way. No dollie is needed on back side.

I think that the thicker main trunk channel is supposed to be a channel. I haven't worked on a la salle but all the other GM cars of that period have channels. I would say that yours has the lower half rusted away.

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Last edited by TheRodDoc; 12-24-2009 at 05:24 AM.
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  #9  
Old 12-24-2009, 09:25 AM
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Default Gasket groove repair

Thanks Joe & Richard

I appreciate your thoughts & pics/ drawings. Richard you are correct, I looked at the trunk opening up along the side and it indeed is a channel. Since you have suggested making pieces to fab the corner of the skin, I will assume that would be your method for making the corner on the channel as well. Joe thanks for taking your time to make the test panels. I had thought about making the corner in one piece like you did, but was concerned with alignment of final gap of lid to body. I can see that Richard's method would make it easy to get the correct alignment & gaps.

thanks Steve
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