Fashionable Fever! - 1969 Chevy C10 Build

[ryans69chevy]

1st pic shows all the rust/pitted metal from the motor mount that I had to remove.

2nd pic shows the passenger kick panel vent cut out and filled. Still have to finish welding it in. Lots of light coming in from the top through all those rust holes...

[ryans69chevy]

While I was waiting on the welds to cool on the passenger kick panel vent, I was looking at where the cowl/cab meets the firewall. The metal has a 90* bend and meets the firewall and is spot welded together. There is multiple spots along this joint that is pretty rusted out.

The only thing I can think of is to cut this metal out and put new in after cleaning the rust out.

Anyone ever done this? I have a feeling once I cut out the 90* bend, the firewall metal will be so bad, I'll have to cut all that out as well. I see a couple holes all the way through the firewall into the cab on the drivers side roughly above the fuse block.

[Kronald_70GMC]

Those little 90° grinders are awesome. That's a good purchase you won't regret any time soon! As for your rust problems, what you could do is take some sheet metal and put the 90° brake in it, then if you have access to one, a metal shrinker/stretcher on the bent lip will be able to produce the same rounded shape. That is what I did with mine where I cut out and reshaped the fan blower area. Good luck on the repairs! I know you will get them right

[ryans69chevy]

Kyle, didn't even know that tool existed. That is cool! Thanks, now I'll have to start saving my pennies for that. That would have came in handy a few times already. Should make the repair way easier instead of making many slices to be able to bend by hand.

[Kronald_70GMC]

Originally Posted by ryans69chevy

Kyle, didn't even know that tool existed. That is cool! Thanks, now I'll have to start saving my pennies for that. That would have came in handy a few times already. Should make the repair way easier instead of making many slices to be able to bend by hand.

Glad I could help you spend your money.

[ryans69chevy]

Got the passenger kick panel vent cleaned up

[ryans69chevy]

Made some progress over the holiday. Took awhile to make the metal fit when it had so many awkward bends. Wanted to get them as tight as possible. Got it all welded up. Just need to grind the welds down.

[ryans69chevy]

I picked up a shrinker/stretcher from harbor freight this weekend and tried to make my first piece where the cab/cowl meets the firewall. I couldn't get it to stretch/bend more than what you see in the photo. Not sure if this tool can make these extreme bends or if I'm just using the tool wrong.

Anyone else have this issue? I'm trying to brainstorm on what else I could do to repair this whole area along my firewall. The metal is pretty much shot the whole way across or else I would probably just reuse it.

[Kronald_70GMC]

Did you make multiple passes with the stretcher or just one?

[ryans69chevy]

Originally Posted by Kronald_70GMC

Did you make multiple passes with the stretcher or just one?

I did about 10 passes. Its kind of a bugger. I'm using 19 gauge, so its not maxed out. The handle feels like it should go more than what I'm doing. Maybe I need to find a new way to mount it and crank on it. A bit annoying how they tapped the holes for M10x1.5. I guess I'm use to SAE stuff. I only had 3/8" bolts in my garage, so I didn't go too hard on the handle.

I saw a video on YouTube with a guy using harbor freight combo only he had a foot pedal hooked up to it, but he got a 90* out of the metal. It had a larger radius than what I need. Still not sure if I will be able to get that tight of a 90*.

[OneOffStroker]

I have the HF shrinker/stretcher, and I can assure you it can get that piece bent to the shape you need. You will need to mount it, or at the very least, clamp it in a vise so that you can work it a bit harder.

you will need to continue going a little past the marks you made to really bring out the right shape.

Finally, do a search on youtube about 'tuning up' a shrinker/stretcher. This involves some light sanding to the sides of the little jaws as well as oiling so that they glide on each other better. Make a difference for sure. I use my HF shrinker/stretcher all the time and it works quite good. I did make a mount and foot pedal for mine, so it's even easier to use now.

[ryans69chevy]

Originally Posted by OneOffStroker

I have the HF shrinker/stretcher, and I can assure you it can get that piece bent to the shape you need. You will need to mount it, or at the very least, clamp it in a vise so that you can work it a bit harder.

you will need to continue going a little past the marks you made to really bring out the right shape.

Finally, do a search on youtube about 'tuning up' a shrinker/stretcher. This involves some light sanding to the sides of the little jaws as well as oiling so that they glide on each other better. Make a difference for sure. I use my HF shrinker/stretcher all the time and it works quite good. I did make a mount and foot pedal for mine, so it's even easier to use now.

Appreciate the help. If you get a chance, you should post a picture of your foot pedal setup. I could see building that being worthwhile. I will figure out something to mount these to and give it another try.

[OneOffStroker]

Originally Posted by ryans69chevy

Appreciate the help. If you get a chance, you should post a picture of your foot pedal setup. I could see building that being worthwhile. I will figure out something to mount these to and give it another try.

Sorry it took me so long to respond. Been out of town.

I had some old 3" angle iron out back, so I cut it into a pretty simple little contraption that stands on the floor and has an arm that mounts into my bench vise. This was the best mix of portable/stowable as well as using the least amount of raw material to make. Foot pedal is pretty simple, and goes to a small bar with a little 'flag' mounted to it. pedal to arm is just a piece of 1/2" EMT conduit smashed on either end. Like I said, it's all made from whatever scrap worked out best. It takes about 1 minute to swap from shrinker to stretcher using the two bolts underneath and the allen screw that holds in the arm rod.

[ryans69chevy]

Originally Posted by OneOffStroker

Sorry it took me so long to respond. Been out of town.

I had some old 3" angle iron out back, so I cut it into a pretty simple little contraption that stands on the floor and has an arm that mounts into my bench vise. This was the best mix of portable/stowable as well as using the least amount of raw material to make. Foot pedal is pretty simple, and goes to a small bar with a little 'flag' mounted to it. pedal to arm is just a piece of 1/2" EMT conduit smashed on either end. Like I said, it's all made from whatever scrap worked out best. It takes about 1 minute to swap from shrinker to stretcher using the two bolts underneath and the allen screw that holds in the arm rod.

Appreciate the pictures on your setup. Gives me some ideas if I get tired of holding the piece with one hand and pumping with the other. Right now, I just bolted it to a plywood bench stand that I built when I hung my kitchen cabinets. Works nicely other than bending over to do the work.

[ryans69chevy]

Finally started cutting out where the cab cowl meets the firewall. Started on the passenger side. Its taking me awhile. Trying to cut out enough to make it worth mixing up some epoxy while not cutting too much out that the panel shifts. Looking at what I cut out, looks like I'm going to have to weld in new metal for a good majority of the firewall seam.

I bought some Nason "Ful-Poxy". Just going to brush it on in these areas since it won't be seen.

[Palf70Step]

Good to see you getting back to the ole dude again. Work is coming out very nice.

[mr.mud1]

if you need to make sharper bends on your material,the shrinker/stretcher will do it.i've bent some metal on mine making pieces for my 39 Chrysler project,no problem.what i found helped was not putting the metal into the jaws very deep and it'll curl right around.

[ryans69chevy]

Originally Posted by mr.mud1

if you need to make sharper bends on your material,the shrinker/stretcher will do it.i've bent some metal on mine making pieces for my 39 Chrysler project,no problem.what i found helped was not putting the metal into the jaws very deep and it'll curl right around.

Yes! That's what I found out after my first piece turned into a trial run, I just messed around with it and found out some tricks with the tools. Still got to master exactly where the bend will happen once I put it in the tools. Ive just been cutting the piece longer than normal, making my bend and cutting it so the bend is where I need it, but if I have to do multiple bends in a run, it would be nice to know exactly where to start bending if that makes sense?

Any words of advice on that?

[ryans69chevy]

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Good to see you getting back to the ole dude again. Work is coming out very nice.

Thanks for the words. Spent yesterday evening grinding welds and removing paint. Also went on the hunt for some dixie cups to get the epoxy primer out of my qt can. Can't waste one drop of that expensive stuff. Turns out, those little dixie cups are hard to come by. Went to the local grocery - no dice, went to the local big box store - nothing. I think tonight I'm going to run to the liquor store.... I bet they would have them for making jello shots.

[ryans69chevy]

Finally tracked some of those dixie cups down at my local diner. First time mixing up epoxy. Mixed up less than an oz. and it was still way more than I needed. I put a lid on it and hoping to use it up tomorrow on some other areas.

As you can see I tried to save a buck and mixed the stuff up in a paper cup instead of using the bigger plastic paint cups I bought with the epoxy. The primer ate right through the paper - stupid mistake.

Hopefully now that I have (i think) everything I need to get this firewall seam done, it will go alot faster.

[ryans69chevy]

Forgot to take a couple pics of the face of the firewall. That metal is also being replaced at the same time and epoxy primer applied.

[ryans69chevy]

More welding, more grinding.

[Kronald_70GMC]

Looking good!

[ryans69chevy]

Holy smokes, I can't seem to catch a break. Was getting the last of the house interior projects wrapped up and then March of 2023, ended up having ice dams which caused leaks in the master bed and the living room. Had to redo parts of ceiling, walls, insulation, etc. Worst part of it all was having to rip apart and redo the work I just did a couple years prior. Things didn't get done as quick, plus after getting home from working construction all day, makes it hard to get ambitious. Have a few things left to get done, but the weather is nice, so I'd rather be outside.

Finally pulled the trigger on a rear disc brake kit from Baer. Put most of it together. Didn't install pads or loctite yet. Want to make sure the park brake cable and brake lines will work with the orientation of the caliper first.

[Kronald_70GMC]

Good to see you back at it. I was wondering what happened to you there. Sounds like you've been busy.