Out with the Old, In with the...Old!

Since the '64 is officially outside for it's completion, The 1954 Bel Air got the indoor spot. And the Bel Air is getting it's share of attention lately, since the cold spring weather has left the car hobby indoors. I have been wanting to strip and repaint this car for a long time, but there are a few things that I need to do in order to get to the painting stage. This past week I started replacing the rocker panels, and am now almost done fabricating and installing the passenger side.



The rockers were actually well cared for considering the rusted panels were not replaced, but carefully 'glassed and filled. The problem was that the panel's covering had become exposed to moisture since the car was never finish painted...it was left in regular primer. The water was then able to get to these places and formed slight rust underneath the fillers and fiberglass. So I decided to rip the filler off, cut out the panels and fabricate new ones.




Above shows the 'glass and filler removed, and a small section chopped off. This also shows the extensive rust in these rockers that was previously ground and covered.




Here's the picture of my pattern I used to make the new rocker panels. This is the small piece I cut from the gap shown in the previous picture.




Above shows the progress I've made after removing the rest of the rusted area. I used nice sheet metal strips on my homemade metal brake, bending the small angled areas. I then punched the overlap and contact sides with my cheap-o pneumatic flanger tool. This allowed the top panel to slide under the original flooring, and still meet the floor's edge flush. The bottom pieces had two bends formed, and then were carefully laid on the floor upright, while I leaned a 2" piece of exhaust tubing gently on the center. This leaning pushed a matching, gentle radius into the piece, making it fit the concave shape of the original rocker.

The welds will require being ground, but the whole project is turning out fine.

Am I sidetracked? Umm, not really...I mean, I did move the car that I claim to be focused on (the '64 LeMans) outside, and brought the Bel Air in. But hey; out with the old, in with the old!