As Diamond Dave sang (sings), “I’ve been to the edge, there I stood an’ looked down…”
It's been about three years since I made a post on this site.
It was shortly after that post that I finally peeled back the floor carpet to properly inspect the floor board job that one of the previous owners had done. Prior to that, I was too scared to look busy having fun adding chrome under the hood, installing 3 point seat belts, swapping in a 4bbl for the 2bbl, etc. All relatively easy stuff for a newbie.
The more I peeled back, the scarier it got. Instead of seeing a "proper" patch job, as I had been told was done, what I found was a number of panels that were held in place by aluminum rivets and fibreglass. When I pulled those panels off (with frightening ease), what I found was horrific. Lots and lots of rust, under metal held in place by fibreglass and black paint.
I eventually determined that I needed new floors and inside rocker skins. I'm betting the knowledgeable / experienced amongst this group can spot it from these pics. Everything else was surprisingly sound.
For many of you, this would be a simple job. Many of you have virtually rebuilt your entire cars.
For me, having never welded, or acquired any automotive repair skills from my father (who took his car to a garage even to have a headlight replaced) or anyone else, this seemed completely overwhelming. I had no idea what to do.
After deciding it really wasn’t very safe to drive with the kids, I parked it for the summer, and considered: - selling it - parting it out (made a list of what I thought I’d get) - having it fixed by a pro - fixing it myself
This car was NOT what I thought I was getting (an old story, I know). I thought I was buying a 20 40 footer, which is all I could afford in a convertible, that I could drive for years to come before possibly investing in a paint job. Hah!
I eventually decided to fix it myself, because if I sold it or parted it out, I’d only want to turn around and get another one. Better to fix this myself, I reasoned, and then I’d know what I had. So I bought all of the necessary panels and a Lincoln 140 MIG welder, and put it all away for the winter.
The next summer, I had some job change issues, and was otherwise completely occupied, so the car sat, and the welder stayed in the box. Ugh. This is NOT why I spent all that cash.
The summer after that (2010), I began cutting and hacking away at the drivers side floor, and had a new one welded in place when a sudden job transfer meant we’d be moving. So all work stopped.
This spring, I started work on the passenger side, which went MUCH faster than the drivers side did. Faster, entirely because of new-found experience with a grinder, welder, BFH, etc.
So after three years, it’s finally all done (well, not really), and I drove it earlier this week for the safety inspection. It’s legally plated, and after a beautiful summertime evening drive, my wife complained about the gas smell for the first time in 3 years, and my youngest son complained that it’s a little too windy in the back seat for the first time in 3 years.
Life is good.
It still needs some additional work underneath, as the repairs identified another issue I didn't know I had, but I think that one will be easy (who am I kidding) to fix.... I'll make a separate post under the Tech Help Body section about that later.
But for now, it's safe, and it goes.
Overall, the experience was a good one; it was quite satisfying completing the work, although very frustrating along the way. I now understand what it means to "make the parts fit".
For those about to rock to start similar jobs with the same amount of experience I had (none), I salute you.
To those of you who have worked for many more years on much bigger jobs, I salute you as well. I don't know how you do it; you're made of better stuff than I.
I’ll try to stick my head in this place a little more often…
