2548's Restoration

Here is something I did not expect: the smallest pieces are the hardest to make. Without the special tooling the factory had, it is really difficult to copy some of the complex shapes, bends, curves, and folds of the factory pieces.

Here is one of the most complex areas of the whole car; what I call the upper B pillar junction. This is where the heavy structure of the lower B pillar ends, but a smaller section extends up to the roof line. It forms the frame of the cockpit back glass, the rear quarter window glass, and the upper back part of the door frame. The top fore-most part of the rear quarter panel, the top of the cosmetic door striker panel, the inner panel facing the engine bay (the one just above the gas tank), the rear wheel house longitudinal stringer, and the firewall cross member (with the upper seat belt fasteners), ALL come together in this area. It is very prone to rust. I have over 100 pictures of the work on just this area.

First to get the lead off:

Starting to see the metal, and rust, under the lead:

Now to cut out the rusty parts, bit by bit:

About 3 inches of this inner panel, below the quarter window, has to come out too.

I try to cut panels between spot welds, it is easier to put them back together that way:

I have to cut through these panels in my way, to fix the structure underneath. I spend quite a lot of time looking at this, to minimize collateral damage. If possible, I want to put these cosmetic pieces back on.