So, over the summer it gets pretty hot in the hill country of Texas. By the time the late afternoon rolls around, the last thing you want to do is stay in the shop for a few more hours after dinner. We didn't do a whole lot of work on the Waggy during this time, just piddle with or look at something and then decide to go inside and get cool.
We also needed a little time to build some $$funds$$ back up after the purchase of the high steer kit!
During this time I would spend an hour or two and some time on the weekends studying wiring schematics and go through the Camaro harness, tracking down circuits and components that I needed to keep in order to run the engine, along with a few other conveniences. Jerred would do some minor bodywork fixing some of the dents in the body or rockers from time to time.
I guess we started getting serious again in August, because that's when the dates on my pictures pick back up again.
While I would work on and off on the wiring modifications, Jerred decided it was time to get the rear wheel opening centered back up because we had moved the axle back 4 inches using the Suburban springs.
This is where we left off.
The question was where do we start, in order to fix the wheel opening.
We decided to go with...
NEW BIGGER TIRES!
In the picture above, a 16" x 7" rim with a 33" tall tire we got with the Dodge axles is next to one of the four 37" x 12.5" military tires we purchased.
We knew we were needing a 16.5" rim, but were not sure what we wanted to get. We could find Ford metric pattern wheels everywhere but the Dodge/ Chevy standard patterns were hard to locate. We were thinking we may just have to recenter H1 wheels but, just not completely in love with the idea.
The decision was made to deal with the matter later.
Jerred lifted the axles up and positioned the new wheel over the hub/ drum so it was centered. He then took a builder sauare and plum line and measured and marked for the change in the opening to be made.
He made a mark on the lower side of the quarter panel and layed out a visual line with some 1/4" fine line tape. It also serves as a guide line once the decision is made to begin cutting.
We purchased both right and left replacement lower quarter panels from BJ's. Jerred then decided how much of the panel to remove in order for him to have the right amount to graft into place.
He found the spot welds that tie the quarter panel skin to the structure of the outer wheel house. A lot of times you can do this by running a wire brush over the section you are working with. It will clean off any build up and make locating the factory spot welds easier. He will then mark the center of the spot weld the best he can with a center punch, and finally use a spot weld cutter to remove the weld. The concept is to remove enough weld that the two surfaces will separate without too much effort. You do sometimes end up going all the way through which leaves a hole that may need to be filled later.
The next step is to begin cutting! Sometimes, this can scare the crap out of you. You need to take your time and plan the cuts and amount to be removed
Jerred then cut out the section marked on the replacement panel and clamped it into the cut made in the quarter panel.
He can then adjust the panel and get it situated just the way he wants it. This also helps determine where the cuts to the wheel tubs and inner panel drops will need to be made.
Next was to locate all of the spot-welds which joined the inner and outer wheel tub to the floor pan or the fender opening. Again they were marked and then removed with the spot weld cutter.
We then moved to the cargo area and established a cut line with tape. For a procedure like this, you want to make the cut in the flattest area you can. We made ours to the rear of the factory stamped strength rib.
Jerred made the first cut to the inner wheel tub from the floor to the welded flange that joins the inner to the outer wheel tub.
He then had to go back under the opening, mark a continuation line which would carry over from the first cut, and make the new cut from underneath.
When it is all done, there is a huge hole left that makes you wonder, "What the fraq did we just do?"
He then finished trimming the rest of the quarter to fit the new section.
This is after the cuts were made, if you compare a few of the images, you can see that the hole for the fuel filler hoses in the floor drop has been removed. This will be relocated later.
The new panel was positioned and then welded in. This is done by placing an individual spot weld, move to another area as far as possible from the previous weld, do another spot and move again. This is done so that the chance of completely warping the panel is minimized.
He also figured out that a portion of the new panel would not fit properly along the bottom of the quarter. He then performed a "pie cut" which is removing an angled portion of metal.
The panel was adjusted and welded together.
Back into the cargo area! A pair of new lines need to be established in order to make a cut which will allow the movement of the wheel tub.
The cut was made to the floor and, the forward flanged portion of the floor which joins to the tub was set in place and welded in. The rear portion of the wheel tub was then set into place and clamped. We used a 1"x1" piece of angle iron to line up and clamp the top flange in place.
Templates were then made using a manila folder and then the patches were marked and cut from a salvaged Ford truck hood.
The outer wheel tub panel was installed from the underside. The flange that joins the upper portion of the wheel opening was clamped and then the new panel was pushed against the two tub sections and clamped into place. Pushing against the panel allowed us to get the tightest fit possible.
It was then spot welded in place every 1/2", working from the wheel opening flange to the middle of the wheel tub.
The new inner tub section was formed the same way, clamped in place and spot welded.
The inner portion of the tub was also welded in place, this time using rosette welds to fill the holes created by the spot weld cutter.
This side is ready for some bodywork.
The passenger side was modified the exact same way.
During this time we are still looking for a wheel that we like. Jerred is still not big on using re-centered H1 wheels.
I found a set of wheels in Brownsville on Craigslist. They had been sitting in a pasture for many, many years, but I figured what the heck I was ok with the price.
My uncle lives in the area and said he would check them out and make an offer for me. Two weeks later he brought me 4 dirty and oxidized 16.5" x 9.75 HURICANES! He said I got them for less than half of what was being asked.
I can definitely work with that!
I blasted all four down to get them cleaned up.
I then spent about 3 weeks off and on working on them.
I polished the veins and hub section by hand, I could not get my smallest sander to operate properly in the face of the wheel.
I used 36, 80, 180, 320, 400 and finally 600 on the veins. I could have gone further with the polishing, I have paper that goes to 3000, but that wasn't the look I wanted to achieve.
When I was done with the 600, I cleaned the surface and used some Mothers metal polish.
I went to only 320 along the wheel edge. This gave me a polished center with a "machined" appearing lip.
This is a before and after shot
When everything was polished, I cleaned all of the surfaces with wax and grease remover and then taped all of the polished surfaces. I then painted the bare cast portions of the face and the inner barrel of the wheels with VHT Cast Aluminum brake caliper paint.
We took the rims and tires to get mounted.
We purchased a set of Rancho lift springs for the front and mounted them with a set of Suburban shackles towards the end of July to level it out.
We have been happy with the result!
Jerred then went back and started to do the bodywork for the new quarter areas.
He also applied a coat of DP epoxy primer when he was done. He has said that he wants to go back in and tweak the body line a little and clean it up.