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monte carlo body work


jacob

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i got a brand new KOBALT 9 drawer tool box and i got some major shelves fixed up and now every things organized so i can find all of my tools when i get that greasy engine out sick nothing like a bunch of grease and oil to ruin all of my shirts but it will be worth it.

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Just keep a couple of old shirts for the dirty work. That has worked for me for over 40yrs. If I know I am going to do a real dirty job out come the old ratty shirts. I have dirty ratty shirts for that kind of work, work shirts for most other jobs, work shirts to wear to work and then the Sunday go to meetin shirts.

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Jacob,

 

Love the enthusiasm, your even getting me excited! band Your really moving along on her. You sound really focused & determined! Both of those attributes always lead to success. Way to go cool

 

I'll keep watching and can't wait to see pic's of your ride as you are nearing the finish line.

 

Doug grin

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well the finish lines getting nearer I have now found a near perfect 72 monte carlo roof so as soon as i have 125 dollars ill get that roof and get it on there... speaking of how do you get the old one off i know theres spot welds but i dont know where they are.

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I'd wait until you get the new one to cut off the old one. Is the new one just the actual roof, or did they cut if on the pillars?

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I'd wait until you get the new one to cut off the old one. Is the new one just the actual roof, or did they cut if on the pillars?

 

I cut it off on the pillars with a saw zaw.

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Then you'll need to measure the length from the roof to the body line on all three pillars (both sides) and keep those measurements. Once the new one is there measure down from the roof line to the cuts and see how much of you old pillars you'll need to keep. Keep and inch or so as wiggle room for future trimming, remember once you cut it it's a pain-in-the-you-know-what to replace it. I actually watched an episode of MuscleCar a week or two ago where they did a roof replacement on a '73 Buick. They welded some plate steel into the inside of the pillars with some overlap and then fit it inside the pillar extensions from the roof and welded it to give the whole thing near-stock strength. You can watch it online, not exactly step-by-step, but you'll get the gist of it.

 

Added this link for the episode with roof replacement

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Jacob, I dont want to be the one to tell you this, but noone here seems to be telling you that is going to be a huge undertaking, Im not saying it cant be done, but there is a whole lot of knowledge,skill and fitting the new panel up. Its not just a simple thing, your looking at a massive amount of hours just trimming the new panel to put on, along with cutting the old one off. Dont let me get in the way of your project here, but you really are taking on a big thing here with a roof replacement, watch the video that Wiham posted, and search for lots of info online with pics and videos.

I remember being your age and getting in way over my head with a restoration project, I wish I would have had the info thats available online now.

Im not trying to stomp on your dream here, just trying to give you a quick reality check. If you have not done welding and patch panels even yet, a roof probably isnt the place to start in my opinion, take it for what its worth

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DO NOT Cut your roof off with a saw and weld the other one on. Drill out the spot welds of the new roof I cut off and only replace that. Now of course that takes more time on a car thats going to the crusher, so the saw zaw is easiest and keeps everything strong, so in my case its the easiest thing to do.

 

But the proper way to replace the roof is just the skin, now if any of your under braces are rusted you have them also.

 

 

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yes i hope i only have to replace the roof skin but if any of the braces are real rusty i will replace them and i will have some help with welding my dads done some welding hes a cnc machinest. so i think all i need to replace is the skin.

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I may get a hot rod shop in south carolina to do the roof skin replacement for me. they do full restoration stuff and there also the ones that will some day paint my car so I think ill get them to do it of coarse its not free... but I think it will be best to let the pros handle that but im still doing some info hunting just to know it. but i need to rebuild the engine first so i can drive there to get it put on.

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That's excellent news, Jacob. I welded light gauge stainless for 13 years when I was younger, and I don't think I'd attempt a roof skin replacement without someone helping that had the skills.

 

I wanted to mention a couple things to you about welding - for what it's worth.

 

First, like somebody already said, stick welders (arc welders) aren't good for welding body panels. You'll end up with too much heat on the panel by the time you get it tacked and the panel will be warped irrepairably. (is that even a word?)

 

Second, there are only three things that make a good welder - practice,practice,practice. Along those lines, I have a suggestion. Before you attempt any welding on your Monte, find you some junk body panels off of something - Ford parts work well for this. Cut 'em apart with a sawzall or a die grinder, weld 'em back together. Get a grinder and a hammer and a dolly. See if you can get them back together and ground and filled and ready for paint. You are basically replicating the repair you're gonna do on the Monte. Do this several times and when you can achive the results you want then you can consider welding on your car. You're certain to mess-up alot of pices of sheet-metal doing this, but don't worry about it - They're only Ford parts, nobody cares.

 

I really enjoy reading your posts and pics. Keep them coming. Best of luck on your project.

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since my dads a cnc machenist he could get me some sheet metal to practice with right no he actual has a few little pieces i could test on and i have 1 larger piece of 16 gauge steel that i need to weld in i have not used the welder any because it has to run a 30 amp breaker so we have to get that set up first. also it is adjustable for 18 gauge 20 gauge ectheres a picture of that and my new tool box. JacobsMonteCarloMBCarShow194.jpgJacobsMonteCarloMBCarShow195.jpg

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i got a quert of meatal fill the aluminum body filler stuff works pretty good so far i didnt know bondo made it and my uncles bying me a gallon of the stuff so that sould be plenty to do my car with smilecool

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i took every thing off the front of my motor today alternator, water pump,power stering pump and both belts i also used some of that metal fill body filler on the dents on the side and trunk lid stuff works really good.

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im watchin your progress..good luck with your roof man..like others have said this is a big job but not impossible...all the spot welds arent hard to find...since you have the new roof..you cut it off wit the sawzall..im gonna assume you cut more than you need and you still have all the roof braceing still attached....if so the go spot weld hunting and cut em out....get a good spot weld cutter..the spot welds are in the front & back window channels...in the drip rails and then you will find that the roof and the sail panels are 3 seperate pieces welded together and covered wit lead and body filler..you will have to get all that body filler off and then get the lead off(melt it off then brush it off)..there is also some lead on both top corners of the front window that is also hideing a few more spot welds....REMEMBER when cutting out the spot welds...dont go all the way through both pieces of metal..practice this cuz when you remove the old roof if you go all the way through both pieces of metal..you wont have anywhere to weld the new roof to..becareful and go slow when taking the roof apart..that will make it easier to put back together.....any question..PM me.ill be glad to help where i can!!! have fun!!!

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I got some self etching primer and sealer primer i was told to do use the etching then filler and then the sealer of coarse ontly after every things sanded and smooth. so thats what im going to do.

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I did some more sanding filling in pin holes primering over them we get to go to virgina beach for a hole week so that will be nice i hope i dont get monte carlo fever while im gone i have not been away from my car for more than a day or two. but once we get back were pulling an engine.

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  • 2 months later...

i found a easy way to cut down thick layers of paint i got a big 55 pound sand blaster tore the paint off the trunk really fast. using a combo of blasting with aluminum and sanding with my DA sander wink the next things the hood good thing we saved all that grit stuff we also have 100 pounds ofplay sand that were going to screen and use yay

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