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Topic: Project Evolution *** Project Complete **** Wednesday July 9, 2014 (Read 1137709 times) previous topic - next topic

Outer Rocker Panels

Reply #15
here's an easy way to make rocker panels.

I cheated and got sheet metal from Mill Supply because its a good quality and the panels are coated with weld thru primer to keep them from rusting. and they come 5' long which is a problem because of sheet size at some places.no sense in buying a whole sheet for an odd size repair
the panels are 20ga. generic door bottoms with a pre bent edge and are 10" wide.
all the work on my car and i'll only use 1 of those. but i got 3 in case i found something bad.
the floor pan metal was bought at lowes as i was passing by

what you need to do is clamp the piece down to a work bench.
you don't need a fancy brake to do this
you can use a 4x4 thats straight.
clamp it down about an inch back from the edge of the bench.
then clamp a piece of 3/4" black pipe in front of that kinda like this
you can see the pipe sitting on the brake the same place the 4x4 would be



all this does is hold your metal down to keep it from moving. Make sure it's tight.
then clamp 1 board on top and 1 board on the bottom to keep things from warping when it gets bent.
the full length is a real bear to bend using 20ga. a patch panel will be a lot easier.
the more clamps the easier, for leverage
then just wrap the metal around the pipe



I reversed the clamps after i got half way. it moves the leverage from lifting up to pushing forward.

thats how i made it curve
the bend along the frame and floor panel i did by hand with a pair of hand brakes and flattened it with a hammer.
you can buy cheap bead rollers at harbor freight for 100 bucks. they have all the rollers and sheet metal cutter wheels. not bad quality for harbor freight.
if you just make a rocker patch , you probably don't need much fancy stuff to make it match.

this got bent more after the pic got taken



just thought I would spread the knowledge.
the bottoms of our car panels are all curved as they go under the car. fenders, rockers, and quarters. some are curved more then others
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
***** Project "EVOLUTION" 1987 Cougar LS  & 1985 Cougar Convertible *****
[/COLOR]
5.0 HO 306 roller block, machined GT-40P heads, Wiseco dished forged pistons, Eagle forged floating I-beam connecting rods, Lunati pushrods, ARP bolts, Scorpion aluminum 1.6 rockers, Comp Cams Magnum 266HR, Explorer intake, 65mm TB, MAF Conversion, 19# injectors, Ford Racing stainless P-headers, 2-1/2" cat-less exhaust w/ Flowtech Afterburner lers , SC AOD with 2800 BDR torque converter, 3.73 T-Lok rear, CHE rear control arms, full 2-1/2" frame w/1" jacking rails & seat supports, Rear disk brakes, Turbine wheels, All original interior w/ floor shift upgrade .......
Pretty much every panel on my 87 is new, rebuilt, or re constructed. :D
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Project Evolution *** Project Complete **** Wednesday July 9, 2014

Reply #16
Wow :D
88 Thunderbird LX: 306, Edelbrock Performer heads, Comp 266HR cam, Edelbrock Performer RPM intake, bunch of other stuff.

Rocker Replacement

Reply #17
Today after spending the morning taking apart my powerbook, due to lack of it doing anything at all. I got another 2 hrs in.

Started with some grinding & blasting around the patches, so they can be welded.
dove right into that rocker situation on the drivers side after the blasting. As I was trying to break the welds on the bottom of the panel it fell right off. I guess it was a little too far gone to save.
So I said the hell with that and pulled out the nibbler.



cut that sucker right off..



and ended up with a lot of rust on the inner rocker.
so again I said the hell with that.
this time I took my sawzall and cut the entire bottom of the iner rocker off even with the floor.




ground it down and cut another piece to replace the entire inner rocker

There it is. its easier to cut when you have a straight edge



cut it to size and clamped it.



Now I have something to work with again.
fitted the new rocker on the car.......not bad



here's a pic of the fender with the rocker for line testing.
everything seems to be going good in this department




and another view from farther away.
those whitewalls really stand out on a black fender. lol



and the last pic for today----
here's my old rocker. ready to be shipped in its new box. lol



Until tomorrow.
same bat time
same bat channel
I think you have to be over 35 to get that one.:D
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
***** Project "EVOLUTION" 1987 Cougar LS  & 1985 Cougar Convertible *****
[/COLOR]
5.0 HO 306 roller block, machined GT-40P heads, Wiseco dished forged pistons, Eagle forged floating I-beam connecting rods, Lunati pushrods, ARP bolts, Scorpion aluminum 1.6 rockers, Comp Cams Magnum 266HR, Explorer intake, 65mm TB, MAF Conversion, 19# injectors, Ford Racing stainless P-headers, 2-1/2" cat-less exhaust w/ Flowtech Afterburner lers , SC AOD with 2800 BDR torque converter, 3.73 T-Lok rear, CHE rear control arms, full 2-1/2" frame w/1" jacking rails & seat supports, Rear disk brakes, Turbine wheels, All original interior w/ floor shift upgrade .......
Pretty much every panel on my 87 is new, rebuilt, or re constructed. :D
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Project Evolution *** Project Complete **** Wednesday July 9, 2014

Reply #18
Wow this is amazing!  I love threads like this.  I hang out a lot on 67-72chevytrucks.com because they have massive threads with metal repair. 

Your thread inspires me to work on my 88 Cougar.  I was upset as it had a small hole in the frame rail..  and that is it.
One 88

Project Evolution *** Project Complete **** Wednesday July 9, 2014

Reply #19
Quote from: daminc;193427
T
I think you have to be over 35 to get that one.:D
not quite. im only 28.


nice work on the car! :hick:
gumby - beauty may fade, but stupid is forever!

Project Evolution *** Project Complete **** Wednesday July 9, 2014

Reply #20
I may be looking at it wrong but in the last two pics it looks like the bottom of the fender sits lower than the rocker you made. I could be wrong though.
88 Thunderbird LX: 306, Edelbrock Performer heads, Comp 266HR cam, Edelbrock Performer RPM intake, bunch of other stuff.

Project Evolution *** Project Complete **** Wednesday July 9, 2014

Reply #21
Quote
I may be looking at it wrong but in the last two pics it looks like the bottom of the fender sits lower than the rocker you made. I could be wrong though.


Thanks for your concern.
It does look like that from the picture. the fender is just hanging there and sitting on top of the rocker because of the bracing behind the fender panel. once the rocker gets cut, the fender will be pushed in against the inner rocker lip. plus the fender needs to move up another 1/4". I couldn't hold it up and take the pic. lol

Your the first one that said something about that. I was wondering how long it would take.

I had also thought of custom making the rockers, so the car would look lowered. but i thought the stock look would be better in the long run 20 years from now, if I sold it.

I'll try to get a few  more pics in before christmas. I'm not sure how much time i'll have. I have some estimates for work to do and we have christmas at our house every year, and a lot needs to be done for the day.

anyway the pics would be boring welding and priming pics of what I've prefabbed so far. and mabe the pass. side floor.
If anyone wants to see the step by step on that, i'll post those also. If not I'll just show a couple finished pics of what i've got so far.

I also don't know how long it takes most of you to load this post because of all the pics. My internet is blazing fast. The cable guys can't believe how fast it is fast. (thats fast)
If everyone is having to wait to long to load this post, PM me and please let me know so we don't make this this one longer, and i'll split things up in another post and link that one from here also.
I think I'll call It................ Part II

jerry
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
***** Project "EVOLUTION" 1987 Cougar LS  & 1985 Cougar Convertible *****
[/COLOR]
5.0 HO 306 roller block, machined GT-40P heads, Wiseco dished forged pistons, Eagle forged floating I-beam connecting rods, Lunati pushrods, ARP bolts, Scorpion aluminum 1.6 rockers, Comp Cams Magnum 266HR, Explorer intake, 65mm TB, MAF Conversion, 19# injectors, Ford Racing stainless P-headers, 2-1/2" cat-less exhaust w/ Flowtech Afterburner lers , SC AOD with 2800 BDR torque converter, 3.73 T-Lok rear, CHE rear control arms, full 2-1/2" frame w/1" jacking rails & seat supports, Rear disk brakes, Turbine wheels, All original interior w/ floor shift upgrade .......
Pretty much every panel on my 87 is new, rebuilt, or re constructed. :D
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Project Evolution *** Project Complete **** Wednesday July 9, 2014

Reply #22
Ah ok I though you had it hung correctly. Now that I know it was hanging I know why it sat lower :D . You're going nuts on the car which is great. It's nice to see someone save one instead of sing it. While you're doing all this work are you going to install frame ties aka subframe conectors? I figure you have the skills to do so and you have a bunch of metal around ;)
88 Thunderbird LX: 306, Edelbrock Performer heads, Comp 266HR cam, Edelbrock Performer RPM intake, bunch of other stuff.

Project Evolution *** Project Complete **** Wednesday July 9, 2014

Reply #23
Quote
While you're doing all this work are you going to install frame ties aka subframe conectors? I figure you have the skills to do so and you have a bunch of metal around

I'm probably going to do that. I like the way FASTCAT 5.8 did his frame by cutting the floor.It also looks like the most direct path to connect the 2 up, as long as I got the car that ripped apart. I'll wait until the front pans, rockers, and quarters are welded on before I cut the back floor pan. I may have to ask him for some tips, since he's already done it.
my first task is getting rid of all the rust and put the car back together again
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
***** Project "EVOLUTION" 1987 Cougar LS  & 1985 Cougar Convertible *****
[/COLOR]
5.0 HO 306 roller block, machined GT-40P heads, Wiseco dished forged pistons, Eagle forged floating I-beam connecting rods, Lunati pushrods, ARP bolts, Scorpion aluminum 1.6 rockers, Comp Cams Magnum 266HR, Explorer intake, 65mm TB, MAF Conversion, 19# injectors, Ford Racing stainless P-headers, 2-1/2" cat-less exhaust w/ Flowtech Afterburner lers , SC AOD with 2800 BDR torque converter, 3.73 T-Lok rear, CHE rear control arms, full 2-1/2" frame w/1" jacking rails & seat supports, Rear disk brakes, Turbine wheels, All original interior w/ floor shift upgrade .......
Pretty much every panel on my 87 is new, rebuilt, or re constructed. :D
Join us on Facebook

 

Project Evolution *** Project Complete **** Wednesday July 9, 2014

Reply #24
I didn't get much done today worth taking pictures of
A lot of looking and planning for the quarters.
a lot of shop cleaning also.

I got some pictures showing why the fender looked lower then the rocker panel.

As you can see the fender is just hanging in front of the rocker.



and here's a view at eye level while lying on the floor.




that looks better. The fender still has to move up another 1/4"
Not to worry, I wouldn't let my baby out of the garage looking bad.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
***** Project "EVOLUTION" 1987 Cougar LS  & 1985 Cougar Convertible *****
[/COLOR]
5.0 HO 306 roller block, machined GT-40P heads, Wiseco dished forged pistons, Eagle forged floating I-beam connecting rods, Lunati pushrods, ARP bolts, Scorpion aluminum 1.6 rockers, Comp Cams Magnum 266HR, Explorer intake, 65mm TB, MAF Conversion, 19# injectors, Ford Racing stainless P-headers, 2-1/2" cat-less exhaust w/ Flowtech Afterburner lers , SC AOD with 2800 BDR torque converter, 3.73 T-Lok rear, CHE rear control arms, full 2-1/2" frame w/1" jacking rails & seat supports, Rear disk brakes, Turbine wheels, All original interior w/ floor shift upgrade .......
Pretty much every panel on my 87 is new, rebuilt, or re constructed. :D
Join us on Facebook

Project Evolution *** Project Complete **** Wednesday July 9, 2014

Reply #25
Quote from: daminc;193527
......but i thought the stock look would be better in the long run 20 years from now, if I sold it.



now that's optimism :burnout:


OOOH!!!  I'm a Eco Hypermiler :burnout: Not bad for 79mph on the interstate 2hours a day

Project Evolution *** Project Complete **** Wednesday July 9, 2014

Reply #26
Hate to rain on your parade man but let me first say nice work.
Now seeing as your car is one of the worst rust wise i have ever seen have you noticed that there is alot more rust in hidden unaccessable hard to repair structural places????
The front frame rails where the k member bolts up come to mind as well as the rear torque boxes and fuel tank mounts(they look very rusty from your one pic).
Front fenders,flat floors and even rockers are not that bad to do but the structural parts i mentioned on our cars are very difficult to repair and require alot of measurements,bracing and dissasembly before repairs can begin.
These are places often over looked by many do it yourself restorers.
On my old 88(may she rest in pieces) which i thought was bad(was not as bad as yours evidentley)i removed the eng and trans to have the entire front frame rails fabricated and replaced by a bodyshop only to tear the torque boxes from the frame 1 week later due to being just as rusted as the front.
Also my fuel tank mounts had to be replaced as my tank almost fell out of my car.
After around 1000.00 of frame work i ended up stripping and sping the car anyways(waist of time and money).
Just want you to make sure your not making the same mistake,have a good hard lengthly look at the places i mentioned and start stabbing at them with a screwdriver before you continue as all you have done may be in vane and it just may be better starting with a solid southern shell.

Project Evolution *** Project Complete **** Wednesday July 9, 2014

Reply #27
Believe it or not there's almost no rust past the floor in the rear of the car. I noticed the pictures make my car look a lot worse then it is. There's still is paint on parts of the floor and it still has the black under coating finish from the rear floor pans back to the bumper. and the frame is just surface rust as far as i see. I beat the piss out of it almost everywhere I could get to with a pick hammer, to see if it was rotted through anywhere way before I started. there's almost no rust anywhere around the motor. even under the battery tray. I figured that would have been gone

Im pretty sure most of my car rusted from the inside out because of the salt from the road getting on the boots and melting inside the car. and the drivers rocker from the salt slush between the lanes of the street
The passenger side rocker has almost no rust on it because of this.
If I do find any rotted frame I'll just replace it anyway. This is my way of relaxing and doing something fun. If it takes me 5 years or more to do it, that doesn't bother me
If I was just looking to fix up something quick  I would have dumped it 5 years ago and started over with something better.
So it comes down to, just having some fun and fixing my car along the way.
BTW.... this is also one of the better cars i've put back together. If you can believe that.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
***** Project "EVOLUTION" 1987 Cougar LS  & 1985 Cougar Convertible *****
[/COLOR]
5.0 HO 306 roller block, machined GT-40P heads, Wiseco dished forged pistons, Eagle forged floating I-beam connecting rods, Lunati pushrods, ARP bolts, Scorpion aluminum 1.6 rockers, Comp Cams Magnum 266HR, Explorer intake, 65mm TB, MAF Conversion, 19# injectors, Ford Racing stainless P-headers, 2-1/2" cat-less exhaust w/ Flowtech Afterburner lers , SC AOD with 2800 BDR torque converter, 3.73 T-Lok rear, CHE rear control arms, full 2-1/2" frame w/1" jacking rails & seat supports, Rear disk brakes, Turbine wheels, All original interior w/ floor shift upgrade .......
Pretty much every panel on my 87 is new, rebuilt, or re constructed. :D
Join us on Facebook

Project Evolution *** Project Complete **** Wednesday July 9, 2014

Reply #28
Here's an important question that you obviously haven't thought of yet. You've been calling it the Flintstone car. The floor is almost fixed, so after it's taken care, then what will you call it?
1987 Turbo Coupe - Son's car
1987 Super Coupe - Son's project car
1934 Ford - My project car

Project Evolution *** Project Complete **** Wednesday July 9, 2014

Reply #29
Quote
The floor is almost fixed, so after it's taken care, then what will you call it?


Thats a good question.
I have thought about that before and wrote
*****Soon to not be the flintstone car**** in the sig.
but thats as far as i got.
Anyone have any ideas?
It would have to show some sort of evolution from before, during and after.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
***** Project "EVOLUTION" 1987 Cougar LS  & 1985 Cougar Convertible *****
[/COLOR]
5.0 HO 306 roller block, machined GT-40P heads, Wiseco dished forged pistons, Eagle forged floating I-beam connecting rods, Lunati pushrods, ARP bolts, Scorpion aluminum 1.6 rockers, Comp Cams Magnum 266HR, Explorer intake, 65mm TB, MAF Conversion, 19# injectors, Ford Racing stainless P-headers, 2-1/2" cat-less exhaust w/ Flowtech Afterburner lers , SC AOD with 2800 BDR torque converter, 3.73 T-Lok rear, CHE rear control arms, full 2-1/2" frame w/1" jacking rails & seat supports, Rear disk brakes, Turbine wheels, All original interior w/ floor shift upgrade .......
Pretty much every panel on my 87 is new, rebuilt, or re constructed. :D
Join us on Facebook