Dave Rich Progress update
Hi Ann, Tower family, extended family & friends!
We are currently in the process of replacing rusted metal in the floor and rocker panels. While the overall body is in phenomenal shape for its age, there are problem spots.
The rockers (area below the doors) were rusted pretty badly and had been hastily repaired at one point in the past. I've cut out most of the rusted metal on the driver side and am midway through rebuilding the rocker. No one makes this as a replacement piece, so the process is one of salvaging the sill part with the flanged oval holes, fitting new drop sections (the part that is under the car and forming new outer skins. This last bit is tricky because the skin curves in two directions. The Woody has "hips" so there is a curve from front to back and the rockers curve under too. This rebuilding is a challenge to say the least but is well underway.
The sill with a new pinch weld edge attached and the front drop panel visible behind it.
⇐ The beginning of forming the outer panel
We are also prepping a number of the chassis parts for paint and reassembly:
The control arms that are the foundation for the front suspension have been cleaned of all the undercoating, grease and rocks and are ready for paint. The coil springs and one of the front spindle assemblies have also been similarly cleaned. We still have one spindle to clean and of course all of this will need to be painted but you can see these parts are now as clean as the day they were made and will look as good as the frame does!
Upper control arms:
one mid way through being scraped and the other just about finished prior to paint.
These are welded from 2 halves and the hollow area inside was chock full of dirt and grease that had to be chiseled and scraped out.
Front springs: Left spring is close to ready for paint with just some final sanding and wipe-down required
[CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE]
More pictures of restoration work in progress:
Clutch bell housing: This connects the engine to the transmission and houses the clutch and pressure plate assembly (we have new clutch parts to go inside)
This bell housing was black inside and out. For the most part, the original color (Ford bronze)was no longer visible. We now have it ready for paint and it is going to look great against that black transmission.
The inspection cover / starter mount has also been cleaned to the same extent.
This final series of pictures shows a bit of the process of cutting out the driver's side rear floor support. Note the extent of the corrosion that occurred inside the floor support and underside of the floor and the replacement of the section of floor where this support is located
Underside of the floor above the rear floor support. Rusted clear through in a few spots and paper thin in others. By the way, the holes on the left side (in the clean metal) are the seat belt attach points. Where there were previously only large washers to spread the load of the belts, we will attach some stiffeners to the floor support so the belts will be safer.
New steel support fitted
and welded in place
I still have to fit the new support in place and weld it all back together. This work and the front support and lower door frame pillar replacement, all need to be completed before I can put the rocker and rear fender extensions back in place.
Because the factory never painted or sealed much of the metal in these areas, they were subject to rust and the Woody had some real problems lurking here.
We are rooting out the rust on all fronts. We will coat all of of the metal prior to welding it up. The Woody will be better than new once this work is completed!
Best,
Dave
We are currently in the process of replacing rusted metal in the floor and rocker panels. While the overall body is in phenomenal shape for its age, there are problem spots.
The rockers (area below the doors) were rusted pretty badly and had been hastily repaired at one point in the past. I've cut out most of the rusted metal on the driver side and am midway through rebuilding the rocker. No one makes this as a replacement piece, so the process is one of salvaging the sill part with the flanged oval holes, fitting new drop sections (the part that is under the car and forming new outer skins. This last bit is tricky because the skin curves in two directions. The Woody has "hips" so there is a curve from front to back and the rockers curve under too. This rebuilding is a challenge to say the least but is well underway.
[CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE]
⇐ The beginning of forming the outer panel
⇒
The panel mocked up on the woody to check fit & alignment .
The control arms that are the foundation for the front suspension have been cleaned of all the undercoating, grease and rocks and are ready for paint. The coil springs and one of the front spindle assemblies have also been similarly cleaned. We still have one spindle to clean and of course all of this will need to be painted but you can see these parts are now as clean as the day they were made and will look as good as the frame does!
Upper control arms:
one mid way through being scraped and the other just about finished prior to paint.
These are welded from 2 halves and the hollow area inside was chock full of dirt and grease that had to be chiseled and scraped out.
All these parts were the in the wash tank after scraping & again after media blasting cabinet to finally get them clean. This scraping, washing, blasting, washing, sanding was done on all these parts.
Front springs: Left spring is close to ready for paint with just some final sanding and wipe-down required
[CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE]
Spindle before Cleaned but still disassembled
These spindles will be painted the same as the chassis then have brand new pivots, king pins, bearings & seals and a retrofit disc-brake kit attached.
More pictures of restoration work in progress:
Clutch bell housing: This connects the engine to the transmission and houses the clutch and pressure plate assembly (we have new clutch parts to go inside)
This bell housing was black inside and out. For the most part, the original color (Ford bronze)was no longer visible. We now have it ready for paint and it is going to look great against that black transmission.
The inspection cover / starter mount has also been cleaned to the same extent.
This is a lower control arm midway through the cleaning process
I must say, these are a bear to get cleaned up. There was an aluminum spacer under the coil spring that caused bi-metallic corrosion and required a bit more media blasting. Acid dipping wasn't really an option due to these parts being riveted together from 4 pieces.
One arm has a lag screw on the lower shock mount that we will have to weld up, drill and retap to correct.
This final series of pictures shows a bit of the process of cutting out the driver's side rear floor support. Note the extent of the corrosion that occurred inside the floor support and underside of the floor and the replacement of the section of floor where this support is located
Underside of the floor above the rear floor support. Rusted clear through in a few spots and paper thin in others. By the way, the holes on the left side (in the clean metal) are the seat belt attach points. Where there were previously only large washers to spread the load of the belts, we will attach some stiffeners to the floor support so the belts will be safer.
Old rusted Floor Support
Inside of the old Floor Support New Fabricated Support
New steel support fitted
and welded in place
I still have to fit the new support in place and weld it all back together. This work and the front support and lower door frame pillar replacement, all need to be completed before I can put the rocker and rear fender extensions back in place.
Because the factory never painted or sealed much of the metal in these areas, they were subject to rust and the Woody had some real problems lurking here.
We are rooting out the rust on all fronts. We will coat all of of the metal prior to welding it up. The Woody will be better than new once this work is completed!
Best,
Dave
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