tiny...aka 1958 lloyd

[69.5CUDA]

with some long winded chats with resto about floor pans we came to the conclusion that rolled beads in the pans probably wernt needed...besides ive no realy way to do it anyway...tho like resto said i could always make a channel in a 2x4 and hammer in some bead rolls

note the 1/8 inch i cut the old floor pans back to expose the FACTORY FULLY BOXED rail ..this 1/8inch cut back gives me a MUCH more solid point to weld the new pans to

anyway the front floor pan sections are only 24inches long and 14.5 inches wide with 3 bends....god am i glad my wife got me a brake for xmas or this would have been ALOT harder to do the old fashion way...even the the brake is only a 30inch its better than nothing...10 mins later 2 more or less matched pans.....its rather hard to bend a sheet to "exact" ..i just kinda do it by feel as well as a smaller thinner piece of steel bent to ruff shape that i compare to..then fine tune it to the correct shape by hand

 

[69.5CUDA]

quick test fit and there close..very close..a lil fine trimming of the edge of the old pan on the rails...and a lil fine tune hand bending to fit

stitched in and flush..strong and solid 18guage pans..mind you being its a suicide door car these front pans will get more weight on them than "normal" pans due to the way you have to step in and out of a suicide door car

thinking for tomaro i may start skinning the firewall

 

[69.5CUDA]

first 2 pic's imm trying to figure out how to fill the 4inch gap

next set...more floor pan work

 

[a12bee]

I was wondering how you were going to fill the gaps.

 

[69.5CUDA]

so was i...i walked out there pondered for a second and did it...i also started on the rear floor pans

tomaro im probably going to attack the rear fender 4inch gaps..i bounced some ideas off resto and figured out what would be best.....when in doubt i bounce off resto

 

[69.5CUDA]

did some more floor pan and rear floor pan work today

 

[gomopar440]

For some reason when i saw those gaps I was thinking some louvers across the top would look cool there. Easy to picture in my head, but hard to describe.

 

[69.5CUDA]

considered it and ruled it out for the time being..10-1 odds are it will end upi with recessed jag gas caps neer the rear tho

 

[69.5CUDA]

ok well im about to dive into the doors..this is NOT going to be simple by any means...the pic's will prove that

anyway i built up the new frame for the hinge plates and door sill area as well as made provisions for the new seal surface and shoved the "stock" hinge area out 4 inches...this will allow me to maintain the correct door to fender alignment as well as re-use the "stock" hinges without binding up on the rear fender..notice the mimicked line of the new frame to the seal edge of the stock unit...the lip on the stock unit will be cut off shortly

 

[69.5CUDA]

as you can see by the previous post the door MUST be widened 4 inches PERIOD...theres no way around it

note that the door at the top has a HUGE amount of curve to it makeing the widen that much harder to keep perfect at 4 inches

next are the lines im thinking would be best to cut at

 

[gomopar440]

Are the door glass lift mechanisms attached to the inner or outer side of the door? If the inside you should be ok. But if they are attached to the outside panel, you're gonna have a bunch more work cut out or you.

 

[69.5CUDA]

hmm seems my post didnt post

well the old "stock" mechanics of the window were attatched to the inside of the door only(one worked the other was dieing and they were dainty as hell)...mind you i will be going with a power setup most likely from a dodge minivan for simplisity....

even the brace that runs from the top of the door to the bottom is ONLY attached to the inside of the door...

as a bonus of widening the door i will finaly have room to let me cut out the wing window and go with a SINGLE piece of glass for a MUCH MUCH cleaner look

 

[gomopar440]

Sounds like you already got it under control then. Good thinking on removing the vent window too.:2thumbs:

 

[69.5CUDA]

i originaly wanted to lose the wing windows due to NO seals availible..hell i couldnt even make seals to make them work...so i was going to have "fixed" glass as i didnt have room in the narrow door to have a striker pin AND a slideing window...with the wider door it makes room to have the striker in a better location AND lets me remove the wing window....actualy with the narrow doors i was having a hard time figureing out how to have a inside door handle as there was no room for it

 

[69.5CUDA]

well ive said it before..ill say it again..jumped past another point of no return

sliced open the passenger side door and started the 4 inch widening.....its tricky but no worse than most of the stuff ive already done...funds are TIGHT very TIGHT and im about out of wire in the wire feed(40$) and have limited amounts of 18guage sheetmetal(50$ for a 4x8 or is it 4x10?)..soo i ripped what i had into 4foot 4inch strips ..its enuf to do both doors and "start" on the rear fenders

anyway we last left off i had marked the lines for the cuts....i ran a dirty x-brace on the door to maintain squareness, i sliced on the lines and did a quick test fit to make sure the 4inch was maintained the full length of the door..even tho the fenders are mostly just mocked into location

next up is the sliced door halves...this door is the WORST panel on the car for rust..most of the lower edge is rotted out..with this door slice ill be able to just cut it out and change the 4 inch strip to a 5inch

new sides tacked into place

 

[69.5CUDA]

a quick test fit of the other half of the door reveals some trimming required

starting on the welding of the 2 halves back together..over trimmed in a few small spots..no big deal to fill in with some small strips

another GOOD look at that lower edge rot..thankfully the worst of it is in the flat section

 

[69.5CUDA]

camera battery needs charged soo heres where i stop shooting pic's for the moment

both sides of this door are tacked and surprisingly square..i was expecting "some" tweaking required..

dropped the door back into the fender(mind you the hinges are still bolted to the door i just drop them into there pockets but dont bolt em to the body)...the fit is amazing..and even tho the fenders are not perfectly lined up or spaced i dont think i will need to releave the front edge of the door for fender clearing as it clears right now!!!


dropped some 4inch strips on top of the gap in the top of the door and fender for you people who have a tiny imagination...im loving how aggressive and tasteful the body is looking...glad its got the bite to back it up

 

[69.5CUDA]

well the camera charges fast and i pressed on..did the top of the 4 inch door skin...the last few shots are with the aluminum trim lightly re-polished

i know the curve "looks" very sharp but its not its actually its a smooth perfect curved roll :giggedy:..the 4th shot shows it best

essentially the door is done..just need to patch the bottom edge and fill some gaps..well all the hard work is done anyway

 

[69.5CUDA]

the start of a HUGE jump forward
first off pulled the fender..note the new door jamb setup

layed the fender of the room and traced the edge onto a 4foot 4inch piece of 18 gauge

mark and trim one side

stuff the cut piece under the lip and trace the other edge as well as the mounting holes

drill and trim the other edge off

the end result is a copy of the lip on the fender...now mounted to the body

 

[69.5CUDA]

time to mock the fender back up..note the 1x4 strips on the roof drip rail

use the 4inch strips to brace and space the fender at the correct position..this will double as a way to keep the fender from flexing

the next 5 shots were "mostly" taken for me to use as a second set of eyes looking down the body lines makeing sure everything is in perfect alignment...the camera doesnt lie and allows you to zoom in on stuff you cant entirely see

note the fender is up 1/4 inch :doh: