| The StreetRod Store |
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Where you're treated like a member of the family! |
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Joe's
1968 Chevelle This 1968 Chevelle will undergo some
extensive sheetmetal replacement. We didn't realize how bad the
body was until it arrived at our shop. As you will see, most of the
sheetmetal had to go. The positive side of this project is that we
get to save another classic muscle car! Remember to click on each picture for a
closer view . . .
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Joe's Chevelle arrived at our shop wrapped in shrink wrap. When
we removed the wrap, we were very happy to see how dry the car was. |
When we picked up the car, it was strapped to an old boat
trailer. The first thing that we did was to fabricate mounts that
would be bolted into the original body mount locations to help keep
the body square. |
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When we started to rip into this Chevelle, we found that there
really wasn't a good starting point. All of the floor
supports, inner/outer rockers and pans were shot. We had to further
support the body so that we could remove the entire underside of
the car. Here is Steve using his favorite tool . . . the plasma
cutter! |
In addition to the normal cross-bracing, we had to weld braces
in the door jambs in addition to a pair of legs to keep the car
from sagging. |
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This is a shot of the trunk with the supports being layed out.
The upper trunk shelf and support is not reproduced at this time so
we had to make them. |
Here you can see that we eat and sleep this stuff! Here is Steve
catching a nap under the car. Ok, he isn't sleeping, but rather
laying out the floor supports. |
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Since Steve is napping, I felt that it was time to start working
on the driver side rocker panel. The passenger side is complete
along with a fabricated inner rocker. Usually I am the one taking
the pictures . . . I guess this proves that I ocassionally do some
work too! |
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Here is a shot of the driver side rocker installed and the floor pans rough fitted. It looks like this '68 is starting to take shape! |
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We removed the windshield and as expected, found some pretty extensive rust. As with any project, all of the rusted metal is removed and replaced. |
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Here is Craig welding new sheetmetal patches on the underside of the dash. Since no one currently makes a replacement dash for the 68, we will have to fabricate a new one. |
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The floors, rockers, rear seat pan and floor supports are all
welded into place. |
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This is a closer shot of the floor. All of the pieces fell into place like they were made for the car. Always buy quality sheetmetal when doing a job like this. |
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Now it's time to move to the trunk. With the floors, rockers and supports welded into place, it is time to secure the trunk before we dig into the inner and outer wheel houses. |
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We installed the trunk supports and pans last night. These are temporarily held in place with zip screws until it is time to prep the metal and weld. We need to do a little sand blasting before we can move on. |
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The trunk pans are welded, seam sealed and primed! The next step in the rebirth of this 68 Chevelle is to remove
the old quarter panels, layout the inner and outer wheel houses and
fit the new quarter panel |
We usually start the removal of a quarter panel by exposing the
factory seam at the roof and removing the lead. As you can see by
this photo, someone beat us to it some time ago! This will require
a little more work to make it right. |
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Here you can see that the quarter panel is removed and we are ready to prep for the installation of the wheel houses. Before we weld in the new quarter, we will sand blast and paint the inner metal with POR-15. |
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The old wheel houses are removed and the new ones are fitted. The next step will be the test fit of the new quarter panel. We will have the new quarter panel on and off many times during this process to ensure the proper fit before welding. |
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Before going any further on this side, we sand blasted all of the metal parts. Once everything is good and free of rust we will apply a good coat of POR-15. |
Joe, Ed and Steve (from left to right) discuss "game plan" on
this project. This 68 Chevelle is looking much happier! |
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In this series of shots, you can see that all of the sandblasted
metal was coated with POR-15. Once the POR-15 cured, Steve welded
in the new L/S inner and outer wheel houses. Once complete, the
welds were ground down and all of the seams were coated with 3M
paintable seam sealer and painted. The new L/S quarter panel is fitted and welded into place. Keep
in mind that this is a process that could require the panel to be
tweaked a little for proper fit. Aftermarket sheetmetal is good,
but just remember that it is not original. This quarter has been
tweaked, fitted, and welded into place. All seams were then seam
sealed to keep the moisture out. It is important to note that is is worth taking the time to
prep, seal, and treat all of the metal throughout all phases of a
project such as this. Prevention goes a long way toward keeping
this 68 Chevelle new for a very long time! |
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This is a shot is of the R/S quarter removed. This side will
undergo the same procedure as the other. |
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All of the sheetmetal was sandblasted, cleaned and a fresh coat of POR-15 was applied. The new wheel houses were installed and next is the new quarter panel. |
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The new door and quarter panels are installed. The new trunk lid had a dent in it so we are waiting for a new one to be delivered today. |
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The twelve bolt rear arrived today. Unfortunately there was a little damage to the backing plates during shipping. Click on the pictures above to get a closer look. |
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We had Marty pick up the chassis and we mounted the body onto the frame. Once this was done, Craig installed the exhaust. |
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Joe's car heads home . . . Joe and his dad Ed will complete this 68 Chevelle. As you can see by the center photo, it looks like Steve is sad to see this 68 leave our shop. |
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