Carl's 61 Fleetwood

[62droptop]

cool, a break will be very handy
I use  mine all the time for just about everything you can imagine
you can get a little hand hole  punch to poke holes in the metal to spot weld in the new stuff
a gas shield wire feed welder will be your new best friend!

great job on the car so far!
 

[Clewisiii]

So the way I work is I spend 50 to 75% of my time thinking about the work I need to do. This bugs some people but it prevents me from doing twice the work due to correcting errors. I like to visualize each step many times before I actually do it.

That helps because I just found a new leather. This is called rhapsody blue from Wollsdorf. It is currently an option on Lincoln. This is the color and grain I have been looking for. It blends with the carpet better then my last option. I contacted the US sales rep. He will sell to me for 44 Euro a meter. About $800 for 5 hides. The one bad thing is I would have to pay shipping from Austria. There is a new Ford program coming to my plant in Michigan, we will be ordering Wollsdorf there in about 6 months. I plan to hold of buying and piggy back my order on that shipment.

The next I need to try to get Eagle Ottawa leather in Cashmere Ceramic. Up till now they have said they will not sell directly to me. I will work on that. That cream color paired with the blue is my goal. It matches the headliner I found as well.

I hate the after market leathers. The heavy embossed grains are not to my liking. Plus this actual production Automotive leather is a little more durable.

[Clewisiii]

I finally got around to welding that patch in the door. Now to grind the welds down.

Three doors done one to go. The Last needs some more fabrication then what I have done to date.

I have a row of stitch holes on the lip of the hood. I will replace the metal but do it in sections.

I have one small three inch area on the trunk. Will be easy

And last fender bottoms. Both sides. With a break and shrinker  stretcher I can make those myself. I have already made patterns.

I need to get all of the body seams and gaps lined up after the welding. I am looking forward to filler priming and sanding.

[Clewisiii]

Lot of fun. Layer out the material and made 4 patterns for my last door. I need to buy those tools because these areas have compound curves.

There is 1 more spot on the door that will need to be patched. But it is relatively flat.

I started fitting with the front fenders and hood again. The fenders looked better very quickly. The front of the hood and fenders payed out right.

But I cannot get the back of the hood to go down enough. This is just me working on it alone. If I had more hands I might be able to get more.

All in all after a couple of months I am feeling energized again. I hope I can get the car ready for paint this year. I was a year ahead of schedule. Now I think I am a year behind. But my schedule was arbitrary. I have no need to be finished soon.

[Clewisiii]

Pulled up to my garage and thought this is a great shot.

[FINCADI]

Pulled up to my garage and thought this is a great shot.

I agree, great photo!

[Perk2]

I agree too!!!
Calendar material!!
Thanks for sharing Carl

[Clewisiii]

I splurged and bought fender bottom patch panels from USA auto parts. $250 for the pair. It will take me a while to get up the nerve to cut it off.

[6Caddy2]

WOW!!!! Those look nice, nothing like fresh metal! From what I've seen Carl, when your ready to cut them off the new ones will be "spot on"!!!

[Clewisiii]

I will take the fenders off to weld in the repair.  I thought about doing it on the vehicle to help in lining up the metal. But I decided it is straight forward and not be hard to straighten latter.

I finished bead blasting and painting primer on my hinges.  I will mount the doors the check them to each other.  I still need to sandblast the door I got from russ. It did snow this weekend so that got delayed.  From what I can tell the stamping and hole differences from 61 to 62 are contained in one 6 by 12 inch area.  I will cut that section out of my door and weld it into the new one.