If you've been following along on our Project XS Chevelle series, you know that we had an enormous amount of rust repair to deal with on this car. Enough that after this installment, only about 10 percent of the car's original sheetmetal will still be left, and most of that is in the firewall area. To recap, the main purpose of this project is to show you how even the rustiest of cars can be saved, especially when they're as rare as our ragtop. Our convertible is one of just under 7,600 drop-tops built by Chevy in the '70 model year, out of almost 500,000 total Chevelles produced. That's only about 1.5 percent of production, making even the most tattered shell worth some money. The good news is this will be the last rust-repair story on Project XS. (Allow pause for cheering.) From here on out, we'll get into really building this car and passing along helpful things that'll maybe give our audience some ideas for their own Bow Ties. We're going to cover the prepping of our Art Morrison A-body chassis, installing a cool front accessory drive on our 572 big-block, and delve into some how-to on selecting the right gears for a manual trans install. Plus a lot of other good stuff. In the meantime, let's exorcise the last bit of cancer from our project. 1 The top’s header combined with the vinyl coverings on the frame trapped a lot of water in this area. The winter salt spray from the car’s life on Northern roads didn’t help either. There was no saving this part of the frame; it’s toast.1 The top’s header combined with the vinyl coverings on the frame trapped a lot of water 2 When you’re removing/replacing parts on an old car, be watchful for things like this, factory part numbers stamped into sheetmetal. If you’re doing a straight restoration, you want to preserve these pieces.2 When you’re removing/replacing parts on an old car, be watchful for things like this, f 3 Here you can see where the header’s vinyl covering kept this part of the frame from breathing/drying out and speeding the cancer’s progress.3 Here you can see where the header’s vinyl covering kept this part of the frame from bre 4 First order of business is to unscrew all the older header pieces and the sunvisor mounts.4 First order of business is to unscrew all the older header pieces and the sunvisor moun 5 Here’s our new Dynacorn piece next to the heavily damaged original. While Dynacorn doesn’t sell direct to consumers, it does have an extensive network of dealers that can help you out in sourcing some of the specialized Chevelle body parts Dynacorn carries in its inventory.5 Here’s our new Dynacorn piece next to the heavily damaged original. While Dynacorn does 6 You can really see how far gone this area is when compared to the new piece of metal. One of the things that really made the rust worse on our car was someone putting a tarp over the car when it was parked in the late ’80s because the top was leaking. This created a greenhouse effect and didn’t let the car dry out, turning it into a corrosion incubation chamber.6 You can really see how far gone this area is when compared to the new piece of metal. O 7 Most of these parts are going to be replaced, but until you’re exactly sure what you’ll be buying new, don’t throw away any convertible-specific stuff just yet. You might need a seemingly useless piece later on.7 Most of these parts are going to be replaced, but until you’re exactly sure what you’ll 8 These upper windshield caps are rusted out pretty bad, but we’ve got new ones so we won’t have to worry about repairing them.8 These upper windshield caps are rusted out pretty bad, but we’ve got new ones so we won 9 With all the parts and pieces clear, Tommy Barber breaks out the acetylene torch and starts cutting away the old frame piece.9 With all the parts and pieces clear, Tommy Barber breaks out the acetylene torch and st 10 Don’t cut too close to the corners. Because the aftermarket doesn’t make this part of the frame (yet), these pieces will have to be repaired with some metal fabrication.10 Don’t cut too close to the corners. Because the aftermarket doesn’t make this part of 11 Same thing for the other side. 12 Tommy left enough area outside the corner to work with so he could fabricate up patch pieces to get this area solid again. In a repair like this, if your fabrication/welding skills are anything less than good, consider enlisting the aid of a professional shop for this repair.12 Tommy left enough area outside the corner to work with so he could fabricate up patch 13 Even though this might look hopeless, it’s not. Using similar-gauge sheetmetal, Tommy will shape a replacement piece that will fit like a glove after some work with a sheetmetal brake and TIG welder.13 Even though this might look hopeless, it’s not. Using similar-gauge sheetmetal, Tommy 14 After fabbing up the new piece, Tommy cuts away the rest of the old, rotten metal. Even though he’s not wearing safety glasses in this photo, always remember to wear the proper eye and hand protection when you’re doing any work like this.14 After fabbing up the new piece, Tommy cuts away the rest of the old, rotten metal. Eve 15 With the new frame piece clamped in place as a guide, Tommy sets in his new corner patches and tacks them to the windshield frame.15 With the new frame piece clamped in place as a guide, Tommy sets in his new corner pat 16 Same thing for the other side. Then the frame top can be welded in place using a MIG welder. Now our windshield frame is solid again, as is the rest of our Project XS Chevelle. Next up will be a thorough soda blasting, followed by an epoxy primer to keep the clean metal from flash rusting while the dry building process is underway.16 Same thing for the other side. Then the frame top can be welded in place using a MIG w SOURCES Dynacorn International 4030 Via Pescador Camarillo CA 93012 805-987-8818 www.dynacorn.com Classic Automotive Restoration Specialists Inc. 8235 Nautical Point Drive Belews Creek NC 27009 336-595-3900 www.classicautomotiverestoration.com By Patrick Hill Enjoyed this Post? Subscribe to our RSS Feed, or use your favorite social media to recommend us to friends and colleagues!
