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Thank you for the master class in repairs. I also had the same question about the VPA with fiberglass reinforcement but you answered if before I could post the question. I will follow along as I find this information important to keep in mind for my future car!
Hopefully this may help someone who may not have thought of it. It does come in very handy at times.
This is a tool I use often. It allows me to grind on odd angled panels because the grit is closer to the tool and not the other side like normal grinders.
I take a normal Rol-loc disc and grind down the threaded portion til is is basically flat.
I will drill a hole in it and then file it larger to fit my tool.
It ends up looking like this when installed in my grinder.
And you can see...it allowed me to grind and prep the front firewall area where it meets the floor board and the bonding let loose.
This is the separated front firewall and floor pan area.
The reason you can see this is due to a section of the roll cage comes down in this area so that fiberglass has been removed so the roll cage could be cut so the body could come off. It will all be repaired once the body and frame are joined and welded as needed.
The area after it has been prepped so I can bond it back together again.
The Vette Panel Adhesive after it was applied and cured. ROCK SOLID BOND! (and not James Bond)
Hard to tell what this is but it is where the two panels lap each other from the underside.
I made sure the seam was filled in all the way. I am NOT looking for a factory look where there may be gaps and missing bonding adhesive or oozing adhesive coming out and dripping.
Hopefully this may help someone who may not have thought of it. It does come in very handy at times.
This is a tool I use often. It allows me to grind on odd angled panels because the grit is closer to the tool and not the other side like normal grinders.
I take a normal Rol-loc disc and grind down the threaded portion til is is basically flat.
I will drill a hole in it and then file it larger to fit my tool.
It ends up looking like this when installed in my grinder.
And you can see...it allowed me to grind and prep the front firewall area where it meets the floor board and the bonding let loose.
DUB
I'm sure I can find a use for that in my oral surgery office.
Why does dentistry still feel like a "medieval" practice? Lol.
DUB are you going to be taking requests for future threads???
D
In dentistry, we still make holes in teeth, take them out & put in "appliances". Be thankful that anesthesia is now used. Anesthesia didn't come around until the last half of the 1800's.
D In dentistry, we still make holes in teeth, take them out & put in "appliances". Be thankful that anesthesia is now used. Anesthesia didn't come around until the last half of the 1800's.
This thread would make for a great sticky. Thanks for all the detailed tips DUB, I'm filling my head with what I'm sure I will need as I dive into bodywork on my Vette. Being a very non-original car with previous Bubba repairs, I have my work cut out for me. Your professional tips make it possible for us regular guys to get our feet wet in body repair and actually do it right. Thanks and keep the updates coming. :-)
The is the left side roll cage tube where it goes through the toe board of the firewall. I have to remove the huge glob of mat and resin that is at the base of the tube where it meets for floor board area.
The glob after it has been removed. Without adding any more 'drama' to this.. As suspected..that glob was not applied correctly and really did not bond to the factory fiberglass.
The above two photos is showing the section I got out in one huge hunk. This is a perfect example that fiberglass does not bond really well to steel. And...it is also highly possible that the steel will rust IF it is ground on or left bare for the 'thought' that that would aid in adhesion.
Prepping the firewall for all of the holes that are going to be filled in.
Close up view of the tapered holes so they can be filled in.
Close up look at the hole where the wiper motor was mounted and all related holes.
These are some holes near the accelerator cable mounting area. Due to this being a race car...custom wiring will be installed and if any holes need to be drilled for the wiring harness. Their location will be determined during the build.
These are holes to the passenger side of the hole for the wiper motor.
In some areas a person may find that the 3" Rol-loc disc is not going to fit due to the diameter is too large. There is a fix for that...and aslo a good way to re-use many of your old Rol-loc discs that still ahve very good grit in the center of it.
I took one of my Rol-loc grinding discs and put the new fixture tool on another die grinder and ground the rubber down to the diameter slightly smaller than the plastic portion of the Rol-loc disc where you lock it onto the fixture tool.
IF you do this...make sure you are holding onto the tool really good and control the speed of the disc because it means business if at full throttle. This little 'tool' has saved me in so many places it still boggles my mind.
NOW YOU COME OUT WITH PICTURES OF HOW TO MAKE REPAIRS! After talking with you the other day I am glad you mentioned to me the post you were doing. I see many familiar steps that we talked over on the phone in your pictures that [I] applied to my project. Still learned a few things when viewing your pictures like the mat over the damp VPA and then another coat of VPA. Great post for those who have not worked with VPA. Thanks to you I have and am totally convinced in that product. There defiantly is a learning curve with that stuff on mixing, applying and oh yea sanding. Did I mention SANDING!
RVZIO
***SERIOUSLY Joking here*** If you want to...you can grind off all that you have applied...and even remove your front clip...because I will be installing a one piece front clip in this thread.... and then wait for this thread to show more tricks, photos and areas that take different procedures. *** joking done***
YEAH..the VPA does have a bit of a learning curve...but as you know...once you understand how to use it ( which you did very well.... even though it as done over the phone)....it is an amazing product.
YEAH....the sanding can be a bit 'fun'.....and even for me..I KNOW I have to get in on it or I will regret it...and I have some unique sanding tools that take some of the manual sanding out of the picture.
***SERIOUSLY Joking here*** If you want to...you can grind off all that you have applied...and even remove your front clip...because I will be installing a one piece front clip in this thread.... and then wait for this thread to show more tricks, photos and areas that take different procedures. *** joking done***
YEAH..the VPA does have a bit of a learning curve...but as you know...once you understand how to use it ( which you did very well.... even though it as done over the phone)....it is an amazing product.
YEAH....the sanding can be a bit 'fun'.....and even for me..I KNOW I have to get in on it or I will regret it...and I have some unique sanding tools that take some of the manual sanding out of the picture.
DUB
Like you always say Dub, your way is not the only way, but I would be the first to say it's a darn good way. Learning from someone that does it for a living like Dub means a lot. Do some of his advice, ignore it or just do some of it . It's your choice. For me I would like to learn a proven way from someone who has done this kind of work..........................just saying!
RVZIO
I just started my 61 resto mod build. I will be referring to this post quite often. This goes way back for me. At that time I worked for RHS, I would have been doing valve jobs at this particular time. We did the heads for John. I assume this was the green Graf Interprises SS/LA car. He was making passes at the US nationals with the filter full and one quart of oil in the pan, broke it and helicoptered another short block in. I didn't know John very well as I was just a kid at the time and he spent whatever time he was at our shop with the owner.
I just started my 61 resto mod build. I will be referring to this post quite often. This goes way back for me. At that time I worked for RHS, I would have been doing valve jobs at this particular time. We did the heads for John. I assume this was the green Graf Interprises SS/LA car. He was making passes at the US nationals with the filter full and one quart of oil in the pan, broke it and helicoptered another short block in. I didn't know John very well as I was just a kid at the time and he spent whatever time he was at our shop with the owner.
YES....This is THAT CAR....and I have the article that was written about the events prior to and during the race at Indy when he did rent a helicopter and rebuilt the engine out in the grass.
I am about ready to post more that I have done on the car...it has been a bit crazy here at work lately.
08-29-2016, 10:38 AM
