More bodywork last night, and for once things went quicker than I expected.
First of all I went over all the seams where I had applied Extend rust
converter. I had used a small brush, but still had Extend where it would
show (brush strokes) through the final paint job. So I broke out the right
angle grinder and gray wheel again and removed the excess.
That took a while, but then it was on to the main event, removing the dents
from the wheel wells. This Carryall spent it's post war life on an Orange
grove in So. California and was used there to move heavy stuff. The wheel
wells each sported a couple large dents and several smaller (1 to 2"
diameter) pops, all caused by things being thrown into the back and hitting
the wells. So the dents were "inside out" from what you usually
encounter. I started on the smaller issues first. I thought I was going
to have to pull the wheel and tire, but the truck sits pretty high to start
with and even higher when you take everything off it, so it turned out I
could get at the offending sections.
I stood outside and reached through the back window with the "dolly" (10 lb
sledge hammer) and used the lighter body work hammer to tap from the
outside. The smaller dents came out ok, not perfect, but acceptable for my
motor pool restoration. The bigger dents were a pleasant surprise, one
good tap with the mallet and they popped back into shape. (All three of them).
Sensing the Restoration Gods were in a cooperative mood, I went on the
forward fuel tank support and floor cross members nearest it. These had
been bent down by HEAVY stuff riding in the back of the Carryall over the
years. Through careful placement of a 2x4 lifted with a floor jack, and
strategic hits with the sledge, I got things straightened out. Welds broke
free on one of the cross members, so I was able to finish the repair on the
bench which worked nicely.
As the forward fuel tank support member had bent down it had also moved
back. So I used a scissor jack and 2x4 between it and the rear frame beam
to bend the tank support back into proper fore/aft alignment.
This took me a little past bed time, but what I thought was going to be a
major endeavor (unbolting, heating red hot to bend, taking to a shop to use
a hydraulic press, etc) was done in one night.
Chris Davis
MVPA# 20000
Lake Forest, CA
'42 WC53 Carryall
'66 M274A2 Mule
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