Body Work Begins

Even though we are blessed enough to have an almost completely rust-free body, there were a few little spots that needed some attention. Fortunately, they are in places that will never be seen, but since we are doing this thing all the way, I figured it'd be a good chance to remind myself how to do this body work stuff. The worst of the two places that had actually rusted through, was under the driver-side door sill plate. I remembered taking care of some similar holes in a car when I worked for Tom Brown at Coachworks Autobody when I was nineteen. It involved tapping the rusty spot with a pointed hammer until you've broken out anything that isn't solid metal. This has the effect of bending the surrounding area down slightly which makes the body filler portion of the repair work better. Then you cut some light-gauge sheet metal into shapes that will fill the hole, while sitting into the recess created by the hammering. Next, you apply a coat of Duraglas (fiberglass body filler) to the hole, insert your metal plates, and cover the whole works with another layer of Duraglas. After sanding, and re-filling any low spots with regular Bondo, it's ready for primer. —GP