Week #99

I've had time to ponder my lack of patients with the other quarter panel. I am now ready to graduate to a second quarter installation. I am bound and determined to get it on without too much warping.

The outer wheelhouse and trunk extension for this side have been trimmed, cut, whacked, punched, hammered, ground, sanded, fitted and cussed at to the point where they aren't going to fit any better. They go on with the same aligning and realigning process that the other side did. They somehow looked better than I remember the other side looking... maybe I'm just getting more comfortable with doing it.

This quarter still needed some overall trimming at the wheel lip and lower rear. That didn't take too long. After fitting and refitting (ARRG!) several times and making sure that all mating surfaces and areas that would receive weld or "spot" welds were clean of paint, I hung this side for the last time. After all clamps held it exactly where I wanted it, I started with my welds. This time I tried a trick that I remembered from the Video tape I got with my welder. I used the "weld time" and "pause time" controls to help me with controlling the heat. First I set the weld time for just long enough to get a good melted "spot" of weld. I had the pause set for an extended period of time. What this did was... I would line up for my weld and pull the trigger. As I held the trigger down, the welder would weld only for the predetermined period of time, then the arc would stop. The gas flow would continue after the welding stopped as long as I held the trigger. The gas would effectively cool the weld down much quicker that just quitting and in turn would greatly reduce the heat spreading out from the weld into the surrounding metal. I know this was working great because the spots that I tried without using this trick had visible "rings" around them showing that the metal around the weld got very hot... the "cooled" welds did not have these rings. I was tickled to death with this process. My confidence was way up along with my patience. I welded the entire panel using this technique and only "spots" of weld... no beads. The results was excellent. Although there was still some warpage, it was reduced to just small "ding" like dips every few inches. I don't think anyone with my experience could have done any better.

My bodyman came out to the house to see how I was doing. He had seen the first quarter before and while admitting that it was "a good bit warped", he says he's seen worse. As for this second attempt, he told me he hadn't seen too many done any better! That pat on the back was just what I need to get this thing finished!