The '70 Vista Pro Tour Project

[ent72olds]

Nothing like factory sheetmetal!

[ent72olds]

A little more trimming and it will fit like a glove!

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Cut out the outer wheel house section last night and got it fitted and trimmed. It took a lot of test fitting not only the wheel house, but the qtr/wheel opening patch also just to make sure all lines and gaps lined up properly to the rear door. I spent a couple of hours doing this before I was happy and did my final trimming. My bro also media blasted both pieces in and out so we have fresh metal to work with. I hope to weld in the wheel house on Sunday.

[ent72olds]

I trimmed the donor piece bigger so I have room for error! I would fit it, put a couple of spot welds, fit the outer panel, check lines and gaps, then trace with a sharpie, the outline of the existing wheel house on the inside of the donor. I also traced the donor onto the existing just to show the amount I had to trim (for pics!). Then I would remove the donor panel and trim it. Then repeat the process until I was satisfied.

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By the end of the night we were happy with our progress. This weekend we will weld this in, then work on the patches on the inside of the spare tire well. After that, I will finish the outer panel...

[ent72olds]

I had to take the wheel house off one last time today to weld up all the holes created by cutting out the spot welds to separate the outer wheel house from the qtr on the donor! Before I did, I drew a couple of triangles here and there so I would have exact reference points for the last time! I didn't do it earlier because I like to do all my welding at the same time.......don't ask me why! I guess when I get in one gear, I like to stay in it!
Anyway, after doing that, I did get the outer welded on. Worked out excellent! Ground it down, and am now ready to move on to a couple of patches inside the spare tire well.

[ent72olds]

I butt welded the two together from the outside. It was just easier. I provided a couple of pics of what the inside looked like after the welding. My brother will clean these up during the week. I'll do a quick skim of polyester to clean it up, once primed and painted(possibly re-undercoated) you'll be able to reach in with your hand and slide your fingers inside the wheel opening and you'll never know there was a repair!

[ent72olds]

I figured I'd finish up anything on the inside before I weld on the outer panel. So we got the ole' wire wheel working again and what do you know! More swiss! Oh well, better to discover now than after it's finished...so I made up a bunch of patches. Hopefully weld these in tomorrow!

[ent72olds]

Started welding in some of the patches today! About three more to go and I can finally finish up the outer panel....

[ent72olds]

The more I weld, the less daylight I see....

[ent72olds]

Took a little break from the project. Welding was making me crazy! But when I went back, it still had to be done. So here we go...
When I last left off, I needed a couple more patches on the inside of the spare tire well, as well as plug welding a bunch of "new" holes that cropped up!

[ent72olds]

The more I weld, the less daylight comes through!

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After all of that, I decided to torture myself one last time, and pull back the support for the spare tire. The bottom was like everything else....rotten! So I cut the bad off and welded on a new base, but first I sand blasted behind and under it while I had access. You win again! More daylight! If I didn't take care of this area, it would be like taking a shower, and not washing your@#$%....so it was the right thing to do. We will all sleep better tonight!

[ent72olds]

I feel much better now!

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Yes, I know...all that work, and it gets buried by a spare and a cover! Well, I'm not done yet, it still needs a light coat of plastic, primer, and paint....

We now move to the outer panel! Horray for me. I feel like Michael Vick. I just got released, but still have that bracelet on my ankle!
After several test fits, I marked and trimmed the patch panel. I then made a patch for the patch panel...

[ent72olds]

After much more welding, I patched the patch panel. Put it in its final resting place, and spot welded it in (I'm butting the panels of course!). I will finish welding it up sometime this week! Then, a lot of grinding! Also, wear sunglasses when looking at these pics, I loaded all the hard to reach, never to be seen again places with corrosion protecting/weld through/ etch primer before install.....

[ent72olds]

Only daylight left is the seam to be welded!

[ent72olds]

I know this is beginning to seem like a repetetive thread, but I'm just trying to demonstrate, how much work goes into a job like this to do it correctly....I don't mean to bore anybody, but here we go....
I did not work on the car during the week or the weekend as I was busy around the house and my wife had to go out of town for a couple of days and I was left behind with my 2 girls. Some things are much more important!
Tonight I welded up the outside panel, inside the dogleg, started doing some grinding, and redrilled the holes for the molding. It took me about three hours to weld it up because I could only do a spot at a time and jump here and there, also giving plenty of cool down time in between, so as to minimize warpage. Came out pretty good! Here are some progress pics...

[ent72olds]

Here are a couple of inside pics....I covered the flash on the second pic to show where the light is coming through. I still need to weld under the spare tire well(you can see the seam) and spot weld around the wheel well(under the wheel opening molding). I did not feel like welding upside down tonight! The holes you see are the ones I drilled for the molding!

[ent72olds]

At least on this panel....I haven't been putting in too much time in the last few weeks. Trying to get MY VISTA roadworthy enough to make it to the Nats...anyway, all the grinding is now finished and I picked and filed a few other dents on this panel. This is the first panel we've run across on this car with any old bodywork in it! Pretty amazing....small amount at the top of the qtr. There was a major crease at the lower back of the panel that was "hidden" by the woodgrain. Fixed it up and put a foundation coat of fiberglass filler over the welds for a good base. I will now proceed with plastic and poly. I'll get the outer panel primed before moving in to do the inside area and the wheelwell. Here's where we are at!