New Member, New Polara

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More tub progress. Been rained out the last few days, next week is looking like rain too. Hopefully I can finish rattlecaning this thing before the rains start.

During monsoon season 2, I'm thinking I'll start fabbing the new footwell. I figure the best way to do it is pie cuts on a strip of metal already bent to the correct radius. I can also start blasting apart the LR corner too, as I need to fab most of it before the new floor goes in.

Not sure if i want to hit the spare wheel zone with the bedliner or not. Factory correct would be the silver, but grandpa had it painted black when the bodywork was done. Not sure.
Looking great!
 
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Trying to figure out the pie cuts on the footwell. Is there a better way to do this? This sucks.

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Also i was looking at the front stub frame mounting situation. Pretty bad.

So bad, I'm not even sure what i'm looking at here. We have a blind locating hole in the stub itself, which mates to a plate that appears to take the rotational resistance from the tortion bars. But it's so rotted out I can't tell.

It looks like it bolts straight to the rocker with two bolts perpendicular to the bracket. Is this a seperate piece I can take off, fab, and simply bolt back on?

Can anyone take a photo of that bracket on their car for me? I have no idea what i'm looking at now.

Though the actual main hard points the stub bolts to look okish, it looks like the front end is going to be as fun as the rear...
 
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This rebuild makes me wish I were close enough to come over and hand you tools and keep the shop cleaned up for you.
 
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Rattlecan restoration is going well. The cap matched well but it seems to turn out a little brighter than advertised. Close enough at least.

I think it's finally getting welded in this weekend. For realsies this time.

For what i've spent on spray paint, I should've just bought a compressor and spray gun. Might still do it for the main floor, I'm not sure.

Also remains the issue of the weld holes. Naieve me didn't expect to need the tubs and drilled out the welds fully. It makes more sense to repair the floor flange as that's easier to weld to. I'm not sure if it's less effort to plug weld fill each hole individually or to replace the flange whole cloth with 30 feet of weld. A rod for my own back either way.
 
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Good news: It's in!

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Bad news: It's in.

Missed one bit of tape and the whole thing's gotta come out again to get it.

Bleh.
 
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Got the tub in. It was a nasty fight this time, I think it warped when i welded in the final patch. So much for nice clean paint.

Just as well, apparently the undercoat is very flammable when welding near it. Oh boy.

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Totally forgot to weld this in before hand as well. Oops.

Kinda afraid to do the final weld now. Dreadful fear that something will go wrong and it'll be impossible to fix.

Wondering if I should sleep on it or just burn it in and just hope I inspected it enough.

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Also can anyone tell me if, on factory cars, this lip on the outer skin extends all the way to the wheel opening flange? It doesn't on the left side but that was also the work of the bodyshop so i'm not sure if that's how it's supposed to be.


Makes me wonder how these cars were assembled. The tub probably went in before the quarter panel was installed, but how on earth they could get a spot welder in there to do the quarter panel to rocker and door jam welds, I have no idea. Though if the tub went in after (and what a fight that is), how they got the door jam brace to tub, the outer rocker to tub welds or the D pillar to tub welds i have no idea.

I wonder if anyone on earth knows the answer to that now.
 
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Got the tub in. It was a nasty fight this time, I think it warped when i welded in the final patch. So much for nice clean paint.

Just as well, apparently the undercoat is very flammable when welding near it. Oh boy.

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Totally forgot to weld this in before hand as well. Oops.

Kinda afraid to do the final weld now. Dreadful fear that something will go wrong and it'll be impossible to fix.

Wondering if I should sleep on it or just burn it in and just hope I inspected it enough.

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Also can anyone tell me if, on factory cars, this lip on the outer skin extends all the way to the wheel opening flange? It doesn't on the left side but that was also the work of the bodyshop so i'm not sure if that's how it's supposed to be.


Makes me wonder how these cars were assembled. The tub probably went in before the quarter panel was installed, but how on earth they could get a spot welder in there to do the quarter panel to rocker and door jam welds, I have no idea. Though if the tub went in after (and what a fight that is), how they got the door jam brace to tub, the outer rocker to tub welds or the D pillar to tub welds i have no idea.

I wonder if anyone on earth knows the answer to that now.
I can’t help you with your questions. However, you know what the thing needs to look like and have enough experience in taking this apart that you should know how to make it right and last. Go get it done!
 
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Started cutting up the left wheel tub. Had to get back to dropping the tank.

Cut out all around it and started prying with the breaker bar against the panel seams. Enough force to bend the tank flange, inner quarter and filler neck head and that thing Still wouldn't come out.

Then I noticed that the filler neck is PVC plastic, not steel. The top was also painted over blue, meaning it was messsed with recently.


I think that body shop of hack frauds had to drop the tank, they messed up the filler neck, made a new one out of PVC and superglued it in place.

Not sure what to do. Try and find a sawsall with enough reach and cut the PVC? It ain't comin out any other way.
 
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Borrowed a buddy and his saw. Turns out the filler neck is not PVC, but fibreglass overtop of steel.

My guess is it was leaking or damaged, and they sealed it up with fibreglass. Even after significant violence it's still not coming out of the tank. With that much force no way it's just the grommet holding it on. I suspect it's now bonded to the tank via the fibreglass resin. Not sure how to get it off without damaging anything else.

inside of the quarter panel isn't good, but it isn't awful. Gonna be a dirty time cleaning it all up, oh boy.

Is there a source for the filler neck and grommet? I can't find anything.
 
No OEM replacement on there that i could find.

A hot roddy billet thing would be nice, but I am trying to keep this thing as factory as possible. I'd still need that super specific gasket though. Nothing left of the original.

Maybe wildcat has a new one, might ask them.
 
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