The Stovebolt Site Forums Project Journals Project Journals 1949 Chevy Panel Truck

Panel Step & Gaps

I went ahead and routed the hard brake lines but I didn't take any pictures since it was pretty straightforward. Then I decided to start the long dreaded panel alignment task and tightening up all the gaps and steps.

The front sheet-metal was hung but the steps and gaps were not too good. So I pulled the front sheet-metal off and then started the process of realigning it all per the guidelines on this site and several other sources. I fiddled with it on one Saturday and still didn't like it. Then I tried again the next weekend and got the hood so-so and the left fender pretty good to the hood but the right fender wasn't acceptable. Then the next weekend I tackled the RH fender again. I pulled it off and had to plug some of the holes in the cowl and re-drill them. The RH fender looked better but there is more work to do but I decided to step away from it for a bit. I think I will need to do a little cutting and welding to get it to an acceptable level.

In the meantime I had ordered a stud gun so to change things up I worked on the LH panel behind the door and in front of the rear fender. When I welded in the repair panel the welding caused it to shrink along the weld. The deepest spot looked to be about ¼” deep. I went as slow as I could and jumped around while welding it but the long relatively flat area shrunk on me anyway and has bugged me since.

I cleaned off the primer in the area and welded on the studs and started pulling from the outside toward to the center of the recess. I got it pulled out to within about 1/32 of an inch of being flat and with the contour of the panel shouldn't require more than about 1/8” of filler in a small local area. I still need to massage the area next to the door jamb but I think I will need to slit it and re-weld it to get it to pull properly. I'm gonna wait until the door is all aligned and rigged before I address that area. I started working the LH door (that has aftermarket hinges...oh joy) so that will be my next task.