First, I had to create the sheet metal replacements. This required creating paper templates, cutting, bending and fitting eight pieces of 18 gauge sheet metal. This took a lot of patience and a lot of time! This is also where the Shrinker/Stretcher came into real play. I was able to create the pieces that would become the new rear window frame, and the back trunk edge with these tools. Pretty fun to use too!
After I got the pieces fabricated, I started the assembly process by prepping the exiting body. There were some holes that needed to be welded closed first, so I took care of that. Then I started assembly. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves:
You will notice in the following pictures that the upper window frame is in and I built up a fillet to match the shape of the body. Again, not the best welding, but this will be covered in a thin coat of body filler, so it will look fine when done.
