Body Work Time!

With the headers completed, it is time to turn my attention to the body and prep for paint. Stripping out all of the old body work has been a HUGE chore. The Bondo was more than an inch think in places. I even found it where there was no damage to the panel.

Clearing away the Bondo also revealed where the wagon has been hit in both quarters previously, worse so on the passenger's side. All of that is being straightened out to minimize the amount of filler that has to go back in.

There is some rust to repair, but overall not too bad. 3 out of four doors have the obligatory hole in the corner where the drain plugged, trapping dirt and water, and eventually leading to rust. Both rockers at the back suffered the same fate for the same reason. This has also caused damage to the inner wheelhouse which will also need repair. In one of the photos you can see a close-up of where I have removed the entire corner.

I am fabbing a new inner and outer at this location, and likely will for the other side, too. You can also see that this door has had the corner repaired already. "New" metal (from the roof of a Fairlane I parted out) has been welded in where the rusty metal had been removed. A little filler, and it will blend right in to the rest of the door.

A lot of the paint has been removed, and there is a lot left to go, but each time I work on it now, I feel the project moving forward. I can almost picture it done now!