Needing to replace a rusted out tail panel on 1968 Firebird? check this out! 😯
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 13 ต.ค. 2024
- 1968 Firebird Restoration-Replacing the rusted out or damaged tail panel has some challenges but completely possible, in this video we finish removal and show how to get a clean and tight fitment of aftermarket panels.
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Jon Forehan VVG
6870 west Washington street
Indianapolis IN 46241
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You are giving me motivation..i took my 69 apart..dianognose with cancer..so i took a long break...i have it since 1980..i have all the parts in my shed.
I think it’s the perfect time to get started.
About time for the Safety equipment Jon. Very happy for whatever reasons motivated you, they have,.
Thanks 👍
Last piece and one of the most important! if it's off it ruins the whole back end. Great work as always.
Yes sir very critical for how the car looks when it is passing all the slower cars on the road. Lol Thanks buddy
Great job, thanks for all the little tips! You make it look very doable for us non body men.
Thanks, sharing the love and knowledge hoping to take some of the mystery out of this stuff
Thank you! Watching this series.
You’re a great teacher.
Much appreciated,
Love these cars and enjoying sharing the experience. Thanks for finding us.
really like watching your videos, i have a 67 and just bought a 69 firebird, what did i get myself into? ill get to it somtime soon. ill keep watching
I ask myself that same question, what did I get into this time. And it’s never the same thing wrong with each car I have built
Had no troubles with the AMD rear panel, and your panel looks like a good fit.
I am really liking the fitment of the body panels on this build they are coming out much better then I anticipated, normally I have ratchet straps, pry bars, wood blocks and a big hammer to persuade turn into shape but this one very little effort.
Great work, The Great Pumpkin is really coming along. You really do make this process look easy. I cant wait so see this bird fly again.
Thanks buddy I will say this one went together better then the ones I did before as for body gaps and alignment, not sure if it’s AMD panels, luck, or just getting better at doing them. Either way I will take it! Gotta save them birds
Great work!
I think so too!
fantastic work! Great detail with dissection..
Hope this helps anyone that wants to replace body panels. Get a little insight.
Excellent explanation and detail showing how you cut out the old panel. I was contemplating how I was going to do that on mine. Now I know. Thanks.
fantastic and you are welcome! some people prefer drilling the spot welds, because using an air hammer can easily destroy the panels so use caution and move slow. I don’t like drilling because of the holes it leaves behind can get large and hard to weld. either way gets the job done I suppose.
Great job
Thank you! Getting closer to no more
Metal work
Wow great work I would love to have you to replace both rear quarter on my 69 camaro
Thanks, wish I could just do this all day for a living.
@@VinylVillageGarage👍
thanks for doing these videos! im just getting ready to restore a 68 bird , I have a question about the tail panel..
I got this car and the Right rear quarter is completely taken off at the seam and the tail panel is gone. I have the old quarter (removed) still but no old tail panel. My question is without having your old tail panel in place like you did what order would you go in ? I have inner tail ,trunk drop offs, tubs still to do yet and plan on doing both quarters. Do I do everything and put the new tail panel in last after both quarters are happy ?
That’s a lot. Let’s start with the outer tail is the last piece installed. Then other than that the process I use is assemble the car with self tapping screws any place that would have been spot welded and basically put the car together and inspect gaps and measurements side to side then when happy remove outer layers and start welding it together and keep confirming measurements as you go.
Well, this particular video bring up an old wound for me. In all my “first fittings”, I got very discouraged with a very poor fitment in this area. Everything was bad- but my worst dilemma is where you had a finger fitting between your tailpanel and inner tailpanel, mine was/is worse. Pulling them together with the bumper bolts results in a bowing of the tailpanel. Plus, I have a very wide gap at the bottom of the tailpanels that with have to be addressed. I delayed further exploration and resolve on this area a bit while I do some mental recovery on it.Lots of work ahead! So if you have any suggestions, I’m all ears and eyes!👍
Needless to say, your procedure is enlightening and encouraging for me to dive back in!
interesting you also have an issue with the gap. I was honestly a bit concerned when saw mine but pleasantly surprised when I pulled it together and it fit nice. why yours has a gap that sounds worse is a good question. i have done several 1969 trunk pans and never had any gap at all. this is actually my first 1968 full trunk pan install so now I am curious why these fit so differently. even more if anyone else had the same issues.
sure could use that frame trunk thingamagig, for my start need new trunk and floor. bought a 69 from ohio and had it shiped site on seen, im in michigan big mistake!! but atleast i can say i got one.
Sorry that car wasn’t the gem but good news everything is available to repair it when you decide to
Have thought about getting a body saw? They work great when doing this work.
I keep forgetting I just bought one like a month ago! I need to get it out and break it in.
Gap 👍
Thanks!! I really feel it worth the time to get them dialed in, really makes the finished product stand out.
Looks more like The Great Suction from where I'm sitting. What if your quarter panels are on and they won't com back together. There ant no tree for the come along neither. Rachet strap? still need one more inch.
I use ratchet straps all the time to pull the car together. The drain holes in the trunk floor work as a great anchor for some of the pulls too.
Deck lid inside provisions are for 69’ T/A spoiler?
The 1969 trunk decks have holes stamped out in the inner panel for access for the mounting hardware if it’s a spoiler attached to the deck lid.
My OER was the same on those corners.. honestly I think they were filled in with seam sealer from the factory when I cut them out.
Interesting, appreciate you letting me know. 👍
Looking good! So are you heading to the Trans Am Nationals over here in Ohio next week?
of course we absolutely will be there all day Saturday and Sunday. I will be driving the Transmaroado this year
now i question i have reguarding the tail panel and quarters. i am at the point in the restoration on my dad 69 bird that they are going to be going on. my dad seems to think the tail panel should go on first before the quarters. i think otherwise. what do you think?
also regaurding the quarters.. need some advice making the quarters fit the wheel wells and the "b" pillar so to speak. just lots of clamps/screws and make it work or is there a better way?
thanks for sharing and the help!
Question regarding 1/4 panel install. The 1/4s go on first then the tail panel. If you go the other way there is no way to weld the the trunk drop off to the 1/4 panel behind the lower tail panel. With the tail panel out of the way that area can be welded.
Second question, test fitting is critical and clamps are good but in some cases I use 1” wide ratchet straps at differ angles to pull the car back into shape. As you well know you probably saw the panels shift as you cut the car apart so it only makes sense you might need a way to pull it back together. Before welding into place
@@VinylVillageGarage thank you regarding the quarter question.
well we are building a car from the ground up so there really isnt any original metal to work with unfortunately. so no shifting to deal with. just aftermarket metal i need to somehow make work. some of the stampings on the quarters are not great. one spot has a wide gap, in the striker area theres extra metal. you know how it can be.
Hey john, i need both my rear quarter replaced on my 68 firebird convertible. My car has a new top, do i need to remove it? Is it salvageable if i do? Or can it be left on. Any help would be appreciated.
Couple thoughts the top can be removed as assembly, the factory service manual shows how. And reinstalled just the same. You could also just unbolt it from the body around the well and leave the top frame intact. And just mask off the top with welding blankets.
@VVG Firebird Restoration Station thanks john ill ask the guy doing them if thats ok. I just spent 1200 puting it on and dont wanna pay that again! Thanks man, have a great day!
Jon, can you divulge what size wire your Mig welder has? Is it .023 or .030", or do you change wire size depending on the panel thickness? I'm having trouble with the Mig welder I'm using and it has .030", but my problems might be welder hardware related. Getting a lot of popping and blow-throughs, which is making the workload twice as much. Thank you!
Glad to help. I use .030 for just about everything. Now with that said i have learned that is not the norm. Sheet metal .023 is the norm. I am self taught and just learned how to make it work great with .030 so it can be done. With that said I know it’s possible. Might be Down to technique or settings and that stuff comes with time or work with an experienced welder to dial it in for different gages of metal. For me the sound of the weld tells me everything.
Second thought how close to Indy are you?
@@VinylVillageGarage A friend that is a really good welder recommended .023" wire for my trunk panel. I forged ahead with the .030", but my inexperience plus possible welding machine issues has turned this panel replacement into a headache. Not to mention I made mistakes trimming the new panel too much and leaving gaps I am trying to fill with welding rod or patch pieces from the excess scrap. I have a lot of grinding and feathering to knock down the popcorn welds, but still have about 25% more welding to do.
Second thought answer. Not very close. Houston. And the car is not running yet. Decided to fix the body work first, then move on to mechanical. I will push on and get it done, it's just going to take longer than I thought. Character building exercise I suppose. Thank you for the help!
Hey first off you are going down a road most won’t even start to travel so you are off to a good start. When I welded my first car up thank goodness for plastic body filler! I was a hack but I was doing my best. I could only blow holes and destroy panels. Time and trying different things seems to work for me.
How does your welder set up by voltage or letters? For heat
Miller welder set it 15-16v 170 wire speed
My Eastwood welder Almost D for temp and 4 wire speed setting for like 19g sheet metal that is a starting point and dial in from there
@@VinylVillageGarage I'm using a Miller 240 (I think). It has digital readouts and a chart for material thicknesses. The chart says 15V and 180 speed. I changed it to 14 (the lowest setting) and 170 based om how things were going. I really think the welding machine has wore out guides, contacts, or something else going bad. I'm going to try to find another welder and try it (before biting the bullet and buying the Eastwood 180). Thanks again Jon!
No problem
What not a single red brick used?????????? lol
Yeah, bum took the day off!
No brick!!! The world is ending! 🤣
Actually the brick is napping on the roof in the very beginning of the video.