Thread: Reference book for body work / restorations

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I'm looking for a reference book to help me with my project.

Basically a "How-To" guide to help plan out what to do first and what to think about in an ordered process. I have no major desire to buy stock in gallons of Bondo, so the really bad body panels will be removed and replaced, the interior will be more like a race car / hot rod rather than a total "back to original" restoration. I need information on suspension upgrades, how to fabricate metal to fit larger tires in the rear. Things along those lines.

I'm ready to bust knuckles and get bloody!

Thanks for you input!

when i wanted to learn how to do body work back 35 years ago to work on my 34 ford i went to the library and pickup all the books i could find and learned .you should know the basic stuff and common sense go s a long way .i hang out at the skill center so i seen what not to do or if turned out good hey i may want to do it that way that works better.. .. there is a lot of hand sanding in body work and knowing how much to sand and when to stop . before you get in to some of the power tools .i did it for a living .when i started i was shooting lacquer paint on new car s .if a over all then most of the time they were enamels with hareders over the years the paint and primers did get better but not good for your health so you need to watch what your doing with this stuff and know what your breathing and more or less eatting.it may not be to bad to take a class to learn how to do body work .you may want to pay someone that knows how to hang new body sheet metal the stuff that needs to be welded in paint store may know some guys that could help you or you may find some guys at car shows .for some it is not easy some never get good at it . i help teach on how to do this stuff. the guys that are good keep trying till they get the desired finsh. some guys are good with metal work some with finsh. so its many fields all rolled in to one

What Pats says is so true. Bodywork is something that you just don't do halfass. Welding in new metal is the best way to fix the body.That way you aren't using tons of bondo. But prepping the body for paint is 95% of the job. If the body is not done correctly, the paint job will show it.

Welding sheet metal is an art! One second too much and you have a hole twice as big to fill. Also easy to warp a panel with too much heat. Small little quick tacks with the mig welder will teach you a whole new meaning to taking it slow! Little dings aren't too bad, but 50 or a hundred in one panel can make you nuts getting an even finish for painting which is where I am at now. There are some good hammer and dolly sets for relatively cheap prices, that you can get a Harbor Freight, etc..., that you'd be surprised how quick you can pound back dents and dings with. I bought a book to follow on the steps to paint and car and one on restoring old trucks. There was some useful information, but ultimately I found most of the references to products, etc., out of date. Google searches on specific subjects will get you a wealth of info. There are some great youtube videos on welding sheet metal and body work, as well as paint spraying techniques. There are people here versed in all of the above, which is also helpful.
There are some great threads here on car builds, that follow logical sequences to building a car. Don's project 3k thread is one worth reading from start to finish and has been very helpful to me. My thread on the other hand is a great example of bumbling my way through my first project, getting distracted along the way! My approach way collecting parts I needed for the engine rebuild, while doing body work, rust removal, etc.
If you have the space and tools and a helper, taking the body off the frame and starting on the frame seems the way to go. Hope some of this is helpful,
and what Pat and the others have already said is very important, be mindful of what you may be inhaling, some of the paints and chemical as well as sanding dust can mess your lungs, eyes and skin up in a hurry.

I've bought a bunch of Vidoes from Ron Covell-he is a Metal Master-

http://www.covell.biz/videos.htm

I especially liked "Basic Techniques for Working with Steel"-it will help you to understand how to take out Dents and make Patch Panels-

And don't forget to join MetalMeet-

Thanks for the tips guys. I have been watching shows for years and they make it look so easy. I know how difficult it can be. I realize the body work is a lot of work and that's why I'm thinking replacing full panels may be more cost/time effective than spending hours and hours trying to get it perfect. I figure I can practice welding in the areas that won't show like the floor pans. I really don't think I would be able to weld a patch panel in without it looking fugly, but I won't know until I try. I do use my hands a lot in my daily job.

The guy I borrowed the trailer from to bring the car home today does custom painting and some body work but I don't know how much.

The car is gutted and I vacuumed it out tonight. Tomorrow I will clean it up and hose it off before bringing it into the garage for storage.

One of my former employees brother has a towing and body shop business where we used to live - too bad I'm not closer!

Wayne this will be a cool project. I love that year and body style. You should post a build thread, with lots of pictures for those of us who love them!

you might want to take a welding course at a local junior college or trade school as anything in auto building will someplace require some welding

If you are going to build a car---first the type of car and end presentation---
Next the wheels and tires that you want to use--front and rear suspensions so the wheel/tire will fit under the car---frame mods to allow that---

NOW LISTEN CLOSELY---after you get your frame set up you will want to support it level either on the suspension OR at THREE points so there is no twisting force on it---now as you work on the body and work with door gaps,etc you will have the car look like it is when its on the suspension on the ground and your wheels/tires will fit

Thanks for the tips Jerry!

I am going to look into a welding course because otherwise I think I may be spending a ton of money here. The guy I borrowed the trailer from does body work and custom painting and he said I should look for something else. I'm not sure if he just meant that it's a lot of work and time to pay someone to do it. The parts don't look like they are a lot of money. I could be wrong though as I have never done this before and I am probably overlooking a lot of things. I may need someone else to get it ready for paint but the basic welding I should be able to do. I have heard that welds in body panels are hard to get just right also. I know that if you paint it you can't cover bad work.

I will start researching body panel prices and see what I'm in for.