Imperial Home Page -> Imperials by Year -> 1973 -> Kerry's Restoration -> Part 5
Last chapter, I was preparing to weld on the front patch panel. I have a small Miller Mig welder. Mig (Metal Inert Gas) is wire fed from a spoon and is either gas shielded or flux cored. I use gas. Most anyone can Mig weld.
I have already ground down the welds using a 4 inch grinder. The entire process took less than 20 minutes to weld the patch in and grind it down. Now all I have to do is feather the paint back a little and apply the plastic filler. The filler will be just a skim coat because the metal work is actually very good. I could nearly do without the filler but life is way too short. Nothing wrong with a LITTLE filler if done correctly. You will see that later.
This falls into the 'no guts...no glory' category. After studying the rear fender damage for a while I decided to just replace the side panel where the majority of the damage is. The lower rocker has a small dent but pushing it out will be easier than trying to cut off all the spot welds where it is fastened to the wheel well and inner rocker panel. Besides, if I do it right, I can have the weld under the side trim.
About 3 cutting wheels later it is all opened up. Dang, what a hole. I hope I know what I think I'm doing! Time will tell I suppose.
While I'm getting ready to weld the rear patch in, I looked at the door. Apparently the 'tree' hit the front fender and he jerked the wheel. As the car rocked it missed the front door and came back in to clip the rear door handle before laying waste to the rear fender. It is obvious from the photo that the handle was pushed in. The handle seems 'loose' and at first I thought it was damage but the other rear door is the same. I'm not sure what I will do. I have a spare door from the parts car but this one is soooooo much nicer. I'll probably just fix it. I have the door panel off and can get to the damage pretty well.
In getting ready to weld, I needed to pull all the trim clips.
Kerry's '73 Restoration Saga Main...
This page was last updated on 08/22/01. Please email me any comments at pinkertonk@bigfoot.com
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