> The problem being that I'm doing this in my garage, no torches, no
compressor
> or air tools. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to accomplish this
with a minimal
> of damage to the other body panels. I will be doing the same for the front
valance.
The way I did it on my Spitfire was to drill out the spot welds all
along the seams. I used one of those high-tech bits that cuts a flat
hole. It seemed to work best with a bit just slightly larger than the
weld. The idea is to cut through just one of the panels with the bit,
but I guess it wouldn't matter if you went all the way through.
Once you have all of the welds drilled out, you may have to melt some
brazed joints with a torch. A propane torch would probably suffice if
an oxy/acetylene torch isn't available. Then it is just a matter of
gently prying the panels apart. If you have drilled all the welds out
completely, you won't even need a chisel.
Because of the point on these bits, there was a small hole in one panel
and a larger one in the other. This is actually desirable because you
can use this hole when welding in the new panel. Once you have the
panels lined up, start your weld in the center of a hole and work you
way out to the edges. Since you're starting the weld on the panel on
the backside and ending up on the front panel, a good weld is ensured.
Hope it works for you as well as it did for me.
Good luck,
Mike
mburdick@uncm.edu
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