First off, thank you all for the very kind words. It really does mean a lot to me and I do appreciate the words of wisdom from those who have a lot more of it than I!
Solomon, you were named appropriately! Thank you for your kind words. The key to your success in life (never measured in money, fame, or who is hanging on your arm) is; "I'm only 26...........there's so many skills that I don't know." If you can see this at your age, there is nothing that can defeat you! The more you learn, the more connections your mind will make. Whenever it needs to analyze an unfamiliar task, and how to accomplish it, you will then synthesize that information and the "trick" will come to you. I'm no wizard; just a guy who has spent a lifetime refusing to be defeated by an unfamiliar challenge. Many times you will be humbled by how little you know; especially when you take on a new project. Always face it with the upmost humility. Always "Empty your cup." It is the only way anyone can put something in it, including you!
Also, never let your thirst for knowledge go dry. Expand that thirst to include knowledge of others, but more importantly, knowledge of yourself. Don't only do what you love; love what you do.
You are fortunate to have your dad working with you. My dad could work with wood and electronics, but had no interest in cars or steel. For years, he could not see any value in getting his hands soiled. He later learned to appreciate that not being afraid to end up with a mess on your hands better prepares you for cleaning one up when it becomes necessary. It better prepared me to care for him when he was no longer able to care for himself.
If you have any questions please ask them. If I cannot answer them I am sure someone who visits this post can. There are many out there who will embrace and mentor you. Also, stop in and see me if you are in the Charleston S.C. area, and bring your dad with you. I would like to complement him. Bobby
Bobby, I will make sure to take your words to heart. I truly believe that there is nothing that can't be accomplished if one takes their time and puts in the effort to work through any difficulties and of course, approaches things with an open mind. I absolutely love learning and if I had all the time and money in the world I could never satisfy the thirst to learn more. I've always said that although I went to school for engineering (working in Powertrain Development/Calibration at Ford, funny enough) I would be happy to do just about anything from history and archaeology, to pure math, to any kind of skilled trade or labour. To me, just about everything is interesting and even if at face value someone else may see it as not having any value, I never take it for granted.
My grandfather reminds me of your father - he was an electrician by trade and could build or fix just about anything but when it came to anything like metalworking or fixing a car he never cared for it. He was a smart man and definitely had the skill to do so, just never did and I'm not sure anyone truly knows why. Given that, my dad was never exposed to that type of work (metalworking, cars, etc.) and so although he is equally as handy as my grandfather, he too never delved into the car/metal side of things either despite always being interested in it and having a love of cars.
Growing up as a child, I always asked to help with anything my dad did and he was happy to oblige. I've learned a lot from him over the years and continue to do so on a regular basis. Being in love with cars, trains, planes, and the like growing up (cars and trains especially, but trains do not a practical hobby make!) meant I always wanted a project car and when I was 19 (and not having ever wrenched on a real car before) we picked up the Malibu as our (then-drivable) project car. Since then I've had a ton of experience working on and rebuilding cars both on my own and with/for friends and also through the Formula SAE team that I was part of in university. In that time period (18/19 till now) I also learned to use a mill/lathe/etc. and took a welding course as well. That being said, most of the work we're doing on the Malibu still makes me feel like I know nothing as there's just so much I/we've never done before and we're both learning a ton as we go. There are some helpful resources online but at the end of the day the best way to learn is by doing it!
On that topic, I will take you up on your offer and ask some questions. As I mentioned, we are restoring the Malibu now. We've got it gutted to a bare body on the frame and are in the process of stripping the paint and getting the car down to bare metal. It will need some body work and so I was wondering the following:
- How do you know where to cut the original panel(s) so that you don't remove too much material and don't remove too little? Do you just cut out a smaller portion than needed and then slowly enlarge it to fit the replacement panel?
- What are some good tips/techniques for making sure the body panels line up, especially with the reproduction parts?
- Are clecos only useful for overlapping panels or can they be used for **** joints as well and if so, how does one effectively implement clecos in that scenario?
- When welding the replacement panel/patch in, I know it is very important to be careful of how much heat you put into the metal so as not to warp it; do you usually just do a tack at a time spaced out and just go around the panel hundreds of times filling in the spots or do you do something more akin to a stitch weld where you do a small section (maybe 1/2"?) at a time in spaced out intervals around the panel? Also, any tips on welding the panels in?
- What did you find to be the best method for removing the old paint/material/seem sealer/etc. from the car? We have a biofriendly paint stripper (from Eastwood) that works alright but only goes so far. Is a twisted wire cup too harsh or is it fine? We've used wire wheels and the cups a bit in certain areas of the car but not extensively at this point. I have no intention of using any kind of grinding or sanding disk (flap disk for example) as it will be way too easy to remove material.
We will be taking the repaired body to a professional shop for the priming and painting as we do not have an adequate space to do so ourselves and I'm not quite sure I want the first car I try painting to be this one (I've got other project cars for that).
As for coming out to Charleston, I would love to! I don't know if my old man has much interesting in heading out that way but flights aren't too expensive from Detroit, so maybe I'll have to come out to check out the shop and maybe spend a weekend learning from you!
Also, if you ever do end up in Detroit (where I live now/during the week) or in Toronto (where I'm from and where I spend most weekends) please let me know as I would love to buy you a beer and talk shop.
Whew...that ended up a lot longer than I expected...
- Salomon
