Floor Pans and Welder

While I would not blame either reader for being skeptical of claims that major progress is being made on the Ghia, I am happy to report that I have proof that more--much more actually--than mere contemplation of the task is being done.

...and with them.

The frame without the pans...

In fact, the arrival of the new body pans and a welder to put them in with means that I am now officially putting this thing back together. I know, I said this when assembling the front end, and that was the actual beginning of the rebuild, but this represents a major step forward in the process.

Looks good...

...but it's just an illusion.

It seems that each piece of the refurbishing process is going to cost me about $300, and this was no exception. The two body pans together, delivered from California, cost about $350. I took care to order quality parts, but I was surprised at how thin the metal actually is. I shouldn't be because I can recall how easy it was to bend back the old rusted pans when cutting them out, but I attributed some of that to the poor condition of the metal.

The fit on the inside front...

...and the back inside corner.

Now I see that the floor pans are actually stamped out of a very thin sheet of steel, which would not even support my weight if it were not welded in on one side and bolted to the frame on the other. Interesting, too, how it is that such thin and easily bent bits of metal come together to form a rigid and solid structure. Of course trying to keep the weight down without sacrificing structure is another challenge faced by the designers, and seeing how that is done is always interesting to me.

Outside front...

...and the back.

In any case, I took the two new panels and set them into the spaces intended for them, expecting the worst in terms of fit, but I was very pleasantly surprised. Both sides easily fit, and although there is some adjustment needed, it is a comfort to know that it will just take some patience and a few hours with the grinding wheel to get them to fit exactly.

After that, the real challenge begins: welding.

Now, I have long claimed to be a welder, based on the fact that I worked in that capacity just out of high school for a little over a year. Now a quick calculation by the eager reader will yield a number of years that have passed since I last held a welding torch, but I am sure it's like every other skill I've mastered over the years (like pitching a baseball and putting the eight-ball in the corner pocket at the end of the game) and will come back to me instantly and without flaw.

The welder: 90amp flux core wire MIG

Well, ok, I will need a little practice, but only because I have only one chance to get this right.  If I burn a hole through one of the panels, if I don't completely ruin it, it'll only take that much more skill to fix. I bought a welder for this task, but it's not a very big one, and I am a bit concerned that it's not up to the task.  There's no way to really tell until I get to working on it.  While I think I could benefit from a more expensive welder, I think that just being careful and using the tool correctly will make it possible.

Back to Work!

Well, after a three-month hiatus, I finally got back to work on the Ghia this week.  Of course, my excuse has been two-fold: the heat and Valery's absence conspired to prevent me from lifting even a wrench for a dozen weeks or more, so the progress I had been enjoying until June simply ground to a halt.

Much to the relief of both readers of this blog, cooler temperatures and Valery's return have likewise combined to get me back out in the garage and get some grease under my nails.  Though the going is still slow, it is at least going again.

After weeks of cleaning...

...it's as clean as I intend to get it

I picked up pretty much where I left off on the rear end.  The transmission was nearly cleaned when I stopped working, so that's the first thing I tackled.  The surface of the cast aluminum transmission case is very complex, so after a few days of buffing and working it over with a brush, steel wool and some bits of sandpaper, I deemed it 'clean enough' and proceeded to paint it.

Masked and ready for paint.

A nice coat of high-heat black.

Before I could paint it, I had to drain the transmission fluid, both to prepare it for refurbishing and to make sure that there was no metal in the fluid.  This required a trip to the oil change shop up the street to dump out the oil in my container first.  The whole process is a complicated one, with a lot of steps depending on the previous one, and this was no exception.  Once the fluid was drained I repainted the transmission case with some high-temperature black paint and set the whole thing aside, ready for re-installation at last.

A driveaxle ready to be rebuilt.

The universal joint and cover.

Next I turned my attention to the driveaxles.  Having removed them months earlier with a special tool, I knew that these would be among the dirtiest jobs I would have left to deal with, so I left it till last, of course.

The grease is thick and dirty.

Marked for rebuilding.

The driveaxles didn't let me down in the dirty department.  Although the grease was dirty, it was mostly viscous and it seemed like the universal joints were going to be re-usable.  After removing the boot collar and the circlip that held the u-joint to the driveshaft, it was a fairly simply matter to drive the u-joint off the shaft.  I put the whole u-joint into some solvent to break up the grease, then proceeded to break it down into the various components: two races, six ball bearings and the a pivoting ball that attaches to the driveshaft splines.

It's hard to tell if this is ok.

A soak in the solvent.

The first universal joint looked ok with all that dirty grease on it, but as soon as I cleaned it up, I discovered that it was no longer serviceable.  Deep pits had formed in the races where the ball bearings had come loose and were banging back an forth.  Although the bearings looked good, it was clear as soon as they fell out that the tolerances were too loose.  The part cots about $75 to replace and there are four of them, so I'd like to re-use them if possible, but they can't be refurbished if the tolerances are too loose.

The bearings look good.

The second u-joint looked very good, and I will be able to re-use it without a problem.  When I tackle the other driveaxle, though, I will find out if I have to buy just another pair of joints or a whole new set of four.

I don't want to put such an important part back in the car unless it works perfectly, and like tires and other parts that come in pairs and quads, it's best to make sure they are all the same, or as close to it as possible.  It doesn't make much sense to come this far and put damaged parts back on the car, so it looks like I will just spend the money and replace all four.

Once step at a time, however.  Next up will be that other driveaxle.