9:40 PM – just came in… Got started on the center section patch in the wrecked, lower RH corner this morning around 11:00 after taking care of emails and parts orders. Stopped for 15 minutes at 3:00 for a bolw of Raisin Bran, then again at 6:00 for 1/2 an hour for dinner. Otherwise, it took all day to fabricate and weld in this patch. A good deal of that time was spent bolting the new wing and lower valance off and on repeatedly, as well as flipping the bonnet over (and over and over and over…)
Charlie came over this evening to TIG the patch into place. We took turns doing the welding – it was a combination of him welding some, and him screaming into my ear over my shoulder while I welded some… This is how people of the older generation who really know their stuff “teach” their craft. At one point, I had to stop welding – not so much because of the abuse itself, but because I couldn’t stop laughing! To be fair, and in full disclosure, this is also how I teach…
He also welded a new flange to the bottom of the LH wing where it was cut off when removing the lower valance, but also damaged beyond repair any way… The mess and contamination down there made this weld “probably the worst I’ve ever had to deal with” in his words. The problem here was paint and bondo still sandwiched between multiple layers of aluminum down in that corner.
The center section patch was a BIG hurdle. This took quite a bit of figuring pout and fitting, but now it SHOULD be smooth sailing from here. The best part is that if we HAD to, we could bolt the pieces together and bolt them on the car right now – just getting that far is a pretty big deal for this bonnet.
NOTE: The camera was unfortunately on some crazy setting for several of these shots, and they loaded into the computer just almost solid black. Luckily, iPhoto has this “enhance” feature that essentially brought them back, but they still look weird. Sorry about that…
