Cruzin Illusions Secret Build for Dad

When a car is media blasted all the bondo goes away to reveil what you truely have. There is some places that will need work. Starting at the front. The engine bay aprons where the fender mount to, have a couple areas that will need to be cut out and replaced. (I should be able to make those at work but was told they are the same as a 65 mustang???) The front floors have some pitting and have a few holes. I plan on changing them out with 65-70 mustang floor pans that I will modify to fit. The Toe boards also have rust and I will probably have to modify the early mustang toe boards to get that fixed. The left side looks good all the way back except for the typical rust holes on the lower rear quarter. There is some damage at the rear wheel well in skin but I should be able to straighten it. The right rear was hit and repaired previously. I will be changing the right side rocker and rear quarter. If I can find a right rear inner wheel well tub I will change that out also. For the most part the car is really straight and clean. For a car 37 years old I really could not ask for more.

As for parts off the car the right side door is not original and has been pulled and repaired. I am undecided if I am going to look for another door or try to fix this one. The left front fender has some small rust hole in the lower portion. My brother is going to look at one today. Hopefully it is straight and rust free. The funny part is I thought that was a clean fender when I got it but it defiantely had some filler in it.

I would say that getting parts that are not as described and damaged parts do to shipping my biggest disapointment. I will have a fire sale on parts that didn't fit the expectations of what I want to put into this car.

 

looks gud!!!!

let me know when cuz i just got done finishing a bunch of them. so they are back in stock again!

 

I just wanted to give everyone an update on the progress of the Maverick. I started on the body work this week. I figured I would just start at the front and work my way back. I decided to tackle the rust through areas on the top portion of the aprons. I cut out the damage and took measurements of the thickness of sheetmetal I would need to fabricate ane replace the pieces.

First I cut the spot welds out and cut out the damage:




The bottom portion damage was cut out seperate from the top sheetmetal to only remove the amount needed.

I then fabricated the lower sheetmetal repair pieces:





After Priming the edges that were going to be covered up with over lapping sheetmetal, I tack welded the pieces in place:





After I completely welded the lower pieces in place, I ground down the welds and block sanded them flat. I then fabricated the top sheetmetal repair pieces, primered then with weldable primer, welded them in, ground them down, and block sanded them flat.

 

I did drill 4 to 5 5/16th hole in each of the top pieces and rosette welded them in to act like the factory spot welds. I finished both sides and I feel that they came out pretty decent:









I had a couple of low spots that I will fill in with All Metal. I estimate that it will not be any thicker than 1/32nd deep. I wish I was better at getting the weld filled down so I would have zero filler of any kind.

 

That looks really good.

 

A friend of mine that did body work for a living came over to show me how to work the hail damage that is on the car. He showed me some tricks using a micro torch and it seems to be working well. We are getting the dents out and will have to use very little filler if any. The way he works the torch and the metal fill leaves close to or no damage remaining.









We did not get the entire roof done so Don will be back to help finish it up.

I will start on cutting out the battery apron damage tomorrow. We will see if my airline sheetmetal skills will be good enough to form a new battery area piece to weld in.

 

I emailed you my contact information because I am starting to get fed up with looking for a straight/rust free grabber hood. I just got back from driving 4 hours to see a supposed rust free/straight grabber hood. It had a rust hole on the forward lip, alow spot in the center of the hood were it looks like there was a carb fire that made the center portion of the roof sag, dents from the lower side out from the hood being closed on something, and it was buckled at the safety point on the frame to the point it was cracked. It was a black hood so the damage did not show up in the pictures. I believe my dad would want a metal grabber hood but I am afraid that I will be wasting money on buying hoods that are not up to par with what I want to put on this car. I have learned with fenders and lower valances that not everyone has the same way of looking at things. The guys on here are pretty straight when it comes to how a part is but then the parts are usually damaged in shipping. I can not wait to get past the body pieces and start buy smaller parts that are not prone to shipping damage. Back on topic: You are a sure bet to get a great hood that is straight and rust free I was looking into the hood that is located in California under the sale section but still worry about shipping damage.

Maverickman just give me a call and I will get you payment.

 

WOW!!! If you pay that much attention to an area that will not even be seen....I can't wait to see the rest of the work you do on the car. Great job!!!

 

Great work! Having just completed rebuilding all of my aprons and supports myself I know how tedious and time consuming it can be. I would loved to have started with metal in as good of shape as yours though - that is one solid car - but still the quality of your work is evident. Great work. Look forward to seeing the final result and I am also interested in hearing more about how the little dings are worked out on the roof.

 

Awesome work! I love seeing a car done like this.

 

this car is gonna be amazing when you finish!

 

Very nice eye for detail, this Maverick will be a sweet ride when it's done. Can hardly wait to see it in the end.

 

cars gona last 4 ever!

 

As I read with enthusiasm, I understand why you didn't care for the hood I offered. I would just love to come down and spend some "learn" time in your shop enviroment. Just sweet work, sweet indeed...

 

I must have over looked this thread. The car looks great already, i can't wait to see it finished. This is a great thread too.