Windshield Alignment

This week (7-17-2012), Dan got the windshield assembly aligned and assembled and was able to set the top in place.  This is all part of the "pre-assembly" process to make sure everything fits and that no parts are missing.  Next, we'll tear it all back down to resume work on the chassis.

Shrinking the Rear Fenders

7-5-2012:  A few weeks ago when Dan attached the rear fenders to the body, he pointed out to me that previous work had stretched the metal enough to cause a bulge in the beaded edge on both rear fenders.  You can see the problem in the image on the right.  Dan asked me to be patient while he researched the best way to shrink the steel to bring the edge back into a straight line.  At first he thought the best technique might be heating the affected area of the fender to red hot and quenching it with a wet rag.  That works but tends to embrittle the metal and can lead to cracking.  The technique he finally used was to heat the metal to just shy of red hot and quench it with a blast of compressed air.  He repeated this process, occasionally dressing up the surface with a hammer and dolly, until it was straight.  It worked!  I never cease to be amazed at what these metal artisans can do with a torch and a few simple tools.  It's all about knowing how to use them.  Here are the results: