05 Cobalt LS "extreme" makeover(56k=death) not for the faint of heart
12-31-2006, 05:10 PM
#52
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Alright heres the rest of it.
Forgot to mention i also did a little plastic repair on my wheel well liner yesturday. heres what she looked like before:
Pretty bent up. nothing a little heat wont fix. Most plastics on cars nowadays (bumpers wheel well liners etc) are thermoset. Which basically means that its molten plastic injected into a mold, so since it got hot and cooled when it was born, you can heat it again and reshape it if its damaged.
thats not your average hairdryer its a industrial heat gun. You need to be careful not to burn yourself when you use it as it gets very hot.
Here i am working the plastic after heating it up.
This took me about half an hour to repair its very much like repairing a dented bumper except less fussy since no-one will really notice anything wrong unless they have the pesky habbit of looking inside your wheel wells. Regardless i think i did a very good job, pretty proud of myself, gotta save that monay! heres a pic of the finished product:
Alright back to the car. Now once you have the quarter panel on you have to make sure that its positioned properly, it would really suck to weld it paint it and then put your door or trunk or glass on to realise that nothing fits right. so i started putting on the door this morning:
Thats the best tool right there, i use it all the time, its called a door jack. which incidently can also be used with an attachment to lift a truck bed. (if you have two jacks that is)
So after some screwin around and removing and reinstalling the door 3 times ( i hate you GM!!!!) i got a perfect fit heres what it looks like:
Very nice door gap. I was surprized at how well it went considering it was a gm, i guess their quality is going up, its not quite like a honda where all you have to do is bolt it on and you're done but still much better than a few years ago. heres a view of the back with the trunk on:
That was hard to do by myself, but i got it on and it fits just great too. Now i still need to fit the back glass but i'm pretty sure it will fit no prob but i couldnt do that alone i didnt want to chance breaking it. I didnt get any welding done but heres a couple pics to give you an idea of whats going on:
Once i weld the inner layers of the rocker i will be cutting the "cap" (outter skin of the rocker) to size to have some nice flush butt joints on either sides and weld that in as well.
heres the B&C pillar "cap" which again needs to be cut to size:
Its comming along pretty quick. So next update i'll show you guys some welding/grinding/sealing. its the most tedious part of the job, i'm going to have to contort inside the trunk for a couple hours welding and grinding, its really gonna suck. I might be putting in my rear axle about then too.
So yea thanks for your patience and sorry about the lack of updates but like i said work is nuts and its the holidays, been running around to the gramps and mom and dad and inlaws and such. Crazy post count too like almost 1500 views, whats the record? lol
Grimsaviour
Forgot to mention i also did a little plastic repair on my wheel well liner yesturday. heres what she looked like before:
Pretty bent up. nothing a little heat wont fix. Most plastics on cars nowadays (bumpers wheel well liners etc) are thermoset. Which basically means that its molten plastic injected into a mold, so since it got hot and cooled when it was born, you can heat it again and reshape it if its damaged.
thats not your average hairdryer its a industrial heat gun. You need to be careful not to burn yourself when you use it as it gets very hot.
Here i am working the plastic after heating it up.
This took me about half an hour to repair its very much like repairing a dented bumper except less fussy since no-one will really notice anything wrong unless they have the pesky habbit of looking inside your wheel wells. Regardless i think i did a very good job, pretty proud of myself, gotta save that monay! heres a pic of the finished product:
Alright back to the car. Now once you have the quarter panel on you have to make sure that its positioned properly, it would really suck to weld it paint it and then put your door or trunk or glass on to realise that nothing fits right. so i started putting on the door this morning:
Thats the best tool right there, i use it all the time, its called a door jack. which incidently can also be used with an attachment to lift a truck bed. (if you have two jacks that is)
So after some screwin around and removing and reinstalling the door 3 times ( i hate you GM!!!!) i got a perfect fit heres what it looks like:
Very nice door gap. I was surprized at how well it went considering it was a gm, i guess their quality is going up, its not quite like a honda where all you have to do is bolt it on and you're done but still much better than a few years ago. heres a view of the back with the trunk on:
That was hard to do by myself, but i got it on and it fits just great too. Now i still need to fit the back glass but i'm pretty sure it will fit no prob but i couldnt do that alone i didnt want to chance breaking it. I didnt get any welding done but heres a couple pics to give you an idea of whats going on:
Once i weld the inner layers of the rocker i will be cutting the "cap" (outter skin of the rocker) to size to have some nice flush butt joints on either sides and weld that in as well.
heres the B&C pillar "cap" which again needs to be cut to size:
Its comming along pretty quick. So next update i'll show you guys some welding/grinding/sealing. its the most tedious part of the job, i'm going to have to contort inside the trunk for a couple hours welding and grinding, its really gonna suck. I might be putting in my rear axle about then too.
So yea thanks for your patience and sorry about the lack of updates but like i said work is nuts and its the holidays, been running around to the gramps and mom and dad and inlaws and such. Crazy post count too like almost 1500 views, whats the record? lol
Grimsaviour
12-31-2006, 05:21 PM
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Thanks for all the positive comments guys i really appreciate it. I'm just happy i can help improve the autobody industry image. Not every shop hacks your car there are some really talented bodymen out there. Personally i have a lot more to learn about the trade i've only been certified for a year now. I find it amazing what they do on shows like overhauling, Specially all the fabricating. It takes a lot of skill and patience for that stuff.
12-31-2006, 05:47 PM
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I know it would take A LOT more work, but I'd totally make a convertible...Only one, I would think on the planet...lol
but that is sweet work man, props to you for sure...I wish I had 5% of your knowledge on this stuff and I'd be happy...
but that is sweet work man, props to you for sure...I wish I had 5% of your knowledge on this stuff and I'd be happy...
01-01-2007, 12:16 AM
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Thank you soo much for updating. I have been so anxous to see how its been coming along. I have done my share of body(rolled a car) but I havent came anywheres close to what u have done. A+. Overhaulin is a great show, which reminds me I got the 2nd season on dvd.... maybe I will go watch it.
Keep up the great work.
later
P.S. Are u gona put lambo doors on? A little off topic but how hard it is to install them?
HAPPY NEW YEARS!!!
Keep up the great work.
later
P.S. Are u gona put lambo doors on? A little off topic but how hard it is to install them?
HAPPY NEW YEARS!!!
01-01-2007, 01:26 AM
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Thank you soo much for updating. I have been so anxous to see how its been coming along. I have done my share of body(rolled a car) but I havent came anywheres close to what u have done. A+. Overhaulin is a great show, which reminds me I got the 2nd season on dvd.... maybe I will go watch it.
Keep up the great work.
later
P.S. Are u gona put lambo doors on? A little off topic but how hard it is to install them?
HAPPY NEW YEARS!!!
Keep up the great work.
later
P.S. Are u gona put lambo doors on? A little off topic but how hard it is to install them?
HAPPY NEW YEARS!!!
Also about the convertible lol.... doing that to a cobalt would probably cost more in time and engeneering than the car is worth so i think i'll leave that to the dealership to figure out. ;-) would be pretty cool though. ;-) It would be a ton of work and would also require intensive interior trim modification. That alone is probably the reason why not many people do it even on old cars and even then most of the time its a convo but theres no vinyl top. Just a show car right? Also to make a convertible you need to strenghten the frame because when you cut the top off a car you lose strutural integrity, heck it makes the whole thing sag onitself. Anyways, basically its more than a little beyond anything i know about cars. Anyways happy new years people!
01-01-2007, 01:31 AM
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Playswitcars has Lambo doors on his cobalt, look insane. Vertical Doors has a kit for the Cobalt but its nearly $2,000, then u have the $300 kits on eBay. lol. Im glad the doors are heavy, that means in a couple years the doors will be saging... lol.
later
later
01-01-2007, 01:33 AM
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nice to see someone resurrecting a car with a lot of potential--you'd be wise to stiffen the frame while it's gutted (depending on your driving intent, of course). 
keep upi the good work! I'm studying soon under the GM ASEP Auto Tech program, working at the dealer I bought my SS/SC from; perhaps I could use some pointers one day!
keep upi the good work! I'm studying soon under the GM ASEP Auto Tech program, working at the dealer I bought my SS/SC from; perhaps I could use some pointers one day!
01-01-2007, 02:02 AM
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nice to see someone resurrecting a car with a lot of potential--you'd be wise to stiffen the frame while it's gutted (depending on your driving intent, of course). keep upi the good work! I'm studying soon under the GM ASEP Auto Tech program, working at the dealer I bought my SS/SC from; perhaps I could use some pointers one day!
keep upi the good work! I'm studying soon under the GM ASEP Auto Tech program, working at the dealer I bought my SS/SC from; perhaps I could use some pointers one day!Is that program mechanical or autobody? Anyways good luck and id be happy to give you pointers on autobody. Alls i gotta say is get used to being the b*tch because when you start they ride your a$$ HARD!
01-01-2007, 03:09 AM
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Thats no joke , hehe . I was jacking the front of mine up on the front sub frame portion just behind the front wheel and I needed it pretty high . When I was done I noticed the back wheel was about 2 inches off the ground . The door pass door opened and closed as if it were on the ground .
01-05-2007, 01:09 AM
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So after work on tuesday and today i started welding up the car, its about 90% done, just gotta weld the caps and the seat belt mounting plate. its comming along nice, but somehow i still can't see it ending lol. I think i'm up to about 50hrs of work so far, its looking like a 100hr job the way its going now. still need to grind everything, seal, and do bodywork+prep+paint. Then the re assembly. Long way to go but i'll get r' done. Anyways heres just a couple pics of the action:
the camera does some funny stuff sometimes, thats just a red hot glowing weld.
It really sucked welding underneat the rocker, but i only managed to burn myself once thanks to the hole in my welding glove. Welding overhead is a little tricky specially if you dont know how to set the welder. Basically whatever works on a flat surface will also work overhead if you increase the wire feed to fight gravity from making the molten metal want to fall down.... makes sense? hehe. Also its a lot harder to weld thin sheet metal than say 1/4 inch steel. its very easy to burn thru. Also on a car you can clean the metal many times but it will never be impurity free. So every 10 welds or so you get crap in there and it produces gas and quickly makes the weld blow up sending hot molten metal everywhere. I once set my pocket on fire welding over head because i forgot to remove my pack of cigarettes. Yea that was entertaining lol. anyways i'll be posting some more stuff hopefully saturday if its not too busy at the shop and i get a chance to work on it.
the camera does some funny stuff sometimes, thats just a red hot glowing weld.
It really sucked welding underneat the rocker, but i only managed to burn myself once thanks to the hole in my welding glove. Welding overhead is a little tricky specially if you dont know how to set the welder. Basically whatever works on a flat surface will also work overhead if you increase the wire feed to fight gravity from making the molten metal want to fall down.... makes sense? hehe. Also its a lot harder to weld thin sheet metal than say 1/4 inch steel. its very easy to burn thru. Also on a car you can clean the metal many times but it will never be impurity free. So every 10 welds or so you get crap in there and it produces gas and quickly makes the weld blow up sending hot molten metal everywhere. I once set my pocket on fire welding over head because i forgot to remove my pack of cigarettes. Yea that was entertaining lol. anyways i'll be posting some more stuff hopefully saturday if its not too busy at the shop and i get a chance to work on it.
01-28-2007, 05:42 PM
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Alright so its been what? 2-3 weeks again? ;-) Hopefully i'll be done soon, but i did get some more work done on saturday and sunday, heres some pics, looks like a car again.
Nice eh?
Almost a seamless repair. Needs a wee bit of bondo to make it just right, theres a slight divet on the seam, if you can even see the seam. ;-) The pics are pretty grainy its a crappy cam.
The roof seam, i welded right along the very edge. I had some wet rags there to keep the heat from getting to the sealer and lifting it.
Heres the inside seams, a little less fancy lookin, Not as important, just needs to be strong in there since its all covered.
Anyways thats her, All the grinding is done, except for a little bit left inside the car. I will be sealing all the seams and painting the inside sheet metal. After that start doing some body work, including fixing the left side quarter panel. Then some preping and painting.
Enjoy!
Nice eh?
Almost a seamless repair. Needs a wee bit of bondo to make it just right, theres a slight divet on the seam, if you can even see the seam. ;-) The pics are pretty grainy its a crappy cam.
The roof seam, i welded right along the very edge. I had some wet rags there to keep the heat from getting to the sealer and lifting it.
Heres the inside seams, a little less fancy lookin, Not as important, just needs to be strong in there since its all covered.
Anyways thats her, All the grinding is done, except for a little bit left inside the car. I will be sealing all the seams and painting the inside sheet metal. After that start doing some body work, including fixing the left side quarter panel. Then some preping and painting.
Enjoy!
