Over everything we have done to Rusty up to this point, I wouldn't have thought the trunk would take so long to work on. Of course I am a rookie body guy, and that's my excuse. The frame rails definitely needed some work. So for the past month (remember I only work on her every other week, family first :) I've been trying to get motivated to work through the blistering cold that enters Michigan. Yesterday it was around 26 degrees when we started. Needing ventilation from the weld and fumes, the garage was wide open. I'd have to say that except for my toes I wasn't too cold.
I completed the weld around the support rails near the tire. I grinded a bit to enhance the look. Heating the metal and bending it, along with filling a half an inch gap between the metal in some spots where it couldn't be bent took time. We also put a steel re-inforcement plate to strengthen where my leaf springs are held. We also decided to cut off some patch steel on the rails and go with a longer one piece from the butt to the tire. This will add much more strength than just a simple patch. It took time to grind off the old patches, cut new space out. By the time we were ready to fabricate another steel piece we ran out of oxygen for the torch... Everything around here is closed on Sundays, so we closed shop too.
