1963 THUNDERBIRD SPORTS ROADSTER



November 4, 2004 update:
I'm ready to hang the quarters back on the car, The doors are hung
for the purpose of aligning the quartes where they meet the door,
and the quarters are attatched with several vice grips.
Before I begin, I have to remove the filler that the previous handyman
used to build the back edge of the doors up to meet the level of the mud
he plastered over his wonderful quarter panel rivet job.
The next first step is to weld the top of the quarter along the fin
closest to the door post. I welded the first two holes.
You'll want to align the top inside corner at the back of the door
with the front inside corner of the door post and tape a block
of wood or something there to stop the door while you align and weld
the quarter panel along the door post.
Now keep a few different thickness washers handy to use as shims
between the inside of the quarter panel and the door post as you proceed
from the top to the bottom. Hold the door closed against your stop
and use a screwdriver to pry the quarter out so it aligns with the outside
edge of the door and then slip a washer into the space so you can open the
door and tack weld the hole closest to where you have the washer shim.
repeat this every 4-6" down the post. Don't burn in the full welds yet,
it's easer to drill out a tack weld than a full one if you need to.
After you get the post tacked, then begin tacking along the fin
about every 6", again, just tack it for now. Note that there are notches
along the top of the quarter and fin. These have to be aligned so that the
stainless trim will sit flat on both sides later on.
After the top is tacked, go to the rocker area.
use a straight edge held tight against the rocker and extending to the
lower front quarter. Align the quarter with the rocker and tack just inside
the wheel opening. The bottom of the back of the quarter will be aligned in
a similar fashion with a longer straight edge off the rocker panel to
the front of the rear section behind the wheel at the lowest point.
Then if you're satisfied with the fit, burn it in!
The doors came off again and braces were put in the openings.
Now I'll be removing the rear end and springs
and all of the front suspension and attaching the rotisserie brackets.
d_door_mud.jpg
Remove Mud on door 		d_door_clean.jpg
Door Cleaned 		d_weld1_qtr.jpg
Align & weld top corner 		d_shim_qtr_door.jpg
Shim quarter panel
d_weld_shim.jpg
Weld @ shim location 		d_qtr_tacked_door.jpg
Tack weld down post 		d_align_qtr_notch.jpg
Tack along top edge 		d_align_qtr_rocker_wrong.jpg
Wrong
d_align_qtr_rocker_right.jpg
Right 		d_nice_fit_door.jpg
Nice fit 		d_nice_fit_door2.jpg
This door won't take off..



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