E20 Tri-Five Rusty A-Pillar Fabrication and Repair! 1956 Chevy Bel Air Restoration

[@terrymead296]

Bill, I came across your channel because my dad passed, and I have to do a lot of the same repairs to his car that your doing. I find it very informative and this has quickly become one of my favorite channels. Keep up the excellent content!

[@RestoringChristine1956]

Very sorry for your loss... You'll often hear me refer back to my dad, who taught me a lot of what I know, at least the foundation to build upon. Not a day goes by in the garage that I don't feel like I'm still working with him. But, glad to have you aboard! Post any questions that you have and feel free to share your progress. A lot of my subscribers are going down this road or have already been there, most with a tri-five. Lots of knowledge hanging around here!

[@ronaldfarmer1208]

Just like it never even happened ! ! Good work

[@RestoringChristine1956]

Thanks! It was a lot of tedious work, but if you have the original shape, you don't really need to buy any pre-made replacement parts. You can make your own even without all kinds of specialty tools.

[@johnr2918]

Excellent job!!!

[@RestoringChristine1956]

Thanks!

[@dougscriver7726]

Looking great 👍 👌

[@RestoringChristine1956]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@rustyrodgarage2686]

Nice job,I had to do that same repair on my 57.it takes a lot of patience to get it right. I am glad stainless covers a lot of it.

[@RestoringChristine1956]

Thanks! Between the driver's side A-pillar and the driver's side C-pillar and package tray, those are the two pieces of fabrication that I'm most proud of!

[@bigblockkings1031]

I've come to realize that your channel is quickly becoming my favorite to watch. You just don't give up! So many people would have given up when they saw how badly rusted and "repaired" it was. Again I applaud your dedication 👏

[@RestoringChristine1956]

Pretty strong words! THANKS! It's so hard to judge what I'm putting out there because I'm looking in the mirror as I do it. I think the videos are worthy, but I'm biased! Thanks for tuning in and riding along!

[@brentmclovin9332]

That looks pretty good to me as well! Great job! Thanks Bill

[@RestoringChristine1956]

Thanks! Glad it's helpful!

[@jackkindred8407]

Another great walk through video, keep up the good work can’t wait to see more videos and the final finished car. 👍🏻

[@RestoringChristine1956]

I guess that's a good way to describe what I'm doing: walk-through! I feel like each one of my videos should have some purpose other than just "footnotes from the garage" or something like that. I don't think I can get away with just talking about what I'm up to, I want to show the process. Glad you're liking it!

[@greggonzalez7396]

Excellent repair on a difficult part of the car. Looking forward to your next phase of restoration.

[@RestoringChristine1956]

You and me both!

[@drainpluggarage]

Your thumbnail game is on point sir👍 nice channel. Love the chevy.

[@RestoringChristine1956]

Thanks! We stumbled into something that looks like an old postcard blended with action comic book.

[@joelard2716]

Didn’t Obe-Wan was into cars! Great vid, I have the same issues on my car I’m attempting to tackle

[@garysgarage.2841]

That's a tough repair you did a good job. My 55 has this issue on both sides as well I'll be trying this before spending big money on the repair panels for this spot.

[@RestoringChristine1956]

Before I tried this, I was looking in the catalogs and saw that it was several hundred dollars for two different pieces and I'd only need a part of either one. Once you get to where you can weld without blowing through, it gets a lot easier. Thanks for watching and good luck with your 55!

[@CarolinaCustomClassics]

Just found your channel, you did a great job! I subbed!

[@RestoringChristine1956]

Appreciate it!

[@JazzStrat781]

Excellent job, love your channel 👍 best to you and yours

[@RestoringChristine1956]

Thanks for the kind words - much appreciated!

[@trifivegarage8683]

Very well done wish i had your skills! I had an extra 56 cowl. To cut good metal from to repair this area. Hard to find them that way though. Keep it up!! 👍

[@RestoringChristine1956]

I don't know about skills, but I learn from KZbin every day!

[@monadking2761]

The before looks Iike what I have to do to both sides of my 55. In the high speed video it didn't looks Iike you used any air after welding to prevent warping. Did you have any problems? Love your wood form for shaping the edge that's what I was thinking of doing or finishing my bead roller but the wood idea is simpler.

[@RestoringChristine1956]

As I've been shaping things on the car, it's easy to see how you can beat the metal into a curve when something is backing it up. And wood is easy enough to gouge and carve up if you've got a course flap disc! And I've found that warps are almost non-existent if you have curved pieces that are going together. The shape restrains the distortion. It's not nearly the same as flat work. Flat work is almost impossible to keep from shrinking and causing ripples.

[@ezsgarage1766]

You said to set your welder at 3 and feed at 70 , what thickness is the feed of your wire and also the thickness of your sheet metal you used to replace rusted pieces

[@RestoringChristine1956]

I mention it in a number of videos but not every one. I'm using 18 gage sheet metal, 0.023" solid core mild steel wire, and 75/25 Argon-CO2 shielding gas. Sometimes it works better at a lower voltage (2) and slower wire speed (50 to 60), depending on the gap in your joint. The right answer could be anywhere between those two settings, but definitely not too far outside of it. Hope it helps!

[@fjbowen3155]

Thanks for the videos! I'm a new subscriber and doing similar type repairs on a "basket" 49 Chev pu. I'm curious how you made the "U" shaped piece of the a-pillar @ 22:30...

[@RestoringChristine1956]

If I remember right, I folded a piece over a stick of round bar and pinched it in the vice with a little hammer persuasion. Glad they're helpful - that's the goal!

[@fjbowen3155]

Thanks

[@lowriderdocumentary1944]

What rust treatment did you use?

[@RestoringChristine1956]

Sometimes I'll use the Locktite spray, but I also have a jug of phosphoric acid (Klean Strip metal and concrete prep from Home Depot.)

[@garyburgess3829]

Great job..could I ask you what camera and editing app you use. Wanting to film my 56 wagon while I work on it...thanks

[@RestoringChristine1956]

At the end of the day, I'm shooting everything with my Samsung Galaxy S21. I bought a GoPro 9 and it's not as great as they want you to believe. I used that for the time warp driving in the Cruisin' the Coast videos (15.1 through 15.5) but not since. The editing software is NCH VideoPad Professional, but it's a computer power hog.

[@oacumulador]

The worst part of the job is grinding... Welding is great... Grinding takes our energy away...

[@RestoringChristine1956]

I'm using better grinding wheels and that makes a big difference. They cut faster and don't vibrate as much.

[@oacumulador]

@@RestoringChristine1956 I meant everyone of us hate to grind when doing a repair. I have no problem to watch, I like to watch... The problem is doing it... 😂😂