In this part of the country (Mid-Atlantic) cars, wheels especially take a beating during the winter. Slippery roads, corrosive salt on the roads, and potholes that could swallow a small child wreak havoc on your automobile. The cost to replace a damaged aluminum wheel can be VERY costly. In the classic car world wheels may be obsolete and impossible to replace if you have a damaged wheel. I decided to tackle repairing a badly damaged aluminum aftermarket wheel I have had stashed away for years.
Tag: tech
Smoothing the Back End- Frenched Taillights on Pile House.
I will admit that I tend to over think things when I am building a custom car and sometimes I mock something up and I don’t like it or decide I need to tweak the original idea. A while back I decided on a set of ’62 Oldsmobile 88 taillights for the back of the truck. I liked the lens shape and chrome trim on them, but the bezel had peaked ends that made it tough to sink them into a relatively flat panel. For the sake of getting “something” in the rollpan I temporarily made brackets to slide them into the panel. At first I was “ok” with how they looked, but the further I got with building the tailgate on the backend I knew in the back of my head I needed to revisit how they were sitting.
How to shave and metal finish your firewall with Empire Fabrication
Shaving or smoothing the bodywork on a custom car has been one of the most popular modifications since the beginning. Shaving door handles and trim or side marker holes are the most common things to shave on a project car, but close behind that is smoothing or shaving the firewall. Sean of Empire Fabrication has gotten REALLY good at shaving and smoothing cars. So much so that his finished projects require basically no body filler at all and can be primered and block sanded straight away. Sean recently took the time to snap some photos and give us the rundown on how he tackles a firewall shave project. The donor vehicle is a VW Eurovan that he has already drastically customized. So grab a drink, sit back, and watch how to do the job right with Empire Fabrication.
Metal Buffing & Polishing: Basics & How To
Buffing is simply the process of smoothing high and low spots on a surface until it is perfectly smooth. Typically it is done with fabric wheels and abrasive compounds of various types. You progressively move from a very aggressive, to a less aggressive grit compound, and matching wheel, until you polish your piece to a near mirror finish.
How to Restore Car Headlights
Out of all minor automotive restoration projects, restoring your headlights is among the most important. After years of use, headlights can get cloudy, rendering their effectiveness much weaker and therefore more dangerous. This is why it is important to restore them to their original clear state in order to ensure […]
TIG Welding FAQ
TIG stands for Tungsten Inert Gas. Unlike MIG or ARC welding, TIG uses an electrode separate from the filler material. This electrode is called the tungsten, and different varieties of them have different welding characteristics. The inert gas is typically Argon, or sometimes Helium or a mixture.
How to Seal & Restore a Gas Tank
Over time, your vehicle’s gas tank can start to corrode and even leak. That is why is is important to know how to restore your gas tank to rid it of any rust and seal any minor leaks. Below, we take a look at how to properly seal and restore […]
How Do I Adjust the Flow Rate of Shielding Gas?
Whenever you are using a welding machine, like a MIG welder or a TIG welder, it is crucial that you know how to adjust the flow rate of shielding gas. When assembling and setting up your welder, once you connect your shielding gas regulator, the gas flow rate must be […]
MIG Welding Duty Cycles
When you are using an arc welding machine, you will need to understand what its duty cycle is as it will help you preserve the life and quality of your tool. On this page, you will learn about what a duty cycle is and how it is relevant to MIG […]