My 68 was purchased with a 1986 318 stock engine with the roller cam provision. I decided to stroke it to 390 and add Edelbrock Pro Flo 4. I put around 8,000 miles on it before I pulled her off the road to address the rust repair/body work. There was a lot more rust than I realized. The on the job learning was quick. I started with the spare tire well since it was hidden and I could get up to speed with my welding skills. I bought tools and supplies that made things go smoother. Since there is no repo sheetmetal I learned to fab all the patch panels, etc. I found a very good replacemnet tailgate in Michigan. I am still in the rust removal/repair stage but she is getting there. I picked up a 6.4 crate Hemi and had an A500 rebuilt/upgraded for a future swap. I am in no hurry as I enjoy working and learning on the wagon. After I repair both rear wheel wells, inner and outer rocker panels she will go back on the road for a few long distance trips. Then I will begin the Gen III Hemi swap. I wanted to contribute to the new wagon section. Here are some pics.
68 Coronet Longroof
- Thread starter 64 Sportfury
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Breaker-1
Well-Known Member
Nice wagon! Nice work being done as well. I have always liked wagons but they've been really growing on me lately. My dad had a '68 Coronet wagon back when I was too young to remember. It was green, dark green I think, 9 passenger, 383 auto. It had 23,000 miles on the clock when it lost a battle with a tree.
If I'm ever going to own one wagon in my life, it will be a '68 Coronet, bought or built as close to dads wagon as it can be, in his memory.
Best of luck with your progress, please keep us posted. And always, always, always be on the lookout for trees that like to jump out in front of you!
If I'm ever going to own one wagon in my life, it will be a '68 Coronet, bought or built as close to dads wagon as it can be, in his memory.
Best of luck with your progress, please keep us posted. And always, always, always be on the lookout for trees that like to jump out in front of you!
Thank you Breaker-1. I grew up in a few station wagons but they were Chevys. Always 9 passenger. The Coronet is a 9 pass. as well. It has been my daily driver since I purchased it. I have done a few upgrades and plan more. As for the rust repair, I was surprised at how these vehicles were engineered. In an effort to keep as much of the original sheet metal, I am getting pretty decent at getting the patch panels to fit. It's no concours resto but I will be proud to say I did the work.
Breaker-1
Well-Known Member
I think you're doing great. To me, this is the most satisfying way to live the car hobby. To drive it as you build it & build it as you drive it. I've grown tired of show cars and I don't care for trailer queens. I love vintage drivers. Anyone and their brother can can throw a pile of money or credit and buy or have some shop build anything. That's the difference between true car guys and someone who just wants instant bragging rights. Putting your own efforts does give you a true sense of ownership. Keep up the good work.
I got back to the work on the wagon a few days ago. I go out to the shop early AM before the FL heat kicks in.
ckessel
Well-Known Member
Once you are done welding it would be a good idea to get some protection sprayed in on the backside to protect the new and old.
poconos_power
Active Member
Wow, this is very impressive! I'm glad my 68 longroof has a good body. I need to address the drivers frame rail and get it on the lift to see what the rest of my condition is, just got to move a few other cars around first.
Did you know how to do this when you started in on the repairs?
Did you know how to do this when you started in on the repairs?
Thanks for the comments.
It doesn't show well in the pics but I have been applying rust preventative paint to the inner structure. I bought this welder about 25 years ago and always wanted to learn. If I used it 5 times, I'd be surprised. This is my first attempt at something like this. I moved, built a shop and added a lift. I started on the spare tire well since it was hidden. My welding, and just as important, my grinding have improved with each patch panel. I bought a few tools that have made creating the panels easier. Making the patch panels and deconstructing the factory metal (rust) is not as difficult as I first thought. I save all the rusty pieces until the appropriate patch panel is attched to the car. I use them as templates.The AMD torsion bar crossmember is the only aftermarket piece I could use. It and the adjacent rockers will get done during the Gen III swap. I have a pretty nice used tailgate I found a while back. After the rear of the wagon is done she goes back on the road for some trips. I am taking my time with this since rust repair it is unchartered territory for me.
poconos_power
Active Member
Ah, my spare tire well is rusted out too. Looks like it was fixed with a fiberglass repair many years ago, well before this current age of repro panels. Did you make a new well or get a patch for it? I'll be brand new to welding when I start on mine, and I was thinking the same thing, that the spare tire well would be a great place to practice getting it right. Just gotta buy a mig setup now.
My wagon's spare tire well had the bondo fiberglass treatment as well. There are no repro panels that I am aware of. I made my well and all the other patch panels from a sheet of hot rolled 18ga. steel. 18ga. is thicker than the factory sheet metal but can still be shaped with a hammer and dolly, etc. The best thing about 18ga. is it's more forgiving when welding, so less blow through. I would suggest you practice welding on factory gauge sheet metal that is scrap.
Again, I want to thank everyone for their interest.
I have recently been seeing surface rust on my bare metal repairs so I re-sanded the areas and applied Gibbs Lubricant. The humidity has been a near constant condition this year. Here are some progress pics.
Some progress shots.
I have the fabbed rocker panel mocked up prior to welding the wheel well patch.
Here is the patch after welding the lip on.
The cut. That's the inner wheel well patch attached with clecos from the inside.
Welded in place.
I have the fabbed rocker panel mocked up prior to welding the wheel well patch.
Here is the patch after welding the lip on.
The cut. That's the inner wheel well patch attached with clecos from the inside.
Welded in place.
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love to see someone just dive in! ......... gitterdone! 
I have seen what you do and there are no words...
I went through a couple of cycles of dress the welds, then find the pin holes, weld and dress them again. Then, I found a small area of rust on previous metal repair so another patch was needed. The previous metal repair used a thinner gauge material which is more challenging to weld for me.
ckessel
Well-Known Member
Welding sheet metal can be a challenge. My MIG unit says it will go down to 22 but anything less than 18 is a challenge. On my latest area I'm doing it with TIG. Working better so far. The MIG just blows holes through.
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