New Sheetmetal For a 1962 Chevrolet Impala

As we explained in the Mar. ’19 issue of STREET RODDER, Jake Brazille spends his days working on customer’s cars at his shop, Jake’s Place, while his own projects sit ignored. The reasons are familiar to most of us; work and being a family man often take precedence over projects. In Brazille’s case that meant the Chevy he fell in love with as a kid sat neglected.

It took a while, in fact over 20 years, but after urging from family and friends there has been a reawakening of the passion Brazille once felt for his 1962 Impala. The first indication that the spark was still alive was when it was drug inside and given its own corner of the shop. Now that it was in plain sight it was impossible to ignore, and it wasn’t long before real sparks began to fly.

Time, the elements, and however many former owners there were had not been kind to the Chevrolet. The trunk suffered from ravages of rust, and the quarter-panels had a combination of corrosion and carnage. But thanks to Classic Industries all the pieces required to make the necessary repairs were available, and Brazille had the skills required to fix it all, so out came the trunk floor and off came the quarter-panels.

First to be replaced was the trunk floor. It was easy to locate properly as the Classic Industries replacements (the trunk floor is made in two sections) fit perfectly and the rear section includes a pair of body mount holes that positioned it. The two sections were tack-welded together, with additional tacks made around the perimeter to hold the floor in place. The final welding wasn’t done until all the quarter-panels were in place.

On Chevy’s right side the wheelhouse was in good condition with the exception of the outer lip that attaches to the quarter-panel. We showed how that was repaired last time and how the lip was attached and trimmed this time after the quarter-panel was welded in place.

When it came to the left side of the Chevy Brazille wasn’t quite as lucky. A substantial portion of the outer wheelhouse was in need of repair. But instead of replacing the entire wheelhouse, Brazille cut away the bad part of original then trimmed the Classic Industries replacement as needed. Using a combination punch and flanging tool from Eastwood, holes for rosette welds were put into the new edge of original wheelhouse, which was also flanged to fit flush with the new, modified wheelhouse. By cutting and fitting the two sections together welding was simplified and the finished repair was strong. Trimming the replacement part not only saved time and effort, it also served to maintain the alignment between the top of the quarter-panel and the trunk opening.

With all the Classic Industries replacement panels in place the finish welding was done slowly while skipping around side to side and front to back. Some of the welding where the trunk floor meets the wheelhouses and the quarter-panels was done from underneath, which was again made easier by punching holes and rosette welding where possible. All the seams that were spot-welded were given a coat of seam sealer, those that were welded solid and visible were ground and given a thin coat of filler.

It may have taken a while, but Brazille’s long languishing project is underway once more. How about you? Do you have a project that has been on hold for a while?




























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