1961 econo van the work begins

Looking good Fish, it's coming along nicely. Don't forget to have a beer now and again and keep it fun. That much work can get a person overwhelmed. Keep those pics coming...we're all cheering for ya.  

great job man.

I was able to get the corner placed pretty well this afternoon, by doing this it really added some strength to the sides in general Im hoping now with a few braces in place I can get the sheet metal back closer to original, I hate using anything more than a thin leveling coat of bondo to finish body work out. The really tough part is my arms aren't long enough to hammer and dolly anything past the gas cap I can only hit it from the inside then tap back from the outside

Fish, if I lived closer, I'm come over and hold the Dolly on one side while you hammer
the other side. Maybe someone closer could give you a hand. Good luck and keep up the great work.

I got the corner closed up a bit more, made a brace for the side that will also support the foor.

Good progress. Looks a million miles from when you got it   

I got a bit of time to work on the doors and the roll pan, at first I thought I would have to cut off the roll pan and put in a new one, but they are hard to find in good shape, so I ended up beating mine back into shape, its still rough but the lines are there.
The doors were a real pain in the butt to get straight, then I start to examine the drivers side door and it has been repaired before and very poorly they actually cut the bottom of the door off to make it fit the rear opening that had been damaged at some time earlier in the vans life, so the door wasn't square now that I had squared the opening back to factory size the door didn't fit well, I didn't notice it because I had the door off to do the body work and repair the corner door post.
Now they line up pretty well, I have to work on the lock on the drivers side door it catches but otherwise they open and close freely and go in place pretty well, some minor tuning and they should be good to go!, the roll pan will require more massaging, but its comming along and should shape up nicely, there is only the floor left to repair then the final shaping of the side, and then filler time.
Before



After

That's come such a long way. All your hard work is starting to pay off Big Time.
Nice piece of work, fish!   

Wow mad skills, looking great.

I have been doing the fine massaging on the side panel its almost straight now, final welding on the door post spot tacked the rib onto to side panel, the door is fit pretty well, I decided to rebuild this door instead of getting another they all need some work anyway.
The primer is just to keep the grinds and welds from rusting, it will be sanded off beofre the body is smooth coated.
I also removed the front bumper getting ready to repair that corner also its got a little dent near the turn signal. When that's all done Im going to start rebuilding the 200 CI I got lined up, Im not sure if Im going to rebuild it or send it out, mostly depends how busy I get and how fast I wasn't it, my plan is to have this baby up and perfect for next spring summer, I like the way it looks without bumpers but to me I feel safer with them up there..

You've done some excellent work, fish!!! Hard to believe you were able to straighten it out like that. Nice to see what perseverance and hard work can do! Nice piece of work!

I have a #2 Broom for the bondo you will need to clean that up. LOL No just kidding looks great from where it was keep the photos coming I find it cool to see everyones progress on their vans/trucks.

Im not a big fan of Bondo, if you take a few moments to go through the post you can see this van had extensive damage enough so most would have totaled it out, but we were able to save it using old style methods mainly hammering out the old metal until its straight, take a look at where it started and where it is now, its almost done just a bit more smoothing and shaping then a final skim coat of bondo to level the differences made by the hammer. There are very few people who still do this type of repair, fewer each day, its a very slow meticulous art.
After doing all this work to make the repair Im going to strip the whole van down to repaint just like it would have been done in the factory all doors glass etc removed the body sprayed, then reassembled.

Viva la difference! Do it once and do it right!!! Love to see work like this. Take your time and keep us posted with pics, PLEASE and Thank You!

The other day my grumpy neighbor came over and complained about the banging it was 10am but I told her I would try to do when she wasn't around, luckily Im almost done with the back part, I still have to fill a couple seams then grind, but the sheet metal in the back corner is pretty straight and should require only minimal plastic to even it out. Remember this is all done with a hammer and dolly, stretching and smoothing the original metal back to where it used to be, at this stage there is no body filler at all only primer to keep it from rusting and old paint that's flaking off in places.
I have started on the front corner, its a pain to get under the truck and knock out the corner but I don't want to cut it out its good metal just a bit out of where it should be for now..  

Keep goin man!!!

Fish, it's evident that you have a LOT more patience than your neighbor does! You might want to surprise her with a set of earplugs! It's Unbelievable to me that you're able to get the metal to do that! I would love to see that process in person. I hope our words of encouragement are helping to keep you motivated cause the van is really starting to take shape. You can Doooo It!!!

I have completed the smoothing on the side, its very close to the original lines maybe requiring a 1/32 of an inch to even it out, I use the grinder to prep the surface giving the bondo an excellent place to adhere.


[/url=https://servimg.com/view/17139457/100]https://i.servimg.com/u/f39/17/13/94/57/20141017.jpg" />https://i.servimg.com/u/f39/17/13/94/57/20141016.jpg[/img][/url]https://i.servimg.com/u/f39/17/13/94/57/20141018.jpg" />

Getting there! You're over the top of the hill heading downhill now. Not much further. Can't wait to see the finished product!

I have been working on the side a bit after work each day I get maybe an hour or two a few times a week, the filling is going slowly as always, a thin fill, sand, fill, sand, each time you notice more dimples and waves you didn't see last time, but its getting smooth. Depending on time of day really reveals different depressions and high spots.

I found using a broom to put that much mud on is way easier than that little plastic thingy.lol Its blocktime. Looking good man!!!

Pretty amazing repair! Great Job!

I was able to strip the rest of the panel on the drivers side, and primer it around the repair, its still not complete but just about where I want it, mostly just sanding now I did add a  bit to middle area to even out a small depression.

I do appreciate all the feedback its been encouraging, there are lots of times when this gets tough and its easy to walk away, but I keep comming back..
I have also sanded and filled any other little pings and dents, the front corner is fighting hard but starting to shape up a bit, its a small space and its hard to get a straight shot at the dent..

That's gonna turn out Great, Fish!!! I can't believe you were able to get that corner to look soooo good after it was hit so hard !

Nice piece of work...Can't wait to see how it turns out when completed.

Thanks Vanny!
Well my shoulders are officially pooped, sanding all day yesterday and then went surfing this morning, more sanding and now the first coat of primer, the top part of the side still hasn't been finished yet, I need to make a brace and then heat/cool and shrink some of the metal there is just too much to get it flat, if its pushed in in one location it pops out in another, by heating then putting cold water I can take a few centimeters out of the metal making it tighter and easier to get perfectly flat.