1952 Chevy 2009 Road Tour Car - Amsoil Street Rodder Road Tour '09

Due to the size of the gap, welding alone won't add enough material to make the hood seam smooth. The best material for filling such a void is lead, so out came the tinning compound, paddles, bee's wax files, and of course, the filler material in stick form.

Almost a lost art, leading is a permanent repair. Here the seam is being tinned in preparation for adding lead. Tinning compound is used as a base for lead as primer is to paint.

With some of the preliminary bodywork done the Chevy was hauled to Powder Coating Specialty to be stripped to bare metal by careful sandblasting.

Chevs of the 40s supplied the patch panels to repair the lower fenders. Note the upper edge of panel is flanged to simplify installation.

In this case the area needing repair was relatively small so the decision was made to trim the replacement panel as needed.

A cutoff wheel in an angle grinder was used to remove the lower portion of the fender.

With the repair panel trimmed it was positioned with clamps that left a gap for welding.

The stud gun at work again--with studs spot welded to damage areas a slide hammer can be used to raise low spots, studs can also be held with pliers while the surrounding area is worked with a hammer.

With the lumps worked out of the fender the studs were cut off and ground smooth, then a thin coat of body filler was applied.

Here's the secret to great body work and an outstanding paint job: block sanding. Lots and lots of block sanding.

With the body straight the application of primer and sealer began, followed by more sanding, more primer/surfacer, and more sanding.

With the final round of sanding and priming wrapped up, the base coat colors were applied followed by several layers of clear. Look for more on the finished car in the next issue of Street Rodder.