The Alpine Project : March 2021

Our goal!

This time we’re working on Alphie’s mouth fungus (OK, it’s rust like every problem with Sunbeam sheet metal, but I am tired of calling it cancer). Rootes used 22-gauge metal (by my handy thickness gauge), which when exposed to thirtyish years under a tree, rusts, efficiently.

My goal is to give Alphie a new snoz, but as I get closer to gluing it on, I find things that must be done, or would be much easier to do with her snoz on sawhorses. Like fixing mouth fungus…

These before pics show what we’re facing. These pieces are the inside cheeks of the front cowling that funnels air to the radiator. And, unlike all the metal I have fitted beneath the rocker panels and under the fenders, will show. Fabrication that you can actually see when Alphie breathes again!

Before: Left cheek from the radiator side.

Before: Left Cheek from inside the fender

Option 1: Patch the cheeks. BUT they are very thin, very rusted and even with the snoz belly up, it’s a tight fit getting the welder in there, not to mention clamps and Vice Grips to hold a patch in place. Besides the You Tube videos have all warned me that “you can’t weld rust;” I tried it, they're right, you can’t. You just burn more holes.

Option 2: Fabricate new cheeks and weld in some good, clean Lowes sheet metal. I went with Option 2.

First, I gently chiseled out the right-side cheek because 1) it was easier to get to and 2) more flimsily attached, i.e. easier than the left side. With the cheek removed, I transferred the rough shape to card stock then refined it to fit Alphie’s snoz more accurately.

Next, I transferred paper to metal and cut out the patches. My cheap band saw cuts 22-gauge sheet metal with far more control than it does 16-gauge, so that's a win.

With Alphie’s snoz flopped upside down on sawhorses, I fine-tuned the patches' fit. I made some angles that I spot-welded to the cheek to make surfaces where I can spot weld the cheek to the inside of Alphie’s mouth (see the pics). I also cleaned the attachment areas inside the fender well of surface rust because, you know, you can’t weld rust.

Inner cheek parts, in rusted, paper and metal

Outer lip parts, in rusted, paper, and metal

Left cheek with angles attached

The coves at the sides of Alpine mouths are two pieces, an upper and lower. On the right side, only the lower piece was rusted through. I’m not replacing the upper piece, but I needed to patch the lower inside corner because it is where the cheek attaches. I carefully cut out the diseased metal and MIG welded the patch in place. Welding 22-gauge is trickier than 16-gauge, lower amperage with quick bursts.

Right-side lip patch held in place with Vise-Grips

Lip patch welded in. I'll use JB Weld to feather the edges

On the left, the upper piece has a canker sore and the lower was just rusted through. Fortunately, I traced the shapes to cardstock from the rusty pieces I remeoved. I have mocked up the new pieces but have not cut out the old and welded it in the new yet. I’ll add pics as I take on that task.