1966 Chevy El Camino Body Repair & Hood Install - Uncovered

It's the small items that define a true body shop. Arthur Rubio noticed that the window track on the driver's side door had been repaired with a jagged hole, body filler, and a hose clamp. He dismantled the window track, cut the old hole out, and welded a new patch panel in place. He then filled the edges with Bondo and metal glaze and sanded the area to prepare it for primer.

Take it from us: Rust had worked its way into every crevice imaginable. The quarter-panel on the driver's side behind the rear wheel suffered the most. This sort of damage can't be filled. It must be removed. Roberto Bernal taped off the section and used an air-powered cutting wheel to remove the rotted metal.

Bernal measured and cut a new piece of sheetmetal from stock. Next, he began to stitch-weld the corners of the new metal into place. He followed along the sides until the new piece was welded in, leaving no gaps whatsoever. Lastly, he ground the welds smooth.

Before body filler can be laid onto the newly attached metal, fiberglass is first applied. The fiberglass has the same consistency as the body filler, requiring a catalyst to harden. Once dry, it can then be sanded to the desired results. After the fiberglass was sanded completely, the body filler was spread on top. Bernal then made sure to keep following the natural body lines.

Bernal removed the tailgate from the El Camino and set it up on a workbench to begin sanding. It was determined that the tailgate didn't suffer any rust, so Bernal could move on ahead and began to lay thin layers of Rage Gold filler to the panel. Working in a diagonal fashion, he started with 40-grit sandpaper and ended with 80-grit to eliminate any waves in the metal.

Our rear window was atrocious. The sides and bottom that supported the window had completely disintegrated. Fortunately, OPG has the lower portion available as a patch panel. Unfortunately, the sides would have to be hand-formed. Bernal separated the old portion away from the cab, cut the sides away from the bed, and replaced it with the OPG patch panel. He smoothed over the new welds with a grinder and applied filler to even everything out.

While the Elco wasn't quite ready for primer, the doors, tailgate, fender, and hood were. Arthur Rubio mixed up our Eastwood epoxy primer with the Eastwood 1:1 catalyst. This is a fast-drying application and is easy to sand two or three days after application. At just $17 each, the primer and catalyst are a steal.

Adjustable Block
Eastwood also offers these long-board adjustable sanders that are designed to follow changes along the body contours. Full abrasive contact prevents "flat spotting." The 1075 tempered spring steel faceplate is embedded into the urethane foam body. Removing any or all of the three rods encased in the handle will adjust the flexibility of your sander. This can be used to maintain either flat or curved surface areas. Ixqiac used 80-grit sandpaper to finish off the passenger door.

For now, the Rubio's team set the primered panels aside and prepared the remainder of the El Camino's body for primer. All loose ends, such as body filler and additional sanding, were completed. Don't worry though. Part 2 is just around the corner. Next time we follow along as Rubio's finishes shooting the primer and sprays the shell with a matte black finish.