Super Chevy – September 2019

44 SUPER CHEVY SEPTEMBER^2019

TECH PUSHING STEEL

Next up was the panel that incorporates the toeboards and

firewall. It’s critical that these three pieces (firewall, main floor,

and trunk floor) are right since the rest of the car will build

off of these.

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We typically start these projects with a done and running

car and then spend a week turning it from blah to bitchin.

This time, instead to starting with someone’s done or stalled

project, we’re getting the car ready for our week of wrench-

ing. This way we won’t have any surprises and we know the

starting point will be rock solid. The plan is that Real Deal

Steel will build us the body and AA Customs will do the

final bodywork and lay down the paint. Once back at our

MotorTrend Tech Center in California we’ll have seven days

to turn the painted body into a badass ride.

But for now let’s take a look at how Real Deal Steel turns

a huge stack of Golden Star Classic Auto Parts sheetmetal

into a 1955 Chevy sedan.

Making sure that all the pieces are in exactly the right place

is the job of the main fixture jig. These take around six months

to develop using unmolested cars. The jig uses factory holes

to locate the various panels and hold them in proper relation

to one another. Could you assemble a complete car without

the jig? Yeah, but it would be a nightmare trying to make sure all

the parts are precisely located. Here you can see the jig locating

the side cowls by using the door hinge mounts.

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With the side cowls in place it was time to attach the upper

cowl panel.

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In places the pinch welder won’t reach, or in areas that need

to be stitch welded, RDS MIG welds.

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The inner rear quarters come from Golden Star with the wider

inner mini-tubs already installed. This saves a ton of time, which

is another reason their add-on for mini-tubs is so reasonable. The

inners were located with the jig then welded to the floor sections.

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This is where the rotary lift makes the whole process easier.

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