BLACKBIRD
October 30, 2025
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THE AUTO BUILDER
Featured
Bonneville: The Final Frontier
Bonneville is that final frontier, a place where a man or a woman with a better idea isn’t punished with a bunch of extra weight or politically ruled out of racing. It’s a place where a person with a better idea gets in the record book until someone with a better idea takes it away. It’s that simple, and it’s speed racing at its purest.
TOUR DE CENTERFORCE
When it comes to enhancing the performance and reliability of performance cars, it seems as if enough is never enough, regardless of the vehicle, drivetrain or chassis. Then again, when you consider the problems that often cripple our cars despite the inherent strengths or improvements upon them, it’s often the driver that has the most detrimental effect on everything above the pavement.
KEEPSAKE CAMARO
Drag racing history buffs are more than familiar with the name Dick Harrell, or “Mr. Chevrolet,” one of early drag racing’s pioneer match race/funny car stars. However, there was also Dick Harrell the innovator, and he should be recognized for his incredible streetcars.
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Patchy Progress
Using Basic Metalworking Skills to Repair a Rusty Door
“Rust can put fear into the hearts of many hot rodders, but with enough work, nearly anything can be repaired.“
Author
Tommy Lee Byrd
Words & Photography
Common Rust Issues in Classic Cars
Patching a rusty hole in an old car is a common occurrence, especially on the East Coast, where the cars are more likely to rust out. The humid air is part of the problem, and then there is that whole thing of salting roads in the winter, but some rust is simply caused by car manufacturers using lower-grade metals and primers on their cheaper models. This example is a ’53 Henry J, and it has the usual rust issues on the doors, fenders, floor pans, and rocker panels. Most folks would pass on a car this rusty, but this one is considered decent by Henry J standards.
The History and Challenges of Henry Js
The cars were built on a budget and sold at a low price, but the bodies just didn’t last long. Proper care was not taken to make Henry Js hold up to moisture, and it wasn’t long before many of the cars were crushed or patched together to run on the dragstrip. While we are performing this rust repair on a product from Kaiser, the techniques can be transferred to nearly any car, as long as it’s metal.
Tools and Techniques for Rust Repair
For this project, we needed a MIG welder, a grinder, a cutoff tool, a new piece of sheet metal, and a body hammer. Other tools can be used to speed the process, but we made the patches without the use of any extravagant metalworking tools. If the rust had traveled any higher on the door, the process would have been much more difficult, but it was a simple project that only took a couple of hours.
Finishing Touches and Considerations
Of course, we’ll have to use body filler to give the door a perfectly straight surface, but with the right methods, we can use a modest amount to obtain the look we want. All welding should be complete when the bodywork starts, since the heat will soften the filler or primer and cause it to lift. This can create cracks or bubbles after the car is painted, and it’s never fun to find one of those on a recently finished hot rod.
Moving Forward with Repairs
Rust can put fear into the hearts of many hot rodders, but with enough work, nearly anything can be repaired. Most rodders can pick up the phone and order the patch panels they need, but in our case, there are no reproduction panels for a Henry J besides fiberglass race parts. Now that we have the passenger-side door finished, we can move on to repairing the rust in the other door, fenders, hood, and decklid—wow, this thing is rusty.
