670 replies to this topic

[big-jay]

Great threaed, I have sneaking suspicion I'm going to learn a lot from this. Good luck with the build.

Hi skmulvany, I'm still learning myself but am getting more and more confident each time I work on the car, I'm glad you feel you can learn from this !

Edited by big-jay, 27 June 2014 - 10:08 AM.

[domdee]

 

 

is that your welders earth bolted on there?

Yes, sandwiched between two bolts so its a decent earth, not the best but it got the job done.

 

hey i arent knocking it, probably a better earth than the sh1tty clamps that come with welders

[big-jay]

is that your welders earth bolted on there?

Yes mate, I sandwiched it between two bolts so its a decent earth, not the best but it got the job done, the clamps a bit dodgy haha !

hey i arent knocking it, probably a better earth than the sh1tty clamps that come with welders

I agree the clamps are terrible, they don't last very long !

Edited by big-jay, 27 June 2014 - 12:09 AM.

[big-jay]

Update guys,

Me and my dad got the floor pan welded in today, took some persuasion but nothing the grinder and a big hammer couldn't sort out . Really happy with how it came out, got some pictures of the process.

In position to be welded -



Welded, tidied up and temporarily primed to keep the rust at bay -



Ill be sanding the whole floor of the car, priming, applying Tiger Seal on the welds, applying more primer, top coating and will then be applying Dyna-Mat with underlay. Then I think I'll be buying a new carpet set from Newton Commercial, so that should smarten the inside up !

Also I removed the shock absorber mount today, I new it had gone but didn't think it would be too bad, couldn't of been more wrong !



Rot cut out -



Temporary primer applied -



Will have to make a repair piece for this and then I'll be purchasing Lowered Shock Absorber Mounting Brackets for both sides from Minispares.

Also made a small patch for the bottom of the Flitch panel -



You can't really see the patch but if you look back at the earlier photo of when we put the Flitch panel In You'll see there's a small hole at the bottom.

So, to do list for tomorrow is as follows, make a piece to fit the top of the Flitch panel, ( as you can see in the photo above ), and also get the Cross Member repair section welded in. Feels like we're making good speedy progress with this so I'm happy . Can't wait to get this welding phase over and start prepping the whole car for a nice new shiny paint job . Still got the other side to do though but hopefully won't take us too long.

That's it for today guys but I'll have some more to update tomorrow !

Edited by big-jay, 27 June 2014 - 12:12 AM.

[big-jay]

Update,

We made a piece to fit the top of the Flitch panel today, i hate really fiddly pieces, and some how it took all day to get it right so didnt get chance to do anything else but it does look good now it's in.

In position to be welded -



Welded in and dressed up -



Still got to make another piece to fit the remaining gap at the top of the Flitch but getting there

On a side note, she's looking sorry for her self -



Two minis tucked up -

[big-jay]

Update,

Booked the night off work last night so I got a bit done yesterday and some today.

The rust bug had already started to come through my nice fresh welding so had to sand all the welding down we've done, re-primer and apply temporary black top coat to stop it.





I also removed what was left of the wing from the inner wing and front panel.

Started off like this -



And ended up like this -



As you can see the inner wing lip at the top is gone so I spent today fabricating a new one. Had to make it in two halves as I haven't got a piece of steel long enough.

Made a card template first -



Then transferred it to steel -



How it fits -



I left the old lip in place so I could get the curve right. Didn't get chance to fabricate the top half or remove the old lip today as it started chucking down so I went in. I'll do some more the weekend though as I'm at work for the rest of the week now.

Also I received some new smoked side indicators today, bargain from Wood and Pickett on EBay !



Aiming to have a big box full of new goodies for the rebuild

All in all I'm happy with the progress but still have a massive list of panels and parts I need, new rear subframe, bonnet, boot, possible front subframe, all the panels for the other side, respray and the list goes on believe me . Ill have to upload a picture of it !

More updates the weekend

[big-jay]

I have a massive update coming soon guys, don't worry I've not give up . Got loads done, just haven't had the time to update this thread, also photobuckets messed all my pictures up so I've got to figure out how to fix that too !

[big-jay]

Huge Update,

Right, where do I start ! Got a load done over the last few weeks but haven't been able to get on here to update, but nows the time !

I acquired some one inch box section to make some bracing ready for the removal of the doorstep.



Braced the door by tacking it to either side of the door flanges, before I did this I took some accurate measurements from the other side and they where bang on the same, so that was a relief, means nothing's moved that shouldn't have !



We then chopped the old doorstep out and had a play trying to get the other doorstep into place. Ive heard the magnum doorsteps are a pig to fit but to be honest it really wasn't a bad fit at all, just took a bit of time to get it to fit right at the rear end but not to bad at all.

Roughly positioned into place ( apologise for the poor pictures, but just wanted to get on with it )



Then we checked the fit with the door on -



Not a bad fit at all, still needed more work as the gap was wider at the back. I have got a picture of the finished product but its not brilliant as the light was fading and my cameras not the best as it is, I will post a better picture of the finished product soon though, but here's the poor picture anyway.

Welded in, better picture coming soon -



Plug welded it to the front inner sill and the new crossmember, which I'll show you how we fitted.

I positioned the crossmember in place and then used an old cobra subframe I had knocking around in the shed to make sure the gaping was right between the two seat securing brackets, then we tacked it in place and then seam welded it. Really impressed with M-Machine panels, great fitting and quality !

Painted the inside for some protection -



Then we drilled the holes for the plug welds and seamed welded the top and sides -



Still needs more welding along the top to fill the gaps, will get a lick of filler after as well, but daylight was running out so had to call it a day.

Then I started to do some seam sealing of the stuff we've already welded in.

Sanded back mostly to bear metal -



Etch primed -



Tiger seal applied, will prime again and top coat -



Also done the flitch, same as above -



Had a bit of a reaction with the flitch though so will have to be rubbed down and primed again !

That's all the body work I've got done, but I've still got more to update.

Won this beauty on eBay for an absolute bargain, brand new, never installed, the guy brought it for his own project but never finished it. Just waiting for it to arrive now and I'll take some piccys of it, have got the eBay picture though so here you go.



So today I started stripping down my current dash set up to clean the clocks and what not and get them ready to go in the new dash, which won't be being installed until the cars finished though so it will be safely tucked away in my room till then

Before -



Removed -



Took it inside and stripped it down and cleaned it.

Before -



After -



I'm going to Repaint all the back plates and renew all bolts etc, also thinking of getting some magnolia fascias from sticky fingers as that will finish the clocks off nicely !

So that's where I'm currently at and am going to do some more work tomorrow, going to Bingley Hall on Sunday and cannot wait, going to relieve my self of some hard earned cash .

Edited by big-jay, 27 June 2014 - 10:15 AM.

[big-jay]

Update,

Decided to repair the shock mount today but couldn't get it completely finished as it started lashing down, hail stones and everything, don't you just love the British weather !! Anyway here's some pictures of the process.

Hole in question -



Kurust, etch primer and top coat applied -



We then made this plate from thicker gauge steel, 1.2mm and etch primed it -



Top coat applied to the back of the plate -



Plug welded, used the shock mount bolts to keep it all tight -



Seam welded, not finished though as it started p***ing down, had to quickly apply some etch as you can see its already started to get wet -



Will have to finish this off on Monday as its Bingley Hall Tomorrow, booked a couple of nights off work next week to work on the car anyway. Also started sanding and seam sealing the underneath of the new floor pan and flitch, but haven't finished this yet so I'll take some pictures when I'm done.

That's all for now folks

[big-jay]

Update,

Went to Bingley Hall today, what a great day out it was, was packed out there all day, got some really good bargains

I got an upper dash rail, MK2 rear lights, doorstep plates, loads of smiffy's bits bolts, scuttle repair panel, a couple of knotted wire cups, and some roloc pads of different grades to put in the drill all for a really good price !







Also I think I've got the only top dash rail with no rust haha







My dash should be arriving Wednesday with any luck so will post some piccys when it does !

Doing some more work on the car tomorrow so updates to follow

Edited by big-jay, 27 June 2014 - 12:21 AM.

[big-jay]

Small update,

One of those days today, don't feel like I've achieved much, but just couldn't be bothered with the grinder etc, so I got on with some of the niggly but necessary jobs.

First off I cleaned up the speedo casing along with the oil and temp cases -



After, (poor picture) -



Finished up seam sealing the underneath of the floor pan -





Also I removed an old alarm system I had and some other things I no longer want -



Stripped back the underseal on the inner wing and to be fair it's pretty decent apart from where it meets the front panel, it's been bodged there so something else to put right -



Problem area -



Also removed the lower dash rail as i think I may be sending it, plus my newly acquired top dash rail, off to the trimmers next week to be covered in some sexy black alcantara

Removed the chrome trim, very delicately -



And I couldn't resist trial fitting the MK2 lights -



They look fantastic, even though my paintwork doesn't, respray on the cards soon thankfully. Took them back off and stored them away safely.

That's all today but I'll get the grinder out tomorrow and remove the companion bin, some of the rear quarter section and might finish of my doorstep. Still lots to do but got to keep it moving !

Edited by big-jay, 27 June 2014 - 10:17 AM.

[big-jay]

Update,

So I got a fair amount done today, I started off by removing the companion bin as it was rotten where it meets the floor.

How it was when I started -



Partly cut out with the grinder, you can see the inner sill wasn't even welded to anything where it meets the inner sill stiffener, just moving freely, bodger's paradise, what a joker ! -





I officially hate drilling out spot welds, took forever ( EXTREMELY poor picture ) -



Hammer meets thumb trying to remove spot welds, all beautifully swollen and bruised now



Removed what was left of the 'inner sill' -



Need to remove this cup thing for the seatbelt as the companion bin from M-Machine doesn't come with it -



Think I got my money's worth out of this cutting disk -



Removed the rest of the companion bin and then I turned my attention to the rear quarter. I jacked her up and removed the arch and then set about it with a knotted wheel brush on the drill.

Before wheel brushing -



After wheel brushing -



Area of rot -



Area of rot -



Chopped out the rot with the grinder and could not believe what greeted me -



Bodged full of some sort of sealant and no closure plate in sight -



Anyways removed all that nastiness and this is what I was left with -



Another headache as its all wrong, no wonder my car was flooded with water when it was on the road. It's all going to have to be redone so will be removing the subframe this weekend to sort this area out properly.

I decided I'd had enough of looking at the messy welds on the door step so I set about them with a 1mm cutting disk and I'm quite pleased with how It came out. Ill also use some Roloc Disks to get the final finish but it still needs some small holes filled and some filler to perfect it but for a quick dressing up its not bad !





Primer applied and it all looks fairly tidy -





That's as far as I got today but I'll get some more done tomorrow before work.

Edited by big-jay, 27 June 2014 - 12:31 AM.

[big-jay]

Update,

Nothing major but an update all the same. Got some seam sealing done today around the fresh air vent and flitch panel inside of the car.

Weld ground down -



I split the seam with a large flat head screw driver and flooded it with Zinc rich primer in order to protect it against rust, then closed it back up and primed the rest of the air vent -



Tiger seal applied, not the prettiest but as long as it keeps the water out I don't care -



As you can see I've still got to fabricate a piece for the top of the flitch but will have to wait till the weekend now. Planning on removing the rear subframe this weekend as well so I can start work on the heel board.

Ive ordered some panels from M - Machine today, RH Rear Floor Pan, Heel Board Repair, Inner Sill Stiffener, and also the subframe closing panel so hopefully that will arrive by the weekend !

Got my dash today but it arrived damaged because of the delivery guys, it's got a small crack in the lacquer in one corner. I think I'll have it repaired though as the rest is in pristine condition and I did get it for a dirt cheap price. Don't think I can be bothered with the hassle of sending it back to be honest !

Edited by big-jay, 27 June 2014 - 10:20 AM.

[Minimoke8394]

Great write up so far, and that dash looks lovely. Keep up the good work dude! 

[big-jay]

Great write up so far, and that dash looks lovely. Keep up the good work dude!

Thanks for the kind words !