99 replies to this topic

[n1tr0_9]

Subframe all painted in Hammerite smooth direct to rust paint. This should keep the rust away for some time. Ive refitted the brake lines too. Just waiting to get the handbrake cable and that should be here tomorrow.

[n1tr0_9]

Started to repair the area around the drivers side rear subframe mount at the rear of the sill. Cut two patches out that were rusty.



Made some patches



Spot welded through to the lower flange and the vertical bit in the back of the rear well pocket.

All welded up. Had to do a bit of upside down welding but went pretty well.



Then i started on the floor/inner sill.

Before the surgery began i welded a piece of box section across the door aperture and picking up on the floor cross member. I did this so nothing could move but also put it inside the car so i could close the door and check for misalignment with the door when i refit the door step and outer sill. It sits flush on the cross member and then is welded to the front inner arch and the rear lower pocket.



Then i cut out the remainder of the old floor/sill



I tried to save the old jacking point but its a bit on the crusty side. It would be silly to put this back in so ill have to buy a new one.

[n1tr0_9]

I got a local engineering firm to fold me two lengths of 1mm steel in roughly the right shape for the inner sill, as the replacement pattern part wasnt going to work. I wanted to do it as one section as it would be neater and hopefully stronger than lots of little patches. I trimmed it to size, and pre drilled the holes for plug welding onto the floor cross member and the bottom of the rear door pocket. Then i applied a light coat of Zinc.



Then i tacked it into place.



Followed by a weldathon. Cant believe how long it took to weld this in.



After i ground down the welds a little and more zinc.



When i cut the old inner sill and jacking point off i had to cut off the 90 degree flanges that went from cross member to inner sill. So ive remade it with a strip and some plug welds. Once the outer sill is on i will cut out the bracing and weld all this up neatly.



Then i took a look at the oversill that came with the car. Ive done alot of reading on here and the general consensus is that over sills are bad. Firstly because they dont let water drain out or air circulate Secondly, because they get welded much lower down the floor than the original 4" sill, they dont create as stiff a box section when in combination with the inner sill. So im cutting these ones down to 4 1/2" as is common.



I cant fit it yet as the new jacking point hasnt arrived.

Then i started derusting the rear valance and underside of the boot floor. Didnt get pics of the underneath but basically i ground off the surface rust ans sealer and treated it. Here is a pis of the inside of the boot i will patch.



Then last thing i started on the battery tray.



As i welded it i found more rust in the other side so i will finish this tomorrow.

[n1tr0_9]

Today i started by finishing the repair to the battery tray.



Then i moved onto the boot corners. This mini project was never meant to be a restoration,, just to get it back into a solid usable state for the next few years. With that in mind it was decided to just treat all thge rust in these areas, patch where necessary and then seal up to stop further ingress of moisture. So thats what im doing. Lots of scrubbing with wire brushes, a bit of hoovering and then bilthamber rust killer follwed by zinc. Then i made a plate for it and welded it ontop.







Did much the same on the other side.







I want to get the rear subframe back in, so that i can get the car on the ground on its wheels. Then i can check all the door gaps again before i continue replacing door steps and sills etc. So i repaired the other subframe mount on the heel board. Its a 1.5mm plate seam welded in, then ground smooth. Also rust treated.



I took the fuel filter mount off and cleaned that up too as it was rather crusty. Ill hammerite it on monday.



Good thing i did, as it gave me a chance to see the fuel filter. Ive never seen this before, but the ally body has started to errode away. It looks like a part of a boat that has been in sea water. Really strange. So ill have to swap this too. Doesnt show up so well in the photo, but it wouldnt have been long before this started leaking. Its pretty close to the exhaust too!

Edited by n1tr0_9, 15 September 2012 - 05:05 PM.

[Shifty]

Looks like you're making a really nice job of this.

Its a bit late now but M-Machine do a nice full length inner sill panel.

Look forward to seeing it finished.

[shough]

Awesome work. Love seeing rotters turned around.

[n1tr0_9]

Started today with a bit of a FAIL. I braced up the door aperture so that when i cut the door step out nothing would flex or move. Spot the mistake.



Yep, i could shut the door, so i couldnt check the gap between door and step. So i cut it all off and welded it on the inside. I also took the opportunity to measure the door gap and write the distance in mm on the door skin so i could use it for referance later.





I then spent a frustrating few hours trying to get teh door step into shape. The front was OK, as i had already replaced the front corner with a pattern part from the same company as the door step, so it just needed a tiny bit of fe4ttling. The rear was a total ball ache. The steps were different sizes and where it swept up the rear corner was totally wrong. I decide to cut down the new panel, to retain as much of the original shape as possible. I then cut slots and rebent the returns in the vice to get it closer.





Before tacking it in, i welded on the new jacking point. I also remade the top flange of the inner sill where it was a bit distorted from drilling spot welds. Im not happy with where the jacking point is, it should be lower at the front, so i may have to modify it.



Then last thing today i tacked the door step in. I swung the door shut, and its not too bad. It still needs some manipulation though as the inner flange that get spot welded is too high. I clamped the outer sill on to see what thats like and its pretty good, but again it may need to be rebendt slightly to fit nicely. But i was knackered by this point and wanted a beer.

[n1tr0_9]

Did some more mocking up of the door step and outer sill. Then put some more tacks in the door step.



I then started to prepare the outer sill for fitting. This involved drilling lots of holes and slight tweaking to get it to fit against the floor and the door step seam properly. I also ground all the crap black paint of the replacement panel. It was just falling off. So i got the rest off with the wire wheel.



Then i degreased it with panel wipe. I put masking tape on the areas that were going to be welded then gave it a light dusting with acid etch primer. I then applied some gloss black that i had lying about in the garage. This was to ensure it would be water proof. Then finally i pulled off the masking tape and put weld though primer on the rest. I gave exactly the same treatment to the under side of the door step and inner sill while i still had good access.

Etch primer, weld thru primer, and panel wipe



Sill after acid etch and gloss black



Inner sill in gloss black then masking tape off and zinc on bits to be welded



Partially welded



Cleaned up and zinced



Fit is pretty good



Made a start on the lower rear quarter, its not too bad





Hopefully 1 more day and this side will be done apart from the front end!

[mini_in_progress]

you seem to be making a move on with this mate, wish i could get mine done as quick :)

keep up the good work, dave

Edited by mini_in_progress, 19 September 2012 - 04:19 PM.

[n1tr0_9]

Im trying to get it done quickly as my cousin needs her car back!

Didnt bother getting any photos but this morning i painted the fuel filter bracket and then fitted the handbrake cable to the rear subframe. This was a bit of a fiddle to thread through, but i got there in the end.

This afternoon i continued with the lower rear quarter.

The panel behind was a bit rusty so i cut that out.



I made a pattern and a new part from steel sheet, bent to shape. I then welded a flange to the bottom to replicate the original. This took a bit of fiddling to get the right profile and shape.



Then i trial fitted the repair panel again. Ive been trying to get it to align neatly like factory, but it wouldnt sit flush on the rear edge of the door step. So i had to weld another piece of metal onto the rear of the doorstep and blend it in with the grinder so that it would look neat. Its starting to come together and ill be welding it in tomorrow.

[n1tr0_9]

This morning i welded on the lower rear quarter. I taped a thin bit of hose to my hoover nozzle to get all the grindings etc out of the bottom of the sill, then painted inside before starting the welding.

Plug welds at the front and to the door step



Tacked in



Then i welded it in. I had to do this really slowly to avoid heat distortion. Then i ground it flat. Last i shone a torch from behind to identify pin holes then i filled those in. I also checked behind for penetration and thin bits.







I took the bracing out and finished welding the flanges of the floor cross member to the inner sill.



Then i started on the other side. I braced up the door aperture same as on the other side.



Then cut the sill off and folded it down.

Doh!

I was hoping that this side would be less work as it looked better than the drivers side. Wrong.

[n1tr0_9]

After the disappointment of seeing how crusty this side was i decided i had to just get stuck in.

So i started at the front and worked my way rearwards.

Front cut out and i found the jacking point was solid enough to be reused. This was great as its a pain in the bum to remove without severe butchery. A tickle with the sander gave shiny metal to spot weld the outer sill too.



Made a repair panel from the inner sill steel lengths i had made up earlier. Then coated with a dusting of weld through primer.



Welded



I have deliberately been welding upside down. I hate leaving flanges open on the underside of cars. Although you can hammer them shut and seal them, id rather weld it. Its not so bad with good metal and the welder set up right.

Inside



I then worked my way rear




I did something a bit different with the rear repair. I made an extension piece to run up the side of the subframe mounting point stiffener. This is because it has started to rust on the other side and without cutting the car apart i had no way to repair it. So ive done this so its strong and ive chiselled all the rotten metal out and will rust treat the rest.







Last thing today i started on the doorstep. Im joining it slightly differently as it was such a pain trying to get the curves right as it sweeps up onto the rear quarter. Here i have cut it straight as that bit of the door step on the car is solid.





Rusty old door step.

[alex-95]

Excellent work there, Your upside down welding look's very neat.

[Jasonc]

Looking very good - can't wait to see it finished!

[Mini_Matt]

Hi

Just read this through. great progress...your working through it really quickly!!

I need to learn how to weld and get more spare time!!