mk1 project - shell up custom rebuild- sheet metal work time

i reckon more like 80 hrs and counting

i had 30 hours in the bulkhead and first front panel -both of which are now binned - haha

It would be like painting the forth bridge if I attempted a build of this detail, I work so slow!

really great stuff mike gonna be watching from now on

 it will be a shame to paint it  

true chidz!!

couple of small updates from the past few weeks

folded new bulkhead - used a 3mm sheet of steel above the bulkhead piece when folding it to soften the edges
of the upper tooling to give a more subtle bend like the factory piece. Will be alot of the original pressing detail going back into this section before it gets put in

more work on the new front panel and some smoothing - not got too far but i'm generally pleased with the outcome.


worked on the drivers turret and chassis leg some more - tidying up the metal work here and there.  Finally got it to a point where i could put some etch prime on.



really pleased with how its looking



just etch primer over baremetal - little bit of satin black as a guide coat

once the whole bay is to this standard i'll block the section again to highlight any bits that need more metal work / attention


thanks for the kind comments

mike

Just like to say that your work is amazing and have a load of respect for your approach of actual metal work and not just plate over an area and slap on the filler. Wish I had the skill time and patience to do this with mine but now I've got the engine out think all I'll manage is tidying a few little things up.

Awesome as usual Mike :clap:

How much more work to finish the bay?

Thanks for the kind words

quite alot still to do on the bay - there's the small matter of the bulkhead too  :wink:

reckon about 50 hours metal work?  then paint prep on top of that :dontknow:

Just read through the entire thread and gotta say hat off fella most show cars dont get that kinda attencion to detail.

keep up the good work :wink:

actually made it into the garage on sunday for an hour or 2

progress is slow

Very impressive, not many cars with this much attention to detail.

Keep up the good work :wink:

Hi mike

Car looks awesome! Wish i had half you skill mate!

Got a caddy project which has been in a bit of a stall for the last year but you given me some serious inspiration!

Been looking at hammer and dolly sets they are a fortune, what do you use cause ive seen cheapy sets on ebay that look not too bad.

do you know if its easy to chop out and replace the seat rails? got some holes to patch up near mine, I want to put different seats in at a later date and to be honest i dont know if i even need the original seat rails.

ps thanks for the tips on blending welds, off to get a little compressor and a little sander!

smegger ,

thanks for the kinda words.

I initially got a cheapo ebay hammer and dolly set (was about £10) it did the job but the hammer faces / dollies are a bit too soft and mark easily - especially if you hammer the welds

But as a first set they did the job - I now just trawl ebay for the odd bargain for more suitable tools etc or make my own dollies.

Seat rails are spotted in and stiched in a few places - with a decent carbide spot weld drill ( not the crappy toothed ones) and a slitting disk they'll come out complete enough to allow you to do the repairs and then go back in if you need them too.

mike

mike to sand the welds do you use an roloc thingy on a drill or an air sander like this? clicky

Been keeping an eye on some nice sykes hammers on flebay but i think ill buy a cheapo set and replace the ones that wear out from most use.

Cheers again for the advise!

New bulkhead fits!

Don't worry this is just the blank. Alot more detail will be added and some off the original factory pressings put back in.

super impressive work there
looking forward to more updates

This is brilliant work. Really loving the attention to detail. Been doing some metal work & welding for the first time myself- so time consuming.

Looking forward to seeing the progress you make. Oh and can't wait to find out what engine is going in

Cheers,
D

pretty sure this is going to become another unfunished project statistic.

something older rwd and with a small block v8 is tempting me away.

so shell is probably going to get broken / binned as its not really is a good position to sell as it is

pm me if you need any panels  or if you are interested in the shell as it stands.

mike