AL's (not so) mini build... August 2015 - Paint!

oohh the joys……the joys of restoration  

Mortz said

oohh the joys……the joys of restoration  

What's up dude…

Your cabby on the road yet then?

AL_Mk1 said

Mortz said

oohh the joys……the joys of restoration  

What's up dude…

Your cabby on the road yet then?

Alright mucker?

No not yet…..not far off though….got some issues with my power roof….got some issue's with electrics…..replace anti roll bar bushes…..fitted new outer hood once power hood issue is sorted….should be ready for MOT then butt !

Gosh - I have been slacking - This post was down on page 5!

Well, small update (No pics though)… The tank/pump/accumulator are now off!

What a pain removing the tank was when you can only get the car about a foot off the floor!

Tank - Going to give it a rub down and paint it up. Bit of rust around the edges, but it looks ok.
Pump - Has only done about 3.5K miles so is good. Quite a lot of crap caught in the little thimble filter though!
Accumulator - This look like it came off the titanic! Suprised it/pipes are still going - very rusty etc. Outer braiding of the pipes is rotten and falling apart!

Also had to take the filler neck off as I couldn't disconnect it from the tank while on the car!
Pipe itself is good, though the mounting lugs wjere it bolts to the rear quarter all snapped off! Going to have to improvise there, I think!

With all of the above out, I can see what I am up against with the shell. It isn't actually too bad!
Few areas of light rusting that should brush up OK.
The rusty axle mount looks quite bad now and I can't believe I hadn't spotted it before it got to this state!

Anyway, hope to make some real progress over the next couple of weeks - lots of Pics to come!

AL.

you got that mount in yet al?

boyle_sbd said

you got that mount in yet al?

Ah mate, I have been really slack…
 :roll:


I haven't touched it in weeks. Been really busy in work recently which has meant I have been looking forward to just chilling at the weekends, meaning no work on the golf! I really need to pull my finger out and get some work done.

tsk tsk…….haha………

need to get your weld on dude.

After a bit of motivation after going to Volksfest, I decided to pull the old rot box out and start cutting out the rusty bits this afternoon.

Unfortunately I had a bit of a disaster…. The car fell of the "Skate" I made for it and the passenger rear quarter fell against the garage door frame. leaving a nice prominent crease, right across the swage line, in front of the rear arch!!!
                         

The driver side sill took a bit of weight, deforming it slightly, but that I can cope with, as I have to do a repair to the end anyway, so can likely straighten it out, but the rear quarter…  :dontknow:
I can get at the back of the dent as it is under the window, though how well I can knock it out is another thing…
There is no way I can afford to get it painted, so a full on repair is out of the question.

Was too upset to take any pics so will do so next time it comes out.

Good news is, I did manage to cut out some of the sections I needed to, so I can make up some templates, cut some steel and start welding!

Well,

Been out between rain showers this PM and popped the rear side window out so that I could get to both sides of the panel while outside the car.
Gave it a bit of a beating with the palm of my hand and got some of it back into shape, though it is still visible.

Wondering if someone like "dentwise" paintless dent removal would be able to sort it? Anyone had any experience of this sort of company?

Still no pics, sorry…
 :cry:

I've personally not had any experience with dent fixers but my mate in Hereford called out the Dent Doctor when he had his Integra Type R. And apparently he did wonders! and he recommends them to everyone.

Chin up, it'll work out for you! Just be thankfull it didn't fall on you and you didn't get hurt.

bouchay said

Just be thankfull it didn't fall on you and you didn't get hurt.

Yes - that did go through my mind!

TBH, its show and shine days are over and I just want to enjoy driving it again!
For a 28 year old motor, it isn't doing too bad, even with the dent! Perhaps a dent doctor can sort it out. I think I'll get it running and MOT'd first, eh!

Have you ever considered doing the paint job your self with a roller and loads of wet n dry?

I'd love to have a go actually, though other than a few repair spots, the rest of the paintwork is still very good.

The only thing that really bothers me is that the rustoleum that suits this approach doesn't come in proper mars red - I wouldn't want to put any other red on the car…

OK, took a couple of pics of the damage from "the incident":

Damage to drivers sill:


Got to cut a small section out where the grommett is, so should be able to pull that back into shape.

Passenger rear quarter - You can see the crease in the middle of the pics:







IMG_4363 by www.pix-al.co.uk, on Flickr

Not as bad as it was when it happened. will probably not even notice it from some angles, but it will be one of those that really stands out once you do notice it!


On a more positive not, I have started cutting out the rotten parts.
You can see the hole I have cut in the chassis section below - this was really bad. The other strengthening section beneath it is still solid, though you can see that the surface is really pitted:


This is the drivers side rear wheel well. What looked like a very small hole turned into a six inch strip needing to be cut out!
You can see the end of the sill here too - this needs to be cut out though hopefully, there is enough on the arch repair panel to cover what I need.
Not got the arches yet, so leaving that as it is for now!

IMG_4362 by www.pix-al.co.uk, on Flickr

AL.

My dad has had experience with the dent surgeons they are incredible mate, i sat and watched a guy pull two dents that looked like bullet holes out in under 15minutes definitely worth a try dude.

Jack.

Bad luck on the dents    But keep up the good work!

Really enjoy this build

Definatly give the Dent fixers a go, you'll be amazed and I recon that when theyre finished you wont be able to tell they were ever there. Cheaper than getting a body shop to sand/fill/spray etc….

Bit of an update - After a bit of inspiration reading a fellow members thread last night, I poked the welder at the car for the first time today!

Was actually a lot trickier than the square section stuff I have been practicing on!

A few pics:

This was the hole at the front of the driver side rear arch after poking around and finding a little rust.

IMG_4362 by www.pix-al.co.uk, on Flickr

I cut a section to fit and had a go at welding it in. It took a lot longer thatn I thought it would and the metalwork is so thin, I was blowing holes quite a lot! Got there in the end though. Not the neatest, but for a first time, not too bad. It is going to be covered in underseal anyway…
A little more to do bottom left of the repair too:

Weld1 by www.pix-al.co.uk, on Flickr

And a bit of acid etch:

Weld2 by www.pix-al.co.uk, on Flickr

Also took another look under the car at the hole I cut where the axle mount had gone rusty.
Think I might need to do the lower triangular section that meets the sill as that looks a bit too pitted too:

Hole1 by www.pix-al.co.uk, on Flickr


Cut the piece to fit:

Plate1 by www.pix-al.co.uk, on Flickr

I have tacked this in place, but not welded it in properly yet - Maybe tomorrow…


Pretty tricky to do this while lying on your back holding your head up with the weight of the welding helmet too!

good work al. its definetly not about welding lying down haha.

No more welding yet - too hot to be overall'd up dealing with hot metal!

Did run the drill with wire cup over the rear axle though. Was quite crudded up 'n rusty!
Wanted to take the ARB off and do it properly, but after realising I couldn't take the outer clips off without fubar'ing them, id did it as one!

Also fitted a set of poly bushed that I have had lying around for about 10 years!  


Axle 1 by www.pix-al.co.uk, on Flickr


Axle 2 by www.pix-al.co.uk, on Flickr


Got to do the fuel tank and straps next…