Louie's 83 GTI Build

The final big piece of metal work was the A pillars as previous repairs on them were poor. Now they're sorted it's just putting the scuttle back on, a few small holes then onto dents and paint. Didn't get many pictures of the A pillar repairs, bit annoying but they've both completed with previous repair cut out and replaced.

Found some pictures from the drivers side A Pillar repairs, all the previous work cut out and replaced.









Rain tray was repaired next, he cut out any rust and replaced, before prepping for paint. Wanted this to be painted like the underside of the scuttle before being welded into place.













Very happy with the panel gap for the bonnet to scuttle.

Few extra bits of general metal work from around the car. We reckon it'll be onto bodywork and paint in the next few weeks now.

Your doing a gear job. Are you sticking with the Lhasa green?
Mines lhasa green but thinking of white or the new grey on the mk7 golf.

chrisL : Thanks mate but my mate doing the metal work deserves the credit. Decided to go with Atlas Grey as it's still an original Mk1 colour but just preferred it. Lhasa Green was very tempting though. White Mk1's always look good tho! Have you looked at Audi Daytona Grey? From the newer cars like a Mk7 it's a very nice grey!

Atlas grey will be unusual, I've not seen one in that colour.

I have seen the Daytona grey, a friend is currently looking to buy an A5 in that colour.
It would be a good choice though.

chrisL - Yeah hopefully it's the right decision!

Haven't posted anything recently but work has still been ongoing. Mainly door fitments and final pieces of metal work on the doors/tailgate along with welding small holes across the body. Had a mate make up some 4.6mm door shims which have also been welded into place. Then we've bare rubbed back the floors, inner wings and arches to bare metal for primer so they're ready for stone chip soon.

A Pillar guttering repair finished. Just needs the ends to be cut to the correct angle.





Inner door repair.



Rubbed down.



Etch primed.

Great result with the renewal of the shell. Keep at it!

Great work with the shell, are you doing the spray work yourself?

ConvictGTI-No.1983EW  - Cheers mate, my mate doing the bodywork deserves the credit for the cracking job.

chrisL - Cheers Chris, the same mate doing the metalwork will be doing the paint too. Getting close now!

Roof was taken back to bare metal again for filler work. May seem a lot in pictures but it's only thin. Then primed and is waiting for high build at a later stage.

Then it was onto the sills, rear quarters and arches. We used a puller and chisel to work in the line on the sill. Then he used lead to build the line up more. The results are great.  





Heat shrinking on the lower rear quarter area. This area had a poor previous repair and a large dent, happy to say it's gone now!



Next he started on filler work. Seems like a lot but it's only thin. Can see through it on most areas.

Great work, this will be mint when finished

Excellent! You are in virtually the same position as me.

The roof looks dead flat and should get a great finish, are you doing the filler work yourself? It's taking me forever to make sure it's totally flat.

Are you painting it yourself?

scottyr1  - Cheers mate, i hope so!

chrisL - Yeah i hope so bud. Filler work definitely takes time but it's worth it to make sure it's spot on! I'm sure yours will be awesome! My mate that did all the metal work is doing the filler work & paint. I'm watching and learning a lot about it all so that I can attempt it myself on my other shell!

Other shell waiting patiently. Was my first car so it'll be worth it! Not sure what i'll do with 2 though.

Is he using the dolphin glaze filler?

Level of details is exceptional. Can't wait to see it finished.

chrisL  - He's using Evercoat filler then Dolphin Glaze to finish. What are you using mate? Dolphin Glaze?

heartagram - Cheers bud. A lot of time has been spent on this shell so hopefully it shows in the end product. Spent a shed load of time on the running gear rebuild/detailing too. The car will ruin me! haha