Time to start making patches

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1443367709.jpg

Some shrinking and stretching to be done.
In the absence of proper dolleys and a set of hammers, I have to make do with what I have: a stove cap, a few pieces of pipe and a my trusty scrap anvil.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1443367806.jpg

Start with this bit. The clamp is rotten.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1443367856.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1443367934.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1443367982.jpg

Part two:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1443368040.jpg

All the pieces together.
With some bending they'll come together nicely.

Now for the outside piece; a bit trickier.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1443371793.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1443371820.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1443371840.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1443371868.jpg

Some heat and some dolley work and it should smooth up a bit.

And here are the four pieces to make the repair.
I'll most probably tack for fit then run a bead on the bench where there is air and light!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1443371895.jpg

Only 28 days of 8 hours a day left to get to a rolling chassis that is ready for paint. At my work rate of one day a weekend that makes 6 months more before we're ready for paint.

So roughly three years part time to get to a solid body on refurbed suspension, ready for exterior paint.

YEAH!

And that'll leave only a few minor things like engine, gearbox and electrics.

You got mail!
I finally bit the bullet and ordered some parts from RD.
Great service and very quick delivery: 7 days from Canada to South Africa.
And the shipping was less than the cost of the parts!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1447066917.jpg

The outer floor pan section is a really clever patch.
Runs to about an inch inside the inner sill wall, so you have enough space to drill the spot welds and butt weld the section onto the remaining floorpan.
Well done RD. Good thinking.

The lower door lock post patch saves some time: but then maybe I'm just getting lazy!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1447067007.jpg

A collection of the rot.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1447067119.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1447067166.jpg


The internals are not too bad. Judging by the state of the seat rail supports and the outer section of the floorpan I was expecting much worse.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1447067200.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1447067263.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1447067290.jpg

And now to make patches.
Trying to stay busy and motivated while the MIG is out of action and time is precious.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1447067401.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1447067432.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1447067452.jpg

Even managed to knock in a flange to mate with the inner sill. Slowly getting better at this.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1447067478.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1447067533.jpg

And that's it for the weekend.
A few more small jobs ticked off a very very long list.
When the welder is back in action I'll have a whole pile of patches already made, ready to be welded in.

Now for the front end of the lhd sill. More rot.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1448203567.jpg

Start with this...

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1448203626.jpg

Add one of these...

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1448203660.jpg

[Lots of hammering and four letter words]

Presto:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1448203724.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1448203753.jpg

Proper shrinking hammer helps. But one of these days I'm going to get myself a decent stump for shaping.

You are giving the word "tenacity" a new meaning. Having started with no welding/metal working skills is also a testament to your achievements. Will continue to follow your thread with great interest.

And, the amount of time you've spent in documenting your work is very much appreciated.

I would be interested in knowing what metal gauges you are using. And, did I understand that you are using a MIG welder without the gas (75% Argon, 25% CO2)?

Thanks.

The seat rail support.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1448210587.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1448210616.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1448210639.jpg

All the patches that need to be welded in....excluding the bigger RD panels.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1448210676.jpg

One of the last 'major' patches: the lhd quarter window.
It was repaired before - badly.
Getting the three dimension right is tricky.

The 'easy' way to get the dimensions is to make a series of relief cuts.
With a proper shrinker I guess you could do it without the cuts (i.e. properly).
A shrinking hammer and an anvil is too much hard work!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1448210793.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1448210828.jpg

The benefit of relief cuts is that bending to get the curved edge is easier as you can bend each piece in smaller sections.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1448210966.jpg

Once I had the shape pretty accurate, it was time to cut out the rust.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1448211008.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1448211063.jpg

Same old story of welding (if blobs of gas weld filler are considered welding) steel over the rusty bits.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1448211150.jpg

Thanks for the compliments. When you have no experience, tenacity and ambition help a lot! Documenting the work is as much for own motivation as it is for the general diy resto community.

Whenever I am ready to give up I remember how little I paid for the car and the engine and all the spares (just before the price madness). This is my chance to own a completely restored SWB 911. Albeit non-matching numbers. Since I started the value of the car - in its unoriginal state - has quadrupled! So best I continue!

I'm using 0.8mm and 1mm steel. I buy a lot of it as scrap from a big local dealer. The off cuts from their guillotine are more often than not big enough for my purposes. And I pay scrap prices which helps.

I'm using a 90amp Mig with 75/25 gas. 0.8mm wire. Can't imaging how you can get clean, solid welds without gas. Butt welds are most often run at about 50/60 Amps with a series of spot welds joining into a bead, rather than trying to lay a longer bead. A big fat piece of brass clamped up against the back of the weld helps to dissipate heat.

When I'm welding heavier panels with mass behind them: inner rocker etc, then I run the full 90 amps. Especially when plug welding. I'd rather risk a little burn through than a lack of penetration.

Anyway. Thanks again for the kind words. Glad my adventure is of value, a small repayment for the hours and hours I have enjoyed reading the rest threads of Jury / Speedo / Fishcop and Chris N.

Cheers and have a great Xmas.
Matthew

I somehow missed this thread before, stumbled upon it and went through all nine pages this morning - and watched your welding skills progress. Excellent work!

On my old SC I did a little bit of cutting/fitting/welding under the battery tray and in front of the fuel tank. I had the help of a friend and quickly realized welding is an art. And I suck at it. You're doing an incredible job with that car and I'll look forward to additional posts.

Keep at it!!

Thanks very much. Welding most certainly is an art: learning the little details that effect a great weld come with time and practise. I've still got a long way to go. But it certainly is rewarding. I have new respect for the resto guys who do this on a regular basis. What's more, the old school metal working skills seem to be a bit of a dying art. Cheers again for the feedback. Matthew

The little MIG is finally back in action.
On with the welding.

First job to reinforce the lower section of the front suspension pan. Helps get the hands back in the swing of things, and dial in the welder.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1450684424.jpg

Then, one of the jobs i have been dreading: the lower part of the smuggler's box / steering tube. Working in here is a real pain.

I took the decision to cut more away than i needed, just to make access easier. But even so, the steel in here is tired and not too happy to take a weld, so patience and as little heat as possible are the only approach.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1450684607.jpg

Another perfect recipe for rust in here: where the lower floorpan skin and the smuggler's box lip come together. The double skin is exposed to pretty much everything the front wheels throw up, so not surprising it's such a mess. I cut until I managed to find reasonably solid steel.

As you clean things up, you find more rust. It's the little spots that are the most frustrating. It's so tempting to leave it be, but that would undermine all the effort of going in here in the first place. So out it comes, and 4 hours disappear as I have fabricate another little patch, in two pieces and then weld it in.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1450684816.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1450684832.jpg

Just getting the steel clean and shiny to take the weld in here is hard enough. Thank the Gods for the Dremmel.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1450684885.jpg

Now the patch that completes the opening; the patch that will be welded to the inner patch at the front end of the transmission tunnel (also rotten)

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1450684947.jpg

As always, the more accurately you measure and cut, the quicker it is to actually get to the welding part!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1450685001.jpg

The Minister of Home Affairs popped in to visit, bringing cold beer! That'll brighten one's spirits.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1450685054.jpg

Not the prettiest bead but it's strong, with minimal burn through where the old steel is weaker. Decent penetration. The Dremmel will clean it up nicely.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1450685111.jpg

That's 8 hours of work, excluding the patch making. Another little nasty job done. Now the rest of the patches will be easier......touch wood.

Onward with the trickiest patch on a 911! Well, for me anyway.

This really is the worst welding position. Even though the car is on its side, being 6'2" means I have to kneel and lean forward with both hands almost above my head. The work light gives my neck a good tan on one side of my neck.

Had a closer look at some of the welds and laid a bead on the reverse just to make sure everything was sealed up and strong.

Next step: the four pieces of the internal patch.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1451240803.jpg

And then the next piece. A set of Butt-weld clamps are very very useful. Every DIY'er should have a set.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1451240901.jpg

I roughly shaped most of the patches when the MIG was out of action. That saved quite a bit of time, but getting the gaps and fit just right involved more standing and kneeling than an old-school Catholic wedding ceremony.

Tack welded in place.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1451240960.jpg

And after patiently laying a bead....leaving lots of time to let the steel cool.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1451241074.jpg

And then the last piece, the lower patch, welded in. I overlapped the two pieces and used pool welds to sort of copy the original spot-welded seam.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1451241133.jpg

In truth, it's far messier than the original, but just as strong.
And from inside the smuggler's box.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1451241271.jpg

And then, suddenly, the time was up and I was summoned to the garden to continue work on (one of) my other projects

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1451241297.jpg

Finally. One mini-project to tick off the list: smuggler's box and steering tube.
When I have the steering rack and steering column back in place, I'll position and weld-in a replacement donut-bracket that holds the column.

Not a huge amount of achievement in the greater scheme of things, but a mental victory. It's one of the rotten spots that I have stared at for 2 years; knowing it was going to be a real bugger. Now it's done.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1451242755.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1451242779.jpg

My plan at the moment (and I stress 'at the moment') with work to be done at the front, at the back, and lots of places in between, is to try and get the underside done.
The front slam panel, lhd flare, lhd sills and engine bay can be done when the car is upright.

Once I have done all this, and finished seam welding in the interior, I'll be able to paint the underside.

Seam welding with a little MIG with a low duty cycle should be fun!

A bigger issue is the residual bitumen sealer in the seams. Even sandblasting doesn't get rid of it.

So even with a Dremmel and a sanding pad getting into the corners of the seam, one hit with a MIG and the bitumen boils, the gases playing havoc with the weld quality.

My tactic so far has been to spot-weld along the section to be welded. The clean up the mess with the grinder, then hit the same path again. The second time I can get a reasonably decent bead and decent penetration.

Another long,long job. (I wish e-coating was being done here)

Any tips from the pros? Wisdom most welcome.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1451243253.jpg

Cheers.

Excellent work Matthew! It's these types of jobs that you are doing are the causes of my long breaks between working on the car and other projects! Keep on keeping on!

Hahaha, I know the feeling! Thanks very much. Same to you.

The New Year has begun.
Back at work.
All memory of the beach and the sun soon forgotten.

Thank God I have my garage....

Not sure if I posted this before, but this is the momo I got in trade.
As yet unidentified.

Horizontal logo and stamped 2-78 on the back.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1453053315.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1453053462.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1453053503.jpg

If anyone knows, please let me know. I really like it. A variation on the theme of the original R wheel.

Now back to the never ending saga that is the steel.
Reinforcing the front suspension mounts.
There is a fantastic fitting for the Dremmel that I have just discovered: a one inch diameter sanding pad that snaps on.
Perfect for getting bare steel in corners and seams.
Helps get a much cleaner and stronger weld.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1453053568.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1453053667.jpg

This is the front end as it stands.
With the smuggler's box repair done, I took the whole underside of the footwells back to bare steel and covered it towhee tech primer.
After two years in primer, this section was starting to show little tiny spots of rust.
Etch primer on clean, degreased base steel seals very nicely.
Once i'm all done with seam welding the inside and all the patches, I'll sand the underside and epoxy prime the lot.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1453053700.jpg

Onto the rear of the LHD sill.
Cut away the rusty bits until you have good steel....
These corners, at either end of the sill, take a hammering.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1453053910.jpg

And weld in a plate I prepared in my MIG downtime.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1453054035.jpg

Another bash at getting the LHD sill area ready for the new outer floor section.

After stripping that bitumen underseal, drilling out spot weld is my next favourite job.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1453054356.jpg

Ready to come off.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1453054400.jpg

Quite a bit of persuasion...must get a panel chisel.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1453054445.jpg

Nice, clean seam.
Wanted to make sure there was no rust between the flange and the floor pan.
Now I know.
It didn't look good when I cut it open.
Nice surprise. Doesn't look like I need to patch any of the flange.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1453054493.jpg

And a test fit with the new outer pan section.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1453054614.jpg

Daylight.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1453054725.jpg

The corners need quite a bit of reconstruction; the heater tube under the torsion bar mount and at the front.

I made some rough patches a few months back.
Saves a lot of time now. Just fit and weld.....'just'

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1453054774.jpg

I'm certainly no Barry Carter but I'm better than I was...(which isn't saying much)
I thing I can't get my head around is how he blends the weld bead so flawlessly into the steel. Amazing.

That's it for the weekend. Back to the trenches tomorrow.
Getting this outer floor pan in is a major item on my list.
Means I can crack on with the sill.
Then it's just the front slam panel left....there's that word 'just' again.

Ready for paint on the 3rd anniversary?
Hmmm.
Maybe just back on its wheels is more realistic.

The front corner.
A tricky bugger.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1453573668.jpg

Test fitting the floor pan replacement panel and the inner sill - on and off - to get the flange shape right is time consuming. Having the cricket on the radio helps!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1453575099.jpg

All buttoned up.
And the flange lines up nicely.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1453575150.jpg

Porsche Dog enjoying the sunshine. One of those kinds of afternoon.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1453575220.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1453575321.jpg

The rest of my afternoon was taken up with trimming the existing floor pan to fit the outer floorpan repair panel. Fit, clamp, mark, remove, grind....repeat (lost count at 30)

Then a beer and mock-up. 15 x 5.5 with hearts....but I only have 3.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1453575413.jpg

Or 15 x 7 alu replicas, of which I have three! Pretty good 80s Japanese replicas. Considering having them cut and welded to make 7Rs for the rear. Would love to not mess with those beautiful, smooth swb arches.
Or ATS's. Or those dull gold Campanola Reps...or steelies...although anything other than Fuchs means importing and our exchange rate puts that out of reach.

Keep the '67 date stamped 5.5s to go on the front.
Long time until the suspension is on, let alone hubs and wheels.

Here's the 15 x 7. Gold is almost certain to be a part of the final colour scheme.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1453575923.jpg

First step in rebuilding the LHD sill is to get the seat rail support welded in. Getting the flanges to line up with the floorpan is a bit of a hit and hope....despite lots and lots of measuring.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1454258554.jpg

Hit all the hard to get to places with etch primer

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1454258626.jpg

Ready for the great weld.

First need to strip the RD replacement panel down to bare metal. Considering all the work that goes into rebuilding these areas, I have always preferred to strip the replacement panels back to bare steel and then hit then with degreaser and etch primer. I assume the black coating is just a shipping paint. Could be wrong, but this way I know it is done properly. Besides, nice shiny steel always looks great.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1454258680.jpg

A decent set of butt-weld clamps are a must have.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1454258814.jpg

Let the welding commence.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1454258920.jpg

Was worried about how strong the old steel waist a few places, but took a weld pretty well.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1454258963.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1454259039.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1454259093.jpg

Seat rail support welded in. Plug welds through the bottom of the floorpan, and a few beads along the inside. All strong.

Hit everything with some etch primer. Ready for the outer sill.
Inside seam looks good. Will lay a bead along the inside to make double sure.
A few of the flanges need some attention with a hammer to come together nicely.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1454259291.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1454259405.jpg

Another weekend done.
Off to the salt mines tomorrow.

Work on the SC has taken up some time.
But now back to the seemingly endless journey or getting new steel into the car.

In anticipation of the inner sill and outer floor pan being welded in, I started to modify the 964 outer sill that was kindly given to me by a fellow resto nutter.

These are original Porsche parts, which is nice. I won't be doing Barry's level of retro detail, just getting them smooth where the 964 trim mounts.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459246804.jpg

Pretty simple. Make a template to fit over the indents.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459246839.jpg

Cut out the existing indent. And weld. This is far simpler than making surgical relief cuts with a dremmel and flattening out the indents.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459246872.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459246935.jpg

Then check for pinholes and grind flat, with etch primer on the inside.
The whole inside will be stripped back to bare steel and etch primed (i do this with all new panels just to be sure they are properly protected)

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459247117.jpg

And the postman brought a package, from a Pelicaner in California.
Can't wait to get these on the car. A nice piece of jewellery.....with our exchange rate and shipping costs they cost about the same as jewellery!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459247100.jpg

Now onto the inner sill.
Drilled and stripped before etch primer.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459247234.jpg

And the inners of the sill have been cleaned, etched and epoxy primered. I hope they last another 50 years +

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459247255.jpg

Now for the fitting and aligning....the longest part of steel work (for me anyway).

Can never have enough clamps.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459247396.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459247421.jpg

The front and rear patches I made to repair the rot in the ends of the sill now need to line up with the sill. Hmmm. Some persuading required.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459247476.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459247508.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459247531.jpg

And then turn up the little MIG to max and start plug welding.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459247565.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459247584.jpg

And it's in.
2.5 years later.
Now to clean up the welds in prep for the outer sill, and some seam sealer on the outer floor pan patch.

Nice and smooth.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459247766.jpg

Along the top edge, I have alternated, only welding every second plug. The idea is that I'll drill through and weld in the outer sill from the inside. Reason being that the outer sill has a c-section at the top which mates into the vertical and horizontal edge of the door lip, and getting a welding torch in there is tricky.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459247874.jpg

The strip the underside of the floorpan patch to bare steel and etch prime. The inside was done before I welded it in.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459247924.jpg

A few gaps to fill but it's strong and reasonably straight (amateur about has its downside)

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459247977.jpg

New shiny steel is a lovely thing.

Then seam seal along the welds on the underside and inside the cabin.
Once i have seam welded the rest of the floorpan, it'll get the same treatment.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459248043.jpg

Only a few more patches to go.....(31 at last count!)

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459248073.jpg

When I'm done with the LHD sill, it will have taken 9 individual patches. Which works out to about one every 3 weeks!

As they say: "we're not where we want to be but we're a long way from where we were!"

And some inspiration:
One of the 68 T/R Monte Carlo cars.... flares on a SWB body.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459248193.jpg

Just found this thread...you rust repair guys are a rare breed.

Matthew! Its been 3 years now, hows the metal porker looking?

Nice garage. With those cars (two of them anyway) you'll know the trickery of rust very well! Rare breed = mad breed....most of the time.
Come in another few years and there might be a running car on the last page of page 40 something! Cheers.

Three months short of 3 years. Every month is important!
There is now more metal than rust.
And a few kilograms of melted MIG wire.
The up side of taking so long is that the value of the thing has gone up 300%...with no cds's or cdo's involved!

I'll take a few wide shots that show off the whole thing, on the weekend.
Don't get too excited though, the big picture is still unimpressive.....even after 10 pages of forum posts.

I'll make a brave prediction: on its wheels and in colour* by Christmas.

Cheers.

*grey primer may well be the final colour.

Here we go again.
Jack tube support.
I was hoping it would be easier 2nd time around, but I've forgotten all the measurements.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459614420.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459614446.jpg

Check for fit and alignment

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459614471.jpg

Ready to be welded in.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459614490.jpg

And welded in. Amazing how you can weld perfectly and then when things get just a little tricky, the welder starts playing up. Inconsistent wire speed feed....urgh.
Strip everything, clean out the tip, clean with compressed air and reassemble.

Not the cleanest welds, but strong.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459614593.jpg

Inner sill stripped bare, masked where the outer sill will be welded in, and then primed with etch.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459614530.jpg

TOP TIP:if you are ever inspecting a pre73 car and want to get a sense of what the sills look like inside, behind solid looking paint, shoot some compressed air into the jacking tube. Rusty flakes will come flying out and give you a good sense of how much corrosion there might be.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459614734.jpg

Primed and ready for the outer sill....and the fun of aligning all the door gaps. This is where short cuts can come back to haunt you. Hopefully it's easier 2nd time around.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459614885.jpg

A while back when the MIG was down, I made a whole bunch of patches.
This is to replace the rotten (and badly repaired) lhd 1/4 window.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459790875.jpg

Some tack welds to hold the shape.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459790813.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459790921.jpg

As I've said before, you can never have enough clamps...in as many shapes and sizes.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459790960.jpg

And then very very slowly tack weld in place.
Taken me a while to learn that with butt welding panels, you can't ever go too slowly.
Tap, tap, tapping with a hammer as you go, to make sure everything stays lined-up

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459790984.jpg

A piece of flattened copper pipe clamped against the back of the weld is a great help.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459791077.jpg

Those welds took an hour.... but the upside is that there is barely any warping, even along the edges of the butt join.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459791140.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459791213.jpg

The crease lines look okay.
A bit of filler....I mean lead....and it'll be nice and smooth.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459791270.jpg

The rather lovely transition from the curve behind the door look plate to the hard crease that runs along under the 1/4 window is a bugger.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459791330.jpg

And after another few hours filling in the weld....and hunting down pinholes, it looks half decent.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459791422.jpg

The flange on the bottom edge of the 1/4 will need a trim.
But it's strong and pretty smooth.
Critically, the limits of my shaping and welding are below the height of the surrounding steel, so a thin skim of filler....I mean lead....will be sort that out.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459791483.jpg

Clean with a wire brush, inside and out, and a coat of etch primer to keep it safe and clean until it's time for filler and primer.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459791623.jpg

Another job ticked off the list.

Some gratuatous shots of the shell.
Been a while since I had a good look at the show thing, as opposed to some dimly lit rotten corner.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459792024.jpg

This side has been all done.
And luckily the butcher who cut out the lhd flare didn't get to this side.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459792050.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459792103.jpg

If both 'flares' where gone then I would do T/R rear flares. But the swb quarters are so delicate it seems a crime to consider flaring them, even just a little to take a 7" wheel.
Will have to make a plan to get some 7Rs.....what's the going price for a wife and children?

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459792124.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459792241.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459792258.jpg

The colour scheme has evolved through the build.
I've always been a fan of Ivory white but there is something in here I really like:
the grey primer (a touch lighter when sanded and clean), classic satin black, red oxide primer and gold. Not sure where the gold came from but it seems to work together. Getting the ratios right will be the hard bit.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459792292.jpg

The tail light surrounds will go body colour.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459792439.jpg

Re the 7R wheels, I traded for three of these Aluminium 15 x 7 replicas a while back. They're not bad - 80s Japanese replicas I think.

The plan might be to get them welded with the 7R offset.

5.5 x 15s on the front and 7Rs on the back......might be a very cunning plan.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459792643.jpg

Can't find any markings other than this:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459792676.jpg

The LHD door is not in good shape.
Pretty much the same as the RHD one I have already done.
To be honest, unless it was stripped to bare metal there would have been no way to tell. The secrets these old cars keep....

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1462119053.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1462119160.jpg

Same old trick as the rest of the car: weld a piece over the rotten section, cover with fibreglass and filler, and wait 20 years until some plonker finds it. In my defence, I was expecting the worst. As you grind away you get that distinctive fibreglass smell, and you know you're in for proper trouble.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1462119193.jpg

Saw a car the other day that a chap had bought for a lot of money, well over market value. A '68. As he pulled into the parking, from 10 - 15 feet away, myself and the old grey-beard collector next to me could see the rust bulging out the bottom of the doors. Not showing at the surface but there for certain. We didn't have the heart to tell the excited new owner. "Had a recent full respray" he proudly announced. We knew exactly why.

Anyway. Back to my own odyssey.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1462119464.jpg

The benefit of the previous amateur leaving the original steel and pinch seam behind means the profile of the door is still honest. So to aid in making sure the profile stays true when I repair the outer skin, I made a template out of 5mm steel. Will also help form the flange to pinch over the inner frame....I hope. I did the RHD door pinch seam by hand and it was a bugger.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1462119551.jpg

After that diversion, back to the LHD sill.

Now to finish the lower wheelhouse corner.
The heater tube is rotten, so that needs to be repaired before I can patch the outer frame.

Took me a while to figure this trick out...

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1462119811.jpg

Weld a handle onto the piece you're trying to weld, when no clamp is up to the job.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1462119848.jpg

Pretty straight forward

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1462119985.jpg

Luckily I didn't have to cut too high to find solid steel. Compared to most other swb resto's I got off lightly.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1462120017.jpg

I really need to get a shrinker / stretcher so I can stop cutting relief cuts and start doing it properly!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1462120076.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1462120125.jpg

Solid. One more job off the list.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1462120208.jpg

Hello there....

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1462120258.jpg

Decided to tackle the front slam panel and suspension pan.
First step: weld two braces into the lower pan.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1462123476.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1462123536.jpg

Then strip and etch prime.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1462123559.jpg

And then the front slam panel.
There is no evidence of impact in the front so I'm pretty confident I can get it straight and aligned.
Based off a print out of a chassis drawing, I created a simple jig to give me two datum points:
- the line of the seal channel at the top of the slam panel,
- and the most forward point of the panel.
Measurements are from the front suspension bar brace holes, the same hole the octisserie mounts into.

So that gives me a position forward and backwards.
Spirit level gives me left and right.
Measurement from the corner of the trunk to the lip of the channel gives me a second reference point.
And then it's the good old fashioned eye and gut feel!
The hood lines up nicely, which is a small confidence booster.
Not forgetting the lower suspension pan as a guide.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1462123739.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1462123949.jpg

Then fit and fettle and fit and more fettling.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1462123993.jpg

And in she goes.
Slowly does it, lots of measuring in-between.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1462124033.jpg

Not finished, but it all lines up.
Will come back and finish up in the hard-to-reach places once I have the beetle on it's back.
Lower seal channel runs snug with the bumper.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1462124058.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1462124147.jpg

Not as difficult as I thought it would be.

Here are some more gratuitous shots. Might as well considering the fenders are on.
The edges of the bonnet and the fenders will need work to get the gaps right.
And who knows what the final paint scheme will be.
Also trying to decide between swb headlights or lwb....


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1462124369.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1462124438.jpg

And some impromtu spray-can photoshop

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1462124382.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1462124413.jpg

Glad you got that slam tray sorted Matthew! Must still come collect mine from you and take in some inspiration at the same time!

Looking good Barnes. Lots of progress since my visit.

" is that a hardtop sitting on the targa? would love to see some shots of the bottom of that."

Hey there, it was a an original steel hood.
The targa was too far gone to justify a repair (three years ago!)