My S14 Reshell/rufurb/rebuild. Major project so will take a long time.

A little update for today.

Bent up and rolled the new arch pieces for the drivers side arch and tacked them together.

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps31528305.jpg

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps7af7783e.jpg

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...psba57a078.jpg

Its made from 18g mild steel.

I trial fitted it after tacking and it fits very well so should be no problem when it comes to welding it in place.

Ive also mocked up the other side and cut the pieces out today so they just need bending/rolling and then Ill tack them up, trial fit them and then weld both new arches up properly ready for welding in place in the shell.

looking good, you wouldnt fancy making another set?

if you do?
maybe ship to holland?

ps. nice job on the body!

I can make more arches up, for a small fee of course;) I still have the templates I used to make them.

There is obviously a fair amount of work fitting them though. I recon it would prob be easier if the arches are ready made though so you can put it roughly in place and draw round it to mark where it wants to be cut. I did it the other way round, cut big hole and fill it. :)

Today I rolled/bent the passenger arch up and tacked it up. I wasnt happy with the fit of the side panel thats closest to the engine bay so cut it off and cut a new tweaked one out. Just need to tack it on and recheck the fitment.

I have also started cutting bits of rust out ready for new metal to be put in where needed.

Once Ive welded up the new arches(hopefully tomorrow) Im going to concentrate on welding in the new peices of metal so I can then weld the arches in place. There is quite a bit to cut out and replace though.

Here is the only pic Ive got of todays work.

http://inlinethumb20.webshots.com/11...600x600Q85.jpg

Thats it for today.

Impressive work here i see mate!
Wish i had the skills to go this far with my build but i dont!

Loving the new arches etc, top work mate.


Cheers Aj

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Aj82

Impressive work here i see mate!
Wish i had the skills to go this far with my build but i dont!

Loving the new arches etc, top work mate.


Cheers Aj

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Thank you for your kind words.:thumbs: Ive never done anything like this to a car before but Im a fabricator/enginner by trade so just transfering my skills over. TBH it was a little scary at first when I started cutting.

Todays update.

I didnt get chance to weld up my arches as hoped, Ive been set up for welding stainless today, but did start to cut the rusty bits out.

I had to cut more out than I expected but its not too bad.

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps8a1b7578.jpg

There was still some surface rust right in the corner at the turret top so out came the DEOX-Gel

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps1891e0cb.jpg

After that had done its job I gave the area a coat of HYDRATE 80.


http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps2f710d97.jpg

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps92250359.jpg



Thats it for today.

Great work! Nothing half-arsed. It's a bit worrying to see the rust in different places, though.

Looking great, wish i had the space to do this to a shell. Keep it up.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Torbjorn

Great work! Nothing half-arsed. It's a bit worrying to see the rust in different places, though.

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I have to say it has suprised me how many places have rusted through. You would never know until you REALLY dig deep.

The problem with rust is once its started you can only slow it down unless you cut it out and put new metal in but that is not possible in certain places.

Hopefully though treating it with the DEOX-GEL and then the HYDRATE 80 will get rid of it as best I can and then slow the rusting as much as I can.

Rust is only to be expected on a car of its age though.

I will be putting seam sealant in places where its not put in the factory, thats for sure. Digging deep has shown me where water can collect and start the rusting. The corner on the turrets in the pics above is one such place.

A little update.

I finished off welding in new metal where I had cut the rust out at the top of the turret and gave it a coat of HYDRATE 80.

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...pse8bf471d.jpg

Just need to weld the peice in that goes around the top when the tubs go in.

I have also cut the rust out of the other side of the turret as this had gone too. Luckely it has only gone here on the drivers side turret.

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...psf34d6c78.jpg

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps176c4055.jpg


I have also welded up, cleaned and treated/sealed the new arches so once all the rust has been removed from the engine bay they can be welded in.

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...psf6611579.jpg

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps9586b8c8.jpg

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps1a53076d.jpg

Im also wanting to weld up the unused holes in the firewall but Im unsure which ones are needed so if you have any idea which holes are for what please let me know.:thumbs:

Very nice fabrication there spice, coming along really nicely :)

Coming along very nicely.

Do many of the cars over there rust like that?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by montgomery

Do many of the cars over there rust like that?

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Oh yes.:nod:

fair play mate, you are making a lovelly job of that, karl will be chuffed you got the shell. i'm happy to see someone being so thorough, it will be an awesome car when finished. good luck.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by schumi84

Very nice fabrication there spice, coming along really nicely :)

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Thank you very much.:thumbs:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by montgomery

Coming along very nicely.

Do many of the cars over there rust like that?

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Yes they do. This shell is the best one I went to look at and is a good solid shell in general, its only when you dig deep you notice rust in place you wouldnt expect.... I travelled well over 100 miles to see shells that where a lot worse.:nod: Any one who says they have a rust free 200 in the UK either owns a recently imported car or hasnt looked hard enough.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by park_monkey

fair play mate, you are making a lovelly job of that, karl will be chuffed you got the shell. i'm happy to see someone being so thorough, it will be an awesome car when finished. good luck.

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Nice one fella :thumbs: Im doing my best with it and taking my time to try and do things right. :nod:

Right a little update for today. I apologise now for the crappy pics as I only use my phone and it was pretty dark at work today due to shit weather.

Right, Ive changed my mind on the way I was going to things. I was digging around whre I have cut some rust out of the rear of the drivers side turret and found that it is rusting on the seam at the top just like it was at the front. \/\/\/

So I have now decide to weld in the new arch first to give the turret some strength back as I dont want it to twist or move when I take out the area around the seam. I know its unlikely to move much if at all but I want to try and prevent any movement.

So today I gave the areas where the new arch is going to over lap the exsisting metal a clean up with various wire brushes and then treated/sealed them with HYDRATE 80.

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps81b278e3.jpg

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...psa71b1a77.jpg

Hopefully tomorrow I will get the new arch welded in place.:)

Todays update.

I got the drivers side arch welded in today. :)

Firstly I tacked it into position.

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps7738c7fb.jpg

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps21c817ce.jpg

Then I welded it in proper. I welded it along the top, front and bottom with 30mm(approx) tack welds and then fully welded the back edge of the tub to the turret.

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...psc1aa6de3.jpg

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps7bf232e4.jpg

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps7bf232e4.jpg

I then wire brushed and put some DEOX-GEL on the area around the top of the turret to remove the rust that was in the seam.

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...psdb571326.jpg


I will be welding in the new piece on monday.


There is obviously still alot of rust present in the pics. This is because at the moment Im just cleaning up the places that will have new metal welded in or where the new metal overlaps exsisting metal. Im cleaning int up and its either being primed with the weldeable etch primer that has corrsion protection properties or treated/sealed with HYDRATE 80. Once the fabrication is completed Im going to then sand blast and wire brush the whole area up to bare metal to remove as much rust as pos. Im going to then coat it all in HYDRATE 80. The HYDRATE 80 will treat any remaining rust and give the whole lot a rust preventing barrier ready for the paint to go on top. All seams and joint will have plenty of decent sealant put on too to prevent water getting in to any joint/seam...... Thats the plan any way.:thumbs:

good work fella:nod: keep it up:thumbs: