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

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mikeyb010180

great thread mate and industrial steamer mate can be used to get the sound deadening off easier itl get all that sticky shit looser than it usually is

---

Nice tip cheers. :thumbs:

Today I have been to B&Q and brought two bags of kiln dried sand in readiness for the blasting to begin. That is what I have been told is a cheap alternative to pro blasting sand by the bloke who does the blasting for us at work. At £3.62 a bag its worth a go.

Im not going to start blasting or treating the metal until I have everything ready to do it. I want to blast, treat and paint in quick succesion if you get what I mean to try and prevent moisture getting to the bare metal.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by schumi84

Very thorough so far mate, that shell is actually ony 4 numbers away on the number plate than mine, and by the looks of things has rust in exactly the same places :(.

As you have mentioned the rust under the deadening, i am now very tempted to look under mine just to check to see if it has the same issues, as like you say, the work done will go to waste if it rots from the inside out :cry:

---

not as close as stimpys, his is only 2 letters out and his is the same colour and was only 10 miles apart. freaky:D

Not a lot to report today cos Ive een busy at work. Got a little more of the sound deadening out ant thats all.

i got a windscreen guy to remove my glass, he broke a rear quarter glass:( cost £70 for all glass to be removed

Nice one cheers.:thumbs: £70 is reasonable and if any does break I have spare glass apart from the front screen. Ill have to make some enquiries.

A bit of an update for today. Firstly I had a delivery from Bilt-Hamber.

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps2e1cc8c9.jpg

Enough to get me started I recon. :nod:

Ive almost got all the sound deadening out, just the thin stuff over the tank area left. It comes off in small bits cos its thin and is pissing me off so Im leaving it for another day.

Ive also been looking at the car and planning the impending fabrication work.

Firstly Im looking at replacing the standard slam panel with one that is a little more stirdy, the reason why will it needs to be a little stronger will become clear at a later date. It will have new brackets fitted for the light bolting points.

Im also going to replace the front cross member too because its quite rusty and there is quite a lot of rust forming on the inside of it and it needs patching so may as well replace it.

Im going to tub the front arches too so been looking at what is needed to be cut out and fabricated.

Whilst looking at the arches I found a bit of rust so had a poke and found this at the top of the turret.

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps4e3cf401.jpg

So its going to need cutting out and patching. Its going to be a PITA to get to though to cut out so it looks like a job for the plasma cutter.

Any way thats it for today. Ill prob be looking over the car again tomorrow and drawing all over it with marker again whilst planning what to do.

A bit of an update. Been working where to cut for the new front arches.

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps82e51f32.jpg

I sprayed the brown paint just to make it easier for me to see the marker pen, you can just make out the lines where it going to be cut out. Just need to do the same on the other side.

Ive also been testing my sand blaster with various results. Its a syphon type blaster and I cant get the sand to come out of the gun at a constant rate, it sort of splutters and you can see the sand in the pipe but it doesnt feed at a constant rate.(Best way to describe it is like brake pipe with air in it, you get a bit of sand then a gap of air and then sand and so on). Im thinking that the feed pipe isnt big enough in diameter so Im trying to source a few metres of new hose.

Todays little update.

Firstly I marked out where the passenger side arch is going to cut.

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps01035e34.jpg

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps38e8c068.jpg

Then finalised what want cutting out and replacing on the bottom. Im a little annoyed about the rear part of the chassis rails cos they where mint when I brought the shell but they got damaged on the journey home on the back of the tansit.:mad: Ill sort it though.:nod:

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps993632d5.jpg

Also marked where Im going to cut the front cross member. Its got quite a bit of rust on and has a hole in it so It going to be easier to replace the majority of it rather than patch it up.

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps0cd531aa.jpg

If any body is wondering why Ive painted bits white and brown its so I can see better where Im drawing with marker pen. I find It easier to visualise each bit when its a different colour to the surrounding areas.


Thats it for today. I want to have it all clear in my head before I start cutting metal out so Im taking my time about it. :nod:

Looks like your making progress Rich keep up the good work:thumbs:

Not much to update this week cos Ive been off work half the week with a bad back and we are also now mega busy.

I have decided where Im going to cut the slam panel now and have started to fabricate the stronger replacement section ready to go in for when I do cut it.

The white bit that has been cross hatched with the marker is what is coming out.

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...psa5281605.jpg

The stronger section made up of 1.5mm steel.

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps01039ec2.jpg

I still need to Drill a few holes in it and also make some brackets for the headlight fixing point. Im doing away with the standard bonnet catch opting for lockable aero catches.

Im replacing the slam panel because Im going to run my intercooler upside down with the pipes at the top and closer to the slam panel with some fabricated ducting on the bumper to direct the air flow over the core.

I know people say running shorter pipe work makes no difference at all but TBH a lot of what Im doing is because I can and I want to. Life would be boring if we all did the same thing.

Not a lot will get done next week cos Ive got 3 days off work but Im hoping to get the new slam panel finished and I also have someone coming to pos take my windows out.

A little update for today.

Firstly I had a screen bloke come today to take my windows out and Im glad I did. I could see a little bit of rust at the base of the front screen so decided all the windows had to come out so I could clean the rust out. As you can see from the pics there is quite a bit of light surface rust around the front screen. The window bloke said its prob because the window has been replaced in the past and when they cut the sealant it scratches the paint. If the scratches are'nt painted over then they start to rust. He said he see's it a lot. Im happy now they are out and it only cost £20 per window which in my eyes is well worth it. :nod:

Heres a few pics.

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps12e1c767.jpg

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...psb1d01923.jpg

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps43d419f4.jpg


I have also started to fabricate the replacement section for the rusty lower cross member.

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...psc52449fe.jpg

and a pic of it after being sprayed with Bilt-Hamber weldable etch primer before I weld the nuts on for the front subframe and weld the 2 parts together.

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...psdd596a7d.jpg

Ive tried to replicate the origanal cross member as close as pos rather than just putting in a piece of box section.

Thats it for today. Hopefully tomorrow I will get the slam panel piece finished and start to brace the front end ready for the cutting to begin. :eek:

Well today I had around 4hrs on the car and cut rather alot off the front end, and found a few more little holes :( but nothing to worry about. Just means I need to cut a little more out. Im uploading the pics at the mo then off to bed so will post them up tomorrow.

Good thread mate,I respect the fact your doing it all properly:thumbs: keep up the good work and pics:)

can't beleave the windscreen frame. its lasted well though in the last 7 years i,ve never put a screen in it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by karl elwell

can't beleave the windscreen frame. its lasted well though in the last 7 years i,ve never put a screen in it.

---

Its only a very fine powdering of rust around the screen but Im glad Ive caught it. My current S14 has bubbled up in a few places around the front and rear screen so maybe its another week point on the S14/A

Right pictures and update of yesterdays work.

Firstly I finished the new slam panel off and primed it with weldable etch primer.

I then welded some braces on the front end to stop anything moving when the cutting began.

In this pic you can see the bracing and Ive also cut off the bonnet catch mount and the light mounts.

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...psb0cd3d17.jpg

Then the slam panel was removed.

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps1ff5ab2a.jpg

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps41d39e09.jpg

Heres a pic with the replacement positioned where it will be welded in place.

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps077db056.jpg

I then spun the shell over and cut out the rusty cross member.

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps0e29cca9.jpg

and with the replacement piece in position to check fitment.

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps1ef3c2ed.jpg

I then started on the arches.

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps7243aa28.jpg

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps4671d99e.jpg

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...pse465505a.jpg

Found a few little holes. I would never of seen them without cutting the arches out as they were where the arch piece overlaps the wing box section.

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...psa4baa910.jpg

I also need to cut and replace the part of the turret meets the box section cos there is rust between the joint. On the opposite arch to the one in the pic there is actually a hole in the box section where its corroded through on the joint.

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...psf8821e0a.jpg

So now the front end of my shell looks like this\/\/\/

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...psfb39f44b.jpg

Just need to cut the rusty bits out and then I can start to rebuild it back up. :thumbs:

Chop chop cut grind, tis looking very see through Rich since my last visit:nod:

Yeah. I got busy with the angle grinder.:D

A little update coming up just uploading a few pics.

Right another little update.

I started to make the template for the new arches today. Theres not a lot to see really but here is a few pics.

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps70831601.jpg


http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps6cb50ff6.jpg

Im hoping to get the other 2 pieces mocked up then I can think about cutting out the rusty bits and then I might actually weld some metal back in.:thumbs:

A little bit of an update.

I finished mocking up the first of the replacement arches.

Here's a few pics.

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...psdfd388f6.jpg

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...psf88d2887.jpg

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...psc37f022f.jpg

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...psc0f766dc.jpg

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...psf39ce5ea.jpg

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps9d96c02c.jpg

And finally a pic of the whole lot on my bench.

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...psbf65e51d.jpg

I have flattend the mock up pieces and used them as templates and marked around them on to some 18g mild steel and have cut them out. Tomorrow Im going to roll/bend the pieces into shape and then tack them together so it will resemble the above pic. Ill then check fitment before welding them up so it will be ready to weld in place on the shell once its been derusted ect. Then its just a case of repeating the process for the other side.