468 replies to this topic

[rally515]

Dont want to teach you to suck eggs, but have you tried ebay? Its been my most reliable source of new old stock panels

 

I'll have a route around a see if anything pops up in the coming weeks Rob :) Cheers

[bigrob]

I've seen a few rare nos panels pop up before, wings, bonnets, sills, floors

[rally515]

Hi Guys and girls,

 

Got home from work today to find myself a large square parcel...in a sad way I have had a bit of a rubbish day at work, so this has cheered me up Haha

 

Looks like it just needs a little fettling to make it 100% perfect as the far right top corner has a slight low point, but other than that it has all the screw caps and even the washer jet in place!

 

 

 

It should work towards the look of what I'd love to achieve, small subtle things here and there that add to a great outcome.

 

Cliff

[rally515]

I've been dipping and diving in and out of the garage today getting bits of progress done on Cuey.

 

I'm currently prepping for bracing and cutting out the front floor pan section and part of the inner sill, interior has been stripped and wrapped in Clingfilm type tape and stored in the loft till the sills, rear panel and sunroof are all finished.

 

The picture quality isn't great because it's from my one and one camera at the moment on my phone, but it gives you an idea ;)

 

Also I've struggled to fathom out how the sill construction works on the Metro, more so with it all being rotted along the bottom edge of the joining seam. 

But in the end I've figured it out, Austin Rover decided to make the inner sill and floor pan out of one piece, and then as a sort of after thought they forgot to incorporate the outer sill in the planning and consequently spot welded it to an L shaped bracket they stuck on the end of the floor pan!!    . 

 

Here's a quick cross section paint drawing showing the way it's been done:

 

 

 

 

Also removed the drivers door to aid access as there's not much room to open it in the garage.

 

Front inner front condition.

 

And that's another weekend gone by    .

[rally515]

Started quite late today, but still made some progress with the sill and what has spread to working on the floor pan!

 

I took a while, but I've managed to remove this section all in one go, the jacking point didn't want to part company with the floor support rib (no idea what the correct name is) but after some levering back and forth it finally broke free in an area the cutting disc couldn't quite get.

 

 

 

There are also two sections I will be fabricating, the lower A-post strengthener which has pitted too much to grind down to good metal, and also the outer section to the front of the outer sill, the wing bottom bolts to this piece so I'm keeping the rotted section for reference.
 

 

 

And lastly for today is the spoiler, I've rubbed it down and put a guide coat on the low point, I'll be using a hair dryer and block of wood pressed inside to raise this, which I may have already mentions earlier on in the thread  

 

 

Cheers,

Cliff

[BIGCVH]

lots going off ere, good luck wi the build

[rally515]

Following on from yesterday is the front floor pan..

 

I had to create a repair panel with a groove for the inner sill panel press to match my panel, I really wasted a lot of time this weekend trying different methods of how to achieve the round recess end, I can produce the shape fine, but the end were it fades out into a smooth panel is difficult to be honest Haha

 

Anyway, so I came up with a few bits and bobs and made some more ground bits and bobs that press the shape into the panel when locked in a vice or G-Clamp (very awkward either way!)

 

You should know by now how these things start... C.A.D. (Cardboard Aided Design) of course!!

 

 

I found this not to work with a flat headed jig

 

Back to the drawing board

 

 

 

After all the commotion

 

Started welding it in

[rally515]

Finished the welding on the drivers side now, just need to weld the outer sill on of course, but other than that it's all done!

 

Seam sealed up ready to top coat both sides:

 

Rear subframe mounting strengthening plate fabricated and welded in, also at the paint stage:

 

And finally, fuel tank fitted, brake line made up and fitted, ready to fit the rear subframe :

 

Hopefully I can get it fitted today :)

 

Cliff

[Archived4]

Mega work pal. That looks absolutely top! Can you do mine next lol

[rally515]

Mega work pal. That looks absolutely top! Can you do mine next lol

 

If you pay me a lot... then I'll think about it ....

 

Hopefully I can do the same repair on the other side, get the two ends of the arch, valence corners fabricated and welded in and send it for an MOT sometime in the coming weeks.

[rally515]

Rear subframe is on now and the ride height is looking pretty much on point as far as I can tell.

[Ben_O]

Looks spot on Cliff.

 

well done.

 

Front now then?

[rally515]

Looks spot on Cliff.

 

well done.

 

Front now then?

 

 

Cheers Ben,

 

Afraid I'll not get a chance to do the front how I wanted, just going to finish off what I started on the drivers inner wing and do a few little repairs to the body here and there and then it's being sold also, I've been advised to do the work it needs for an MOT to make it more appealing to buyers.

[Archived4]

Noo! What a shame after all this work! What car you gonna get to keep you occupied then?

[Ben_O]

Are you getting rid of everything then?