396 replies to this topic

[stuart bowes]

Well I got the near side corner welded up with a bit of persuasion from the clamps and a little bit of the old wooden block and hammer to the area under the light 

 

 

 

It could be better, I was hoping for a tighter join i.e. smaller gap, but it's 100% solid metal no rust at least

 

I'll have to get a little creative with filler later to the original wing (upper part) and once I've smeared a bit of sealant in there as well maybe it won't look as 'deep' a gap

 

alignment wise running your hand across the join, it lines up really nicely

 

To stop any water collecting on the top edge of the inner seam, flicked there by the wheels, I tidied up the welds as best I could and just smeared a whole load of seam sealant along the top edge (alright it does also hide a few lumps... welding in there was awkward)

 

 

the tricky bit now I suppose is doing the other side the same, ironically if that ends up with nice tight join it'll make it look worse probably, at least if they match it looks like it's meant to be that way (to the casual observer at least)

Edited by stuart bowes, 26 April 2024 - 09:22 AM.

[stuart bowes]

welded up the other inner wing, but that's not really very exciting so no pictures, I'll do some more when I get the outer wing seam done as above

 

instead I did take a few pics of trying to test the radiator which is something I've been curious about 

 

cork plus inner tube = basic testing kit

 

 

 

trimmed around the bottom after glue dried, filled rad to brim, tilted back and forth to make sure bubbles out, plugged the other end as well, tried to put some pressure in

 

 

firstly I went well over the top and the bottom cork obviously just popped out and sprayed water everywhere lol .. duh

 

refilled and put a clamp on that 

 

 

then the overflow small pipe started leaking so I guess I overpowered the spring in the cap.. so I let the pressure off again

 

in the end I figured well you only need a little bit of pressure to find a leak so I literally just put in about 5psi (if you believe the accuracy of that gauge..) and left if all afternoon with a tray underneath

 

 

it just stayed like that for ages until about 3 hours later it dropped a little, but no sign of any water.. probably just my makeshift valve losing air around the edge (or the pump itself losing the pressure)

 

I'm calling that fine for now, I'm sure I would have seen a little stream coming out if there was a leak (and the pressure would have dropped to zero pretty quick)

Edited by stuart bowes, 26 April 2024 - 09:26 AM.

[stuart bowes]

off side welding completed, lines up nicely, gap is a little better this time

 

 

same as other side, tidied up inside and seam sealer all along top side of seam

 

the line above the seam is just the edge of old paint and filler still in situ, will all be wire brushed back at some point

 

that dent next to the headlight hole was there before, found it under some filler. no idea when or how that happened.  might have a go at pulling that out a bit later but obviously will end up with some new filler on it one way or another

Edited by stuart bowes, 27 April 2024 - 10:37 PM.

[stuart bowes]

Sorting out the hinges so I can start thinking about hanging the door carcasses and looking at gaps

 

drilling the holes was not easy, getting through the last mm or so was hard work, presumably the factory weld on the top side was causing me the issues .. anyway

 

drilled 

 

 

tapped (M6) and stud threaded in leaving about a mm depth 

 

 

welded and linished flat

 

 

studs cut and end rounded nicely, I've gone for about 30mm, probably too long but easier to cut more off later than to add some back on

 

 

wire brushed up, elbow grease, WD and an air line blown into the gaps to get them moving nice and smoothly. Then coated with a bit of cold galv

 

 

 

and the same done to the other 3, have ordered a pack of new screws to fit back on the door as well because the old ones were all chewed up in the removal process

 

 

checked against A post holes to make sure the stud spacing and alignment is ok, all totally fine.  Holes in A post are quite large anyway to allow adjustment obviously thus alignment is not critical 

 

Am considering drilling and tapping a 3rd central hole for the top hinges which I can use to bolt through into from the outside in.  can't hurt to have another one which isn't relying on my welds just for added security.  obviously the lower hinges are less of a concern

Edited by stuart bowes, 09 May 2024 - 12:13 PM.

[stuart bowes]

starting work on the near side door, straight away I knew there was going to be some issues when I turned it upside down and this lot came crumbling out lol

 

 

and as expected yes there is a bit of rot inside 

 

 

but actually not as bad as I was expecting, nothing that can't be repaired with a few sections of new metal.. so that's my next job (already done the drivers door which was nowhere near this state)

 

For the bits that do stay I think I will use the Jenolite mostly because it's a spray and it can get right into all those gaps once I've given it a good wire brushing, it's rated more highly than the Kurust which I've been using elsewhere more as a sort of 'just in case' 

Edited by stuart bowes, 13 May 2024 - 08:25 AM.

[stuart bowes]

just catching up on pics from work over the last few weeks

 

finishing off the side seams for the rear valance which I marked up previous so as not to forget

 

 

 

and welding in the holes from the old front arches

 

 

 

that was easy enough, also did a lot of work on the passenger door repairs, next post..

Edited by stuart bowes, 04 June 2024 - 12:54 PM.

[stuart bowes]

door repairs mostly pics speak for themselves 

 

 

 

 

 

I left a bit in the middle temporarily to help maintain the right line as I went along

 

 

 

 

then went back over it to replace it later once I was sure the geometry wasn't affected, plus the next bit along

 

 

 

 

 

 

then some minor repairs to the upper outer edges 

 

 

 

this is why always worth hanging on to offcuts..

 

 

 

 

 

bit of tidying up to do still there on the lock facing side

 

then before I forget, drain holes..

 

 

and just to encourage the drainage a little, a slight indentation like a gutter aiming at each hole using a hammer and a bit of round bar (only a little)

 

[stuart bowes]

and finally to bring up to date. also doing a bit of work on the door skins..

 

I'm trying a different method this time to avoid the issues I had before with alignment

 

cut and mark the bit I want removed to transplant in the replacement part

 

 

angled corner there to avoid heat near the narrow edge where possible

 

 

and then looking again at the curvature you can see the problem

 

 

so I slit the back side to give me more flexibility

 

 

and used some RHS to clamp the centre where I want it something like this (adjusted a few times after but you get the idea)

 

 

another view of the curvature issue

 

 

welded that in slowly working it into the right shape instead of pulling the door skin out to match of course

 

Edited by stuart bowes, 12 June 2024 - 03:41 PM.

[stuart bowes]

After the relative success of the passenger door I went back to the drivers door and cut that one back out

 

 

because as you can see, that had become a total shambles after various attempts (this will be the 3rd try?  or 4th? I lost count)

 

 

but I'm determined not to leave anything bodged so I found a new metro door skin for £18 somehow (doesn't seem right to me but was happy to snap it up.. it's labelled rover and seems genuine.. ?)

 

 

anyway some very careful measuring and cutting later we have a nice piece fitting perfectly and well aligned

 

 

after some gentle fettling to give a bit of a gap and some slow careful welding that's now fitted

 

 

the passenger one is finished welding as well and looks basically the same but without the lock hole, forgot to take a picture

 

one slight error I somehow now have two left sided door handles.. let's just call that a slight eccentricity, they're the same visually on the outside it just means the cable pulling bit on the inside need to be opposite ways around.. but still work exactly the same.  not going to lose sleep over that

 

meanwhile back on the shell it's over on the side again and I'm working all the way round with sealant looking for anywhere water might get in under an edge

 

 

 

will be painting the underside soon, then the engine bay, will just rattle tin that, really want to get subframes on and start feeling like there's some actual progress

[stuart bowes]

Because I made a bit of a mess of the lock hole by welding too close, and also that piece wasn't too brilliantly welded in in fairness

 

I decided to make a replacement neater one which actually fits more tightly than the original as well

 

 

test fit 

 

 

and started fitting to the door, made it big enough I could cut past the rubbish previous welding but not too close to the handle shape to cause more problems there

 

 

finish that later

[stuart bowes]

done

 

 

a few little kinks to hammer out and a little more gentle linishing to do but pretty happy with it, that's both door skins done now can start thinking about getting the doors back in one piece again

Edited by stuart bowes, 17 June 2024 - 10:35 PM.

[stuart bowes]

a bit more on the door handles (metro origin)

 

for my design I need a fairly positive 'up' movement to pull on the cable correctly, whereas the rotation of the arm was doing a lot of 'side' movement and wasting handle effort

 

basically I cut along the line, flipped the small part over and welded it back on (top, before, bottom, after)

 

 

and then because I wanted a smaller end hole I also welded that in and redrilled to 5mm

 

both done:

 

 

some tidying around the edges to follow and I will paint them as well but leaving a slight bare area where it hits the plastic pivot point, that will just be greased

 

now I need to find a pair of suitably sized 5mm clevis pins to have a nice low head profile and stay well clear of the window, with the added bonus of being a smooth finished pin rather than a bolt with the thread slowly chewing away at the hole over time

Edited by stuart bowes, 23 June 2024 - 10:01 PM.

[stuart bowes]

further work on handle mechanism

 

remade new handle/cable brackets because I wanted to change the angles slightly, top cut out / bottom folded (1 for each side obvs)

 

the smaller extra piece tacked on is just a little support that stops the plastic pivot point from flexing and makes the handle operation more positive and immediate

 

 

welded up, painted along with the brackets for the inner part and also put a bit of paint on the little rotating arm

 

I welded the little clevis pins in to stop any slop in the mechanism

 

 

new cable ends slightly longer than previous for better clearance and slightly looser fit to allow the cable to rotate for freer movement

 

 

and then all of it assembled (showing one end of each cable)

 

 

so that's done now, all moves freely and no slack at all, perfectly strong enough, simple, minimal chance of something going wrong and if it does, simple to fix

 

it will all get packed with a nice wodge of grease on assembly particularly the cable end where water could run down

 

the threaded adjustable point is on the inner side of the door under the door card so very simple to take up any slack that might start to occur over years

Edited by stuart bowes, 29 June 2024 - 03:16 PM.

[stuart bowes]

another job ticked off

 

masked off around edges

 

 

and painted the underside

 

 

we've gone with truck bed liner paint, brushed on, done a few coats and made sure it's really got into all the crevices and seams

 

I'll also give it a good coating of lanoguard or similar

 

currently debating whether or not to get some of the gold stick on exhaust tunnel stuff or just leave as is

 

next job start finishing off the inner wings / arches and get those all seam sealed and stone chipped along with the sills

Edited by stuart bowes, 29 June 2024 - 06:02 PM.

[stuart bowes]

the part where the cable pulls on the door handle bar:

 

 

weld up and linish smooth, work out best position along the bar, weld to bar

 

 

handle from outside pulls bar nicely.  handle on inside moves without affecting cable, pretty simple, plenty of thread left for easy quick adjustment if cable stretches (unlikely)  tested many times with cable twisted and curved into all sorts of shapes and works perfectly, job done (will have nylock nut on final fitting)

 

last job now to make and fit the internal lock lever in a better position and then do all the same on the other door

 

Also delivered today, a couple of litres of Upol Gravitex for the inner arches and sills so should have that done this weekend

Edited by stuart bowes, 02 July 2024 - 07:34 PM.