AutoBody101.com

I have asked many questions from people in this forum, so a couple of photos of my pride and joy.

Owned and drove this car for 13yrs, been sitting in the shed last few years as rust was just too bad and did not have time to fix it.

Last year December 2018 decided it was time to get it road worthy again.

Rust in the front cowl all cut out

Front cowl sheet metal replaced

Stripped down and mounted to a rotisserie and sent of to be blasted

Returned, blasted and epoxy primed

Looks okay, but it’s badly rusted,
needs left and right rearquarter, rear tail light panel, both trunk drop panels, sections for the rear rockers, floor sections needed as well, outer wheel arches etc etc etc

Take your time and do it right.

When it's your own car the extra time to make things as perfect as possible is well worth the effort.

Once you get the body repaired you should reinstall the panels, doors, etc. and check your gaps and alignment. These older cars are notorious for bad fitting panels. Getting the gaps right and making sure the body lines run true will set your car apart when finished.

Looking forward to your progress reports.

Thanks,

I dont want it to be a many year project, I really want to be driving it again this year.

But I agree, if it is your own time, you can spend more time on the small stuff that will make it look much nicer.

One thing, lucky I am an ex mechanic, so suspension and mechanical side is easy stuff

Steve

As mentioned, make sure you have all the panels attached before any final welding. Don't weld on a full quarter panel without have to rocker and door also attached. The main gaps to get perfect are the back of the door to the 1/4 and the bottom of the door to the rocker. Once you have this mocked up then a few tack welds to hold them together. Also make sure you have the trunk lid attached when replacing full quarters. It's all about the gaps.

I even hang the front clip before any final welding just in case.

A good solid surface is also key, don't weld panels up on a rotisserie as this can mess with the datum line. Take your time and measure, measure, measure! A frame table is also a great idea.

before and after

cheers

Awesome advice thanks, yes no intention of doing any welding work on the rotisserie, it comes of this weekend and back onto it’s wheels.

Steve

Following.