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Body resto on rusty 1969 Camaro


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#176 _mick74lh_

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Posted 18 September 2010 - 12:01 AM

Bloody awesome. This ones really starting to transform. The owner would be stoked!

#177 _2runa_

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Posted 18 September 2010 - 09:10 AM

Well Tim

I just have to wonder, just how stupid some people think other people are. In the last year, you have probably received over a hundred emails informing you that you have:

1. Won the Aust. Lottery

2. Inherited money from strangers in Nigeria.

3. Been selected as a go between for an overseas Company.

Well, the list goes on, but I think you get the general idea.

However This Must be your lucky day! Cause......

Congratulations :party: You have won a Trip To WA to assist in the me in some of my restorations :spoton:

Many people often feel guilty. :dontknow: "Why me?" "What do I do with this?" "Who do I turn to?" "Who do I trust?" Hopefully, you won't experience any of these feelings when you get here and everything will go smoothly for you. But if you find yourself feeling this way, you aren't alone.

To help, I've developed a simple rule . Accept this project cause it feel right to you and me and it seems to make sense.

Wait a few days until the excitement dies down before claiming your prize. This gives you time to calm down and relax and look at the situation a little more rationally. Winning a large project is a big responsibility and you need time to get yourself used to the idea.

PS: Great work

#178 _wblje_

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Posted 18 September 2010 - 08:18 PM

dont know if this has been asked cos im more interested in the pics and comments that go with them but these customers seem very commited to having there cars bought back to life so i have to ask. do you work for $5.50 per hr so they say go for it, or do they write a blank cheque and say i trust you, or is it quoted/ capped price, or you have to document every thing like this forum to justify the money and work. are they mates or customers. if they where customers id be asking for monthly paymentsPosted Image awesome work thou always enjoy looking at your craftsmanship

#179 _dirtbag_

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Posted 24 September 2010 - 12:09 AM

Well Tim

I just have to wonder, just how stupid some people think other people are. In the last year, you have probably received over a hundred emails informing you that you have:

1. Won the Aust. Lottery

2. Inherited money from strangers in Nigeria.

3. Been selected as a go between for an overseas Company.

Well, the list goes on, but I think you get the general idea.

However This Must be your lucky day! Cause......

Congratulations :party: You have won a Trip To WA to assist in the me in some of my restorations :spoton:

Many people often feel guilty. :dontknow: "Why me?" "What do I do with this?" "Who do I turn to?" "Who do I trust?" Hopefully, you won't experience any of these feelings when you get here and everything will go smoothly for you. But if you find yourself feeling this way, you aren't alone.

To help, I've developed a simple rule . Accept this project cause it feel right to you and me and it seems to make sense.

Wait a few days until the excitement dies down before claiming your prize. This gives you time to calm down and relax and look at the situation a little more rationally. Winning a large project is a big responsibility and you need time to get yourself used to the idea.

PS: Great work



hahaha : ) Thanks 2runa. I feel so honoured!!!

wblje, I usually just work with an hourly rate. I tend to get into the "zone" pretty easily so can usually get a fair bit done in an hour.

I've just had my new shed built, so am looking forward to getting it all set up and starting on a few new projects.

#180 _Woodsy_

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Posted 27 September 2010 - 07:01 PM

Tim... i think i Love you.... lol

#181 _dirtbag_

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Posted 28 September 2010 - 07:14 PM

hahaha

I've had a couple of visitors lately. I went to open one of the roller doors and got snapped at by this brown bugger.


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Unfortunately my 3 year old daughter and puppy hang around here too so I had to kill it. Not happy about doing that, but too bad.


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Anyway, after that fun adventure I got the inside of the door cleaned and rust converted. What a fun job that was.


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I then fitted the new door skin and folded the edges around. Starting to look like a proper door now.


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I don't trust the etch primer that comes on new panels, so I sand it off.


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The next visitor I had was this big ass spider. Doesn't look too big in the pic, but it was plenty big enough for me : ) Why do these horrible bastards like tyhe roller door switch so much???

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I then rehung the door to make sure it still fitted in the hole.


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I then started on the rear end.

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Whoops, the boot floor fell out.

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Of course the fuel tank straps need to be unpicked and fitted to the new floor.

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And the tank straps are rusted a bit too.

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The rear bumper supports also had to be removed as the metal underneath them was knackered. Not fun getting the mounts off, but it had to be done as this is what was underneath. (first pic is with the support still in place)

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And here's what was underneath

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I tried to unpick the rear panel too but it was a waste of time as the panel it attaches to was stuffed as well so I just cut it all off : ) I refitted the bootlid before I cut anything off, so I can use it as a guide for when the new panels go on. There'll be a lot cut out so it would be REALLY easy to weld things on a little bit out of whack.

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More nice!

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At least there was rust in the chassis too. I wouldn't want any part to miss out : )

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Once I had trimmed enough away I was able to trial fit the new boot floor.

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The new floor covers most of the bad stuff but there are a couple of areas that will need fixing first.

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Here's the loviness that I found inside.

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And the other side

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Not much left here.

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#182 _lxefi304_

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Posted 28 September 2010 - 07:39 PM

wow i think that thing needs some more rust...

#183 _DomDom_

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Posted 28 September 2010 - 09:45 PM

OMFG! That is incredible. You may as well have made up a new body from scratch.

BTW I was just about to get out the whip Tim. two weeks is a long time to wait for progress from you.

Awesome job on the UC too.

Dom

#184 _dirtbag_

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Posted 29 September 2010 - 09:32 AM

Thanks guys.


I figured the best way to fix the chassis rust was to cut a huge chunk of it out and go from there : )

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I folded a new piece up from 2mm sheet and welded it inside and out so it will be plenty strong enough.

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Next to go was the lip where the boot floor joined the rear panel. There was a section that was no good so it's gone and getting replaced.

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Here's the new bit.

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Now I just need to make a new piece to cover this and then do the same on the other side.

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I'm leaving the chassis rail open on purpose, as the new boot floor will cover it.

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Here's that first lip already replaced on the other side

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I haven't worried about the rust to the right of this next repair as it will get replaced when the rear quarter comes off. If it's anything like the other side there'll be a lot more repairs in there too : )

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Sure is pretty : ) But at least there's enough metal there now for the new floor to go in soon.

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Next fun job is unpicking the old boot floor from the fuel tank mounts. Yippee!

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#185 _dirtbag_

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Posted 29 September 2010 - 06:07 PM

Well today was another fun day of grinding and welding : )


I finally got all the old boot floor unpicked from the fuel tank mounts, and I also cut the rusted ends off them and replaced them with new metal.

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Once they were done I was able to weld them back into the car.

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It doesn't really look it in the pic but they've had a good clean out and some rust converter. They were full of dirt.

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With the tank mounts in I could sit the floor back in and mark out where I had to drill holes for plug welding the new floor in.

After what felt like a thousand holes later I had this.

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I had to sand off the pirmer where I was going to weld so the weld didn't get contaminated.

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Finally it's in the car!!!

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It took quite a bit of convincing but it fits pretty nicely now.

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I then spent a while prepping the tail light panel and trimming the old panel away where it was still left at the top.

After some mucking about I got it somewhere near right and tacked and clamped it in.

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By the time it's properly mounted there wont be a gap between the new panel and the boot floor.

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It never seems to look like there's much happening when doing rust repairs, but it is coming along now. This side is nearly all finished : )

#186 _cruiza_

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Posted 29 September 2010 - 07:58 PM

Looking good, I sure wish I had some talent to this sort of work

let me know when you want the shed wired

#187 _2wild4u_

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Posted 29 September 2010 - 10:11 PM

awesome work, gotta love fixing rust, its time consuming thats for sure

#188 _AD_75_

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Posted 30 September 2010 - 04:12 PM

I cant believe how much metal you have removed and refitted into this car already! most people would have just scrapped this thing by now wouldn't they? looking forward to seeing how this one progress's :spoton:

#189 _dirtbag_

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Posted 30 September 2010 - 07:15 PM

Well it's progressed a little bit more today.

I got the rear panel welded in properly, inluding the rear bumper supports.

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A few more plug welds along the bottom.

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The owner wants all the seams smoothed so I welded the rear panel into the top of the rear guard instead of leaving the seam. Looks much nicer in my opinion.

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And look at that! It all fits together. What a fluke hahaha.

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I even refitted the boot latch mount.

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A few more plug welds to hold the top in place.

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Well after sanding all the primer off the new guard I had to grind the old weld off where the guard I cut off was joined on. What an awesome job that was.....

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After adjusting all the edges of the new guard so it would actually fit, I even managed to get it to stay in place all by itself.

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After finding the best place for it and tacking it on, I spent a bit of time reshaping the front part of the guard so the door gap was better.

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I like the curves on these things.

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It almost resembles a car now. Well, this side anyway : )

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It's only tacked on, but tacked every 2 inches or so so it's very solid. It is fully welded in the wheel arch and under the rear section. I still have to trim up the part near the tail light too, but I'm pretty happy to be at this stage finally.

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BOO!!!


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Next time I work on this it will be in the new shed. Getting some power on monday or tuesday next week. Yay!

#190 its Paul

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Posted 30 September 2010 - 08:36 PM

Hi Tim, that car has changed heaps in just two days, your work ethic is unbelievable, The bloke that I got to repair and paint my car took 12 months to do what would take you 3 months, keep going, this is fantastic, are you going to release the video version? :clappin

#191 MictheAussie

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Posted 01 October 2010 - 01:21 AM

Amazing work once again Dirtbag.
I enjoy the way you write also. You say how it just falls together almost by accident and fluke but we all know there is a lot of skill and hard work involved. Oh and some swearing too I'm sure...

EDIT: Just noticed the jack stand on the boot. Classic.

Edited by MictheAussie, 01 October 2010 - 01:22 AM.


#192 _dirtbag_

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Posted 01 October 2010 - 04:42 PM

Thanks guys.

Paul, I don't think the world is ready to see my ugly mug on video. The odd pic of it in here is bad enough : )

Hi Mic. Yeah, the jack stand boot catch is pretty high tech : ) I don't have the catch here, so I just do what works. Even if it makes me look like a dumb ass hill billy : )

Moving it into the new shed on the weekend. YAY!!!!!!

#193 _73LJWhiteSL_

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Posted 01 October 2010 - 06:35 PM

Your work is amazing. As others have commented, it would have been easier to start with a new shell.

As I prepare to tackle my own rust repairs i will keep watching yours and try and pickup some tips from your work.

Keep the posts and pictures coming.

Steve

#194 _dirtbag_

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Posted 06 October 2010 - 06:07 PM

Well today I got to do my first days work in the new shed. Got the power finished yesterday to spent the arvo and last night getting things into some kind of order so it would be all systems go for today.

There's a bit more room around the car now.


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It takes quite a while as it has to be done fairly slowly, but the rear guard is now fully attached.


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It even fits around the tail light now.

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And of course I then covered everything in rust converter.

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It doesn't look like much work, but I have to take my time welding panels like this or they buckle, and that takes longer to fix.

Tomorrow I'll start on the front guard.

#195 Ruts

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Posted 06 October 2010 - 06:30 PM

Great work mate, always a pleasure reading your threads. By the way, someone loves having his picture taken.

#196 _Bomber Watson_

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Posted 06 October 2010 - 07:33 PM

Boot gaps out :tease:

Looks great mate.

Cheers.

#197 its Paul

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Posted 06 October 2010 - 07:57 PM

Are you going to have a spray booth in there Tim?


Just a reminder...... you are going to need some oxy soon :tease:

Edited by lx8vd77, 06 October 2010 - 08:00 PM.


#198 _dirtbag_

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Posted 09 October 2010 - 09:02 AM

No spray booth for me Paul, it's my way of not doing paint : P

I had a quick look at the other rear quarter. Whoever welded it on is in need of a slap. You can't really see it in this next pic but the panel edge that is meant to line up with the door has been hammered all out of shape. I don't know why. Plus the welding is crap. Apart from that it's great : ) hhahaha


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This is some of the weld that runs along the top of the guard.

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This side was the same as the other side. All around the wheel arch was held on with silastic.

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Good to see it has the same rust problems in the tub as the other side did.

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Behind the tub on this side is in a lot better shape than the other side though, so that's a plus.

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Well my main focus at the moment is the front guard for the left hand side. I was just curious about what was under the rear quarter.

The front guard is in for some serious attention.

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More nice.

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First thing to do was strip the primer off, as I didn't paint it so have no idea what it is or how well it was done.

You can see here where I was able to almost peel some paint off. This is why I don't trust primer that I didn't do. I'm not trying to sound like a stuck up clown, but I'd hate to get something paint prepped and have it peel off because this was underneath.

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There was also a lot of surface rust that was primed over.

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Here's the whole guard stripped back ready for some reworking.

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I'm going to end up reskinning the lower rear section of this guard, so first up I have to repair any underlying structure, so when I make the new skin there is something to support it.

This brace was badly repaired, so I'll chop it off and make a new piece.

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Can you see which is the new one?

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Looks a little bit better.

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Next job is the dodgy repair half way down the guard. It's been welded in too hot and had pulled the panel in.

This is where I love my profile gauge. You can see the bad repair to the right in the pic. It's small, but it's made a mess.

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I've used 1.6mm to make the repair piece. It's harder to shape, but will hold its shape better when being welded in.

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Much better.

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Next fun job was remaking the lip of the front wheel arch. It will make replacing the whole section easier if there are as many edges as possible to guide me.

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The new piece sits in pretty well.

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This was just made by folding a strip into a right angle then using the shrinker stretcher to shape it to the guard.

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With the new lip welded in it looks better already : )

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Finally got to cut the main part away.

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The top part of the support needs some fixing too.

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Here's the new skin section. I shaped this up before I cut the old section off, so it was still strong enough to use as a template to shape to. Note the huge piece of scrap metal they've used for the rust repair with about a 2 - 3 inch overlap. Rust trap anyone?

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More fun next week!

#199 _dirtbag_

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Posted 11 October 2010 - 06:13 PM

Here's the inner part fixed. It's not real pretty, but it's solid.

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Here's the new outer skin I fabricated tacked on.


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And now it's fully welded. Actually looks like a half decent panel now.


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There was also a piece that needed cutting out in the front area. Not sure if I showed it already, but here it is fixed anyway.


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Even with only 1 bolt holding the guard on it lines up really well. Talk about dumb luck : ) I'm pretty sure you can buy this lower panel section, but it wasn't too hard to make, and it was good fun!


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Oh well, it had to happen eventually. Back to the messy crap!!!!!


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It took 3 full loads with the dust pan to get this in the bin. Think of the weight saving : )


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It's a bit sad to see this side all cut open. I was just getting used to seeing the other side look like a car again hahaha.

Oh well, luckily for me I get some sick pleasure fixing this sort of stuff.


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Hopefully it wont be too long before this side looks like this.


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Edited by dirtbag, 11 October 2010 - 06:15 PM.


#200 _studricho_

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Posted 11 October 2010 - 06:42 PM

Are they snails in the sill panel!




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