984 replies to this topic

[sibhs]

G'day lads!

Time to tear off the drivers side pillar skin and make a new one. This one didn't go as smoothly as the first, maybe because I re-used the passenger side template flipped over. Anyway had to ad a few bits along the way but still very happy with the result.  

I did a couple of big days on the car and ended up losing my mojo and gave it a break for almost a week. Just sick of welding and grinding I suppose.

 

Marty

 

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[sibhs]

I've also been cutting the rust out of the front valance, some of these shapes have been very hard to make but finally got them sorted.

 

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Getting some nice little tac welds with the .6mm wire.

 

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Marty

[308 Sunbird]

Great job Marty

[gad05]

Very nice Marty.

[claysummers]

You make it look easy. Avoiding shrinkage on those flat valance patches requires patience I`m still looking for.

Sent from my SM-A705YN using Tapatalk

[lctriples]

Top work Marty!  Ain't grinding welds back fun! Looks like the .6 wire is doing the trick, handy to know in the future, Paul

[sibhs]

Evening all,

 

Sometimes you feel like you're going nowhere with your resto so I've given myself a target/goal of getting the windscreen cowl on. To do that I need the door pillars fitted and the plenum chamber prepped and maybe spray some colour in there first.

I've got the passenger pillar fitted with my made up top bit and hopefully get the drivers side done soon.

 

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Great job Marty

Thanks Sunbird, appreciate the support.

Very nice Marty.

Cheers Graham

 

You make it look easy. Avoiding shrinkage on those flat valance patches requires patience I`m still looking for.

Sent from my SM-A705YN using Tapatalk

Hi Clay, It sure aint easy but is challenging and very time consuming. I could never do this for money. Have you tried welding 5 spots then hitting it with compressed air?  I've found it a much better way of reducing warping/shrinkage.  I think I've still got a bit of movement but will sort that out later I hope.

 

Top work Marty!  Ain't grinding welds back fun! Looks like the .6 wire is doing the trick, handy to know in the future, Paul

Grinding sucks!  I'm also finding grinding discs(hard disc about 4mm thick) go blunt or clog up even though they still look new.  They start off great and then reduce their grinding power.

 

Thanks guys

Marty

[Mitchyboy]

Nice work bud

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[Rockoz]

You make it look easy. Avoiding shrinkage on those flat valance patches requires patience I`m still looking for.

Sent from my SM-A705YN using Tapatalk

Marty gave a good tip about keeping it cool.

I found that if you can keep the whole area down to a temp that you can keep your hand on, reduces lots of dramas.

Another trick I found is dont cut out square corners. You get a lot more pull with so much weld in a close area.

Make your patches circular or oval wherever possible. That sort of keeps any pull even over the whole patch.

 

My advice is only through what I have found works for me. Im still very much more a grinder than a welder.

But with car panels there is no real way of avoiding that as an amateur. TIG will help, but is more difficult to do in odd places, and uses way more gas.

Also when grinding down your welds, go easy then too to keep the heat down.

 

Cheers

 

Rob

[sibhs]

Hey all,

I've got both pillars done, pulled a few repairs then sanded the plenum and re-rust blasted the front end. 

Then the next day when dry all the welded bits were rust sealed and then got my first batch of etch on the car.

So now I'll focus on getting the windscreen cowl on but will paint and seal inside first.

 

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[sibhs]

I'm missing the heater control knobs but managed to borrow a pair from a friend.

 

Made a mould and poured a few sets up, takes a bit of time but I reckon once they're in the car no one will know the difference.

 

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Marty

[sibhs]

On Wednesday I got to see a NOS inner door pillar and due to me just working on these I took a bit of interest in it.

Here are some pictures for reference, I was mainly interested in the welding points of the hinges. 

 

Cheers

Marty

 

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[warrenm]

I can see why they rusted, a sort of a wipe of sealer across the horizontal surface.

[Shiney005]

Nice reference there Martin. Looks like it came from that big warehouse in Thailand.

[S pack]

Nice reference there Martin. Looks like it came from that big warehouse in Thailand.

Japan actually.

[Shiney005]

Ha ha. I only got taught Straylian at my school.  I didn't even know they went to Japan Dave. Got any pics? There is an export thread in here somewhere. And I don't think it even has beer in it.

[S pack]

Unfortunately no pics Laurie but my daughter translated it for me. The Asian writing is Japanese kanji and it literally translates to 'left hand front door pillar'.

GMH did export RH drive vehicles to Japan, albeit in small numbers. The RPO was XU4 - Japanese special vehicle equipment.

[sibhs]

Unfortunately no pics Laurie but my daughter translated it for me. The Asian writing is Japanese kanji and it literally translates to 'left hand front door pillar'.

GMH did export RH drive vehicles to Japan, albeit in small numbers. The RPO was XU4 - Japanese special vehicle equipment.

The story with the pillar is it's been sent to asian country to see if it can be copied and manufactured but after 4 years of flying around the world it's come back with a "can't do."

 

Nice work Marty, always enjoy seeing your updates.

 

My tip for welding the cowl panel on is to fit the wiper mechs. This is to make sure the panel that sits against the heater is in the correct position and the wiper mech fits afterwards.

I used a HB cowl panel on mine, not realising the differences, and neglected to fit the wiper mechs when I welded it on.

Fast forward to me fitting the wipers and wondering why -

1) The passenger side wiper mech wouldnt fit without some massaging and grinding of the hole it sticks through.

2) The drivers side wiper mech hole was actually about 60mm too far to the center of the car so I had to redreill the mounting holes.

3) When I fitted the heater box, I needed two gaskets to make it seal against that panel. (I still havent tested to see if it's water proof.)

Luckily it looks good and isn't easy to pick without a keen eye.

What may seem obvious to some is not so for others!

 

Paul

Thanks Paul, Always good to learn from other peoples mistakes.  I'm pretty sure I would of put the wiper mech's in before lining up the cowl.

 

I've sanded back the etch to remove the runs caused by Rust Seal.  Then re-applied another coat of etch.  Made up a big brew and etched some parts I had sand blasted and rust blasted.

 

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Marty

[S pack]

The story with the pillar is it's been sent to asian country to see if it can be copied and manufactured but after 4 years of flying around the world it's come back with a "can't do."

 

Marty

haha, nothing is impossible, miracles just take a little longer. If Vauxhall & GMH could make them then they could be copied, it's probably just the cost is prohibitive.

[Ice]

You never do things in half measures do you Marty
Im just blown away what your capable of

[grumpy xu1]

Hi Marty, any chance of some photo's of the car dolly design & can you please comment on anything you would change with it mate. Looks like a good idea to me. Thanks, Gary.

[sibhs]

haha, nothing is impossible, miracles just take a little longer. If Vauxhall & GMH could make them then they could be copied, it's probably just the cost is prohibitive.

Correct! It was a price issue.

 

You never do things in half measures do you Marty
Im just blown away what your capable of

Thanks Gene, just a normal guy having a crack at everything. I'll put up some pictures of all my failures(learning experiences) soon.

 

Hi Marty, any chance of some photo's of the car dolly design & can you please comment on anything you would change with it mate. Looks like a good idea to me. Thanks, Gary.

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Hi Gary, I've attached the dolly's to the mounting points of the chassis where they're designed to take the weight. Rear spring tower and trailing arm brackets, then the front k frame mounting to chassis.

At first I thought I'd made it too high but now realise its perfect. I would prefer a little higher but then bonnet would hit garage ceiling and painting the roof would be difficult. I think i'll remove dolly wheels when painting car to bring it down a bit. I also used eBay dolly wheels which don't change direction too well.  I use the front dolly to stand or sit on (handy) and can walk in and out of the engine bay by just bending over (very handy).

 

Marty

[grumpy xu1]

Thanks mate, any photo's of the rear set up, would be fantastic. I might design something like that for when my body gets restored. What diameter are your wheels ? Solid or rubber tyres ? All handy to know for when that time comes. Gary.