'74 GTV DIY Body restoration continues...

[GoldCloverLeaf]

The next day I wire wheeled back some POR15 where the outer sill panel will be welded to the middle sill and box sections and coated with weld-thru primer.

I then stripped the inside of the outer sill panel (as there was some signs of surface rust forming) and coated it in etch primer, with weld-thru primer around the perimeter where the welds / plug welds would be.

Of course I fitted up the door and aligned it to the correct position, to ensure the sill panel gap is correct, then proceeded to tack the sill in place, then complete welding.

[GoldCloverLeaf]

Sill panel complete for now, with plug welds grinded back flush with a 40-grit flap disc on the angle grinder.

I spent some time aligning the front and quarter panel bottom sections. They are a bit fiddly to get them lined up properly but I will report back later once I start welding again, but that’s it for now…

[PSk]

Nice, neat work .

Pete

[1750GT]

Subscribed.

[rafael]

Wow,

You go very fast... Great work!

[daveydog]

Hmm, about that crack in your garage floor... I hope it's not bending your panels and causing some major distortion and problems down the road.
Just kidding. Looks like you're doing some serious resto work here and it also looks like you you're well on the way to a beautiful GTV again. BTW, what is your method for bending the outer patch panels around the factory door mouldings? Pliers? Or some kind of metal brake?
Everything's looking good so far but I had to ask since I'm getting close to attaching those panels myself. Yeah, like next year maybe since it's getting to the point up here where the temperature kind of regulates the amount of time spent out in the garage, sigh.

[GoldCloverLeaf]

Cheers guys.

Actually now you got me worried about that crack in the floor, the car is in a space i'm renting.... on the 3rd floor of a converted wool shed building that is over 120 years old... so i hope it doesnt decide to give in anytime soon

In regards to bending the flanges around on the patch panels, i used a flat, square shaped panel hammer and what they call a shot bag. I bought one off ebay, about 30cm's in diameter. I filled it with granite sand, but you can use lead shot or similar.

You can shape the bag to whatever curve you require to hammer on, but in this case i wanted to keep it as flat as possible and it worked fine with no dramas

The flange towards the bottom of the patch panel where it lines up with the sill panel is hammered hard back upon itself so it can sit flush with the sill line.
The upper section you need to hammer it back but leave a gap big enough so it wraps tight around the the metal support strip.

I hope that made some sense

[daveydog]

Those patch panels you put on look really good! All the lines match up which is the sign of a very good repair.
I'm a little bit behind you in the timeline of the progress you've made on your car, and although you used the sandbag I was wondering if there's another way to make those sharp bends? How did you do it? I understand the part about bending the lower bit hard back on itself and the part about leaving a small gap on the upper part, but did you use the sandbag for these bends? They look really well done and this is not a criticism, just an honest inquiry since I'm not a panel beater just drummer.

[daveydog]

I forgot to add, when you cut the old sheet metal away, did you put the new patch panel in place and cut through the new and old pieces together? Your cuts look so close to the original piece which makes things way easier to weld! Ciao

[GoldCloverLeaf]

Dave, i actually just used the shot bag to rest the panel against while i hammered the flange back upon itself. I suppose you could do it without the bag but you might risk damaging the panel. The shot bag acts as a sort of shock absorber for lack of a better term...

The flange bends around quite easily once you start on it. Perhaps get a small piece of 1.2 or 1.6mm steel to sit under the flange so when you hammer it around you get a nice even gap, it will all make more sense once you get a closer look.

In terms of the patch panels they are just resting there at the moment but they should line up nicely when finished. I just marked out the top of the patch panel with a marker, then made a careful cut with an angle grinder (i use a 115mm one). And make sure you cut under the marker line as close as possible, and maybe not drink too much scotch the night before, and you should be sweet

[daveydog]

Thanks for the tips! It looks like you're well on the way to a completed project and I may have to pick your brain later on as it looks like you know what you're doing.
Keep the photos and commentary coming. It gives me and I'm sure a lot of other guys on the BB a reason to keep moving ahead on our own projects.
Ah scotch...single or double malt... "Work is the curse of the drinking class" as Oscar Wilde once wrote. How right he was.

[kpc655]

looks great, and fast work!

[gigem75]

very nice, I especially like how you connected the rocker to the ends before it went on the car, elgante' solution!

[GoldCloverLeaf]

Thanks again for the comments, it helps keep the motivation flowing

Ok, got some more work done…. After getting the patch panels filed to the correct shape, I wire wheeled the rest of the box section and other areas behind where the panels will cover and coated in por15. I think doing this at the front is very important as a lot of road debris and other junk was behind there when I cut the original panel off.

I used a fair bit (probably excessive) amount of seam sealer around the welds prior to fitting the patch panels.

I also coated the inside of the patch panels with por15, the last picture shows the weld-thru primer around the perimeter.

[GoldCloverLeaf]

Both patch panels tacked into place, the front section needed a fair bit of work, you can see how it does not follow the line of the door in the second picture, but after some hammering it lines up much better in picture 3.

Picture 4 and 5 show how the panel does not line up 100% at the top, I will have to build this back up with MIG weld until there is an even gap.