'74 GTV DIY Body restoration continues...

[GoldCloverLeaf]

This is a continuation of this thread - http://www.alfabb.com/bb/forums/anyt...storation.html

I decided this thread really belongs in the restoration section...

Here i am finishing patching the inner sill and making a new box section at the rear as the original was rusted out at the bottom. The copper coloured primer is U-Pol Wed Thru primer and it seems to work quite well.

[GoldCloverLeaf]

After welding in all the required patches, swearing at myself for not ordering the middle sills in the first place, i proceeded to remove all the original paint.

I decided to coat the inside and outside of the middle sill as much as possible to ensure i wont be doing this again anytime soon

[GoldCloverLeaf]

After the POR-15 dried i needed to remove some of it in preparation for plug welding the new outer sill panel on.

On the next side i think i'll mask off the areas that need to be plug welded as removing the POR-15 was a PITA !

I then prep'd the new outer sill panel with holes to suit plug welding, and applied weld - thru primer.

I also sanded back the inside of the new sill panel and applied etch primer, as the factory primer looks like it woulnt last too long before surface rust developed.

[GoldCloverLeaf]

I then fitted the outer sill panel ready for tack welding, i already test fitted it before painting the POR-15 so i knew it would fit.

I did not take a picture of this but it is very important to fit the door and make sure you are happy with ALL the gaps before tack welding the sill panel into position for plug welding ! !

It wouldnt be hard to get this part wrong, the sill panel would not look right with a large gap under the door, and it would really suck if the door wouldnt shut!

After getting it into position and tack welding a few spots, i took the door back off and finished plug welding and seam welding where required (as per the factory did it).

As you can see from the second photo, the sill panel fit was excellent, there was basically no modification to get it to fit liek it should.

The welds arent all that sexy but they were tidied up a fair bit after with a 40-grit flap disc (forgot to get a picture of this).

I then used etch primer to prevent it from rusting before the whole car get primed. I decided it was a good idea to use seam-sealer over all the repairs, the top section will be concealed by the stainless steel kick plate... hey it couldnt hurt could it?

So thats the left side down. Next is the right side sill, drivers side floor and rear window patched to be made. TBC...

[gigem75]

Ah the memories of when I did mine good going , looks really nice!

[73veloce]

Nice work and thanks for the photo documentation...very helpful!

[PSk]

Perfect .

Pete

[Vytas]

Great Job! Thanks for all the pictures. This tread just gave me a push to work in the garage this evening.

[GoldCloverLeaf]

Hey thanks Pete, that means a lot coming from someone with your skills, but I think I have a long way to go to be able to do metalwork/welding as good as you!

I found these sites on the net that were very useful as this is pretty much all new to me, so i recommend anyone attempting metalwark check these sites out:

Welding tutorials (descriptions, pictures and videos) -

How to MIG Weld - Tutorial

Sheet metalworking forum (all sorts of tutorials and projects including cars) -

MetalMeet - for Metalshaping Enthusiasts & Professional Metalshapers

And also, dont skimp on a MIG welder, i got a Lincoln Powermig 180C, while its about twice as much as a lot of cheap chinese junk i think it is worth it as it welds very cleanly with little practice.

[GoldCloverLeaf]

Ok its been awhile since I’ve updated but I have been busy with whatever free time I have. So bare with me… there will be a few posts!

The driver’s side sill panel was considerably worse than the passenger’s sill. I should have simply replaced the middle sill as a whole unit but decided to go ahead patch the middle sill myself as it wasn’t too bad overall.

As you can see the box sections offered very little of the rigidity

[GoldCloverLeaf]

After cutting out half of the middle sill I was thinking to myself that it would have been easier replacing the whole unit instead of spending hours making up all these patches… ah well maybe next time

I then wire wheeled the inner and middle sill to get rid of surface rust and coated them in POR15.

[GoldCloverLeaf]

I then proceeded to make patch panels, using the original steel (rust) as templates where possible. Welding is still pretty sloppy, however I was more concerned about penetration as this is a structural area.

[GoldCloverLeaf]

Started on the box sections, finished welding up the middle sill, then stripped back the rest of the paint and coated the outside of the middle sill with POR15.

[GoldCloverLeaf]

Front box section and rear box sections almost done. I think I used a total of 8 or 9 individual patch panels to make up the box sections on this side. Note – the POR15 is wire wheels back and coated with weld-thru primer prior to fitting box sections.

[GoldCloverLeaf]

I then finished off the box sections and coated them in POR15.