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Left Nose Repair - '71 GTV - Opinions Sought!

7K views 33 replies 12 participants last post by  cabikefreak 
#1 · (Edited)
Nose Repair - '71 GTV - Opinions Sought!

Now that I finally have the left window sill done I took the paint and a garage filling amount of bondo out of the front left nose. I can't believe the guy that flipped this car did this but I'm the one who bought it. Anyway I would really like some opinions if this is even repairable without wholesale replacement? And if so I'd love to hear ideas about how to approach the project. I can do the body welding now but haven't ever tried my hand with an english wheel. All opinions welcome because unless I can see a path forward I think it will be time for me to take the car into the shop and let the professionals do what they do.
 

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#2 ·
Now that I finally have the left window sill done I took the paint and a garage filling amount of bondo out of the front left nose. I can't believe the guy that flipped this car did this but I'm the one who bought it. Anyway I would really like some opinions if this is even repairable without wholesale replacement? And if so I'd love to hear ideas about how to approach the project. I can do the body welding now but haven't ever tried my hand with an english wheel. All opinions welcome because unless I can see a path forward I think it will be time for me to take the car into the shop and let the professionals do what they do.
If you can do some welding yourself maybe see if you can get a cut from a parts car because the rust is usually in the bottom quarter not up at the light.
 
#3 ·
I would source a repair panel from classicalfa, you can cut them to fit the area you need to repair. If a shop does it (scratch fabrication), labor costs will be astronomical. If you do it, it's way easier to fit a pre-fabbed piece. A skim coat of body filler is absolutely acceptable, but not shovel loads!
 
#6 ·
Continuing saga of discovery on the GTV nose

OK finally getting back to this (had a bunch of work on my son's camper). I've removed the paint and filler from the right nose. It is every bit as bad or worse than the left side. I really can't figure out how the PO/Flipper dumb$ss got it this wrong. I also found that on the right side down low he tried to attach good new metal to rust and then trust the filler to hold it all together. I hope nobody else buys anything from this guy and gets in the mess I'm in!

Anyway I'm off the subject of a new nose and don't need to replace whole fenders either. So my plan is to make little patch pieces and weld them in between each of the body lines, which thankfully are intact with only a skim coat of filler on top. In some ways this looks easier than the window sill repair I already completed. Now that I've tempted the bodywork Gods I'm sure I'll find otherwise. I value all input and will update my progress!
 

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#7 · (Edited)
Melt the bronze out and see what you are left with.

Remove front wheels and inner guard splash panel and panel beat guard and ends of nose panel straight and again see what you are left with.

I suspect after doing this you can correctly trim the guard or nose panel and correctly butt weld by tacking miles apart and then half way between and so on ensuring fully cold in between each round of tacking.

Shouldn't be too hard :) ... similar process for lower front panel repair, but not so easy because you cannot get behind it.
Pete
 
#8 ·
My GTV was so bad I would have bet my next paycheck replacement parts were for sure but they straighten everything so smooth it took minimum filler. If you can find a good panel beater that can be repaired. Good luck!
 
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#9 ·
Ok I have divided things up into sections with the plan to cut each out, form the piece and butt weld into place. I figure I am not making it any worse.

My first piece is ready but I am going to cut the next section as marked and get that ready before welding.

Down the side though I am confused about the shape of the nose piece relative to the fender. I don't know what that curve is supposed to look like since this was previously full of filler. Is it supposed to be concave or more of a straight line?

Can someone please take a picture of their car at approximately this same angle so I can see the way the nose is to fair into the fender?


 
#11 ·
Thank you JJr! Looks like a straight line with little to no concave curve coming off the nose. I am curious why the nose panel on my car was made the way it was. From the hole pattern in the front it looks like it is for a 2000, not 1750 and maybe that matters. Anyway it is going to add to the challenge I think. Thanks again!
 
#13 ·
Perhaps it'd be helpful to find another car locally and take some templates off of it. Normally in the past I've done that using the same section on the other side of the car (mirror image and all that) but in your case it sounds like that's not an option.
 
#14 ·
Yes to your advice Aggie on getting a curve match from an existing car. Maybe I can arrange a meet at Cars and Coffee here in SoCal soon. The part I don't get is the shape of the nose around the headlamp area doesn't seem to match the way the fender curves in toward the nose piece. Maybe my fenders are not curving in correctly.

Anyway I made the cut for my second patch on top and I am part way thru shaping the new piece. The last bit of shaping to pull the outside corner down is proving difficult for me. I am tempted to weld the back side and then pull down since it will be anchored in place. I wonder if that is a valid technique or better to keep taking the patch to the bag and working it?
 
#21 ·
Aha, you are teaching me how to do this. And the bag spoken of is that old habit of bag of shot for shaping and stretching metal into the right shape. The cylinders are magnets. The clamp is from eastwood for doing this sort of work. the panel repairs are all butt welds with no overlapping metal? Please, more suggestions, ideas, or techniques!!. I have a '74 that re-rusted from not being protected behind the shiny side after a restoration in 1990. So much for paying for it..., and needing floors, too. Lotsa work, but so what.


I put my cars with lotsa work to do on a spit to put the work at a comfortable height. I would suggest making one, or buying one. Especially for the work on the floors..

Steve
 
#22 ·
Yes to the bag except mine has sand. Yes to the rest including the butt welds. My car is on dollies as it is currently alk together as a roller (no gas tank, dash is out). Floors are good but I haven't stripped the rockers yet so who knows what is to come.

Before modeling after me though better to see how this all works out! There are many, many much better examples of metalwork on the alfabb!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Tapatalk
 
#24 ·
Enjoying the thread. Part way through a similar project on a 73. The Eastwood clamps look familiar. Used passenger fender from APE and cut patch and English wheel(first time) for top of driver fender. Most of these fenders appear to have thinned metal from early adventures. Looks like you are headed in the right direction. Help from the community college body shop in the SW where it generated interest as the first Alfa for some skilled guys.
 
#26 ·
Only limited time this weekends, plus an 8 hour power outage but I got the second patch done. I had to cut out the first welds in that forward part so I could push the patch out some. I am getting used to small amounts of rework when I don't notice something before going to the next step. Slow is fast with this stuff I guess. The next cutout is ready and doesn't look too hard.
 
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