danthecapriman Posted September 16, 2015 Posted September 16, 2015 Looking good, the new sills should certainly make things easier. I was just wondering when you said about going bumper less, what it would look like with body coloured bumpers instead of chrome? It might just fill the gap and make it look a little smoother but without being as noticeable as the original chrome. Great work though.
vulgalour Posted September 16, 2015 Author Posted September 16, 2015 I don't really like body coloured bumpers unless they're a substantial size, the only colour you could really do on the the Princess is satin black and I only like those on things like Chevettes and Kadetts where they suit quite well. I don't know of any other bumperless Princess and since this one is never going to be worth anything to anyone but me even if I restore it to factory I might as well have fun making it more and more into my own car. To make more sense of the front, the air scoop hole will get a coat of satin black when I've finished repairing and repainting the valance. I'd like a full width grille that goes over the headlights, just not figured out the best way to do it yet, there's a lot of options there, some more practical than others. I'm also wanting to put a high level brake light on the back, just not figured out what exactly I want for that or where it's going. Totally enthused just lately. I'm getting through the bodywork at a better pace and not worrying too much about the mechanical stuff for now. Cutting out rust and welding in metal isn't costing me anything but time, that makes me happy. Honey Badger, danthecapriman and mat_the_cat 3
Timewaster Posted September 16, 2015 Posted September 16, 2015 Do you have a picture in your head of the finished article?It does seem like you are making it up as you go along. Fine if you are okay with that but i wonder if the end result might be a bit disjointed? Disclaimer: your car, your choice.
vulgalour Posted September 16, 2015 Author Posted September 16, 2015 I have a clear picture in my head now after having played about with several ideas on the computer and on the car and discounted a lot. Keeping it really simple. Debumper, tidy the lumps and bumps, install the new lights and repaint beige and black where appropriate. End result should be clean but obviously modified. Later stage is further work, that's when I look at hide-away lights and whatever. That I'm not starting on at all until this stage is done. Asimo and danthecapriman 2
vulgalour Posted September 17, 2015 Author Posted September 17, 2015 Pair (one for each side) of sills collected, and all six brake hoses all for £40. I also got a scruffy Allegro hub cap from eBay recently and can confirm they do indeed fit Princess steels which has broadened my steel wheel trim options considerably. danthecapriman, dollywobbler, The Moog and 3 others 6
dollywobbler Posted September 17, 2015 Posted September 17, 2015 I'm going to have to concede that I just don't like the MGB lamps. I'd be wondering about hiding some in the front grille somehow. Blacked out, they could be very secret until needed. It'd have a proper Dodge Challenger vibe then.
Bear Posted September 18, 2015 Posted September 18, 2015 I would paint the lower infill area in satin black, and get two sets of LED strips to fit inside the grille - one sidelight/DRL, and one amber with resistor as an indicator. Or take some inspiration from Ogle's designs and make a sequential light setup - and do the same at the back. The tail lights on the Princess always looked a bit weedy and with no logic to the shape relative to the overall profile of the car, it would suit something bolder.
AndyW201 Posted September 19, 2015 Posted September 19, 2015 Good to see progress on this, fwiw I think youre heading in a good direction there. Smoothed out with the original colour scheme will give it a nice slightly modified but mainly OE look, especially now you have the black interior to match the black C pillars.Are you re-using the Lotus alloys? They will finish the look right off! If you're also playing around with steel wheel ideas, I have a set of Unipart push-through chrome centre caps with the Leyland plughole logo. I had them on my Allegro, before I fitted a set of SS wheel trims to it, so presumably they'll fit Princess steels. Holler if you want them, I'm just up the road from you. vulgalour 1
Bren Posted September 19, 2015 Posted September 19, 2015 You will be much happier once the sills are on because fitting two panels will eliminate much of the rot. The inners on my SD1 were also suffering, instead of buying a new panel I trimmed them and grafted in 16 swg zintec - it's thick and coated with zinc. I could then offer up the new sill. I have done all the welding, but, like you, sometimes spot things you wish you could have done better. I fitted a rear arch repair panel to the n/s, however I could'nt get one for the o/s, so I let in metal and applied filler. The problem is there is too much filler - I am not painting it then having issues with the filler cracking. So I am looking for a repair panel - no longer available, I could buy a rear quarter for £100+ and cut off the arch which would be extremely wasteful.
vulgalour Posted September 19, 2015 Author Posted September 19, 2015 AndyW201: I'm wondering if those centre caps will fit the Lotus alloys since they don't have any and I'm wanting some plugholes for them. They will be going on the car because they absolutely must. @Bren: Can you not use a front arch for a rear arch profile? I can't think of another car with a similar arch profile to an SD1.
Bren Posted September 19, 2015 Posted September 19, 2015 I have been told the same thing - will have to do a comparison.
AndyW201 Posted September 19, 2015 Posted September 19, 2015 Vulg, I'd imagine the centre caps would fit, I'm 99% sure the Princess and Allegro have the same centre bore size. They're yours if you want them.PM me if you're interested and I can drop by with them, I pass Thornaby every day going home from work.
vulgalour Posted September 19, 2015 Author Posted September 19, 2015 I strongly suspect BL used the same centre wheel pressings for Allegro and Princess, they look identical and wear the same hubcaps. Also, Lotus alloys fit on Allegros but don't look as good as they do on Princesses. PM incoming.
vulgalour Posted September 30, 2015 Author Posted September 30, 2015 Chopped out a rusty section so I could do repairs on the upper valance and found it was much worse on the back than expected, this meant a slight change in plans because replacing exactly as original was going to be time consuming (more not-available panels here) and I don't need the original shape anyway. A new upper valance section was created from that bonnet I'm still making use of and welded in place. The welds need dressing back to finish. Coincidentally, this removed all of the deformation of the valance panel so the front end looks much straight than it did. The structure behind is undamaged, it looks like all the damage was restricted to the wing and valance. This is less involved than repairing the original pieces in the way I was going to and took me less time. You'll just have to wait and see how it looks when I've done it, I've got all the pieces I just have to put them all back on the car. anonymous user, eddyramrod, mouseflakes and 6 others 9
derskine Posted September 30, 2015 Posted September 30, 2015 Impressive work, you have definitely got the hang of it!
captain_70s Posted September 30, 2015 Posted September 30, 2015 Also, Lotus alloys fit on Allegros but don't look as good as they do on Princesses.I have a new life goal, it involves owning a purple Allegro 1750 sitting on Lotus alloys... vulgalour 1
vulgalour Posted October 4, 2015 Author Posted October 4, 2015 Got a good way towards completing the welding on the front end today, which was a great feeling. Having decided on the indicator's final location I found I didn't have the time to make the small brackets needed to install them today, nor time to fit the final element of the front end. Instead, I managed to come very close to finishing the welding on the passenger front wing. All those little cuts on the arch have been welded up, a small hole I'd previously missed was caught and the bumper mount hole-and-bump flattened to match the arch better. I need to cut a new indicator hole and plate up the old one as well as plating up the bumper mounting hole before I can get a bit of filler on here to smooth it all out nicely. Tiny glimpse of the bit of metal I've not quite finished that's going back on the front end too. Happily managed to salvage the centre brace. I'm pretty sure now that this car has had a minor bump before I owned it because I found that were the metal had split was an old brazing repair. With some patience I got most of the original shape back to the brace and welded it in place. I also tidied up the front lip and centre seam of the lower valance and got some primer on it. A little bit of filler will see this all smoothed out properly. I'm rather pleased with it. danthecapriman, Jim Bergerac, eddyramrod and 9 others 12
KruJoe Posted October 4, 2015 Posted October 4, 2015 Looking well, that is, wor kid. Have you used a grinder to dress back that wing? A flapper disc is my new best friend for that kind of job. (This evening I have nostrils full of powdered oxidised aluminum and scabby old paint to prove it.)
vulgalour Posted October 4, 2015 Author Posted October 4, 2015 For some reason the camera makes it look like I took a grinder to everything, I haven't, I've used a flap disc as they're just better in every single way. I do feel a bit like I've gone overboard with this, I was only supposed to be doing the MoT welding and instead I appear to be going full-resto-mod. eddyramrod and KruJoe 2
purplebargeken Posted October 4, 2015 Posted October 4, 2015 Never heard that before. Nope, never. I'll just fill this hole...................................... oh look, I now have a bare shell. How the fuck did that happen. PhilA, Grundig, lisbon_road and 2 others 5
vulgalour Posted November 8, 2015 Author Posted November 8, 2015 Finally got time and motivation to crack on with the Princess this weekend. Putting theory into practice on bodywork is quite a learning curve, especially when you're trying to do ambitious things with shapes. I had fitted the MG B sidelight-indicator units to the front valance on the Princess, it looked perfectly okay on the bench. Then when I put it on the car it looked HORRIBLE so I had to cut out all the work and start again. I'd already marked out where I wanted the unit to sit but transferring the shape of the light unit to the curved panel was a case of trial and error as the light unit is slightly curved horizontally whereas the panel it's going into is heavily curved vertically, and ever so slightly horizontally too. After much nibbling and filing after the initial hole cut I had a hole the right shape without taking too much material out. Then I just had to make a rectangle of metal the right curve to fit the hole. That's also complicated. The recess needs to sit parallel to the top edge of the panel I'm working with but the back of it will be angled so the units sit in a better way. Many, many frustrating minutes of bend, hammer, tweak, bend, adjust with offering it up to the hole between and eventually I get to a point I can weld it in. Ugly welds, I know. I do know that welding from the other side of this would have probably made for a neater finish and required me not to make a second pass on the seam. It was very difficult to get access all the way around on the back of the panel due to its shape so I opted not to. When the piece was welded in I trimmed off the excess with the tin snips and then got the flap wheel to get everything flush. This bit wasn't so bad and the end result is fairly smart. Few bits here and there need extra attention and finishing and of course a bit of filler will be needed before paint. The backing plate next. I made several cardboard attempts at this and it was just annoyingly difficult. The back of the light units have two fixing bolts in opposing corners and the unit itself isn't flat so you need a really specific shape for the hole. Originally I was going to cheat and get a repair section but I've been unable to find one so I guess it's one of the few bits of MG B that you can't get off the shelf. After a while I had one side in, not fully, but enough to check for fitment. You can just see the orange corners of the backing plate where I've not trimmed them yet. It's not bad. For a first attempt at this sort of thing I think I've done okay and with a little more graft I'll have it finished nicely. What's surprised me is just how difficult it's been to get the shapes I want. I did notice that the tolerances I'd allowed in the cardboard version were probably a little tight for the metal version so I'm hoping I don't have too much trouble getting everything as smartly finished as I want. danthecapriman, LC Torana and Alexg 3
vulgalour Posted November 28, 2015 Author Posted November 28, 2015 Ah ha! Needs some fine adjustment to be properly finished like the bolt holes for the indicators enlarging slightly so I can fit them but otherwise it went remarkably smoothly today. I'm very happy with how this looks. I've a few options for the front number plate location, all of them are very easy, and a good amount of finishing work with filler to get it all looking as it ought. Driver's side wing needs that repair section letting in and the headlight alignment sorting out which are comparatively easy jobs to getting the front end tidied up. Next I'll either finished the rear light bucket or the passenger outer sill replacement. Can't do anything about the suspension until I find someone local to make me at least one suspension pipe and since disturbing everything the front corner is so low now that the tyre rubs on the inner arch when properly inflated. But hey, it's progress, and good progress at that! Alexg, eddyramrod, worldofceri and 6 others 9
Parky Posted November 28, 2015 Posted November 28, 2015 That looks mega, Stance Yo! Are you losing any cooling / ventilation with the new style of valance? Can't really remember what the old one looked like (apart from a bit bent) vulgalour and oldcars 2
vulgalour Posted November 28, 2015 Author Posted November 28, 2015 I should be okay for cooling, the new valance ramps the air up at the radiator smartly. There used to be a box-scoop thing in the middle obscured by the number plate and seemingly designed to push cold air into the front crossmember. If needed I can put a new box-scoop into the front valance in the future but I doubt it'll be a problem. Car has always run a bit on the cool side since fitting a Rover bubble fan.
PhilA Posted November 29, 2015 Posted November 29, 2015 Part of me wants to see a pair of these hidden behind the recessed part of the grille on each side. http://www.xtralights.com/83-91-chevy-suburban-front-passenger-side-replacement-parking-turn-signal-light-w-dual-headlight-clear Phil
vulgalour Posted November 29, 2015 Author Posted November 29, 2015 There's probably the space to do it too. I've got some spotlights for the front I need to put somewhere so they might end up there.
vulgalour Posted November 29, 2015 Author Posted November 29, 2015 trigger, catsinthewelder and danthecapriman 3
PhilA Posted November 29, 2015 Posted November 29, 2015 There's probably the space to do it too. I've got some spotlights for the front I need to put somewhere so they might end up there. From memory they are about 5" square, and accept a standard 21/5 socket, usually to provide sidelight/turn signal duty. ...you have 4 lights on the front, why do you need more? those sealed beams are remarkably good if you sort the wiring (ie bypass the original wires, fit relay and hook up with heavier gauge wire to the sockets), as I found out on my Vauxhall. --Phil
vulgalour Posted November 29, 2015 Author Posted November 29, 2015 I just like having lots of lights. mat_the_cat, eddyramrod and PhilA 3
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