Project Allegro 3 - Stormy Petrol

[SiC]

My plan is to work my way around the car anti clock wise. This may take some time.

I'm working from drivers side and clockwise with my 1100. I'll race you to see who can finish first! I may have a headstart but the 1100 has more holes...

[cort16]

Given the time it took me to do the cortina I wouldn’t count yourself out!

[320touring]

Good you've got it started..

 

The timer is running - I expect to see it at September Scotoshite;)

[Squire_Dawson]

On a 3 door car, where is the 3rd door?

[cort16]

In the floor

[cort16]

Hello I'm the hole in the floor. I'm hoping to be the first to be welded.

 

 

Some fat guy is trying to fix me. He made a rough template then screwed a patch in place. The idea being to cut me out at the same time as making my replacement.

It was going well until the idiot realised he'd used all his 1mm cutting discs making fuck knows what. Ho hum I'll just have to sit here being screwed until ebay delivers some more discs.

 

 

 

I also cleaned, ku-rusted and undersealed the top of the tank. Given the finish it looks like I used a dead hedgehog. I didn't it was alive.

 

 

I also tidied  up this hole, cleaned off all the rust on the other side and primered it. I've also got a little patch made up to be epoxyied in once it arrives.

It may seem a bit of a bodge but this metal is so fucking thin I recon one touch from the mig and I'd blow a hole to the door handle.

 

 

Slowish progress with my 1/2 an hour a day. I recon I'm going to get 2hrs a week on this unless I stop drinking on a Saturday night and spend my Sunday mornings in the garage (this is not going to happen).

[320touring]

I can come and swear/pass incorrect spanners/drink all your tea if needed.

 

We can do fuelling welders like Tickman and I did on the Oxford

[cort16]

I might try to organise that!

[fordperv]

My grandad was quality control inspector on the Allegro line for a while,make of that what you will! He had three Maxis

Is that so he had a spare for when one broke down?

[vulgalour]

Top hedgehoging skills there.

[cort16]

Well this got out of hand. I ended up having to put filler panels in then seam weld it all on the outside to get it into one part. It's a bit of dogs dinner to be honest  but at least it's not a hole. This bit wasn't even needed for the MOT!

The metal is so thin my welder can barely weld it so I think I may need to re-think my strategy for welding it the rest of it up.

 

I was speaking to my Dad on the phone tonight telling him about it being in decent condition for the year because it had been ziebarted. He used to be a painter and panel beater and he said "does that ziebart stuff, not catch fire?" Yes, yes it does. I thought I'd cleaned most of it off but it's like lighting a candle if you get enough heat in it.

 

Also note new bonus rust holes.

 

 

The hole below the windscreen is made of metal so thin Bruce Lee could probably one inch punch his way through it. I really didn't want to weld it so bought so of this epoxy putty stuff. The putty itself is like dolly mixture and has the putty on the outside and the hardener in the middle. You break a bit of then just mix it up with your hands.

 

 

I made up a bit of metal, taped it in place then squished the putty over the back of the metal and filling the rest of the hole. I left it over night and its totally sold.

Just needs a bit* of filler

 

 

I should really be moving onto the door but I think I'll focus on what it needs for it's MOT and go for the hole in the inner wing next.

[320touring]

Excellent! Gunna be a looker soon:)

[vulgalour]

The metal won't only be thin, it'll be variable consistency and quality throughout too so it doesn't matter what you do with your welder it'll be an absolute arse to work on.  Still, it's easier than trying to weld a Xantia, or a BX for that matter, so it could be worse.  Repairs so far are perfectly acceptable for what this is, you should arrest further development on that window surround for a few years yet.  If you can joddle the edges it will make life loads easier when you come to doing that door, the metal then ends up being a reasonable thickness to work with.

[somewhatfoolish]

The ziebart stuff won't help with ease of welding either, crappy BL steel aside.

[Uncle Jimmy]

Makes me feel better about my Saab, the steel is consistent quality and 22 gauge- that's about 0.8mm. The floor pan and some other areas are about 1.2mm.

I kinda assumed Saabs were made of British steel though, I know Volvo sourced their steel from the UK.

[cort16]

Remember that little hole in the boot floor above?

 

Well.

 

 

The metal was so thin and perforated when I started going at it I thought the there's no point in stopping cutting out until it's all out. 

Unfortunately it also went quite far into the rear valence. When I was squeezing it to see how juicy it was it was making that crispy rust sound , which makes the owners of old cars everywhere shudder.  Once I ran the grinder up it, it was clear the rust was just being held in place by the ziebart. It's good stuff that but I'm pretty sure it's not structural

 

That me putting the first bit back in. I think it might be a bit of a jigsaw but I've bought myself a joddler hole punch to assist.

 

It's a total chinesium special that cost £15.99 from ebay. It turned up 2 days later and feels pretty substantial and I think it's going to to be pretty essential to tackle that door skin.

I've been given a 10 minute instructional on how to to replace that section by someone who knows what they're talking about. Basically you joddle the metal and push it up behind the existing skin so it's flush and you have half a chance of welding it. Lets see how that pans out.

 

Familiar to old car fans everywhere

 

 

Slow progress with work life and family selfishly getting in the way of welding up my Allegro. 

 

The cortina has been tucked up in the garage and not moved since. I'm having some thoughts about selling it as I'd like an un pissed around with early mk5. 

 

 

 

[cort16]

Fuck me, not been having a great time with this. I'm trying to butt weld the holes in the boot rather than over lap with joddled panels to try to get  abetter finished result.

The metal is so thin my welder is acting more like a plasma cutter than a welder.  I'm at the minimum setting for my welder and I'm chasing holes, which is the least satisfying aspect of welding other than having hot metal fizzing down your crotch.

 

I went down to make some more progress tonight and I ran out of gas so at least I'll not be blowing any more holes in it.

[SiC]

AHH the joys of thin old British Leyland metal!

[somewhatfoolish]

If you can get to the back side of the panel you're plugging holes in, flatten out a bit of copper pipe and hold that on the back side while you blob pigeonshit onto the hole. WIN. A glamorous assistant may be helpful.

[cort16]

Good call I keep meaning to try a copper block. I’ll try anything to stop Chasing holes !

[SiC]

What was the thickness of the metal when it was made? 20SWG or was it thinner than that? Chasing holes is a constant battle on my 1100. I can imagine when steel quality took a drop when this was made, it was even thinner.

[cort16]

It's less than 1mm, the stuff I'm welding in is 1.2. My welder really can't handle anything thinner than 1mm, which is why there are many many holes.

[SiC]

Ah no surprise then. Most of the places I've measured the 1100 its been around 0.8mm-0.9mm. I did start putting 1mm on mine, but I've moved to 20SWG. Much easier to bend and shape. I think most things of this era were 20SWG which is around 0.91mm.

 

I've got a stock of 1.2mm but I've kept that to stuff that needs it thicker now - i.e. the sill membrane or subframe mounting points.

[320touring]

Ahhh that's not good chap:(

 

Reckon the copper may save you some effort.

 

The Oxford is mainly 1.2mm, sometimes I had to just build up weld to bridge holes, soul destroying work!

[PhilA]

Given how much square footage of cookies/bread/playdoh you get by crushing the rolling pin down just a little bit makes me wonder how many arguments went access the table at BL for going down to thinner gauge metal...?

 

"If we go down by a tenth of a mil we could make thirty more Maxis a month".

Phil

[cort16]

Ugh. I've not done anything with. The mojo sapping boot welding put me off a bit plus I've had other stuff to do (sitting at home eating biscuits and looking on eBay) so I've not really touched it.

I decided that if I couldn't fill any of the holes I'd make some more.

 

The door looked fucking terrible with the rust. 

 

 

 

I thought I'd hack into it and see what was what . I think this is the first old car I've put the grinder into and not got the dreaded while puff of filler meaning no one had been there before.

 

Much to my amazement given the state of it the door frame is totally solid. I cleaned it up, with the wire brush, kurusted it then gave it a blast of stone chip to stop it rusting for now and it looks brand new. I think the wax gunk must have got between the frame and the skin and saved it.

 

 

It has also rotted around the expansion bottle tank inside the engine bay. This was a bit of a bastard to cut out and I suspect I'll have to get in the engine bay to weld it up.

 

 

There was a little hole on the top of the sill that had rust through. This was an MOT fail as it was near the seat belt mounting point.

I drill it out with my step drill until the all the rust was gone and treated it. I was quick chuffed to see it hadn't spread.

 

 

Finally I rubbed down the bit i'd patched with epoxy. Typical even though I smothered this in wob it needs another little skim now I've ham fistedly rubbed down. All I had was gold paint from paint the cortina wheels btw.

 

 

 

As per the advice on here I've got myself a copper plate to see if this helps with the welding. I think I might have to change my strategy a bit to finish the boot as I'm desperate to get the fuel tank back in before I blow myself up.

 

 

 

[Skut]

You have my sympathy on blowing holes in thin metal. Its excruciatingly irritating and often spoils what was a neat repair when you have to fill a few rogue holes with pigeon shit.  I don't know what thickness the steel is on my late model ZR but i'd guess 0.7mm.  Fun times.

 

Nice to see an Allegro 3 getting the love.  I'm still surprised that any survived the 90s.

[320touring]

Good to see progress on this old girl!

 

Happy to help a day over Xmas hols if needed - let me know:)

[cort16]

Cheers. I may have a pie and spanner’s day nearer mot time (2024) to get the brakes and stuff sorted.

[SiC]

By 2024 it will be MOT exempt anyway.