green200b Posted September 12 Posted September 12 On 10/08/2024 at 20:23, meowmeow said: was busy trying to remove the O/S front caliper when I heard something on the roof: a creature visits I don't know why but this picture amuses me. Good effort with the work you've done on this car, I can imagine that most people wouldn't have bothered but I like the way you're making it a daily, and especially that you've chosen it partly for ULEZ reasons! I think I used to see one of these getting around in Australia when I was growing up. But even there they would be thin on the ground. meowmeow and Rustybullethole 2
meowmeow Posted September 12 Author Posted September 12 2 hours ago, green200b said: I don't know why but this picture amuses me. Good effort with the work you've done on this car, I can imagine that most people wouldn't have bothered but I like the way you're making it a daily, and especially that you've chosen it partly for ULEZ reasons! I think I used to see one of these getting around in Australia when I was growing up. But even there they would be thin on the ground. Cheers, at this rate by the time i get it on the road the Golf will probably be ULEZ exempt anyway, but i'm not really one to leave things unfinished (even if they end up absorbing my entire life) Also I kinda felt sorry for it, nobody was going to be stupid enough to throw the time and money required at the poor thing since it was a base model. Even the guy I bought it off of had planned to use it as a donor body for his even rustier family estate. Then again I've got form - Golf looked like this when I got it back from being nicked: Was a £150 car, just couldn't bear to scrap it seeing as it had come back to me after an 800 mile-round trip, so here we are 9 ish years and 60k miles later Matty, Wibble, JMotor and 11 others 14
Matty Posted September 12 Posted September 12 28 minutes ago, meowmeow said: Cheers, at this rate by the time i get it on the road the Golf will probably be ULEZ exempt anyway, but i'm not really one to leave things unfinished (even if they end up absorbing my entire life) Also I kinda felt sorry for it, nobody was going to be stupid enough to throw the time and money required at the poor thing since it was a base model. Even the guy I bought it off of had planned to use it as a donor body for his even rustier family estate. Then again I've got form - Golf looked like this when I got it back from being nicked: Was a £150 car, just couldn't bear to scrap it seeing as it had come back to me after an 800 mile-round trip, so here we are 9 ish years and 60k miles later Some cars get under your skin. They shouldn't, mind, but yet they do. Rustybullethole 1
meowmeow Posted September 12 Author Posted September 12 14 minutes ago, Matty said: Some cars get under your skin. They shouldn't, mind, but yet they do. Well it's that or I'm just not very good at throwing things away... Matty 1
meowmeow Posted October 12 Author Posted October 12 some more progress time to tackle the n/s sill for context: Removed the door but the bolts for the stay were having none of it, so off with their heads Some poking away revealed some of the work to do First step drill out all the welds for the trim strip 'ledge' Trying not to bend it too much as i'll need to put it back once everything's done Cutting away the first bit of the outer sill reveals more work, as expected New piece roughed out - not getting fussy as nobody's gonna see it: Not the neatest but it'll do the job ok Then removed the rest of the outer sill and made a few more small patches Replacement sill had some weird return on it which needed flattening out no idea why it says "o/s" on it And zipped up - will finish the bottom when everything else is done and I feel happier to jack the car up The replacement sill edge isn't folded like the original, so will have to peen it over Next bit Unfortunately I had covid the weekend I planned to make the end cap panel, and so cocked up the shape of it. Luckily it'll never be seen as the wing covers it Bows inwards too much. Tried to knock it out from the inside but there wasn't enough space to get my hands in there, so it'll have to just stay like this Added the end cap and joined the two parts of the sill together (repair panel is from a saloon so was too short, had to cut in half and extend). The join was a bit wonky in the pic, so had to hammer back one side to straighten it out. Reused the old end of the wheel arch piece, and drilled the hole in the end of the sill for the bung: Then cut out what was left of the rubbish The lower door hinge looked like I'd just fished it out of the sea Also once it fell off I realised I hadn't measured its position on the A pillar, so that'll be fun when I come to weld it back on Unfortunately couldn't find any replacements for sale anywhere, so would have to repair this one Drilled out the old hinge pin (with much difficulty) And drilled out and re-tapped the bolt holes: Chopped up some more sill repair panel scraps I had left, used the bottom of the B piller section to make part of the A pillar repair Then poked somewhere I shouldn't have and created more work for myself... There's still a fair amount to do - the n/s dogleg has rust, there are a few small holes in the passenger footwell, then the same repair as on the other side at the bottom of the rear wing, and of course the boot floor... Dick Cheeseburger, goosey, Semi-C and 30 others 33
Rustybullethole Posted October 12 Posted October 12 That bottom of A pillar/sill end/hinge bit scares me! Am in awe of the skills and perseverance here. Cracking stuff. tooSavvy, jim89, meowmeow and 6 others 3 6
EML Posted October 13 Posted October 13 I'm in awe of your dedication and skill set whilst working in such a small garage. A bloody great read and has kept me entirely hooked and on the edge of my bed whilst in recovery from a procedure. Keep up the great work meowmeow and motorpunk 2
meowmeow Posted November 1 Author Posted November 1 still going.... filled in the missing bits of the bottom corner: Then kind of eyeballed the position of the bottom hinge and tacked it loosely in place so that I can fine-tune it later. Bit of a difficult panel next, required templating Eh, close enough, can see i didn't leave quite enough metal for the edge of the piece, but weather stripping will cover it so nobody will see my shoddy work ! the aperture for the hinge is a bit big but will make sure to put some kind of mastic around it to make sure no water gets in. From the factory it's just a hole, so no surprises that it's a pretty common rust trap. Hinge fitted, time to test fit the door: Exact science applied for the panel gaps as usual Whacked the bottom hinge a bit, but like the driver's side needed a helping hand in the form of a spacer: Yeah that'll do Now quickly weld the bugger in place so it doesn't move! Few more small holes patched up Again doesn't have to be the neatest as there's plastic trim that covers all of this On to the bottom of the windscreen, which of course required removing the door that I'd just spent ages lining up... Rough patch for the inner piece: Part 2 And finally Think we're doing alright bearing in mind before I bought this thing I'd never touched a welding set... Then spent another hour faffing with door to get it to sit properly And that concludes all the rust on the n/s front of the car Actually I lie there's still a few small holes in the footwell but.... goosey, Sportshatch, rainagain and 33 others 32 4
cort1977 Posted November 1 Posted November 1 5 hours ago, meowmeow said: Think we're doing alright bearing in mind before I bought this thing I'd never touched a welding set. Sincerely, that's incredibly impressive. Well done, wish I had a fraction of your skill and perseverance. Rightnider and meowmeow 1 1
comfortablynumb Posted November 2 Posted November 2 Bit late to the party, but one thing I learned from experience, and have seen on other restoration videos, is always start with a piece of steel that's considerably too big for the repair you're trying to achieve, on the basis that chopping bits off is easier than sticking them back on! Although looking at what you're achieving the last thing you need is advice from a hammerchewer like me. Great work 👍 Rustybullethole and meowmeow 2
meowmeow Posted November 2 Author Posted November 2 1 hour ago, comfortablynumb said: Bit late to the party, but one thing I learned from experience, and have seen on other restoration videos, is always start with a piece of steel that's considerably too big for the repair you're trying to achieve, on the basis that chopping bits off is easier than sticking them back on! Although looking at what you're achieving the last thing you need is advice from a hammerchewer like me. Great work 👍 Cheers, yep definitely made that mistake a few times - still getting my head around forming more complex panel shapes where there's a lot of stretching involved comfortablynumb 1
Bmwdumptruck Posted November 2 Posted November 2 Definitely one of the top threads on here atm. Loving the progress, really looking forward to seeing it up n running. Keep on keeping on👍 jim89, meowmeow and Matty 1 2
MrBig Posted November 3 Posted November 3 Just mainlined this entire thread. Amazing stuff. The skills and resourcefulness of some folks never ceases to amaze me. meowmeow and Rustybullethole 2
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