67 Mk1 GT6 restoration

[byakk0]

It's kind of funny. When I first started some of these panel replacement projects I was very cautious to make an exact duplicate final product as I could to match factory (or as close as my limited skills allow), and I was wondering how I would address the door skins as they were obviously not exactly factory. I didn't really want to add extra metal, because someone in the future may have a hard time making repairs if I had screwed something up and I was merely compensating for my own mis-judgement and amateur errors.

Then I came to a couple realizations.
1) I never plan on selling the GT6, so who am I kidding-do it my way and move on.
2)I've seen many door reskin videos, both on youtube and on the myriad of car rebuild shows and they add metal to door edges as needed frequently (and other panels too), so I know I'm not the only one in this boat--it's standard practice.
Made me feel much better, that's for sure.

[BiTurbo228]

Looking really good!

What colour will it be in the end? I can't help but feel it'll be a bit of a shock if it's not painted 'matte olive drab'

[byakk0]

lol. I've been wondering if I should switch to grey primer so the final colo(u)r is less of a shock--I'll be stripping it all back to bare metal before I paint it, but as I am not sure how long that will be, the OD is just a cheap primer and the temporary goal is just one of a single color, seeing as when I was driving it it was primer yellow and grey with a red driver's door.

Back to your question...the color will be BMW space grey, sort of a variation on color code 18. (mine was Royal Blue 56 originally, but never in my ownership).
Here is the inside of the doors, painted in the correct color.

[BiTurbo228]

Now that's a pretty colour I've never been a fan of greys on modern cars, but the metallic ones can look stunning on classics (something about the grey accentuating the bloatedness of modern sheetmetal).

You've got me questioning my decision for Valencia Blue now...

[byakk0]

Try not to second guess yourself, especially if you're building for yourself. Valencia was one color I considered, actually.

[BiTurbo228]

Quoted from byakk0

Try not to second guess yourself, especially if you're building for yourself. Valencia was one color I considered, actually.

Yeah I've bought it now so it's not going to change...unless it dries out before I've finished the thing...

[byakk0]

I hear ya. They guy I bought it from 20 years ago had the paint for it. (light metallic blue). I ended up disposing of it 10 years ago as my color choice changed and the paint was likely shot by then anyway.

[byakk0]

Installed the rear bumpers.
I needed to locate and cut the holes in the quarter panels-that was nerve wracking too. Fortunately everything lined up.

bumper irons go on first


It's amazing how crud builds up on your bright work. You never notice it till you try cleaning it up.



Driver's side


And complete.
The passenger side droops just a little. I just need to bend the bumper iron a little and should be able to fix that.

[byakk0]

If you recall, back in '13 I I started repairing and modyfing a later front valance to fit the early style, but it needed hole cut and matched for the bumper irons to poke through. My hangup was getting the hole properly shaped and with the factory edge instead of just cutting a hole and leaving it.



Last week I hit up the folks at metalmeet.com forum and how to tackle this job and I got some great advice.

So that brings me to today.
This is how I started today out. You can see the OEM hole on the right, with the 90 degree flange bent around the hole. This is the mentioned hangup, how to make that bend and retain the gradual curve in the panel.


first things first. Make a 'tipping tool' and practice on some scrap.
The tipping tool is nothing more than slot cut into a piece of 3/8" rod. Slide it over the edge of the metal and bend slightly.


I worked my way around the hole gradually, making a slightly greater bend with each pass/lap. Eventually I had an oval hole with a 90 degree flange.




That was simple. So simple in in fact, it was time to work on the real thing.
Time to round out the ends and make sure the inside straight edges are indeed straight.


old and 'new'
I found the cut in the side of my tipping tool was not able to go beyond about a 45 degree angle, so I cut the end round and cut a slot, also with a radius, so I could work around the inner bends.



With both ends completed, I cleaned up the edges with a hammer and dolly, and used a 1/2 pipe as a dolly for cleaning up the inner radius.

Installed


and a front view.


That's it for now. I need to locate the mounting hardware for my front bumper and over-riders before I fit those.

[RedRooster]

Nice work, i'm impressed.

[byakk0]

Thanks. I do what I can. The photos hide the flaws 😉

[toolmaker]

great tip hazen, ill not forget that one. well done.

[BiTurbo228]

I've got one of those! Piece of rod with a slot cut in the end.

Sounds simple, but there's actually some tricks to making one.

Turns out, if you cut the slot with an angle grinder it's often too wide so it's really hard to get a right-angle lip (slips off when it gets to ~45 degrees).

Hacksaw or die-grinder would be better

[byakk0]

Quoted from BiTurbo228

I've got one of those! Piece of rod with a slot cut in the end.

Sounds simple, but there's actually some tricks to making one.

Turns out, if you cut the slot with an angle grinder it's often too wide so it's really hard to get a right-angle lip (slips off when it gets to ~45 degrees).

Hacksaw or die-grinder would be better

Yes. I ran into that exact problem, so before I grabbed the hacksaw to make a new one I hit it with a hammer enough to close the gap and it worked wonders.

[byakk0]

First off, a shot or two of my previous interior attempt. Cheap hardware store grade automotive carpet in blue and black. (I worked in a hardware store at the time and got a discount.)
The 3 OEM parcel shelf panels are in terrible shape.


parcel shelf panel with aftermarket carpet.
PO had fit 6x9 speakers, so at the time I utilized the holes for the same thing. I'll be going a different route this time around.


the corners are all worn off and rounded.


Arch trim panel. I forgot I integrated the upper panel and lower panel into one. I never did have a headliner back then.
I picked up some scrap hardboard from work. It's a little too short for this panel.


new door card


and the small panels in the rear. The one on left looks short but it's just tipped forward, neither are secured in place yet.

[byakk0]

Now that I have the bumpers set and in place I can finally move on to the fuel tank.
First off, I removed the sending unit to check out its condition after having sat in
storage for over 20 years.
Abby showed me where to find the sending unit.



Sending unit seems to work fine, I get readings on my ohm-meter. Not sure the required range though.
This plastic ring has a split. Not sure if that is a concern or not.


After I replaced the sending unit I set it in place in the car. Looks like my measurements when I welded the mounts in were a tad off. Time to break out the dremel.


That's a little better.


and in place, with the filler neck lined up and fuel cap in place.


I'm going to have to figure out a way to keep that fuel door tight for a few years. Little Miss Fingers thought it would be fun to drop a screwdriver inside the tank. I managed to retrieve it, but I don't need any repeats.

[RobPearce]

Good progress.
The split plastic ring is probably not an issue, as long as the float itself is good. I had a couple of cars where they'd picked up a pinhole and the float would gradually fill with petrol and leave the gauge always on empty.

[byakk0]

Thanks.
Been a long road but I Think I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

[byakk0]

This was a few days ago.
I started constructing the panel over the wheel wells, but they still need some fettling.

[byakk0]

I was hoping an excursion to the garage today to repair the mail box post would turn into car play time, but it didn't happen.

Sunday morning I woke to find the mailboxes had been run into sometime over night. The culprit missed three cars, thank goodness.
So, I got some scrap steel from the recycle yard and built a new one. Still need to replace 3 of the boxes as they sustained enough damage to bend them out of shape. I could probably reshape them, but the tenants in the next unit over are getting new ones.

[BiTurbo228]

Nice work and lucky escape with the parked cars :S

[John Bonnett]

Proper job as we say in Devon 🙂

[byakk0]

didn't get much done this week, what with the fun of repairing the mailbox and helping a friend replace a starter all I got a chance to do was work on the fit of newly constructed door cards.
Took advantage of a failed attempt and sprayed it to give a rough idea, and then ran it through MSpain[t] and added a wooden door cap, black piping between the color transitions, and molded lines as seen on OEM door cards. Contemplating a 'chrome' piping between the grey and the wood cap instead of black piping.
Offer up your thoughts/ideas/whatnot if so inclined.

[BiTurbo228]

I like it the wood carries around nicely from the dash to the tops of the doors.

Personally I'd think stick with the black piping as it's a continuation of the black dash pad, and chrome would lose the distinction against the silver(?) underneath the wood...

[byakk0]

Thanks. Glad you like it.
And you're probably right on the chrome...if I even do piping all.