MK3 GT6 Restoration

[JonJenks]

Hi all,

I have just purchased a 1971 GT6 MK3 and thought I would introduce it, and myself. I have owned two GT6 MK3’s in the past, distant past around 25 years ago in fact. The first was a 72 in Pimento red and the second a 73 in Mimosa yellow, the second of which I restored before selling it.

The car is in need of a full restoration which I am just about to start. it is 99% complete and seems fairly original apart from the gearbox which has a KC prefix which I gather is from a MK1 or 2.

I am going to have to replace/add a complete drivers side floor, inner and outer sill, nearside rear wing and outer sill as well as a boot floor and rear valance along with the usual roof  and door repairs etc.

The bonnet, chassis are in very good order with at first glance no rust. As for the mechanicals, I have no idea what they are like – will find out when I strip them down.

My plan is to leave the car complete, except for interior and glass, do all the welding and then remove the body from the chassis and start cleaning, stripping and painting.


This is the car as I picked it up from the seller last Saturday


Four and a half hours later we were home


Interior shot showing the missing drivers floor


New rear wing along with other panels will be on order very soon


A nice complete looking engine bay

The reasons, other than the mid life crisis that I got this car, was that it had an overdrive, the exterior colour (code 17 Damson Maroon) along with the interior (code 33 New Tan) and factory fitted sun roof and wide wheels. Maybe not every ones cup of tea, but I like it and more importantly so does my wife!

Anyway, I will try and keep a regular update of work. In the mean time, any advice or comments will be gladly welcomed.

[MadMitch82]

Looks like you got your work cut out there! I may be wrong but that looks like a US spec engine, looking at that breather valve.

good luck and keep posting!

[GT6chris]

Reminds me of my car when got it 14 years ago. Breather valve looks standard to me for a car with strombergs other than the home made bracket. A bit drastic removing the B post roof support.
Have fun.

[wafers]

Spotted that one on eBay a while back. At least it's honest and hopefully not hiding anything!

[DougBGT6]

Yes, early mk3, the breather valve was replaced on the 73 GT6.

Just a trivial thing, you appear to have lost the windscreen washer plastic tube. Don't chuck the pipe in the bottle away! There's a not-very-obvious one-way-valve at the bottom that can be saved and used to fabricate a new pipe, (replacements unavailable).

[melliott]

Good luck with it and i can't wait to see the progress

[JonJenks]

Many thanks for the comments -  I will definitely be keeping the washer bottle internal valve and I was assuming it was the, original engine as it has a KE prefix. I was under the impression that the US MK3’s had a KF prefix. The number stamped on the block is  consistent with a 71 uk car and is the same as the number held by the DVLA.

From what I have seen so far it is a very solid car and is, if anything, not as bad as it looks, with no visible rust on the bonnet, doors or chassis – I hope!

The B post was removed  some time back, I am assuming because of rust. A new repair section was included in the sale. I also got lots of spares with the car, much of which is not GT6, but looks like Spitfire parts.

I purchased the car from a well known on-line auction site, was listed Saturday morning (30th May), and I made him an offer over the phone which he accepted that afternoon (if your not fast your last, type of thing!), so a deposit was paid and I then spent the next week having numerous panic attacks. He had listed the car prior to me buying it, and had sold it to a guy who, upon seeing it, pulled out as he thought it was too much work, which probably means he was wise and I am not.


All the bits and pieces that came with the car on the left.

[JonJenks]

Sunday 7th June

Started by getting the car up on ramps at the front and axle stands at the rear, and then stripped out the interior and electrics etc.

Next I removed the front and rear screens along with the sun roof ready to start work on some bodywork. Angle grinders and glass don’t mix!


Up on ramps and axle stands


Windscreen, and sunroof removed

[JonJenks]

Monday 7th June

First bit of bodywork I thought I would tackle is the front roof section, as I am sure all Mk3 owners are aware, is a bit of a rust trap.

Having stripped back the paint and removed the lip, the rust was worse than it initially looked – no surprise there! It seems that they rust from the inside out, presumably it is condensation in the box section that causes it?

I am intending to replace the entire section, top and bottom lips, but in pieces so as not to loose the profile – don’t want to be using to much of the old plastic filler.

First off I made a cardboard template and transferred that on to some sheet metal before forming a replacement panel. When I was happy with the profile, cut out the original. I then did the same for the lower section.

After paint, i will spay the interior of the box section with waxoil to prevent any further rust problems.


Paint removed to reveal true extent of rust.


Area marked out and template made.


Repair sections made from sheet steel.


Rust cut out and lower repair section tacked in, inner box section treated with a rust remover.


Upper repair section tacked in.


Upper section welds complete and ground back - will finish lower section later.

[JensH]

Good work. Suppose repair panels are no longer available?

[byakk0]

nice work...and quick too. If you can do that to the roof section, the rest of the body should be a breeze,

[oldbanger]

WOW,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, WOOW ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,  WOOOW and WOW

WOW = looks nice
WOOW = OMG  - look at the rust
WOOOW = OMG It looks worse from inside    

WOW = you know what your doing and move with a pace.

Good luck
Jon

[JonJenks]

Started on the off side roof repair last night, doing a longer section this time, but leaving the very end where the roof returns as it is solid with and rust free – unlike the near side which I will start tomorrow.



First off, made a repair section which took several hours – don’t understand why these are no longer available as it seems to be very prone to rusting. It would have been a lot easier to have cut the whole section out and replaced it with a new one.



When I was happy with the profile I marked the roof out ready for cutting.



Tacked in the lower repair section, treated and painted the inside of the box section.



Tacked in the upper repair section and then finished of all the welds.



Finally complete, will need a light skim of filler to finish off.

Now on to the near side corner of the roof repair -  left this to the end, as it will be the most complex, and with limited experience of doing this kind of work, I will need as much practice as possible.

[don cook1]

"limited experience of doing this kind of work"

Well, I for one am impressed with your work. Have you ever thought about doing other peoples?

[John Bonnett]

Really impressive work; well done and hats off.

[system6]

Very very good indeed .......better than a triumph specialist .....well the one who did my resto

[JonJenks]

Finally finished the roof repair today, although it has taken the last two evenings and most of Today. This section of the roof has taken around 12 hours to complete.


First off I marked out the area that needed to be removed.


Next it was all cut out and the inside of the box section cleaned up and treated accordingly.


The repair sections made up - took ages with lots of test fitting and adjusting.


Bottom lip and gutter repair tacked in.


Top section tacked in.


All the weld finished off ready to be ground down.


Finaly completed with a light coat of red oxide which will be removed when all the welding is complete, and the body tub is given a final prep before paint.

That is now the full length of the roof replaced. I will finish off the ends of the gutters when the seam finisher strip, currently on back order arrives.

Next up is the upper near side B post which is missing - will make a start on that tomorrow.

[bennygoodman]

Well done, I look forward to following your rebuild.

[timireson]

this is putting my resto to shame!!
the pics are so frequent you forget the hours that must of been in between!!
Tim.  

[melliott]

At this rate it'll be back on the road for July
Can't wait for the next photos


P.S
Will you do mine please

cheers
ME

[byakk0]

very nice. Keep up the good work.

[JonJenks]

Before tackling the missing B post I have decided to make good the N/S door and get it lined up with the correct gap against the bonnet and door frame. Then I will know that I am replacing the B post in the correct place.


So first off, remove the N/S door.


Then remove the door handle and weather strip before stripping the paint to reveal any rust.


Cut out the offending bits of metal, generously.


Fabricate a door shell repair section.


Weld in the door shell section, and treat/paint the inside before fabricating a door skin repair section (this took a lot of work, especially getting the leading edge to fold over).


Move in doors to get away from the midges, tack the repair section in place before running out of gas – so no more welding tonight!

Next I am going to finish off the welding, and fit the door. On that note, I have removed all four door hinges, one of which was perfect, no play in it at all and smooth, one with minimal play, and two with more play than I would like. As there is no point in trying to fit a door that has saggy hinges I need to get them right.

I drove out one of the worst hinge pins expecting to see some wear on it but there wasn’t any! So I am assuming all the wear is in the hinge body itself – does this mean the only solution is to get new complete units? Any advice would be appreciated.

This morning a second hand N/S rear wing arrived, some surface rust but very solid and will provide a rear wing, door shut panel and complete inner wheel arch, just need to do some cutting grinding and cleaning.


Second hand N/S rear wing, B post door shut and inner wheel arch.

When I purchased the car it came with a filler cap section cut out of the old wing. I am going to have to let this in to the replacement, has any one got any measurements / advice they can help me with on this?

[John Bonnett]

I'm really enjoying your thread and have nothing but admiration for your skill and standard of workmanship. Forming those repair panels is not easy particularly the final roof section that you made. It all fitted so nicely and no apparent distortion.

As far as the hinges are concerned I think you are right that the wear occurs in the body rather than the pin. New ones are variable in quality so don't be afraid to return any you buy that show more than an acceptable level of play. They are not cheap.

[JonJenks]

Many thanks for that, I was thinking of buying second hand and see what they are like. In the mean time I am going to use the best two hinges I've got to set up the near side door and buy second hand ones later. I think I am right in saying that the best hinge should be used at the top to minimise any movement.

Have spent this evening finishing of the N/S door and preparing the N/S rear wing and B post - will post pics tomorrow or Thursday depending on progress.

[Saltddirk]

Wooow!