MK3 GT6 Restoration

[John Bonnett]

Quoted from Mercian

Marvellous work so far, really enjoying the thread.

Best of luck with the restoration.

Same here. Wonderful work and what a fantastic car it is going to be.

[Sheepy]

Doing some great work.

For the panels, the cheapy ones usually need quite a bit of fiddling to fit, but also the more expensive (genuine type) ones also need a little fettling, but usually less than the others

Cheers
Shaun

[JonJenks]

Many thanks for your kind comments, I’m glad this is of some interest.

Over last weekend and yesterday, I have removed the old boot floor and rear valance as well as making a couple of repairs to the O/S lower inner wing area before prepping the new/secondhand boot/rear valance section and then fitting and welding it into place. It took an awful lot of grinding to clean up the all surfaces, but as I have discovered – the more time and effort you put into the preparation, the better the end result.


The old boot floor and rear valance – as usual rustier than it initially looked


Rusty lower O/S inner wing area


Rust cut out


Repair section made


Repair section welded into place


Surrounding areas cleaned up ready for the new panels


New panels cleaned up and ready to be fitted


All fitted – I will clean up and finish the welds when I have the body tub mounted on the spit!


And from the inside.

I have now taken delivery of a new O/S sill (cheap and cheerful variety – that I hope I don’t live to regret!), so will start fitting that next.

If it’s of any interest – I have been keeping a log of all the hours i have spent on the restoration, and so far, it stands at 140 hours.

I am also keeping receipts for all the materials and parts I am spending – have not totted that up yet but will do so soon.

[byakk0]

Great work.
I've never kept track of my hours worked on the car...I wouldn't even be able to guess. Prob nearly a thousand, no joke.

[timireson]

My hours are over 600 with 72 hours paid. I'm not adding up the receipts until it's finished in case the manger finds out!!! Aka ethe wife!!
T.

[byakk0]

The manager...lol. Mine is eager to get the car out of the garage after all these years. Has reverted to calling it scrap metal, even though I was able to drive it the other day. >_<

Jon, what are the two brackets on the wheel well? One is for the tank, but the other...? Perhaps it's just me not familiar with the fiddly bits of the MkIII.

[RobPearce]

Quoted from byakk0

Jon, what are the two brackets on the wheel well? One is for the tank, but the other...?

I'd have to have a dig, but aren't they fuel tank (lower) and boot floor (upper)? Hang on...

Yep, just been out to the garage and that's what mine has.

[JonJenks]

Started to fit the O/S sill this weekend and started by making good all the rust on the surrounding areas.


First off I made a repair section for the lower rear wing.


Jut tacked it into place for now.


Then made a small repair section for the lower B post


Did the same for the A post.


Yet another Repair section!


Finally after lots of grinding and wire brushing I treated it with an anty rust treatment and then a coat of zinc primer. I was now ready to start fitting the new sill.


First impressions weren’t good, the gap between the bonnet was far to big and it did not line up with the bonnet.


When I put a steel rule against  the door it lined up well with the lower bonnet edge and the bonnet top was flush with the lower windscreen area – if you know what I mean! This meant that it must be the sill that was at fault.


So after much thought I cut the sill and let in a piece of plate to allow mew to get the correct lines and gaps.


After some more welding and grinding and adjusting, the final result is I think ok.

Next up is to get a skim of  body filler on it, to get the lines and gaps perfect.

[JonJenks]

Finished the O/S sill and door gaps this weekend after a lot of work and the results are ok.


So now that the major bodywork is complete and all the gaps are good the next step is to start dismantleing the car so I can get the tub on to the spit I have been very kindly lent.


First of I turned the car round and the took lots of reference photos.


Then I removed the bonnet, bumber, doors, rear hatch and front quater pannels.


I then started on the engine - I am keen to find out its condition, so off with the carbs and head, so far all looks ok with first impressions sujesting little wear to the bores and pistons - will know for sure when I strip it all down and have a closer look.

[JonJenks]

Hi all, I have now finished stripping down the shell and am ready to lift it off the chassis and get it mounted ont the spit.


Body tub being seperated from the chassis - I am sure that it is the first time this has happend since the car left the production line back in 1971.


Rolling chassis out of the garage so I can sort the body tub out.


Body tub mounted onto the spit, even though it is home made, it works realy well and is perfectly balanced. Next I gave the garage a good tidy up before getting the chassis back in.


Before I can start on the Body Tub I am going to finish stripping down the chassis, and they both just about fitted side by side in the garage.


Finished off the day by removing the propshaft, exhaust and gearbox.

[JonJenks]

Spent the last few hours dismantling the chassis down to its bare bones – first off was the rear drive and suspension.


Rear chassis now bare


Next was the engine block, front suspension and a few brake and fuel pipes etc, leaving a bare chassis, ready for cleaning.


So back to the body tub to finish of lots of small repairs etc.


I purchased a pair of lower rear wing finishers so I thought I would start on the N/S.


Finishes of the join nicely, I put a weld at the wheel arch end and one at top just under where the bumper will go, and then three or four along the inner edge before grinding them all down.

Next up I am going to finish off the N/S front sill area and the lower seam that joins the bottom of the sill and floor.


First off, cut out all the rusty bits and clean up the surrounding areas.


I then plated the holes and weld in a jacking point – a bit heath-robinson I know, but I was given a new O/S jacking point and at around £20 a pop I didn’t want to waste it, as the floor I put in on the O/S already had one, so I chopped the new jacking point up and welded it back together so it would fit the N/S.

Next I will weld in a new sill end.

[JonJenks]

Finished off the sill ends on Sunday, as usual it was a lot more work than I thought it would be.

]
First off was the N/S


The O/S required quite a lot of repair to the front foot well before  I could fit the sill end plate.


O/S complete.


Got to just say that the spit I have been given the loan of is quite possibly the best thing since sliced bread! – can’t imagine what I would do without it. Spent the last few hours of the weekend tidying up the underside floor area.

[John Bonnett]

Totally agree about the usefulness of a spit. Great for getting the right angle for welding and also for applying the seam sealant.

The sill ends are very vulnerable to shot blasting from grit and stones straight off the tyres. On my GT6 I made aluminium covers to protect them and on my current car I've done something similar.

[RedRooster]

Nice work, keep it going

Welding is always a pain as you never know what you will find, but you are doing well.
RR

[JonJenks]

Realy like the sill end protectors, great idea, may have to copy that.

I took a day off work today so I could have a play at trying to de-rust some chassis parts. I was intending to hire a shot blasting setup but my local hire store no longer supply such kit due to heath and safety laws! I looked into buying my own kit but to do it properly you need a very powerful compressor, around 20cfm or more and all in you are looking at a small fortune in cost.

I was discussing this with a friend who suggested wet blasting, so after looking at a few very good internet based videos I purchased all the necessary kit. This consisted of a 3,000 psi 6.5 hp petrol power washer at £199, a sand blasting attachment at £35, a sand blasting hopper at £54 and a 2.5hp 25lt compressor for £89 , which I already had.

The beauty of this setup is that the hopper only needs 40 psi to operate it as all it does is feed the power washer head with a steady supply of sand and the while the water jet provides all the force. Also if you don’t use a hopper and rely on just a suction fed system, you need at least 8 - 10 or more litres per minute of water from the power washer in order for it to work effectively (so I have been led to believe), and a machine capable of delivering that is at least twice the price of the one I have purchased.



Thought I would start of with one of the front suspension turrets to give it a try and see weather my investment had been a good one!


Before


45 minutes, 2 x 25kg bags of kiln dried sand later.

All in all i am really pleased with the results, it really did remove all traces of rust, although I did have to get it in the top oven of our AGA pretty sharpish to prevent any flash rust from forming. Next step will be to get a coat of primer on it.

[byakk0]

nice work.
I thought about sandblasting and topcoating myself, but like you I don't have the equipment. I had a local business blast and powdercoat my chassis and towers at a total cost of @ US $400. I could have spent that money on blasting equipment and a good compressor, but biggest things that stopped me was time and storage for the equipment-I've barely got the room for what I have as it is. But, boy oh boy it would have sure been nice to have a big compressor.

[John Bonnett]

Quoted from JonJenks

Realy like the sill end protectors, great idea, may have to copy that.

I've still got the ply formers and you are very welcome to borrow them if you like Jon.

[MarkB]

Hi

I had never heard of DIY wet blasting before and have struggled in the past with basting wheels in my sand blast cabinet. Doable with my 3hp 14 cf. compressor but took 1 1/2 hours per wheel with about a 5mm jet, noisy and dusty. I was about to buy a petrol pressure washer as Machine Mart has one of their VAT free days coming up but was trying to justify it to myself as I have an electric one but is hassle running power and hose pipes out to the car. This has given me the excuse I need. Possible to do a complete shell as well looking at the YouTube vids. Looks like you need 3000psi + though to be effective.

Mark

[JonJenks]

Thanks for the offer John, I will pm you nearer the time and get somthing sorted.

As far as the psi of the power washewr thats needed, you are right Mark, it needs to be no less than 3,000 but it also needs to be no less than 8lt per minute of flow. I based my setup on these videos, if thats any help

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OKRVUFZm54

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUx1RZKfB-E

I am also going to have a play at some point with rust removal using electrolysis.

[byakk0]

rust removal electrolysis is a good method, just be sure to do it outside and well ventilated as it does generate hydrogen gas. (no smoking!)

[Guppy916]

Great work what are you going to do about the sun roof , I need one for mine ! Also can you email me the dimensions of your cill end protectors I will pm you my address many thanks

[JonJenks]

Hi Guppy916 I am going to put back the original son roof which was in good condition - regarding the sill end protectors you need to contact John Bonnet, above!

Also I noticed that Aldi have got 3,500 psi at 9.3 lt per minute petrol pressure washers for £199 coming up soon - wish I'd known that a week ago!

[JonJenks]

Spent today repairing an area of rust on the underside at the front lower rear wheel arch.


The area in question


Started by cutting out all the rusty metal


Then replased each surface in turn to complete the whole








And finaly complete. Next up I am going to repar the inner and outer the rear wheel arch.

[MarkB]

Quoted from JonJenks

Hi Guppy916 I am going to put back the original son roof which was in good condition - regarding the sill end protectors you need to contact John Bonnet, above!

Also I noticed that Aldi have got 3,500 psi at 9.3 lt per minute petrol pressure washers for £199 coming up soon - wish I'd known that a week ago!

Thanks for the heads up on this. I got to the store at 8 am and was surprised to see a cue. Myself and two others fellows bought three of the four on display, the forth was wheeled out as I was loading up. Iam sure they must have more out the back, but I was surprised how quickly they went. Fitted it together today but have yet to try it. Looks to be well built and comes with a three year guarantee, so they must have some faith in the product. Time will tell.

Mark

[JonJenks]

Started on the O/S inner and outer wheel arch last week, and started by removing all the rot!


With rusty metal.


Without rusty metal.

I looked at buying an inner and outer repair section but when I realised it would be the best part of £200 between them, I decided to have a go at making my own.


I spent most of the weekend making a replacement inner wheel arch repair section but when I came to fit it it just did not fit.


So I started again, but this time tack welded it up in situ, and used some new little clamps that I had made.


I made them using some 1” box section and bits of scrap - they worked really well, I wish I had made them earlier. I think you can buy them for arround £5 each, but as they only tok me an hour to make them I thought it was worth it.


Anyway, this time the inner wheel arch repair fitted well, next up the outer repair section.


Outer repair section.


Complete, looks ok but will need a light skim of filler to finish it off.

Next step is to finish cleaning up and preping the rear O/S wing and surrounding area.