MK3 GT6 Restoration

[byakk0]

not bad at all. Impressive work.

[RedRooster]

Nice work, your making good progress.

[Nobbie]

Only just seen this thread. Good to see someone who knows what they're doing and takes the time to get things right. I wish I had the time, skills and patience. It's going to be a great car by the time you finish. If you get bored of it once it's finished, I'll take it off your hands

[JonJenks]

Spent Sunday finishing off the rear O/S wheel arch and wing - when I say finishing off, I mean getting it into rough shape as I will remove all paint and start block sanding and filling properly when I tackle the outer surface of the body tub at a later date. Before that I need to get the chassis completely finished with engine, gearbox and running gear etc. and the Body tub reunited to it - so a while off.


A quick skim of filler and a lot of block sanding and the rough shape is ok for now.


Temporary coat of primer to protect it until a later date.


Next up is the last bit of metalwork on the body tub which is the upper A post area and outer windscreen revial.

[Nick Jones]

Ah..... that looks familiar.  The "Chrispy Spit" was like that.

Nick

[Rubce]

Superb job. A few of the photos bring back memories of doing our GT6 a couple of years ago. Keep up posting the photos.

Regards

Bruce

[JonJenks]

Been a while since I last posted due to other commitments etc, and it has taken me a lot longer to complete the last repair job than I thought it would!. I supose its common for the suposed small jobs to take the longest.
Anyway I have now completed rebuilding the O/S windscreen piller.


As you can see it was very rusty.


It was only when I removed the outer gutter that the full extent of the rust became apparent.


So all the rust was cut out, leaving not a lot!


All the old bits which I used to help make replacement sections.


The new sections ready to weld in.


Started with the inner plate.


After replaceng all the inner bits and pieces I welded in the outer section.


Last of all was the gutter strip.


I vissited a friend to take a photo of his Mk3 as reference to get the gutter detailing correct.


From the inside finnished.


From the outside after a quick coat of primmer to protect it temporarily until final paint preparation.

This repair has taken a lot of work but it now means that all the rust repairs have now been completed on the body tub. Next job is to attach a upper roof seam lip thingy!. I had ordered one from Rimmers but they told me back in October that they were no longer available but they were trying to establish a new source, so I think I am going to have a go at making my own. I am also going to make some seam cover type things for the bottom of the sills to tidy them up - so will keep you posted on that.

So to recap, the body tub has now had both floors inner and outer sills, sill ends, boot floor, rear valance O/S inner and outer wing, N/S inner and outer wheel arch, complete front roof repair, N/S windscreen piller, and various other small sections.

[byakk0]

very nice...very nice. (clap)

[John Bonnett]

Quoted from byakk0

very nice...very nice. (clap)

I second that. Very nice work indeed.

I made seam covers in aluminium for the sill bottom edges and bonded them on. This should help in keeping the water out.

[Steve AKA vitessesteve]

Excellent - a real 3D jigsaw puzzle that assembly of parts.

[JonJenks]

Hi, been a bit quiet lately, had a few other jobs to do and it has been very wet, and cold out in the garage. However, the last bit of metalwork to complete on the body tub is to finish off the lower sill seams and the front upper roof gutter seam. The latter is still unavailable to buy, so I thought I would tackle the sill seams. I believe, correct me if I am wrong, but chromed sill seam finisher strips were available as an optional extra? havn’t seen many with them though.


I started off by cutting and bending some 20 guage mild steel to form a slightly over length strip.


This had to be wide enough to fit over the three layers of steel that make up the seam on the lower edge.


I then tacked it on the inner side with some small spot welds at each end, tacked a couple of nails to the bottom edges at each end, and then using a line, made sure it was streight before applying more spot welds along its length.


The finnished result, after cutting it to length and finishing off the ends. I also did the same to the other side.

My next big job is to clean up the body tub with my new wet sand blaster and then get some paint on it. In prepperation I have invested in a new, or should I say second hand compressor. I purchased a 150lt 3hp 15cfm clarke air compressor.


This should give me more than enough air to do the spraying but I also connected up my small 2hp 25lt compressor to it as a buck up. It all seems to work fine.

My next task is to make some axels to fit to the rottiserie so that I can get the tub outside for blasting.

[Jonny-Jimbo]

Could you give me a bit of detail about how you shaped these complicated bits of metal? I have been trying to do rust repairs on my BMW E30 and have needed to make compound curves with little success without making a simple curve and then pie-cutting it to suit.

Any techniques you're willing to share? What tools go you use, and do you use heat etc too to make the steel more malleable?

Quoted from 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.

[John Bonnett]

Quoted from Jonny-Jimbo

Could you give me a bit of detail about how you shaped these complicated bits of metal? I have been trying to do rust repairs on my BMW E30 and have needed to make compound curves with little success without making a simple curve and then pie-cutting it to suit.

Any techniques you're willing to share? What tools go you use, and do you use heat etc too to make the steel more malleable?

That roof repair section has been beautifully made and isn't an easy piece to make. Jon did say he's spent ages on it and I can well believe that.

While we are waiting for the definitive answer from Jon perhaps i could offer a couple of pointers.

First of all, make a paper template of the piece you want to make. you will need to slit the paper and overlap the edges so that it replicates the curvature. Then cut out the piece of steel 1mm thick and allow an extra 15mm all round.

To produce double curvature the metal has to be stretched and this can be achieved without any special tools other than a bossing mallet and shot bag. Draw a line 20mm of so in from the edge all the way round the steel part and only hammer inside this line. Examine the shape you want to make and decide where it has the most shape. Draw a series of concentric circles which correspond with how the shape goes from more to less. Then start with the hammer giving the most attention to the bulbous area and tapering off as the crown gets lower. And don't be afraid to hit it hard swinging the hammer from the elbow. This will put in the shape you want. And after that it is a question of removing the hammer marks. You will need a dolly which has a radius that approximates to curvature of  the panel and a flipper or slapper. This can be made from a piece of a leaf spring or heavy file ground smooth. It does need to have a bit of weight to it. Place the panel on the dolly and bring up the low spots by stretching the metal. You will hear a metallic ring when the dolly is immediately below the bit the the slapper hits. It is laborious work but quite satisfying to see the panel develop.

[JonJenks]

Thanks John Bonnet for the last post, I can't raely add to that other than include an image of the tools i have used which are very basisc and to add a couple of points. The first being that when you hit a piece of sheet metal, you are infact making it a bit thinner, and when you do that, you increase it's surface area and that in turn forces it into a compound curve. So it seems to me that there are three basic things you can do with a sheet of metal and that is stretch it, shrink it and bend it. To strench it you increase its surface area, and to shrink it you decreas its surface area. When you bend it you need to avoid stretching and shrinking.

I think what I am trying to say is that if you understand the basic prinsipals of what metal does when you hit it, it makes shaping it a lot easier.


The tools I used to shape repair panels.

Anyway - thought I had finished all the repairs to the tub, but decided to undo an older repair done by a previouse owner made on the nearside widscreen piller.


Older repair looked ok but I wasnt sure it had been done correctly.


When I cut it off I was glad I had as it was not very well done having left some rusty metal beneath it.


All the rust cut out.


First repair section welded in.


Main repair section added.


Gutter added to finish it off.


Detail of the lower part of the gutter.

[JensH]

Very nice work You are doing; will be a great car when finished.
Btw -  chromed sill seam finisher was made of stainless steel and added after paint. Don't know if they were extra though.

[John Bonnett]

Stunning work and a really inspirational thread. Thank you for sharing it with us.

[Jonny-Jimbo]

Thanks chaps - I have done a lot of fabrication work before, but it's all be geometric stuff - manufacturing chassis etc and exhausts. It was the harder panel forming I've had issues with.

I've made sills and front wing sections for my BMW, but I've only ever been able to form them from joining different sections together.

I have heard of stretching and shrinking metal, but I don't know the techniques that 'stretch' and those that 'shrink'. I can bash metal to a rough shape though.

I have a hammer and dolly set, and from the chassis work etc I have loads of billets and pipes etc I use for forming curves, but as I said, that only works for simple curves.

From what you say I need to get a  shot bag and bossing mallet. I'll keep an eye out at Stoneleigh, or the Restoration Show in a few weeks.

[John Bonnett]

Some years ago, when I was building the trials car there was a bit of interest on the Locost Builders forum on how the panels were formed so I ran a short series of threads on making items with just the use of hand tools. Here is the link;

https://1d2ba933-a-62cb3a1a-s-.....D&attredirects=0

The pieces were all in aluminium but steel behaves in the same way but just needs a bit more force to move it. In some ways it is easier to work with than aluminium.

You will be able to get more or less everything you need from Frost Restoration including the instructional videos by Ron Fournier where I learned everything I know.

[JonJenks]

John, have been looking at your thread of building your Aluminium GT6 - amazing work, makes my small repair panels look a bit sad! Very interesting account and I think I will be looking at your videos and looking into Ron Fournier's videos for myself.

Spent the day finishing off welds on the underside of the body tub in preparation for blast cleaning it ready for paint. I also decided to have a play at de-rusting using electrolosis.

I have just purchased a rusty second hand rear spring mounting plate, so I thought this would be a good start.


Before treatment.


I used a plastic bin with four old coach bolts connected with copper wire.


Filled it with water and washing soda, suspended the plate in the centre and connected it all up to a battery charger and left it for about 5 hours.


And the end result - it removed every little bit of rust and although it took quite a long time I was impressed with the results.

[WIMPUS]

You can also use vinegar to remove rust, but when you get the part out you still need to go over it a little bit with a wire brush & paint it fast or prime it (as it will rust fast again).

[John Bonnett]

Jon seeing the skill you have put into making some very difficult repair panels, you have no need of any instructional videos and I am convinced that you would have no difficulty in building a complete body if you wanted to. I admire your prowess with a hammer and dolly; something I've always struggled with and am still trying to master. I'm not alone in finding your thread quite fascinating and inspirational and I'll be very sorry when it comes to an end.

I've never tried the de-rusting technique but I must give it a go; very simple to set up and so effective. Funnily enough, I had a spring plate just like yours but I cheated and had it shot blasted and powder coated.

rgds

John

[byakk0]

you just need to be careful when doing the reverse electrolysis. It generates hydrogen gas. Do it in a well ventilated area.

[RedRooster]

Been cleaning parts like that for years, it works a treat.
RR

[JonJenks]

Spent Sunday removing underseal etc from the underside and bulkhead ready for blast cleaning which will hopefully happen within the next few weeks. I have also been spending a lot of time drying sand in the AGA top oven (much to my wife's frustration) ready to use in the blast cleaner, it's cheaper than buying kiln dried sand!


Underside now ready for blast cleaning.

Does anyone have an image of what the inner tailgate latch support bracket should look like - mine looks like it has been removed and then replaced rather badly! I am thinking that the car has had a new rear lamp panel at some point.


As you can see it doesn't sit on the lamp panel very well so I am going to remove it and make a new one to replace it. So a reference image of how it should sit would be much appreciated.

Also, has anyone noticed the grey plate to the left of the bracket? seems to have been bonded on. When I removed the layer of paint/filler from the outside it revealed a cut out with a very neat joggled edge (I think that's what you call it) but the plate is on the underside! Doesn't make any sense as to what it is or why it is there - any ideas?.

[JensH]

Only worked on a mk2 gt6 (okay, was an US-import, so GT6+), but quite sure its an earlier repair.