Silverbullet's resto: Bodywork

[Silverbullet]

It's finally over! well almost Today I welded on some pieces of the outer skin on that blasted corner in front of the rear wheel, just have to weld on a flange and seal it to the inner skin flange. This corner has been an absolute nightmare to work on, mostly because of it's position. I'll be so glad to finish it and move on to something more comfortable.

Some pics of today's effort:

That's the inner skin after I welded on the flange and ground it back

And with a coat of paint

This was about the 3rd or 4th version of this panel, ended up doing it in 2 pieces because it's such an odd shape.

The lower piece welded in with the first. The welds look so ugly because it's such an awkward position to weld in...

With light failing rapidly I did a bit of grinding on it. This whole repair is one big low spot which was done on purpose. This way I can fill it and shape it to a smoother shape later. You can't see in the pics but the lower piece of that patch does have the bend and radius in it that runs along the entire length of the rocker panel, it's not just a flat piece.

Tomorrow hopefully I'll trim the edges back and weld on that flange so I can finish this bugger off once and for all. Then all those access holes (which lead nicely to the inside of my welding) will get a thorough filling with fish oil.

[El_Freddo]

Nice work mate! Gotta be proud of that!!

Keep up the good work!

Cheers

Bennie

[Silverbullet]

Thanks Bennie

Finished it off today, more or less. There are 2 spots that need a touch up with the welder and then it's just smoothing it out with filler. Here's the pic of todays little bit, I quickly slapped on some paint so it doesn't rust during the week...and you can see how lumpy the whole repair is:rolleyes: Now I can finally move on to another part

[El_Freddo]

We need "like" buttons!

Cheers

Bennie

[Silverbullet]

Well what can I say, I'm totally chuffed I finally finished off the grinding on this corner and put some filler on it yesterday. Sanded it back nice and smooth and wacked on some primer to protect it and just take a look.




It's turned out better than I expected, you seriously would not know there used to be a big hole there, and it's all solid metal underneath. It's still not totally done as I need to put some putty over it to fill in the tiny voids in the bog, but just having it at this stage has filled me with motivation.



And here's the small patch I did on the passenger A pillar after some filler and primer.

After seeing this I'm almost convinced I can tackle the rear window corner

[steptoe]

Sam, looking good. Envious rated

[El_Freddo]

YEAH MATE! It's amazing how a good bit of work like that can motivate you to get the rest of it done! That's why I shake my head when people abandon a half done project, they've given up when it's got tough when they're probably just around the corner from getting the reward from their efforts...

Once again, keep up the good work - maybe the start of the "new subi boy"??

Cheers

Bennie

[Silverbullet]

A very productive 2 days this weekend, got up early both days and got a good 12 hours or more in over 2 days. It's been decided I'm moving too slowly, and every so often I have to spend a whole weekend solid knocking jobs on the head, this week being the first of those. This time it was the wheel arch that needed doing. And unfortunately I found a bit more rust in the on the inner panel which needed cutting out. By the time I'd cleared it all there was a big chunk missing right the way across.

More rust holes!

After I'd replaced the inner panel

And welded the flange on

Beginning to weld in the outer skin

Got some pretty healthy looking tacks

All 3 pieces tacked in, now a matter of joining the dots with more dots, one by one

[Silverbullet]

Continued...

All welded up time to grind it back


Ground back and a line I traced in using a pattern from the other side

More to come later, right not its dinner time

[Silverbullet]

Outer skin after trimming back

Here's the template I used

And whacked on some paint to protect the metal until next weekend when I can weld on the bottom flange and put seam sealer behind all the welds (inside the wheel arch anyway)


So it's looking really good as it is, but since the pieces I welded in are flat, I'll need to build up the area with filler to get the curve of the wheel arch back. Along with the seam sealer behind the welds so no water can get in, and fish oil from inside the panel itself to soak into all the crevices, hopefully this repair will last the rest of the life of the car...hopefully

Just saw your comment Bennie, new subie boy haha that made me chuckle

Nearly time to move onto the rear windscreen corner...that one is going to be a real challenge with no repair panels to work with

[Brumby Kid]

So it's looking really good as it is, but since the pieces I welded in are flat, I'll need to build up the area with filler to get the curve of the wheel arch back.

Or get all your guards rolled so you can fit wider tyres!

Cheers Cam

[Silverbullet]

Nice idea but not sure if that's possible now it's been welded; the weld metal is pretty tough and not very flexible compared to untouched steel. I can get by with some decent rubber flares though

[NachaLuva]

Very nice work, helps being patient

[El_Freddo]

Just saw your comment Bennie, new subie boy haha that made me chuckle

Dead serious mate! It's great work, you should be proud, as should your family, no matter how slow you're working in their eyes - I've seen projects go a pot load slower than yours with a lower quality of work!

Nearly time to move onto the rear windscreen corner...that one is going to be a real challenge with no repair panels to work with

You'll be right. Maybe time to look into a decent hammer and dolly to make your own shaped pieces for the job True Subi boys style!

Very nice work, helps being patient

Yes it does - and being focused, which I think you're both Sam!

Cheers

Bennie

[Silverbullet]

Thanks guys, such positive comments mean alot to me

In other news, I got some supplies this week! But of course the week I buy this is the week it doesn't stop raining over the entire weekend. Very unlike Adelaide weather to actually rain non stop for a whole day, let alone a whole weekend. You can say "I told you so" now Bennie
Those little vice grips come in super handy when welding anything, and the large open jaws make it easier to dodge seams and flanges in body panels. 4 pairs for $30, can't complain


The most I could do this week is pour some fish oil inside the panel to treat the wheel arch repair and that dog leg corner, and apply seam sealer to inside the wheel arch on the back of the welds.

[Silverbullet]

Well I can safely say I hate bogging, body work and sanding That's all I did today mainly on the wheel arch. And Happily it's 99% up to where I want it just a few small teeny tiny pockets or air bubbles in the bog to fill up. It's pretty flat but with a few small wobbles you can only feel with your hand, from 2 feet away it looks spot on though. Spray putty seems to be a waste of time; 4 coats of it and I can still see the sanding marks

I must make a note to get more DA orbital sanding pads, that thing is an absolute godsend for hogging down the bog and feathering the edges.

This is 2 layers of filler (heavy stuff and then lightweight) sanded back and feathered, was pretty happy with this

With a coat of primer on, looking good!


This little section has come a long way for sure
I also re-did the repair at the bottom of the wheel arch, I didn't like the slope it had so it needed more filler to bring it up level (using a straight edge to get it right) but I forgot to take a pic of this.

[Silverbullet]

Can't believe it's been almost 2 months since the last update, progress has been woeful I've got so much else on at the moment that needs money and my even more valuable spare time, the car has been on the back burner for quite some time. Well this week I'm getting back into gear a bit; we took the rear windscreen glass out to inspect the rusty corner and it was worse than it looked (as with all rust) anyway the pictures speak for themselves:

just after the glass was removed

After cutting out the worst of it

A piece shaped and tacked in (this is the inner skin)

Welded up and ground back, looking 100% better than yesterday


Now to tackle the outer skin, the part I'm really dreading:-? So much so I was seriously contemplating just getting a whole new tailgate, but now I've done this work on it and the rest of the door is 100% perfect I think my next best option is to find a busted gate with a good corner and just cut the skin out of it as a repair panel. So I'm putting out a request; if anyone has a tailgate or wrecked car they could cut this corner out for me, I'd be forever grateful Otherwise I'm chasing down other parts this week, I'll see if a yard locally would have one.

And the other bit of progress today is we finally replaced the passenger side door on the car. I was worried this would take a long time like the drivers side did, but with no rush on and the fender off it literally took 10 minutes. It even closes nicely but it's still not lined up proper, will have to re-fit the rubbers and everything to make sure the glass seals properly.

[El_Freddo]

Looking good there Sam!

The key to be patient and persistent! I'm sure you could make a piece for that corner - just put your mind to it! The rubber will hide a lot of it I'm sure, so it doesn't need to be factory perfect

Keep up the good work!

Cheers

Bennie

[Silverbullet]

Been a while...again I had other projects on the go which sapped my money and motivation but now they're completed I can turn my attention back to the resto! That is if keeping the Brumby on the road doesn't break the bank
On the way back from subareck this morning we went to 2 U-pull it yards in search of something to repair my tailgate with (a whole new one or a repair piece) and we found exactly what I was looking for; a damaged, rusty or otherwise no good tailgate with a good corner I can cut out. Not only did I find that, but the glass still has a working demister (which my original doesn't) and perfect chrome window trim. It was worth the $80 to me just for the corner piece, out of the whole resto that little thing has worried me the most and now it's sorted, chuffed as! We got this tailgate just in time as the rust had started to set in on the corner I wanted, luckily only minor surface rust inside the seam. The other side was a complete mess, like someone had poured salt water inside the door

I haven't begun welding it in yet (still have no welding gas, will get some when the ute is fixed) but with this piece, I will have to spend no more hours in the shed cutting, hammering, bending, fabricating little shapes to weld in, yippee!!

[David D]

That's awesome, it's great when you find exactly what you want at a wreckers' yard. Keep up the good work.

David