FT’s Patrol Project

[Flying Torquewrench]

Shrinker/Stretcher.

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

Panel bashing set. The cheap version but it does what I need it for.

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

Started on the first edge today after my new regulator arrived.

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

All welded in place. Slight dip on the right hand side but that is out of view anyway. While it bothers me greatly, it doesn’t bother me enough to do it again.

 

[Blocky10]

Love this thread. :bow
Quality workmanship and long may you keep adding to this thread:lol:thumb2

 

[Wallace]

That's a nice bit of metal forming seeing the picture took me back to my youth when I had an Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GT it was a beautiful looking car but as was typical of the era (1964) it was as rotten as hell when I bought it in 1968.

Local body shop coachbuilder hand rolled new front & rear panel plus the front wheel arches. Sold ASAP after respray. I watched him form the panels using what looked like a giant G Clamp with a wheel thing on it. Rare skills these days I'm impressed by your rebuild pictures.

That would be an English Wheel, they have grown in popularity for home use and a proper cast iron one will set you back a bit even used.

Good job you are doing there Mr Torquewrench. :thumbs

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

Thank you Blocky and Wallace, it is far from quality workmanship but I do my best.

Spend most of the day making another repair piece for the wing panel. It is welded in but I am not happy so it will be coming out again tomorrow. At least on the wing panel I can practice as you can move it around. Once the welding starts on the car then it becomes a little bit harder as I have to move around and not the car.

I will post a photo tomorrow.

 

[Wallace]

I hope you don’t think I’m teaching you to suck eggs, t’s worthwhile bolting the wing on once you have tacked the repair in place as the stresses from welding can pull it well out of line. That’s a long weld too and the shrinking and stretching don’t help either.
Years ago I did a Manta roof rust repair on the rear section across the rear screen from pillar to pillar and it was a perfect fit tacked in, hours of filing to get a 1mm gap for welding and lots of clamping. I got a bit cocky as it was going so well and piled too much heat in and the places that roof panel twisted and bowed were unbelievable. I think that was when I turned to drink!

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

You obviously learned the hard way.

The panel does get bolted on occasionally and all the welds are welded according the tin metal technique. All welded with very short pulses and more like stitching it together instead of long continues welds. That should stop any heat build up but is also risky as it can lead to cold weld.

Keep your suggestions coming, they are greatly appreciated.

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

LH wing is finished. Forgot to take a photo before putting it in primer.

It will be properly painted with Patrol blue tomorrow. The back is sprayed with Dinitrol to protect from the tin worm returning.

Tomorrow it is time for the wheel arch and a inspection of the LH doorsill. Already checked the RH wing panel and that is in a bad condition with a lot more rust then the other side. Certainly will have my work cut out with that one.

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

Today I have finished some smaller repairs in the wheel arch. Also I have started making the repair panel for the aft, innermost section of the wheel arch.

It has a few different shapes to it which need some work. First making a lip.

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

Followed by a small radius bend.

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

Which in turn is followed again by a slightly bigger radius bend but the other way.

Panel now needs some trimming on the edges and the top needs cutting to shape. As the weather tomorrow is supposedly better then Sunday we have decided to have a rest day tomorrow and continue on Sunday.

Happy Easter!

 

[Banshee]

This is the type of work I'd like to start learning :bow

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

Banshee, I am only just starting and it is quite challenging.

In the members tips area, the links in the “Panel Making” thread are worthwhile looking at. That is where I get my hints and tips from.

 

[terranosaurusdoug]

This popped up on my youtube recommendations, fast forward to about 6 minutes, that's where it starts to get interesting, he explains a cutting tip I've never heard before :thumb2
https://youtu.be/_u31t13QO6A

 

[solarman216]

Effing long winded way of going about it, just make your patch a mm smaller all round, tack it in and weld it up, simple, Rick

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

Interesting way of fitting a panel when you have space! Most of my areas either have hardly any original panel left or are in awkward positions that you can’t get an angle grinder in.

It would be so much easier to have the body on a jig so you can move the car body instead of your own body.

 

[Wallace]

Interesting way of fitting a panel when you have space! Most of my areas either have hardly any original panel left or are in awkward positions that you can’t get an angle grinder in.

It would be so much easier to have the body on a jig so you can move the car body instead of your own body.

I had an Autovip 1700 car roller and did chassis and floor repairs to a Jensen CV8 on it. Good though it is, a rotisserie type is what I will use next time on the Opel Manta.

Tacking and cooling is a good way of keeping sheet steel from distorting, either compressed air or damp rags but is very time consuming and impatience leads to distortion as I found out on a roof panel.. On the original Jensen floorpans to the new material there was some distortion due to the older material being stretched. I used the weld contraction to my advantage there with a few slits welded up that pulled the old material tight.

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

A rotisserie, thank you Wallace. That is exactly what is needed.

I struggle with the welding on the car in the tight places. When you look at the panels from an angle the butt joint is difficult to see and therefore hard to weld. I have got a LED work light but again, in the tight spaces I end up blocking the light with my welding torch. Very frustrating and turns a relatively easy job into a hard one.

However with the fleet grounded till at least the end of May, possibly even longer I am in no rush.