DDK - Die Deutschen Klassiker

Rotisserie works really well. It needs 2 people really to turn it over though - the Targas are really bottom-heavy and it needs one person to turn it and another to tighten the bolts at the end to keep it in place. Not a big deal though.

murph2309 wrote:1) Front end looking messy, will need new slam panel, tank support, battery boxes, front chassis legs & long suspension pan
2) Front wings saveable, but will need a new wing closer on RHS
3) Front drivers-side inner wing has had a repair & will need some re-work (also might explain mis-matched strut on that side)
3) New Inner and outer sills & B-Pillars
3) Targa bar is saveable (hurray)
4) Rear wings also look saveable (double hurray)
5) Parcel shelf, firewall, seats & floor (apart from hole around gussets & pedals) all looking good from the topside
6) Bonnet & engine lid all good

Who's a lucky boy then

Can never be too many photos, keep them coming - we love 'em

Darren

Darren65 wrote:Who's a lucky boy then

Darren

At the moment, it seems so. But there's still the underside, blasting & Barry's final inspection to go before I'm going to feel like I've got to the bottom of any potential issues. No sense in this til after that!

It is encouraging though

By the way - great update on your thread - I seem to have my auto-update emails missing, so I hadn't spotted you'd put all that paint information up. Is there anything you're looking to do to protect the bonnet / wings up top from the road rash?

murph2309 wrote:Is there anything you're looking to do to protect the bonnet / wings up top from the road rash?

Hi Richard,

If you mean the underbody protection you mentioned earlier, we'll be applying this with far more care than the factory. This plus type of products being used, process, attention to seams and problem areas etc should mean the car is better protected than it's ever been.

As far as external finish is concerned I believe solid paint is far more durable than modern water based product and I'm told the R-M Graphite HD top coat we're using produces a rock hard finish which I'm hoping with hold up really well over the years. Although I want the car to be as well protected and durable as possible I still want it to look like it came from the factory.

Cheers,
Darren

looking great Richard

Rich - looks like the car needs far less in terms of replacement panels (so far !) than you had anticipated - hope the good luck continues.

The more pictures & details the better !

Darren, thanks, that really helps - I'm thinking that I too would like to be able to drive out and not wince everytime another car goes near me - hard outer paint sounds like the way to go - will give you a call to discuss in the not too distant future.

James, Andy, John, thanks for your continued support - means a lot.

So it was a happy, sunny time this weekend - not least because we found out that after a 3 year battle, the developers trying to put a windfarm at the bottom of our garden lost their appeal - result.

Now on to more important things. For the first time since I started the build, it was actually warm in the garage. Time to flip the car over and get stripping.

Proper sunshine!





Time to get the rough stuff off.



I've been using an angle-grinder and knotted wire brush attachment (actually it's my second angle grinder, I had too big a brush on the first and burnt it out ). It's effective and doesnt seem to hurt the metal at all, but it does make right old mess...



But after a couple of sessions this weekend and working into the night I ended up with this:







And everybody says it, but the torsion tube area is a bitch. Won't miss doing this again. But very pleased with the results





The metal seems in really good shape, all the seams are crisp and pretty much everything came up shiny. I had two problem areas: This one just aft of the pedals (which I already knew about)



And these little holes that are just inside the passenger side gusset-strengthener. I suspected there might be something there too. Hoping this doen't turn out to be too serious underneath.



Other than that, it's more a case of some gnarly bent bits and repair jobs - the bent stuff seems to be around all the places you'd naturally jack up a car but shouldn't - this is what happens if you do



And this one is the result of some fairly agricultural repairs - but hey, they've lasted and not rotted, so all good.



So that's the shell clean, stripped and ready to go. I've covered all the bare metal in WD40 to stop flash rusting, hopefully that will be enough - anyone got any other suggestions?

Now I need to do the insides of all the wings & bumpers, then I think we'll be good to go for a sand blast at the end of March / beginning of April.

Go on then, if you insist....

Good progress Richard, well done.

Dave

Looks fantastic Richard. Not much work for the blasters to do. It goes to show that sun shine state cars can fair a whole lot better than uk and European cars. Great result regarding all the panels it will be nice to have all the original panels on the car.

Knd regards.

Hi Richard

How have you found the shell on the rotisserie regards sagging? I have been doing a similar (not as in depth) job on my own targa. My garage is covered in that stringy stuff too. I concidered a rotisserie but thought it might put abnormal stress on the sills when upside down. Have you used additional temporary strengthening?

Hi - I only kept it upside down for about 48 hours and I figured that if there were any issues then Barry would be able to pull them straight on the jig.

However, I do think that it's a good idea to keep it on the rotisserie for as little time as poss and currently I have a jack and a big plank of wood taking some of the strain in the middle of the car.

How's yours going, got any more piccies for us? - loving that colour!

R

Bruce M wrote:Is it just me or does Barry have another job

Yep, that's why I don't have so much DDK-time these days. Keep it under your hat though.

Great to see the shell stripped the other week: it's rather nice in that where it's bad, it's bad, and where it's good (which is a very high %), it's excellent. This always makes restoration decision-making rather easier.

One 911 to get in then out of here, and then it'll be Richards turn: really looking forward to it .

I hope to have something worthwhile to update soon but I'm working away from home at the moment and it is holding up the engine rebuild.
Good luck with the rest of it.