DDK - Die Deutschen Klassiker

I knew you would not disappoint.
Rare to see this 'production' shell type of build (anywhere)
Also interesting to see they are spot welding in many places as Porsche did instead of plug welds. I think this improves the originality of the build.Ace stuff
Are you living there to document it or do they snap pics as they go along and email them to you as a progress report?

Very cool indeed.

911hillclimber wrote:Rare to see this 'production' shell type of build (anywhere)

Yes, I found this photograph taken at the factory in 1974 and I realised my car looked like that as it went back together....

911hillclimber wrote:interesting to see they are spot welding in many places as Porsche did.
I think this improves the originality of the build.

Quite right. And used to very good effect by Chesterton's. They've got the gear. And the expertise.

Here's the bulkhead you saw earlier welded into the body.

Another large part reinstated and the car starts to take shape again.

Tremendous work Paul....a bit like having a full size Meccano kit!

Out of curiousity are the rectangular slots at each end of the dash, either side of glove box opening and steering column hole, particular to 1974 model year on?.......Not seen those before.

Cheers,

Yes, they're air vents Darren.

Tremendous stuff!

One question. How do they ensure all the parts above the jig are located properly?

Typically in a production environment you would have a framing station to locate each major assembly.

Edit: Something like this:

Untill now I hadn't cottoned on to how much or how far back this shell was going....I have a suspicion this one may be raising the bar regarding what is considered restorable......top job.

Darren65 wrote:the rectangular slots at each end of the dash, .....Not seen those before.

Yes, Tom is correct. They are the - new for '74 - air vents.

Ferry Man wrote:

Darren65 wrote:the rectangular slots at each end of the dash, .....Not seen those before.

Yes, Tom is correct. They are the - new for '74 - air vents.

Thanks chaps.......I've obviously only been peering through the side windows of early cars!

Gary71 wrote:How do they ensure all the parts above the jig are located properly?

Good point and one I encountered early when considering such a drastic rebuild.
The Celette does much of the work referencing important pick up points but above that there are vital areas such as window and door apertures.
And even then - if you have jigs for those apertures - how do you ensure the shell is not twisted or leaning?
It needed someone with a very comprehensive array of jigs and templates.

Chesterton's didn't bat an eyelid. They had it all.
You'll see pictures of the jigs as the work unfolds further.

Ferry Man wrote:

Gary71 wrote:How do they ensure all the parts above the jig are located properly?

Chesterton's didn't bat an eyelid. They had it all.
You'll see pictures of the jigs as the work unfolds further.

Sounds good. I was imagining it lozenged over to one side...

haasad wrote:....I have a suspicion this one may be raising the bar regarding what is considered restorable......top job.

When I was at AML there was more than one car rebuilt from a pile of rust and a chassis plate

After the bulkhead and tunnel another big lump of the original car survived.
Here's the rear foot boards, seat pans, seat backs and rear shelf ready to weld in.