914 2.0 > 3.0 GT Conversion

[defianty]

Now I could get back to the ramp and fit that.


Last little piece of firewall going in.


The last main piece to fit was the engine shelf, supplied by Restoration Design.




Just need to fit the battery tray which is currently being blasted to clean it up a bit, then I'll call this part done. Quite a few days work there in quite a tight space, I'm glad it's done.

Next step is to fit a new trunk hinge bracket so I can put the trunk lid back on. This will assist with lining up everything as the rear end accident damage gets finished.

More soon.

[sladey]

Not sure how I missed this thread Stephen but it’s cracking work - just gone through about 8 pages of it. Really really great work - amazing what one day’s introduction with Barry will do eh?

I’m going to follow up with that classic auto clock guy - I’ve been wondering for a while how to get silver dots in my gauges

Keep the updates coming

[defianty]

Not sure how I missed this thread Stephen but it’s cracking work - just gone through about 8 pages of it. Really really great work - amazing what one day’s introduction with Barry will do eh?

I’m going to follow up with that classic auto clock guy - I’ve been wondering for a while how to get silver dots in my gauges

Keep the updates coming

Thanks Mark. I never thought I'd being doing all this that time at Barry's, that's for sure!

[sladey]

Me too - it’s really rewarding though isn’t it.

Without sounding to arty farty, when you take a piece of flat sheet steel it’s a lifeless thing - but when you shape that into a component or repair patch, it’s like you given it something - you’ve put your work and thought and effort into turning it into a shape and to me it’s like the metal preserves your effort - it becomes a bit alive - an embodiment of your vision and effort.

Actually that does sound arty farty but I don’t give a f*** - it’s how I feel about it.

[defianty]

I'm with you on that Mark, totally understand where you're coming from. It's a great feeling creating something yourself. The trouble is I frequently waste so much time staring at what I've created feeing all chuffed with myself. :Lol: I would've probably finished by now if it wasn't for that. :Lol

[sladey]

Yeah I do the same!

[Gary71]

More great work as usual!

What are you using to flat the welds? I’ve just ordered a 90deg air die grinder and some 75mm sanding discs. My efforts to date with angle grinder, flap wheels etc don’t give me the finish i know is possible.

I still have a very big gap between the lofty benchmark of sheet metal work and what appears in front of me!

[defianty]

Thanks is Gary.

Where possible I'll take the tops of with a flap disc on the angle grinder from there I'll use a 90deg air die grinder. I prefer the 50mm discs myself as they can get in those tighter spaces just a little better. The sanding discs don't last long though so I buy about 50 36 grit at a time, usually from eBay.

[Gary71]

Thanks, now off to EBay to get 50mm discs as well!

[defianty]

I came across the photo whilst putting together the next instalment below and I thought I'd post it as a reminder of what the hell hole really looked like on first inspection. It truly looks awful but all those layers of paint had at least given the area some extra protection from the elements and acid. You can also see the reason I replaced the engine shelf - the huge hole is quite visible here.

[defianty]

Finishing the hell hole meant I could then weld in a new trunk hinge support as I removed mine due to an exceptionally poor repair years ago. With that complete I could then refit the trunk lid I needed this on to enable me to line up the accident damaged rear quarter.

Most of this work I'd done months previous so it was great to finally see the end of this part of the project.

So here's the story...

Here's what I started with after chipping and sanding away at the bondo. As I mentioned before I knew there was damage there but it had been sculpted so well I didn't envisage it being as bad. It didn't take long to realise nothing in that area was going to be salvagable so I set about finding replacement panels. NOS and reproduction rear quarters aren't available so an offcut from another car was going to be my only option.





I always had a small rust bubble in this area so this was no surprise.


Investigating


Absorbant foam, what a great idea!


Over the years the seam sealer holding this in had split - no doubt encouraged by the accident. This had then let the water in. As a precation I'll be cutting out the other side and removing the foam. You can see in the background of this shot the replacement rear wing I found.


After removing all the foam this part of the inner wing would need to be repaired.


Repair underway.

[defianty]

Here's the replacement rear wing being cleaned up before installation. As is always the case with replacement panels, you never know if the replacement is actually any good. I actually wanted to use more of the wing but sadly the rest wasn't usable. I'll cover that at a later date when I get on to the B post repair.



Fingers crossed there's no rot in this one.


Completely rust free, almost ready to use.

[defianty]

The damage wasn't just on the corner but also along the rear panel, again cleverly disguised with filler. This would need to be replaced too. Sourcing a rear panel took quite some time, when I first looked original panels were still available but priced at around £1K and I didn't fancy paying out that much. As my search continued the last NOS one I knew about was sold. Since this Restoration Design now reproduce this rear panel.

I'd need to replace everything marked here.


So I cut it out!




I found a couple of used rear panels in Germany but they were asking too much for my liking. Eventually Garold Shaffer helped me out and shipped this to me from the US for a decent price.



It was going to need a fair bit of work but it was a good solid start. My mistake here, I think, was not using the entire panel and cutting it in half. Lining everything up was extremely difficult when I came to fit it and maybe it would have been easier if I'd left the panel in one piece. Another learning expreience.

Cleaning up the rear panel.




I'd need to weld up the badge hole as I've something different to go there I've been working on.


Holes welded up.


Lots to more to do but at this stage I realised it would be best to get the panel blasted.

[defianty]

After having the panel blasted I offered it up for its first fit along with the replacent corner panel. Lots of measuring ahead before it would finally be welded in.



Talking of measuring this is a prime example of what happens when you only measure one! This is me welding on an extra piece as I'd cut it 4mm too short. You can just about see the gap in the picture above.





So it was at that stage I knew I'd need the trunk lid fitted to continue so I set about finishing the trunk floor and got to work on the hell hole.

[defianty]

With everything now in place I could continue.

Rear panel being tacked and screwed into place.


Corner gusset fitted and corner section

Rear wing fitted.


Nice and straight finally.


Getting the above straight and the corner section to line up took an incredible amount of time, measuring, measuring, measuring and head scratching over several days. The problem all stemmed from the replacement rear wing being a slightly different shape from the other side. It was only a few millimetres different but more than enough to throw everything out of line. Originally when I had everything in, what I thought was, the correct place - the corner light cluster fitted poorly and wouldn't make a seal. I even wondered if my cluster was bent and sourced a replacement to try. When that didn't fit I really was lost for a while.

Anyway, with that and other issues beaten I was on to the finishing stretch.

Bonnet on, panel gaps perfect, lights in and bumper on.

One straight rear end with no bondo!



That brings me all up to date again. There's a few welds to clean up on the rear end so that's the next small task. After that I'll be venturing under the sail panels to see what rusty delights are awaiting me.