DDK - Die Deutschen Klassiker

It's MIG all the way! You can get to everything from this side, apart from the vertical flange behind the fuel pump bracket, so that's an upside down on your back job.

The heater tube towards the front of the car can be pushed up 20mm or so to make access easier than it appears in the pictures.

I made the first three parts in steel yesterday, but the inner reinforcing is on the third steel prototype and still a mile off! My card version was a gross over simplification... You need to recess it make or you will not be able to get the heater tube back in.

More tomorrow...

Started the welding today.



The first two pieces are now in, currently I'm trimming the floor patch for a similar butt joint repair.

Then I'll get back on with the inner reinforcing, which I've been ignoring because it's hard!

Floor now all welded in.

The mess in the middle of the repair is the remains of the plug welds through the panel up onto the sill inner. The rest of the mess is just my welding!



Floor/sill end/heelboard repairs in place.

I need to clean this up a bit and get rid of the ends of welding wire.

Should all disappear under a coat of paint!

An unenviable job Gary, doing good though. Well done.

Mine wasn't that bad in that corner, more moth-eaten than hole.

Is that viper green I can see?
Mine was Viper Green, wish I'd kept it now.

I'll be in the garage this weekend a lot so I'll be bloody freezing too!
Your welds on thin steel are better than mine...

It is indeed Viper Green. It nearly went back that way first time I had it painted, but I bottled it!

I love it in silver though

Good bit of work completed this afternoon, bit more cutting out, bit more fabrication, bit more welding!

Floor/Sill/Engine bay inner panel welded in and soaked with weld through primer so it won't rot out in 5 minutes. There is a small hole above this section that you can get to after assembly, so I intend to pump this section full of oil!



The inner reinforcing is a complete arse of a panel to make, but got there eventually. Spot the useless hole for plug welding. I got carried away with the drill.



The plug welds at the bottom will get flushed back to make a good surface for the final flange dropping down from outside panel.

Next job. The heater tube. Another section I've been trying to avoid.

Good Good progress Gary, better than me servicing my Subaru tow barge...

I remember now spot welding the inner and the re-enforcer panel along the lower edge, cleaning it all and then spot welding through 3 thicknesses in the final outer panel weld up. All the edges were too deep deliberatly so i could grind to the right flange depth.
I drilled the bottom lowest point with an 8 mm hole and stuffed it full of waxoil when all was done. That was 22 years ago and it's all still there to this day.
The inner wings of the car were painted with Comma red oxide and then a good coat of black Smoothrite in a nice hot summertime finale of the body build.
I've looked through the photo album at all the 8 months of part time welding it all took before painting it in my one car garage!

Mad!!

I hope the other side is better!

Looks like you're getting on well Gary.

It's definitely one of those areas that you're always pleased to see the back of . That behind-the-heater-tube reinforcement is a real sod: does an odd curve that's very tricky to get right.

Assuming we have to do John's, I think I might have a new technique for making it worked out. Will involve a bit of my DIY tooling though ....

Are you expecting similar things for the other side?

Barry wrote:
Are you expecting similar things for the other side?

nothing like kicking a man when he's down Poor Gary will be having sleepless nights at the thought of having to do it all over again if the other side is bad

BTW, great work Gary

He is evil isn't he

I went through the other side in some depth several years back, and I've been over it with a hammer and all seems to still be good. Luckily!

..oh and I'm just not going to look any further...

My tooling for the reinforcing involved a hammer, vice, and another hammer!



The rear end is the hardest due the reverse curve and flange combination to clear the heater tube, if you weren't trying to get a 2" tube past it then it could be almost flat and single curvature.

Sorry Gary .

Yes, it's such a sod, and very difficult to get across to someone who's not tried to make on. Like you say, it's that combo of a reverse, and that flange. Before long there's loads of strength in the panel, which makes it very hard indeed to 'tweak'.

Some vague form of tube now links front to back. It's 2" exhaust tube cut about, battered and welded back together!

Clearly it's not welded at the top, so isn't exactly gas tight, but considering what was (wasn't!) there before it's an improvement.

Luckily this bodge will be covered up!

Next step is the reinforcing down from the back of the trailing arm mount.

Great work Gary, the area is bad enough to work on when the shell is on a rotisserie and the rear quarters have been chopped off. I bet there was more choice words coming out of your garage, than an evening spent with Sean Ryder. At least yours should be done before mine!!

Kind Regards

Easy bit left to do now, but the bit everyone will see too!
Will you shot it over with stone chip and paint?

911hillclimber wrote:Easy bit left to do now, but the bit everyone will see too!
Will you shot it over with <i><b>as much anti rust product, paint, stonechip and underseal as humanly possible</b></i>?

...and pump it full of oil/waxoyl, and put a drain hole/slot in the bottom