1974 Toyota Celica Gen 1 'TA22'

IPA's break my heart over and over again - around here every local microbrewery has an IPA created by some hipster that ends up tasting thin and bitter. 

Not anymore. Older and wiser now. Maximum of 3 pints now and that is only on holiday somewhere hot but normally just the 1 pint now.  I think about 4 units a week is my average. Still love a very occasional Drambuie but have to put a splash of tonic in it now as after recovering from the large aggressive tumour in my stomach in 2015/16 my consultant advised against drinking it neat.  Boring I know but need to look after myself.

Happy New Year dear readers. Here's hoping you had a good break and the start of the year has been kinder than the weather we've been having in the UK so far!

So to follow on from last year, there were many 'dark' pints consumed in the local over the festive period :B


This combined with the excellent food on Christmas eve, made for a good start to the hols, yes we really are spoilt with our local.


That was a sharer by the way!

Anyway now that I've made everyone thirsty and hungry... where were we... ahh yes, Celica progress.

I unfortunately didn't get as much time as I would have liked thanks to other distractions/SWMBO jobs, meaning it was only really a day all-in over several periods, however that time is better than no time and it was, dare I say it, enjoyably effective... well at least in my opinion, you can decide if you think the same

My first little win was the last of the repairs to the perforated metal on the inner wing


before moving on to the slightly tricky repair above the bulkhead, which thanks to the hole I'd cut, was now more accessible



Speaking of that hole, time to fill it in, firstly by attaching the strengthening piece to the repair section I'd made using the previously drilled spot welds and replacing them with plug welds.


and then trimming and shaping it until it fitted properly in it's new home


and welding up


annoyingly, I ended up having to cut the lip of the scuttle panel so I could weld the top of the repair piece (you can see the gap behind it in the pic above), there was just no way to get to it by any other means. however once all welded up and tidied it doesn't look too bad,


I cleaned up everything as best as I could, although I'm still not 100% happy with the corner which was nigh on impossible to get into with anything, including the finger file.


A coat of protective primer didn't help the look!


Answers on a postcard on how best to sort that, perhaps some more careful attacking with a carbide dremel attachment? although with a run of filler/sealer I may get away with it as it's not too proud.

So with the last of the awkward repairs, I could switch focus back to the wing rail once again, first refitting the new side section ready for marking and trimming



then the rest of it



with that back in place, time to look at the last bits to be remade/repaired


Err yeah, I'll take the right-hand one first I think! Rather than start from scratch though and remake everything, I decided I could use the bulk of it and just replace the areas that had suffered the ingress of tinworm. First adding a new front-end section



then the side and rear tabs, both very much an improvement on what came off!



Refitting to the car was made even easier by using the previously drilled spot welds as locating markers




Rather pleased with that, it's almost looking complete once more



Final job for the time being was to tack the other pieces together to make it a single piece once more



Now that I'm happy everything lines up as it should, and measurements are correct, I'll refit the wing to check the locations for the captive nuts, before fully welding onto the shell once more.

It's only been a year since I started this section... yes a year... to the day I posted about it in 2023 in fact. Good job I'm not paying myself by the hour

More soon.

I've used a Dremel with carbide bits to get into tight spaces. Seemed to work ok.

Thanks gents, I shall have a go this weekend if I get chance.

So more small steps in some snatched time on Saturday afternoon and after work this week. Welding is one way to stay warm at the moment

First the aforementioned testing of wing fitting to make sure that things lined up



Happy with that I could also mark the rough locations for the captive nuts



now I say captive nuts, my plan is to cheat somewhat and use nutserts


The alternative would be to unpick everything and weld captive nuts in, however this way I can better determine their location before drilling and fitting

Finally time to stitch everything together then


To try and keep the heat and distortion to a minimum I alternated location and didn't push my luck in terms of how much I did in each run


After not too long we were solid once more, the change in tone when you tap it is always reassuring to hear!


similarly the inner wing got the same treatment


Another final trial fit of the wing


and I could add the first of the nutserts to secure it once more



Feels good to be making regular progress once again and it going according to plan! 

I've a few minor bits to finish off, including the strut tower top which as you can see is only pinned at present to check alignment, then it's a case of dressing everything back and moving on to the next area. So close!

More soon.

Nice work, looking good a solid.
Are you concerned about the aluminium nutserts into steel ?
Would steel ones be better ?
Just thinking of bimetallic corrosoion or whatever is is called/spelt

A vote for 2024 momentum, when I run out can you send me some! are the rivet nuts aluminium or zinc plated steel?

Ally