Post by toomanyprojects on Jan 22, 2024 14:29:09 GMT
Slowly, slowly...
So on with that small repair to start with
Luckily it was pretty small so easy enough to cut out and weld a repair piece in
On with the main event then, getting the strut tower top back in position
Then dressing back and protecting everything
Onto the next battle then, the battery tray support which has certainly seen better days
Now I could remake this, or attempt to repair it first, I've not decided as yet. However as it is quite position critical as the battery tray bolts to it, and that also bolts to the front panel, everything needs to be aligned.
As the rotisserie support brackets are in the way at the moment, my thinking is to leave for the time being and then revisit when the brackets are out of the way, or modify the brackets so they fit through the bumper bracket mounting holes. Decisions, decisions.
So I 'think' it's onto the next repair... whatever that may be, I'm spoilt for choice so not decided yet
Post by toomanyprojects on Jan 23, 2024 15:09:20 GMT
So before I move on, one last job was to finish the rest of the fixings for the front wing
Happy with that.
Spoilt for choice I previously said, it turns out that may not be the case after all for one reason or another. So just looking at the job list we have:
Inner side / underside of chassis rail on both sides
Few things engine bay side
Upper wing rail on the off-side
Reinforcing plate on reverse side of the bumper supports and for the towing eye
Front chassis rail
Some minor roof repairs, as well as the biggie, the spare wheel well
Now the slight issue, a lot of the above are ironically access hampered by the shell being on the rotisserie, so I'm going to tackle the ones I can get to first, namely the roof and then work down from there, potentially removing the shell from the rotisserie as and when I need to. With that in mind, it was time for the merry dance:
Post by toomanyprojects on Jan 31, 2024 12:12:11 GMT
A few hours spare after work last night, so seeing as I didn't get chance over the weekend for one reason or another, it was back into the workshop once more to keep up momentum...
So let's take a closer look at what needs attention next...
The usual rear sail vent area
Roof gutter rail
Upper right rear windscreen as per the other side
and of course the windscreen corners
First job, make things a little more accessible
Having decided on starting with the top corner of the rear screen it was a case of just starting and seeing how far I got. After a bit of CAD, it was a case of slowly shaping the repair piece
I decided this time to slot the lower curve and come back to once I was happy with the overall shape, either to replace with a separate piece or use as is. Time to cut the offending item out
and test fit
pretty happy with that, time to make permanent and then remove the next section
before replacing
dressing back
and protecting
Have to admit, whereas this time last year I was shying away from doing such bits without overthinking, I got on with this last night without any such worries at all, I certainly didn't expect to get anywhere near as much done as I did in the time. Strange how things work out...
Post by toomanyprojects on Feb 9, 2024 13:40:23 GMT
Little wins...
Some more snatched time the other eve, so decided I'd have a fight with the roof gutter
From this
to this
Arguably not the neatest as I was rushing a little, but with a bit of final profiling it should be more than good enough, it's certainly a lot more solid
Post by toomanyprojects on Feb 12, 2024 9:08:32 GMT
Here's what we started with this time
Delightful!
My plan of attack was to reconstruct using a number of pieces in order to get around not only the shaping, but also the fact that it was pretty thin in places and so I could build things up slowly. Well it almost went according to plan...
Slowly, slowly then and a simple bit to get things started. After a bit of cad and shaping, time to cut out the fist offending item
and replace with new
dress back
One down. Now onto the fun bit. My original plan, as above, was to break down into several pieces to deal with the various curves and tight spots. Cue CAD #1, which while I was diligently cutting and shaping, I decided to change approach and throw in the bin... Let's be ambitious for a change
Onto CAD #2 then
which game me this to be removed
Some cutting, shaping, checking, more shaping, cutting and yet more shaping, eventually game me something I was relatively happy with
Time to bite the bullet
Things looked better already
Time for some cleaning up, rust killer and a dusting of weld through over the area for double the protection, and some paint on the back of the repair piece.
While that was drying, I decided to quickly deal with the last area, which compared to the above, was pretty straightforward in shape
Albeit I was conscious to get the inner curve as tidy as possible ready for the main piece
No more putting it off then
and after a bit of a clean up (I always underestimate how long this takes to get looking 'right'!)
and the ultimate test
Happy with that, it got a good coat of etch and ticked off
Felt like quite a big battle won given I really wasn't looking forward to that little section and it came out far better than I'd expected.
No point in celebrating just yet though, more fun awaits...
That can wait for another time however, a beer was calling by that point!
Post by toomanyprojects on Feb 19, 2024 15:06:23 GMT
No point in putting it off any longer, time to deal with that slight windscreen issue above. Albeit I then procrastinated further with a bit of tidying and manoeuvring the shell into position
Starting with the easier repair on the right first, it was a simple case of bending/shaping a repair piece and removing the offending article
before fitting into place
Can you tell I was desperate to avoid disturbing the stud for one of the windscreen rubber clips!
Time to make it permanent
On to the fun bit then.
My initial thought was to do this in three pieces... however I just couldn't get one of the corner pieces as I wanted, which then knocked one of the others out of kilter. I must've spent a good hour on one cutting, bending, shaping and before throwing it in the bin and starting again
Time for a change in tack then and go with two instead, the inner piece being the bulk of the challenge, inexplicably, things just suddenly seemed to 'work', and after not long at all I had something I was pretty happy with
Alas I ran out of time to cut and weld in so that's another day's job.
Post by grumpynorthener on Feb 19, 2024 19:48:50 GMT
Whilst its good to test your own skills making complex one piece repair sections its very difficult to do quickly when you don't have access to a arsenal of pro metalworking equipment whilst also not having the luxury of several days available to carefully form the required shapes by hand & eye - Absolutely nothing wrong in forming the repair in a couple of pieces and in certain areas is far the easiest option - From my own personal view point you are getting much better at it too - proving that with practice comes the skills
Whilst its good to test your own skills making complex one piece repair sections its very difficult to do quickly when you don't have access to a arsenal of pro metalworking equipment whilst also not having the luxury of several days available to carefully form the required shapes by hand & eye - Absolutely nothing wrong in forming the repair in a couple of pieces and in certain areas is far the easiest option - From my own personal view point you are getting much better at it too - proving that with practice comes the skills
Very kind of you to say. Time and patience is definitely needed in spades when doing this stuff. Sounds stupid, but just learning the way in which the metal moves depending on the tool/method of forming, has been the biggest learning curve. Doesn't mean I get it right all the time, and anything you see here is highly likely the abridged version, but things are certainly getting better and arguably more enjoyable too.
Post by toomanyprojects on Feb 20, 2024 11:25:31 GMT
Speaking of enjoying myself, I carved some time to finish a few bits last night.
As a quick reminder, this is what I was dealing with
Time to tidy things up
I decided to go for the bigger piece first as that would give me the line for the corner infill to abutt to
Then carefully working my way round to stitch it in, avoiding any heat build up with the air line
Happy with that, I could then dress everything back, taking care to avoid the clip studd for the windscreen rubber
It will need a skim and profiling for obvious reasons but rather happy with the outcome, especially as there was the voice of grumpynorthener in my head saying to be low is better to be high
Little squirt for protection and I'd call that another job done
Post by grumpynorthener on Feb 20, 2024 12:21:33 GMT
especially as there was the voice of grumpynorthener in my head saying to be low is better to be high
Amazing someone's actually listened - Don't know if you have ever done any leadwork / body solder profiling before - If not I can bring my lead loading kit next time I'm over to your place as you're such a good pupil
especially as there was the voice of grumpynorthener in my head saying to be low is better to be high
Amazing someone's actually listened - Don't know if you have ever done any leadwork / body solder profiling before - If not I can bring my lead loading kit next time I'm over to your place as you such a good pupil
Please take plenty of photos if this happens, or videos or whatever the kids are doing these days. I'm almost at a point where I want to have a go at leading some of my repairs. And I had similar on a repair panel last week - I spent ages trying to get a decent hump to make a spare wheel well, to have most of it disappear when I put the last curve in it. Making it in four pieces and welding them together made it much simpler and less wasted time.
especially as there was the voice of grumpynorthener in my head saying to be low is better to be high
Amazing someone's actually listened - Don't know if you have ever done any leadwork / body solder profiling before - If not I can bring my lead loading kit next time I'm over to your place as you're such a good pupil
Well I do try.
I do have a lead loading kit in the workshop, but it's currently unopened... Open to a tutorial anytime you fancy
Post by toomanyprojects on Mar 5, 2024 10:17:23 GMT
Not much progress of late due to a variety of distractions, including the welder going AWOL... That said I've been slowly making repair pieces for when I can get my mitts on it again
Post by toomanyprojects on Mar 11, 2024 15:27:45 GMT
So despite many other distractions (I blame that rarely seen hot thing in the sky for most of them), I did make some progress in the workshop over the weekend... well on the A35 at SWMBOs request anyway
I did do some work on the Celica, but really only managed drilling, slicing and dicing...
