A little TI R&R
In this case, R&R means remove and replace. Or ratty and rusty. Rock and roll? Retch and regurgitation?
Anyway, after a 2-day bout of food poisoning courtesy of some shrimp zafrani of questionable origin, I found some time and energy today to get some work done on the TI. At last check, there were two remaining areas that needed patch panels and not just a quick and dirty application of fiberglass and bondo. The one, up front, is a simple enough job that will barely show anyway so I don’t need to worry too much about perfection. The other, today’s , was a less simple job in a spot that shows more (though still not a lot). This meant doing a more ‘correct’ job as far as conforming to the original shapes and contours of the body panel, and also remembering to err on the side of recess — in other words, make sure the repair is flush with or sufficiently below the surrounding (original) panels that the layer of bondo will cover any irregularities. That’s how it’s supposed to be done. I was mostly successful.
Here’s a couple pics of the area after I cut out the bad metal.
Here's the TI fender with the (majority of the) bad metal removed. I probably should have taken more off the rear section but I am nervous when it comes to compound cuves. Note repairs (mostly filled holes) already executed on the inner panel. Big clamp is the ground for the welder.
And the back of the rear wheel arch:
More fun in the orange and rust section of the crayola box. As in the previous photo, I'd already done some repair welds to the inner panel. If it shines, it's new.
So I’m basically looking at an L-shaped repair. I never even flirted with the thought of doing it in one piece. I may live to regret that (e.g., when the rust bubbles appear in a couple years at the seam between the two repair patches). I took on the smaller and easier wheel arch section first.
Welded up and good enough for a photo. This is a mix of bead and tack welds. As much trimming and shaving as I did, there were still plenty of gaps and overlaps to contend with.
And another:
Here it is after an initial pass with the grinder. I'm holding up the remnants of the original piece.
And then the horizontal piece. This was more of a challenge to do a couple of curves and bends that I needed to approximate. And I did, approximately.
The new piece in. The general shape is there, but it doesn't have the roundess of the original. I'm relying on bondo to make up the difference.
And another view:
Here you can see all the wobblies and funkiness of the patch panel. Sigh. On the other hand, I am adding metal where there was none, and in an area that doesn't particularly show.
I ended the day by reinstalling the fuel tank. I wanted access to the inner fender panels so I’d kept the tank out while doing the various repairs, but now that those are done I felt ok putting it back in. Oh, and prior to doing so I gave the inner panels a shot of primer and enamel paint to keep the rust at bay.
(Pic taken before application of primer and paint to inner fender panel.) I used some weatherstrip from my local auto parts store to provide some kind of seal for the tank. Given what happens with rust when a tank well is actually sealed, I'm not 100% sold on the benefits of sealing.
And the tank installed again:
The tank reinstalled. The sender unit is getting a little derustification itself or else I would have installed it too. I drilled out some holes in the new well metal and used 4 or 5 sheet metal screws to secure the tank to the car.
And that’s it. Next I’ll take on the valence, and hopefully start working on the glass and bondo treatment for the door skins and other areas that just need some cosmetic repair.
Thanks for reading, and watch out for that shrimp zafrani.
September 8th, 2009 at 10:42 pm
woot. at this rate you’ll have ‘er done for Alameda all Italian day no prollem. I on the otherhand will be driving a box of uninstalled parts and bodypanels to the show. APE swapmeet Saturday?