Lagoonblue's MK2 1600 deluxe

[Danish 294]

Nice project!

 

I like the home made beead roller :thumbup:

[LagoonBlue 146]

Thank you! :cheers:

 

Volvo I will most likely part out when I have the time (as in when the Cortina is done), not for the money but someone might need the parts. '74 was the last year of 140 series and had some bits specific to it, mostly in the interior and despite the looks there are couple parts still in ok nick.

Mind you, if the apocalypse came that would be my goto car, can't kill 'em. Though a bicycle would have better fuel economy :rofl:

 

Bead roller thingy did the job, if not well but good enough. The real secret with making steps and bends is not to bother too much with measurements but to add extra to all dimensions, one can always cut to fit as needed :thumbup:

 

Had time to only do couple easy spots in the car this weekend.

 

 

Fixed towing hook bolt holes from the left side, not as flat as I would of liked since the tow hook bolts had been severely over torqued. Needs a finishing touch..

 

 

 

Started repairs on the left frame rail end. To not lose the registration of rear spring hanger i have to make the three sides separately. Easier that way too.

 

 

 

One part done, will be quite a patch job so i opted to use 1,5mm sheet for added strength.

[LagoonBlue 146]

Finally on vacation! Had to rack in overtime at ridiculous amounts for couple weeks. Could spare only very little time with the car. And the first days of my vacation i had to spend at installing gutters to the house :glare:

 

Today had a good long day sorting the frame rail end. Couple pics to get to where i started from, did not remember to take any pics today since i was so anxious to get back in the swing of things.

 

 

Lining up the frame rail ends/bumper mounts. I took multiple measurements to get this as close as i could.

 

 

Does not look like it but this was a tricky bit to make, there are multiple bends close to the bumper mounts that i copied to my plate.

 

More to come, in the meantime here are some bonus car show pics from couple weeks back (no Cortinas though :thumbdown: );

 

A big 'ol pile of Imps

 

Very nice Firenza! Don't see these very often nowadays.

 

4th gen Toyota Crown

 

These are from a local show. Since the Cortina is not yet ready i took my brothers clown-mobile as a joke, here parked next to friends Mustang :lol:

 

Almost a Cortina :)

 

Nice coupe Taunus, did not know that they made these this late on :headscratch:

 

Anyway, nice to get on with the project again!

Edited July 20, 2016 by LagoonBlue

[Danish 294]

Some nice cars there. I think they made the Taunus coupé right up the "Mk5 Cortina" type shape?

 

Enjoy your vacation! Sunglasses, lotion, beach towel, mig wire, weld gas, 1mm steel.

[LagoonBlue 146]

Some nice cars there. I think they made the Taunus coupé right up the "Mk5 Cortina" type shape?

 

Enjoy your vacation! Sunglasses, lotion, beach towel, mig wire, weld gas, 1mm steel.

 

Heh, thank you! :lol:

 

Another productive day, got the left rail done

 

That is one continuous panel from rear wheel tub to the end. Since i had already done the spare wheel well side access was limited. Not that much of a problem since the whole section was rotten anyway.

 

A word of caution for the uninitiated, there is a reinforcing panel inside frame rail near the rear wheel tub. Guess how i found that one out :oops:

 

Other side. Due to the shape i had to make this in three pieces (sides and bottom). Instead of the original 1mm steel i used 1,5mm for added strength.

 

Next thing to go in is the bumper mounting plate to the frame rail end. I had prepared these earlier.

 

Simple panel to make, i took these measurements from what was left of the original piece.

 

And after that is done i need to repeat the whole operation to the other side..

[Beowulf 87]

Great to see your progress, always enjoy your thread.

[LagoonBlue 146]

Great to see your progress, always enjoy your thread.

 

Thanks! :thumbup:

 

 

Bumper mounting plate fitted. I drilled holes for the bolts after the plate was welded in place.

 

 

Nuts welded on the back.

 

Started preparing the other side for repairs, looks to be in better shape but will only know for sure when i start cutting the rot out :chain:

Also did some small jobs, painted generator brackets etc. Every little bit is a step forward.

[Downstairs Dave 37]

Loving this thread, you have a great talent. It's a shame winter strikes so early for you. We are so lucky in good "Old Blighty" Keep going

[LagoonBlue 146]

Loving this thread, you have a great talent. It's a shame winter strikes so early for you. We are so lucky in good "Old Blighty" Keep going

 

Thank you! :cheers: it's mostly hard work and dedication in my case and as this is my first real resto also patience to find out which methods work the best for me. Next car i do will be so much easier. Got to make the best of our short summer, i can then rest in the winter :)

 

Yesterday my friend and i did a poor mans vinyl roof (satin black from a rattle can) to his Buick Skylark, great practice for my Cortina as i have only done little repairs in the past (not the sating black part but the preparing and painting stuff in general).

 

Car originally had a real vinyl roof but as usual rust had settled underneath and after the vinyl was removed the roof had been shoddily repaired.

 

Though perfection was definitely not the goal in this effort the results really suit the car, i think.

 

Got everything buttoned up at around midnight :wacko: Had to took today off since my arms feel like wet noodles from all the block sanding :lol:

 

Anyway the lessons learned;

•wear a mask when sanding the filler

•wire wheel on a angle grinder quickly removes old paint and filler

•not all orbital sander disks are created as equal

•do not underestimate the amount of filler needed for shallow but large areas

•definitely wear a mask

•do not attempt to sand any wet filler

•Takes a looong time to get even a halfway decent result

•using guide coat helps highlight any low spots

•using a mask is mandatory

•when storing filler for any length of time give it a stir every now and then or the parts will separate and be pain to mix

•top coat amplifies any shortcuts done in preparation phase

•to eliminate patching give a full even layer of primer before top coat

 

And there was something else.. oh yes, wear a mask :lol:

A science in itself, fascinating even if a tad bit intimidating.

[LagoonBlue 146]

Back to business as usual;

 

Cut off rotted boot floor and part of the chassis rail, bodged section from the rear panel lower lip also had to go.

I left the inner side of the chassis rail intact for reference, spot weld flange is ok but the side part needs to be mostly replaced.

 

Took four tries to get this patch done. Luckily they make more 1mm sheet steel in factories everyday :P

 

Not too bad, everything lines up nicely. Little more blending on the welds needed.

 

Boot floor was next in line. Did not grind down the welds today as it was getting a bit late.

[LagoonBlue 146]

Got first of the three pieces done for the remaining chassis rail end. Aside from the rear part there are only couple small spots further along the rail that need patching.

 

Here mocked up for welding. It was fairly easy to get the patch aligned right with the help of the remaining sidewall, that will be repaired next. Since there was not enough room to use locking pliers i used sheet metal screws to keep the pieces together temporarily.

 

 

And welded :thumbup: Was again too late to grind the welds, will do it tomorrow.

[LagoonBlue 146]

Todays work;

 

Side wall welded.

 

And done! B) Couple patches and end plate to complete the chassis rails, then onto something else. Maybe the spare wheel well.

[Captin Crayford 2]

Great Job Mr Blue... :thumbup: Good to see you have got time and the weather to get started again...

[LagoonBlue 146]

Great Job Mr Blue... :thumbup: Good to see you have got time and the weather to get started again...

 

Thank you! :thumbup: Though today it got a little too sweaty when i did some sand blasting;

 

Gave this side the good 'ol MOT man pointy stick treatment enhanced with hammer and since i did not poke through anywhere i deemed it good enough.

 

Even better with paint.

 

Other side needed patching, but luckily there was better access. And this time i knew not to cut through the reinforcement panel :rolleyes:

Only modest amount of surface rust inside but since i had it open i gave a good brushing over and a coat of etch primer before welding.

 

And welded. Penetration is questionable since i did not want to go over this spot with full blast, will know better tomorrow when i grind the welds down.

 

Glad to have this almost behind me since today was one of those days when everything was harder than it should of been <_< Got to take the good with the bad i guess..

 

Yesterday did some rearranging of stuff, cut the grass and went to the junk yard to buy a set of temporary tires for the car which lead to the following..

 

As a side attraction i have been monkeying around with the interior mirror, since the proper Wingard unit is impossible to find in usable state i have been keeping my eyes open for a suitable replacement when visiting junkyards.

 

This one came from a '87 Ford Orion (same as Escort?) and has almost the right sized socket for the original arm in the correct place. I first used plastic primer and painted over it with basic white from a rattle can (might use another coat though) and after that stuffed a small sliver of plastic in the socket. I first tried heatshrink tubing for the ball but that was too soft.

 

Of course the paint rubbed off from the ball but the thing does work. I cut off excess plastic between the ball and socket. Should be easy enough to give another coat after the paint has thoroughly cured. Rubber stabilizing thingy is of unknown origin from my junk bin.

As a bonus this combo has the dipping feature :thumbup: Might not be the finished article yet, will see if i can come up with something more clever to fix the whole ball/socket issue. Not going to need it anytime soon anyway..

[LagoonBlue 146]

Welds ground and painted, penetration was ok so no rework needed.

 

Both rails are now done! :winner: Had just enough gas to finish this job, funny how it always knows to run out on Sundays..

 

Onwards to other challenges, though i might take a breather for a day or two :icecream: