Kev's workshop projects

[KevJTD]

an afternoon for taking measurements and formulating a plan of attack for the rear end

the inner scuttle panel has almost completely disappeared save for a half depth section on the drivers side so after studying a few pictures taken at the imp show a bit back I was refreshed with how it ought to look...

a profile section was cut and folded to make for a template, once happy with the fit a full length 4 foot+ length was cut out of 18 gauge steel, strong enough stuff by far but just about able to be folded neatly

a bit of fettling any chopping out of inner C pillars to allow it to fit in position and this is about where it will end up....

the step off away from the seam was needed to allow it to join back up with the pillars but also it creates huge strength, trouble is it means the rear window catch needs to be recessed as the catch itself needs to fit in the gap and fit flush to the outer panel. the only clues I have to how it should be are from seeing other cars, the only thing left on ours was the fixing nuts and a tiny piece of panel which indeed showed it needs a recess
I decided that getting it in position in the middle of the long new panel, accurate to 1mm not only in up/down position but critically in depth to keep it flush with the outer panel would be far too tricky so I've made up a spate smaller panel that will carry the latch which will sit inside the box section, which will then get opened out and recessed to allow the two pieces to be welded together

before the main section can go in though the window frame needs a lot of repairs plus the rot under the rear quarter panels at the top will be sorted whilst access is pretty good. so a lot of hidden stuff to do first....

[PETROLHEAD]

Tricky one!

Best plan for it though by the sounds of it,

Cracking on well mate, keep plugging!

[Veesix75]

taking on another Alfa or Lancia will feel like light work after this one.. ..............however it will be another classic saved once completed, and I still reckon it should stay its original colour

[KevJTD]

the catch is recessed like this one

aim will be to be fairly neat.....will be a bit tricky and tight though but i'll think of something

[KevJTD]

the window seal lip is in a terrible state, pretty much the whole way around inside and out is unusable

bit of a dilemma on how to repair it, needs to be kept to a certain shape as the window opens and closes onto a seal and inside the recess

the bottom edge was where I started first, luckily the rot hadn't spread onto the outer panel so just the inset and seal lip to make, complete with curves to allow the window to fit into place.

the shrinker stretcher proved its worth yet again..

with the metal so thin and wanting to avoid distortion wherever possible it took an age to tack weld it all along

side piece next once window stay out of the way

messy weld but it'll clean up ok

once I've done the other side and top section I can start on the inside face then spot weld the two halves together and then finally the bottom inside section around the latch

[KevJTD]

did a bit last Saturday but that was only a bit, cut short by the 'flu

Wednesday afternoon just gone I finished off the outer flange

the inner portion then needed to be made up. top section I made up in as long a piece as I had so it went all along the top and around both corners

started to weld it in then promptly ran out of wire, just as the roof caught fire like in the film backdraught!

took the remaining ti me to make up the side repair sections ready for fitting up, complete with holes for the rear window stay bolt holes

[KevJTD]

so today with a fresh coil of mig wire I set about trying to get the window frame finished off

first job was to line up the bracket that holds the window latch in place

the recess was then cut into the inner scuttle panel to allow for said latch. once all the box was folded and welded to the panel it got spot welded to the flange lip and seamed to the body along the bottom edge

you'll notice the side rails are also in position so all around now has double skin and is pretty strong again, at last

the lock in place in the recess, needed as the depth is defined to keep the latch button pressed against the outer panel

inside given a coat of protective etch whilst repairs are still ongoing. got a bit more grinding to do plus the inner corners need making and fitting but one big hurdle is now nearly sorted

[KevJTD]

had an age grinding back the welds this afternoon, the window frame is now about sorted..

just the inner bottom of the C pillars to make and weld in...

decided against trying to make the repair section in one piece so first task was to chop out the rot at the bottom of the side window rail and weld it in

the corner section needed to blend into the inner rear scuttle and still look a bit like it was supposed to so instead of welding along the edge I plugged it

ground down and etched, ready to do the other side on Saturday

[KevJTD]

a few more hours this afternoon and started by getting the drivers side rear C pillar innards finished off

paint running from behind shows the inside face has got reasonably coated by the continual spray blasted from above!

pretty much done around the window opening now

the outer C pillar has some grot to attend to, handily it encompasses 3 ridges just to make things awkward

with the seam trim removed and it ground back a bit there are loads of places uncovered where water could have got in if left unattended

I really do need to get myself a jenny wheel or swager to make the panel, borrowed one from a guy who has a unit near me but the wheels are too big and won't make the right shape.
first attempt at making the creases by hand needs a bit more fettling but may do the job...

[junior]

Hi Kev. Have you seen the very nice Lancia Flaminia GT on e bay. Restoration without a lot of welding by the look of it.

God only knows where the price will end. Gone past my price bracket.

[KevJTD]

Hi Kev. Have you seen the very nice Lancia Flaminia GT on e bay. Restoration without a lot of welding by the look of it.

God only knows where the price will end. Gone past my price bracket.

too many zero's for me too mate

[KevJTD]

the drivers side outer C pillar had some rot around the 1/4 top, handily along some parallel swage lines

after a few hours I decided the repair panel was as good as I was gonna make it, really ought to get myself a jenny wheel so these jobs don't have to be done by hand...

the inner pillar needed yet more repairs first of all...

fit not too bad at all, the time spent making guide sections beforehand really pays off

most of what is silver is now new metal, still some way to go though....

[Johnboy]

Looks great KEV . cracking work chap

[KevJTD]

above the C pillar repair the seam had a few holes in it so that got chopped out, a new plate made up and welded in

a few smaller holes to sort then that pillar was declared fit


attention then turned to the inner rear 1/4 panel

there is quite a bit that needs repairing along with things like missing the battery tray.
rob had purchased a half decent used panel that we intended to use parts off.
I decided the best plan of attack was to use the whole panel....

so the grinder got busy again...

the bottom and top sections were very poor along with the mentioned battery tray issues so worth chopping off

the "new" one needs far less repairs, did a little one whilst it is still off

[KevJTD]

now the inner panel is off it revealed that the chassis rail needs repair, better to find out now I guess

a bit of fettling and the inner panel is getting near a decent fit.
handily there are common holes left on both panels that I can use to aid alignment, nuts & bolts will help keep things straight when the time comes

the battery tray links across to the chassis rail

the outer panel is from the same donor car which will need a few other bits fitting before alignment can be contemplated, but gives a burst of confidence to see things perched in place

I've got to make a pair of engine lid hinges as they seem all but impossible to find from the imp specialist breakers. once I've made them and fitted the lid then that will determine where the rear 1/4 ends up

[PETROLHEAD]

Excellent work as usual Kev, the 3 lines in the C pillar came out pretty good too.

The temptation to buy all the specific tools is enormous eh!


Coming on a treat though, but i have to say i've not heard much of Rob's involvement recently?

[Kegsti66]

Obviously building that 'Busa engine !!

[KevJTD]

I've not seen much of his involvement either


mind, we were all young with new girlfriends once upon a time too eh

[PETROLHEAD]

I guessed as much,

Hah! To be young and in love eh!

[KevJTD]

very sporadic progress again, distracted by other stuff going on and changing the 147 for a 159

the inner rear drivers sing wing has been welded into place, as near as I can but other parts will have to go on before final fit up can be deemed done.

that was a week or two back, hadn't had chance to get much else done before today, not least as i'd been head scratching on how to make and fit the engine lid hinges as the car is totally missing the whole lot!

the originals are welded to the car, not unlike a sud boot lid, but that brings into play alignment issues

so I decided the best way to attack it was to make and weld in some brackets to the body then the hinges could be made up to suit.

the hinges weren't as straightforward to make as they at first seemed, the range of movement needed to allow the lid to be opened fully but avoid the edge seam where it was folded back under caused a few different approaches to be tried before I found the solution, the lid mounting bolt also needed to poke through the hinge when the lid was closed! as per the pic below

when opened it needed to clear the skin seam too..

alignment is pretty decent but also the way I've made the hinges allows for a reasonable amount of fine tuning so no excuses when the time comes!

crazy how many hours a simple thing like this has taken but nobody seemed to have any they'd be willing to sell, or chop off a rotten shell so no option left.

now I've got the engine lid able to be fitted I can start to line up the outer rear 1/4 panel and rear panel/engine mount bar.

[Johnboy]

Great work as always chap

[junior]

Yep I fully understand the hinges just absorbing time. Tricky bits indeed.

Funny how it never happens on Classic car, S.O. S. They must just be much, much better than us !

Impressive work. Keep it going.

[KevJTD]

the hinges i'd made I wasn't happy with the thickness of steel I used, mainly used a standardish gauge of steel to allow it to be bent to shape easy, but of course that brought about the possibility of it becoming deformed in use.

so I made some more out of much stronger material.

today rob found the stay for the engine lid which I set about getting it in a position to be able to fit. once i'd figured out where it all needed to be, and thankfully it didn't interfere with the newly made hinges, it was time to make up the channel and mount area for the stay

a curved plate was knocked up which filled in the missing rain channel and was made to lip under the outer quarter panel

once all the dead material was cut away the patch got tacked to the 1/4 panel

a plate was then made up for the underside which linked back to the inner 1/4 panel. this got spot welded in many places to hopefully get a strong joint as the engine lid stay sits in the channel. a few plug welds were added as a bonus

the engine stay in place. I may add a bracket to support the outer edge as the sprung loaded stay does put quite a strain on the channel

bit of etch and that side is almost done

[Kegsti66]

Have to keep saying Kev, your fabricating of awkward panels is fantastic.
Love the way you have produced that channel with a curve.

[Alfamet]

Good work Kev. Makes the minor repairs on my Sprint look well simple in comparison to what you're doing!

[KevJTD]

cheers guys, appreciate the comments greatly

the curved panel was a bit awkward Keith, nice to hear you appreciate it. getting the curve isn't too bad but with it being a narrow channel I struggled with getting it in the stretcher, so had to open it all and shape in before making the channel again. making the cardboard templets etc takes time too before even cutting any metal

also had a look at the imp that was rallying at cadwell today...seems I overcomplicated the hinges! so another change may be done...

certainly has been loads of fabrication Col, more than Rob or myself anticipated that's for sure!

[KevJTD]

got a week off work so will aim to get a bit more done to the little imp.

first job though was to chop up the fallen tree from the driveway to the unit, at least I got a pile of logs. didn't help that it has been about the wettest day of the year!

anyway, the drivers side channel needed a bit of work.

this side needed the vertical section making that goes down to the lower valance, added complication was an angled step in it.

once cut and folding the flanges the differing angles needed for the narrower bottom section. if you try and fold them you end up with material gathered up and an ugly bulge. this is how they start to go

trick is to shrink the fold where the 2 angles meet, this pulls it all into line

of course I cocked up first off only making a narrow flange fold at the attachment side, so another had to be made up

the chassis rail end got pulled into line and stress relieved so it stayed where I wanted it. the lower rear valance bolts into place on the rail ends & quarter panels, quite a sturdy section as it carries the engine mount too

with stuff where I wanted it the channel section got plug welded into place

the corner section had a missing corroded section as you can see

easiest way is to make a cardboard template first

a section welded in then all etched

panels laid out with everything about where it'll end up. i'll get up there again soon, maybe tomorrow. need to press on a bit more...

[Kegsti66]

[Sud 145]

Damn it Kev you make it all sound so easy to us mere mortals.

[KevJTD]

channel all repaired now, rear quarter panel fitted

much quicker to say it than do it!