2800CSA Restomod in Oz

[JohnFBD]

Picked up a pretty tatty 1970 e9 here in Sydney, previous owner was Mr Magoo! Bodywork will be challanging, engine choice and suspension even more. So the work begins, wish me luck, oh and I have named the car von Trapp (more like money trap me thinks). The car was stipped and went to the chemical bath over a month ago, that proof coat (and plenty of filler) took some shifting!

 

[JohnFBD]

This was after 5 week in the soup! She has had a hard life, apart from the rust, Mr Magoo pretty much hit every panel. Well at least I have a clean car to work on so this week I set about removing panels so I can get at the repairs, I'll save what I can but still have a ton of parts coming from W&N where the rust has taken it's toll!

 

[JohnFBD]

First things first, I really need to brace this car and get the tram gauge on it, luckily it's pretty straight with only light impact damage signs.
The rest of this week was spent removing the fenders, nose and quarters, the nose had been replaced at some stage and had only been bronze brazed on! (cheap insurance work no doubt!)
Pretty daunting when I look at the amount of repair work, but I have seen worse ones so I'll need to suck it up and get stuck in, these cars are worth saving.

 

[Vitaliy semenyuk]

Did you have the car dipped?

 

[Daniel Sweden]

Hi
Oh, how nice to weld in this clean body

But come the bath access everywhere
saw some pictures with some rust
Do you think I might remove the front ,fenders before the dip?

This must I do before my big welding job,
I'll see how much is left after

Sincerely Daniel

 

[Vitaliy semenyuk]

Thinking about getting my car chemically dipped as well, my only concern would be after getting it dipped its down to bare metal all the little cracks and holes etc will now be down to bare metal and exposed. Might be impossible to get the epoxy primer on every square inch of the car in all the little holes etc....

 

[Daniel Sweden]

etc

What I have understood on this side of the water
In England and Germany so can the companies as acid dipping bodies
also dip into primer
so when you have welded parts
For example, all but the outer shell , you can dip into weldable primer
and then you can continue the welding work

 

[Vitaliy semenyuk]

What I have understood on this side of the water
In England and Germany so can the companies as acid dipping bodies
also dip into primer
so when you have welded parts
For example, all but the outer shell , you can dip into weldable primer
and then you can continue the welding work

Makes sense, the company locally to me does the acid dip but not the primer dip...

 

[Daniel Sweden]

Near is the relatively

In Sweden, this procedure is not permitted for environmental reasons
so I need to drive to Norway or Germany
a trip of at least 600km
but I think it's worth it
it facilitates and enables fine welding jobs

 

[JohnFBD]

Hi
Oh, how nice to weld in this clean body

But come the bath access everywhere
saw some pictures with some rust
Do you think I might remove the front ,fenders before the dip?

This must I do before my big welding job,
I'll see how much is left after

Sincerely Daniel

The car was went through several processes, the main one being an environmentally safe alkaline bath. The car is finally coated with a rust preventive chemical to prevent rusting as it's amazing how quickly surface oxidations occurs. As I am deconstructing much of the car I can access these places (a quick deoxidisation removed that rust in the pictures) which I will prime with something like POR15.

 

[JohnFBD]

Hi
Oh, how nice to weld in this clean body

But come the bath access everywhere
saw some pictures with some rust
Do you think I might remove the front ,fenders before the dip?

This must I do before my big welding job,
I'll see how much is left after

Sincerely Daniel

The chemical should get all the proof coat and rust off with the fenders on, they charge a premium for Porsche and BMW because it is a pain to remove! I just didn't want to have to clean everything to find all the spot welds etc!

 

[Daniel Sweden]

I understand
the contractions reasonable

 

[JohnFBD]

Meanwhile I have stripped the S54 motor that will be powering von Trapp, it was an SMG car with 120K on the clock but still I want to ensure it's all good.

 

[JohnFBD]

Front end work continues, all a bit of a mess with some nasty previous repairs!

 

[inovermyhead]

Looking good John, looks like you had a big spend at W/N but ultimately a lot cheaper than fabrication from scratch.

John

 

[JohnFBD]

Looking good John, looks like you had a big spend at W/N but ultimately a lot cheaper than fabrication from scratch.

John

Very impressed with the quality and fit so far, they have a season offer on body panels thank goodness!!

 

[JohnFBD]

More previous hack repairs to deal with on the left A pillar, waiting on t new lower bulkhead panel from W&N so I can box this up.

 

[JohnFBD]

Minor bonnet repair, the rest is in pretty good shape

 

[JohnFBD]

Managed to save the left inner fender, removed the unwanted brackets and filled the all them holes. The W&N top mount patch panel is a great fit!

 

[JohnFBD]

Meanwhile in S54 land the engine freshen up continues, a set of OE std piston rings is over AUD$2000! So got myself a set of Mahle's from Lang Racing (+.25). The con rods have been crack tested and good, so will just do the valve collets, bearings, chain and tensioner.