'73 3.0CS - M88 Jerez Schwarz build

[nosmonkey]

Amazing build. I'm always amazed to see how you and others work out the geometry so precisely, considering much of the original structure is gone!

Enough reference points left and the W&N panels are a great fit so it makes life easier. If my car was buckled it would have been a different story.

Currently doing the inner arch on the rear fender, not the purists choice but dad went with making his own. Flares out from a higher point and sits further into the outer arch, allowing for it to be trimmed to suit the CSL flares and gain an extra inch or so of room without rubbing

 

[nosmonkey]

Working on the inner arch still, box section mount removed, and yes, they've repaired the shock damper mount with a washer and a cut valve spring.

 

[nosmonkey]

A bit more progress on the car. Biggest hurdle was the inner arch tub being completely corroded and no panels being available from W&N they had to be fabricated. Box section is from 1.5mm steel whilst the inner arch piece itself is 1mm, cavity holes drilled inside and the whole assembly liberally painted with electrox before assembly. Rear outer arch is also on and pulled the hvac system out the car and started stripping the engine bay to bare metal and welding up holes and drilling spot welds out for bracketry not being used. Still got to finish welding up the inside of the arch and dress the welds but it's a nice feeling hitting the car with a mallet and not having a rust shower on the ground

 

[nosmonkey]

After searching high and low and not being able to find one, dad managed to fabricate the strut support panel from some 3mm sheet steel. I say sheet steel, I made some adaptors to fit the Scheels in and that was all we had to hand, can always make some adaptors again! Also made the smaller piece that joins the a pillar reinforcement upright to the side bulkhead panel, which runs all the way along to close up that section. The upright piece is actually from an E3 but has been trimmed to fit, the large hole will be welded shut and after the whole lot is painted and seam sealed should provide a watertight cavity box.

Still plenty to do and going through welding gas at an alarming rate.

Dash and wiring harness also out of the car.

 

[nosmonkey]

Dad managed to replicate the 3mm thick stamped steel support by hand so got that in as well as the horizontal support bracket that runs alongside the inner wing. Everything sprayed liberally with electrox, the area boxed in by the support bracket was then epoxy primed, seam sealed and epoxy primed again for good measure before being welded and is now water tight although a drain hole is present. Got it all seam sealed and now awaiting final epoxy coat before the wing is installed and then the whole lot will be coated in upol raptor. Had a few friends come over and help out, fair to say our taste in cars is varied! Lots of progress hopefully in the coming weeks. For now here's some photos I had to hand

 

[nosmonkey]

I know it's a marathon and not a sprint, after a month of solid working on it the car is starting to finally come together. The front wing is now ready to mount after some final seam sealing. Drivers Floor is all welded in as is the rear inner arch. I always spray epoxy primer into all areas being seam sealed and then hit the whole area with epoxy after the sealer has cured. Was really quite surprised at how clean it was in the a pillar after the screen was out, after a lot of nasty surprises its nice to have a good one.

 

[eriknetherlands]

Working on the inner arch still, box section mount removed, and yes, they've repaired the shock damper mount with a washer and a cut valve spring.

Your shock tower is actually in oem condition, except for the rust that is.
All cars have this washer with 3 dimples and the circular flange. Here's a pic of my car:

 

[nosmonkey]

Your shock tower is actually in oem condition, except for the rust that is.
All cars have this washer with 3 dimples and the circular flange. Here's a pic of my car:

Wow, didn't know that! It had been cut and welded before so assumed it was just another bodge.

 

[nosmonkey]

Front wing is now spot welded at the a pillars, sill and the connection plates. Temporarily tacked in place at the nosecone, will be finishing that over the weekend then strip the whole side back to bare metal and blast over with epoxy. Really happy with how the shut lines are on the door. The bonnet/wing (hood to fender) alignment was a few mm off between left and right when perfectly centralised with everything else, they're about equal now too. Once the epoxy is on I'll probably hit the inner arches and sill with raptor liner to protect it all, then move to the rear valance.

 

[nosmonkey]

Wing is now ready for lead. Just got to get the headlight/indicator bracket on now. Also got another pair of indicator lenses done, still messing about with colour combinations though.

 

[nosmonkey]

Cleaned up with 80 grit on the DA to give a nice key, then a few healthy coats of epoxy black to keep the rust at bay. Time to start on the left hand side and repeat the process

 

[nosmonkey]

Moved the car over a few ft so I could start dismantling the left side.

The horrors have already began to surface. A medium sized dent on the bottom of the LH door which has meant half the door has been skimmed with half an inch of filler, no wonder the bottom didn't line up! The car seems much more solid from what I can see on this side. The intermediate sill, from initial inspection holes (rust opened up with a chisel) shows it to be remarkably intact with lots of wax in the cavity. They'll all be getting changed anyway for peace of mind.

 

[nosmonkey]

Picked up a pair of 45mm Jenveys yesterday, need to grab one more but starting to gather a few of the interesting bits for the build again!

 

[nosmonkey]

Meh... Could've been much worse inside the sills. All getting ripped out but guess they were solid enough to stop the car from caving in on itself despite being jacked up on one corner for 30 years.

 

[nosmonkey]

Did another batch of indicator lenses with some new resin last night. Cut down cure time from several days to about 12 hours and added some more tint for a slightly darker smoke. Not 100% but getting much closer to what I want. These haven't been trimmed yet and are fresh out the mould.

 

[nosmonkey]

As expected, the passenger side was just as crusty under the wings. Same process as the drivers side with the cavity being blocked off and a drainage hole punched in, with copious amounts of bilt hamber electrox zinc, seam sealer and epoxy primer. All areas spot welded prepped with their etch weld primer. Once these are all done I'll be using a smoke machine to check for any seams that can let in smoke to ensure they're fully airtight and no chance of moisture getting in, cavities will be all filled with Dynax S50

 

[nosmonkey]

Since those last photos were taken the inner wing has been painted and sills removed, inner sill repaired and everything is jigged up ready for the sill assembly to be welded together and installed on the car. Being performed the same way I did on the other side with the rear sill joiner by the seats, A and B post supports being spot welded to the intermediate sill and the outer sill being spot welded onto that, then the assembly spot welded onto the inner sill and seam welded on the support pieces on the car.
This method allows me to ensure that the sills are fully painted and no plug welds attaching the outer sill onto the intermediate reducing the possibility of any tin worm finding its way back in!
Sunroof drains are also being relocated into the wheel wells.

 

[Willem Tell]

Nice work! Can't wait to see it rolling!

 

[nosmonkey]

Spent a few hours on it today! Been a long while since I touched it, outer sill positioned on the car then it was screwed into place along with the middle sill. Checked all the gaps and spot on throughout and equal with the drivers side. Removed the lot off the car, spot welded in a few places and refitted onto the car, all as it should be so now it can get taken BACK OFF (I've lost count of how many times now) for final spot welding, inner sill needs some trimming to seat the lip of the outer sill correctly in some places where it was repaired.

 

[nosmonkey]

Spot welder had a nice workout getting hundreds of welds done, so much easier than having to take out the MIG or TIG!
Slapped on another coat of electrox, for those who wonder why I'm such a fanboy of this stuff, below is a comparison of rust buster epoxy primer (a well rated product) and electrox diluted 1 part paint to 10 part thinners (I was cleaning up the brushes!). Both painted onto an unprepped, dirty rusty cast iron stove used regularly and sat outside for 3 years.