My new project, finally got my integrale.

[junior]

You were brave to take the job on. Good effort. Keep posting please.

[KevJTD]

You were brave to take the job on. Good effort. Keep posting please.

As you wish


Just to keep my tasks for the week off work all jumbled up it was back to the integrale today. My usual late start (too lazy to get out of bed...) isn't helping matters but I am on holiday!!


First job was to repair the top of the A pillar on the drivers side. How to repair it wasn't quite as straightforward, a simple enough box section but access wasn't that easy unless I started chopping big holes in stuff.
A bit of thought and some differing ways of removing the rusted sections (not a hope of getting an angle grinder in there, not even my plasma cutter) and a couple of plates made up and welded in made a good start.

Just then to box the top in.
Not quite as simple as it sounds as it needed to be in the right place height wise as the scuttle panel welds down onto it.

This afternoon the laborious task started off removing the unwanted metal from the replacement scuttle. Trying to remove just enough without causing any damage or distortion to the part I do need was time consuming.
Eventually though the "new" section was ready for trial fitting.

There are a few bits of surface rust plus the 2 drain holes in the corners will need repairing but overall I'm happy with the panel.

Passenger side is a bit pitted...

For once though luck was on my side, the original section is in great condition and I'd even managed to chop it off the car yet leave just enough material to be able to replace on the new one!

[KevJTD]

With things tidied up alignment is just about there....my stock car roll cage still fits!

All the rusted sections I will repair before fitting it to the car as it will be way more easier to weld on the bench than on the car. Thankfully there really isn't a huge amount to repair.


There will be quite a few welds to do though!

[Kegsti66]

Great stuff Kev , getting that shell nice and solid now.
Reminds me when I was drilling out the spot welds on my screen surround . Fit looks nice.

[KevJTD]

Yes, the fit is pretty good mate, pillars need a slight tweak outwards but clamps OK so shouldn't be an issue. Guy who removed the whole thing from the donor car used a petrol Stihl saw so wasn't too delicate!

This afternoon I set about making the repairs to the replacement scuttle, the little drain holes in each corner were crusty. Could have maybe been saved but I don't particularly like them so rather than just clean them up I chopped the holes out a bit bigger than the rusty portion, as I keep saying, a patch is a patch to weld in whatever its' size. Being bigger than a finger nail makes it easier to work with too.

Drivers side butt welded in flush to keep filling to a bare minimum.

Beauty of having the panel off the car to repair it is you can weld the underside without being a contortionist! And with the inner part being in fresh air away from everything the weld can be left on to keep maximum strength, I'll seam seal it before it goes on too, it's at the moment laid upside down having hat rust treatment then etch primer drizzled into the seams..

Passenger side the same process.

With the panel ready to go on (before I did the treatments) I dug the doors, bonnet and wings out to check we were still in the ballpark regards alignment.

Hopefully I'll get my usual Wednesday afternoon off work so I can get the scuttle top welded into place. That will feel like a nice hurdle done then.
Next stage after that will be to get it back down on its' wheels so I can repair the front and rear edges of the roof as they're a bit of a stretch at the moment, will soon be time for it to leave it's weld hoem then and go up to the unit....fingers crossed I get chance this Autumn to paint it....

[KevJTD]

Got the afternoon off as planned so up to Jims' to do some welding, the 'screen/scuttle top was pretty much ready to go in.

Alignment checked and double check then the plug welds could begin.

Up the pillars it needed to be butt welded to ensure a flush finish.

Inside the pillars the joint was staggered half way down using an overlapped joggled joint not only for strength but because the sunroof drain tube runs behind this joint so I didn't want the risk of a stray weld wire poking inside.

The long row of plug welds on the bulkhead will be inside the car rather than having a load of fresh welds on the 'screen lip I used more of the replacement panel which turned out pretty good in the end.

The drivers side bulkhead corner had some rust around the large grommet hole, which is just blanked off so of no use! The marks show where to cut...

With the grommet not being used and of no real use to me it makes sense to not bother with it, it's my car so I'll do as I like! lol
You can also spot the slot where the sunroof drain comes back out showing that care of the weld there was needed, again using the section of the new panel helped here as the old was crusty and would have been harder to weld down in the gulley.

[KevJTD]

After many hours of clamping, checking and plugging the welding was done.

So that just meant the worse task of grinding clean the many welds!

With some careful welding and even more careful grinding the butt welds up the pillars came out pretty good, takes so much more time to do them like this but the results can be worth effort, the joints won't even need any filler.

Drivers side...

Passenger...

Cleaned up and aerosol etch to preserve it then done, pleased with the nights work, yes it was almost dark by the time I'd finished!

Just some smaller repairs to the front and rear edges of the roof then I'm almost done with the welder....

[KevJTD]

Didn't get up to the car last week as work got in the way again

Today though I got the car fitted up with suspension all round ready for it to go up to the unit soon, when a slot becomes available at the unit I hope to at least get the shell painted before the year is out.

Now it is back on the ground I can reach the top edge of the roof where the rusty scabs inevitably turned into a rusty hole....

A couple of patches made up and solid again.

Hoping next week the move will happen....it's been far too long sat in Jims' shed that we knocked up to do the "quick" welding!

[junior]

Its getting there though. Good to see it on wheels. Well done.

[alfadave]

How did Lancia manage to build a car that rusted through at the roof.
Something to do with sunroof drain holes perhaps?

[Kegsti66]

Excellent work done there Kev.
As said, good to see her on the suspension. Great progress.

[Veesix75]

Great progress.

Is it staying Red when you paint it ?

[Veesix75]

Forgot to add, when you get that spray gun out I have some fibre glass wings to drop off (sud).

[KevJTD]

Yes, been a bit of a long winding road but at last it will take a step forward to being done. Must admit there were times when it felt like it would forever slip down the list of jobs to do but it's climbing back up now.
Been down to Jims tonight to fit the rear doors and back bumper ready for the move, although it is great to have it so close to home rather than the half hour plus ride the unit is from home but I won't miss the intense heat in the greenhouse!

I'll be up at the unit Saturday afternoon/evening Tim and towards the end of next week for a few days if you are passing....

[Veesix75]

Racing at Croft this weeekend, it’s the nostalgia event.

[KevJTD]

No problem mate, we'll catch up soon. Remember going to that nostalgia weekend a few years back....same year I got the integrale and sold the S1 Sud....


Not anything new to photograph, but I did anyway!

A long way off being complete again but the illusion is there

[Veesix75]

Pshycological step forward can be as important as a real one......once it’s painted even more so.

[KevJTD]

Had a surprise 'phone call Tuesday night, I'd won 2 awards at the Lancia club AGM!
Didn't know I was up for any..

[Kegsti66]

Excellent news, nice one mate.
We heard today, we may be doing a second Flaminia Zagato for one of our customers.
Did you get the photo I sent you by text, the other week?

[KevJTD]

Didn't mate, had a spell without a mobile recently due to another screen failure.....

[Kegsti66]

I will try it again.
It turned up at my trimmer friend's unit.

[KevJTD]

The last few days have been spent moving stuff around, the integrale into my old unit that we will now use for welding/painting despite having a much bigger unit to hand.
This is because to segregate a useable size in the big unit would compromise our space and flexibility of use for the big one, both John and myself sharing the unit have different cars in and out, John more so than me. To separate an area for painting etc would lose us space and potentially create problems with contamination especially as John's cars are in good order and not waiting for stuff to be done!
If it was just my unit then I'd keep it all together but it's not, so we won't

It is nice to get back into the small unit again though, a few cars have been done in there in the past.
I always wanted to get better lights in there though, it just had 3 hanging from the roof, not ideal for painting!


Some previously donated new units by Richard and Shrew have been fitted up and wired in by yours trly….so far so good!


Extractor hung back up and hole knocked back in wall for it, I am going to try and get some more suction pipe so it draws from differing areas to hopefully cut out a little more of the overspray fallout. The fan has terrific suction but at the back of the unit it struggles to pull the spray from the front, a couple of pipes mounted high up down each side should help.

I'll probably get some white paint of some sort to do the walls, should help it brighten up some more.

The compressor I've put in the little store room this time, gains a little more space and also helps it breathe clean air when spraying.

Nice to get the integrale in there....

[Kegsti66]

Didn't realise you still had the other unit Kev.
It makes sense, to split the messy work from the cleaner stuff. We have the same problem at work. Paint prep is filthy and dust gets everywhere.
Lancia looks good sitting in there, a nice space.

[Veesix75]

I remember helping you fit the sprint back up in there. It’s bigger than it looks that unit, the sud and 145 went in easy enough

[KevJTD]

I had some crazy notion that with a bit of a push I may get the car in primer this week....

Trouble is I'd completely forgotten about the front wings!


A good while back I'd bought a pair of good used wings cheap, well I thought they were a good pair...


Passenger side was quite creased along the back edge where it meets the door, I managed to get it fairly straight but the fit was still a bit off and it needed the arch repairing anyway. Decided I may as well use the original passenger one which fitted nicely and only really needed slightly more rust repairs..


Wing had had a previous repair using rivets, aluminium foil and fibre-glass....

Chopped out ready for a new plate to be welded in, this I'd already mostly made at this point.

Tacked into place

This patch had curves in all directions and folds that needed to be anything but straight, wasn't perfect but close enough.

[KevJTD]

The lower section of the arch had some heavy rust pitting on the inside, nothing breaking through on the outside but worth the effort to chop out at this stage...

Butt welded repair again so small wide clamps to hold in place. You have to take greater care cutting and shaping the repairs this way but it pays off in the end.

Welded in and smoothed off, this one went in well so will need minimal filler.

The bottom edge where it will sit behind the sill cover was too rough to save so a new one made up and welded on

This part though it sits behind the sill cover you do have to make sure it sits at the right angle to follow the sill cover...

[KevJTD]

The "new" drivers side wing wasn't half as bad, apart from a few dents it just needed the same repairs to the bottom edge that sits behind the sill cover..

The rear edge of the roof plus a bit on the front edge of the roof just need repairs now then the repairs with the welder are hopefully done.....saying that though, I did spot a bit on one front door tonight....haven't looked too hard at the front doors yet either...or the hatch! Oh yes, I remember now, that needs repairs!!!!

[Alfastrut]

I'm well impressed!!!

[KevJTD]

I'm well impressed!!!

Cheers mate, it's a tedious task but nice to know it is appreciated.

[KevJTD]

Didn't do anything to the car today, well nothing but take a couple of trim bits off.
Had the day set aside to paint the workshop walls to make the most of the new lights so didn't think making a load of dust was a good diea!

Got the staff in for the job

Mrs much better at this sort of painting than me