And the side skirts are off...

[KevJTD]

so despite the "no rush" instructions and me having a fairly busy week lined up the prospect of Britain's got talent or a go at the wing then it was an easy choice

first job is to make a template of the curvature of the part to be repaired, so accuracy of the repair can be checked.
I used a piece of scrap plywood

the flange is obviously well gone but the folded edge on the other side appeared ok, but what could be hiding under there? only way to find out is to fold it open

although the surface had corrosion it was solid underneath the staining, more than good enough to last another 20 years.

a coat of zinc etch primer and the edge got folded down again

checking alignment using the template made earlier

as this edge is declared fit for purpose it meant that the repair section wouldn't need to go all the way across, indeed the wing mounting bolt hole could be kept

[Kegsti66]

Nice one Kev............now go to bed !!

[Alfasixnut]

Well Britain's Got Talent were obviously not filming at Kevs as it was no where as interesting as Kevs wing job......

[Sud 145]

Don't know if they do these in a larger size but old skool.http://www.amazon.com/General-Tools-Con ... B00004T7RA

[KevJTD]

the contour gauge is a useful tool tony but for a more permanent check system that's not susceptible to being knocked out of line a wooden or metal template is more accurate
useful for a quick check though

[NUALFAMAN]

Well thanks Kev for the quickness on this one, and again great detail of the work done.
Really there is no rush but great to see the progress.
So with all the suspension woes out of the way, inner wings, and the underside of the car all but sorted, brakes still need to go back on, its was on to the body work.

So I too have been doing bits and pieces this week like stripping all the interior, removing all the doors and trim (yes hatch is still attached), repairing the side skirts at last. (been bugging me every time I went in the garage).

From this

Add a little plastic and epoxy resin

To this, almost ready for a coat of undercoat.

Got a few bits of the plastic parts undercoated, mirrors, grill etc,
So next stage is getting panels ready for painting one at a time, but this will be at a very steady pace as and when time permits.

[KevJTD]

nice work on the skirts mate, coming together nicely



made up a repair section for the bottom of the wing, folded the flange over in my shrinker/stretcher which seems to work well, decent control over curvature

was gonna weld it in where my integrale is but the welder gas was playing me up...for the last time. never again will I buy a disposable bottle

mig welded it all in (still gotta practice a bit with the tig before trusting it) then ground the excess weld off

underside joggled edge

cleaned up and etch primed so it'll stay fresh and not start to rust already!

[rsfruitbat]

Brilliant work as always Kev.

rsfruitbat

[KevJTD]

know Paul has done more work on the car yet to post, and I've been slacking off with getting his doors done as i'm busy spinning plates as usual..

had to move the 2 doors in the shed tonight to find the 'grale radiator for the cross-member alignment

whilst I had moved them and having a half hour to spare I thought i'd have a look at one

the rear door has a smallish section of corrosion at the bottom of the front edge. no holes in it but not worth saving

method for peeling off the skin is to grind down the edge with a flap wheel on the grinder so it peels the skin off the central frame

central lip turns out to be in decent shape with a grind back

outer face likewise

I've given it a coat of weld through zinc rich primer so protect it until I get some time to make a repair piece but this ones pretty straight forward.

at least I've made a start.....

[NUALFAMAN]

Cheers Kev. Looks simple when you do it.
And yes I have got quite a bit done, in the pockets of time that work and family allows, of late. All the removed panels (other than the 2 doors and wing you have) bumpers and colour coded plastic trims have been flatted and readied for undercoat, wheels stripped and undercoated. A few of bits cleaned and refurbished ready for when it goes back together.
I will upload some pics soon, Olympic cycling on in a mo so that's my nights viewing sorted.

[KevJTD]

had a week off with family hols down to Cornwall, all very relaxing and that, but doesn't get any work done....know Paul needs the doors done sooner rather than later and I've had them for a while now so with enough sitting around doing nothing I set about finishing off the rear one..

the first task was to make up a repair patch for the hole at the door bottom that I cut out a while back, usual process that I follow, folded edges to create the edges plus a joggled edge to feed under the original door skin.

a layer of seam sealer was added to form a bond to the inner fold plus it will stop moisture falling down into the gap once the work is done, more product will be added but helps to get ahead of the game

takes an age to weld in, small tacks to avoid distortion

underside turned out ok to pretty well match the original lines..

the other piece that needed repairing on this door was where the front corner of the door card would go, pitted but not really holed, but why not just cut it out....

so a patch was made up to fit and hole cut to suit, complete with the little dimple, don't know if it needs it but it's got it back

once ground down it's blended in decently enough

will aim on getting the other door done this week, need to clear some backlog of jobs

[KevJTD]

the passenger front door we knew had a hole at the bottom front edge, it'd been there for some time and as we know, rust holes rarely get smaller!

once the outer skin was off the bottom edge was just as good as the other door so no repairs needed to the underside
patch was a bit more tricky than it seemed to be, no front edge to make made it easier working in one plane but it had to be cut above the crease line and having the pre folded bottom lip for alignment made it tricky to get in place, hence the larger cut outs near the bottom which got folded back down once in position

all welded down in position

[KevJTD]

2 other sections needed repairs on the moulding recess section

first one turned out ok once sanded and blasted, just a small hole which was simply welded up and ground back

[KevJTD]

the one next to it though was too big to simply weld up!

[KevJTD]

so a suitable plate was made up to fit from behind without encroaching onto the outer skin surface itself

[KevJTD]

all welded in and ground back

[KevJTD]

coat or two of zinc rich primer will protect it all until the proper prep is done

[KevJTD]

although it hasn't been updated since august last year!! there has been progress for paul and the 33.

he's been busy stripping it all down and sorting all the knocks and scrapes out to such good effect that it was ready to come up to the workshop today in preparation for some fresh paint to go on next week...

it will be a proper job in as far as door shuts etc will be done so means everything needs to come off, which rapidly filled up my little shop!

have since has a rethink on where stuff will go so with a little re-positing of the car I should be able to get the rear doors in position for painting too

as most of you know there is also a huge amount of plastic and rubber items that need painting like the bumpers, side skirts and rear spoiler let alone some smaller items, these i'll do after the metal parts as space is an issue plus there will be plastic additives in the paint & primer to keep it flexible for them

paul and his dad have done a great job on the car, mine will be the easier task of priming and painting it all. the glory leg!

the car is remarkably solid for a 25 year old, let alone an Alfa! still on original sills with not a hint of problems, pillars etc in exceptional condition, even the lower rear panel is complete!

I've devised a plan for hanging the wings which will allow the innards to be painted plus the A pillar without skimping on coverage

hanging them on backwards will let me get easy access to the rear edge where it tucks behind the door plus still be able to paint the pillar itself

i'll have a rejig on Saturday which if I've thought about it right on the way home should allow space for the rear doors to hang in a paintable position also....

[Johnboy]

Looking forward to seeing this . Amazing how quickly the work shop fills up ah .

[KevJTD]

made a start this afternoon, shell pretty much masked up ready, bonnet and hatch undersides ready for etch which I've now done, a few other bits and bobs but tomorrow i'll get some primer all over it

[Johnboy]

Busy weekend chap . Good luck tomorrow

[Kegsti66]

Cracking pace , as usual Kev.

[KevJTD]

all the hard work has been done before I got it guys, I just get the glory leg

this coming week off work so should be able to make some progress

'tis a busy time planned though JB, sacrificing my Sunday to hopefully have Wednesday off

[KevJTD]

a longer day than i'd planned, as these things always seem to end up being.

first job was to stoneguard the underside of the front wings so it had chance to harden off for later on

every surface had a going over with a 320 grit paper or scotch pad as needed, then of course it all needed de-greasing with panel wipe & tack rags....that took care of a good few hours!

eventually though it was ready for some etch primer, which is just a thin primer designed to aid adhesion so is pretty see through

the long process of the filler primer produces a nice thick layer that can be flatted back to fill in any nasties

which then got a guide coat of matt black

as I've this week off work i'll be down there tomorrow to carry on with things...

[NUALFAMAN]

Wow Kev that looks like it's coming on a treat, can't wait to see it later this week.

[KevJTD]

yes, it went well mate.
no issues with reactions or anything which is great.
bit tight for space though!

[Johnboy]

All about the prep what etch do you use ?

[KevJTD]

All about the prep what etch do you use ?

dunno what brand it is mate, just a 2 pack etch that fishers sell me...

[Johnboy]

No worries. Just interested what people use .

[KevJTD]

first job this morning was to start flatting off the primer, starting with the roof which had some previous dents. they looked ok but once block sanded the shallow dents became clear, still some work to do

could have tried more filler primer and sanding which eventually would have filled them in but a thin skim of filler sounded more sensible and sure to work

reapplied the etch and then a good few coats of filler primer so i'll have something to sand back

then spent the next never ending hours of sanding the rest back without any further real issue

although sara cox and her 80's danceathon kept me going I gave up the battle after 8pm, quite dusty too it seemed!

tomorrow with some help from paul we should be able to do the final sanding, clean everything down then re-mask it all before getting to put some red on....