Club 80-90 Forums

well...
a big box arrived

but back to more mundane things,
when making steps yourself rather than try to make it out of one piece which would seem simpler, try this way, the bonus is replicating OE and its just well nicer.
I use 16g (1.5 mm) for these

copied directly from the item cut off

take your time to get the fit correct and here i just tack them , ok im using gas but mig is fine

here ive deliberately ran the weld hot and spread it so basically a weld pool appx 4-5mm wide , this way there is full penetration and the weld is low and flush so to speak with the parent metal which in turn means lerss work with a flap wheel,i normally just run a disc over the underside to tidy it but can also weld the underside if it needs to be as some folk have requested then its a near invisible join.

inner done

keep checking its level

...

...
old and 1/2 of new

onwards
mm

Well,steps
outer made and fitted as per OE

...

a quick puddle weld the centers then a run over with a disc and they will be flat which is one of the beauties of butt welding
as so

which leaves the centre like this

...

i usually run a line of braze down these prior to painting and then a step treatment after unless OE mats are specified

then a quick sand off

one of the undersides prior to treating

primer etc

new top panel going on, note im brazing the inner tops as per OE

if you lift your screen seal up here you will see it is solid with no visisble seam (unless its been played with)

i drop the dashes out to enable me to get to the rear of these seams to weld them ,note arrows , though some folk do seem to prefere to tack them on the outside and grind the seam back in

on the n/s (lhd) i cannot reach the very top without an excessive amount of cable etc removal

so i pre heat the seam and run a little brass down it to secure the join

like wise i also run a a little in the front here on both sides

and then recut the start of the seam and seam sealer like the rest
here it is dosed in product

...

inside

onwards
mm

looks great Mike,as usual

Well prior to refitting the dash ,time to dose it

dynax
here you can see where its been applied behind the air intake duct

dash is now back in
happy new year
mm

Well.
lower front....
but first discovered this

easy fix now
no point even trying to blast the old as it was completely shot so

so ive rolled a curve into the 2mm strip to let it in

migged the rear in flush

not neat but quick so easy to sand flat, the front seam i wont mig as its harder to get to with a disc so will gas it

the tacks are purely to hold it in place and will be removed
the nsf corner i wasnt happy with so have removed it to remake , also the defo section under here was too far gone to save in-situ
...

mm

well..
lower front defo section now added, the ugly bleb is the mig tack but the rest is cvlean enough for a light sand

all done,

the NS corner is the same as the OS so its easiest to cut it of to make good underneath, also can fabricate a new lipp/lower section and re-attach them

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vactan first in this case

also cleaned up the upper X member

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...

now to prep the evil lower front so it fits something like nature intended....
mm

Well
Earth crown fixed for good
Stainless screw tagged on and soldered terminal.....done it this way so access is easy from underside once fp is on

marks show extent of new metal

had to recurve it but these are about as good as they get so no point moaning and at least the steel is a reasonable gauge

mm

The B*llox, as usual.

Great work

Well
forced it into position , literally and spotted it down before it had a change of mind

nice to know its new metal onto new metal, again dividers are usefull, easier to run them then along an edge rather than forever out with a tape

done

tops are done but picks tomoz as pee bucket not playing
mm

well,
lower front corners which i cut of earlier to get to the defo' section needed new lips .......so

so this is the OS

and NS

they all fit but need a bit of clamping and pushuing about

.....

welded in place and access to the inner lip where it joins the lower front is simple through the flasher hole

ive choosen to braze the ends as i feel its the best way

this side done, ive also brazed the top join on its return as i find this a nice permanent way to achieve the join

the NS is a repeat

same

thren loads of product dropped into the seam

ditto

and the lower seam as well. all these spots will be ground off but its good to protect stuff from the beginning

front finnished and it will only require a smear of filler over the odd weld
mm

well
off to paint in 2 weeks so rear bits to attend to

as this is whats inside

it gets worse before better

...

and the lower rear corner as usual its worse than first glance so nothing new here

all the air inlet gear had to come out of course , some work needed to that but more shortly

these airbox mounts I will have to change as its not a very nice or secure way to have it installed

also a touch of restriction in here.........................

no point leaving any of this

just the edge here as usual

never looks quite so bad from inside

but

....
mm

Getting there looking good.

well
bit more cutting back then first element of the base welded in, next i cut the rusty lip of the lower corner and here its tacked in place

I've run the first of two beads down the join, i have also run as bead furthger up to compensate for past grinding operations and it will give me meat to sand back to a nice edge profile

inside

wheel side, weld could be neater but is fine for the location

...

quick coat of product

will fabricate a lower part of the rear 1/4 panal tomoz and then fit the very lower panal
mm

well
new lower made and fitted and a small lip to secure it at the rear

..
minimal filler

lines up good enough after a twist here and there

As per my previous threads I dont much like pattern panels with the exception of a few, but at last we have decent rear arches so can now cut down the grotty klockers and lip them and use as this

they dont match perfectly but

will suffice

...

onwards
mm