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'88 400R XE'd Project


mantadoc
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Didn't realise i hadn't this in the projects section-not that i've too much progress to show but progress all the same[;)]

New wing mount welded in.....

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Rotten Headlight.....

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Repaired......

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Sill almost ready for welding.....

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Next task is to tackle this bad boy![V]

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Not looking forward to that one-anyone any tips on welding in a complete rear panel?[xx(]

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OMOC 6052

The home of OMOC on the island....

http://www.vxopel.com

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  • 1 year later...

Just a bit of an update. Progress has been slow with one thing and another but do it once and do it right is my motto! No rush DSC02855-Copy.jpg

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Thought i only had to do the DS sill but the PS one needed doing as well Cut out the old sill/rust and zinc primed as best i could on the inner sill.....

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Then done the same to the new sill and tacked her in.....

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Finished welding in both sills and cleaned up the welds with a die grinder to get a good finish (even though there going to be covered with 400 skirts! ).....

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Next up were the usual A pillar/inner wing repairs......

Out with the old.......

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.....and in with the new......

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Welded up.....

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Drivers side......

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I finally managed to track down a complete 4 slot panel and welded it in....

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Funny part was i welded it in even though it needs to be cut out again! The reason is i will be fitting a lamp pod so the 4 slot section will be cut out to accomodate that but i needed the bits that go over the headlights so i had to find a complete one to weld in to make sure the pieces over the headlights were exactly where they should be. Needless to say i didn't weld it around the 4 slot part anywhere! Cutting one of them out was enough-horrible job

Next up was this bad boy!......

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I tacked 2 braces across between the quarter panels before cutting anything to make sure everything stayed where it should and then got the grinder warmed up!....

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Truth be told it took damn all cutting for that to come out! It was in a terrible state! The way i cut it was (and i would reccomend to anyone doing this)-was to cut it down along both joints but staying about 10mm the inner side of the joint just to make sure you don't cut too much. Then get a sanding disc in the grinder and sand back towards the joint until you meet the face of the lip you need to weld to on the quarter panel. Don't take a chance by just putting the disc right in the joint and cutting cos you will cut the lip you need to weld to!

Spare wheel well had a hole in it as well but i never really liked the way the well sticks down under the car so much so i planned on getting rid of it anyway.....

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I welded in a good strong plate in place of the wheel well. I also had to cut about 2" from the bottom of the quarter panel as it was shot as well....

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Had to do the same the other side. Piece welded back in......

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The back really was in a terrible state and nearly got the better of me several evenings! The lips on both quarters that you weld the new rear panel to were very bad as well but i finally decided they would need replacing. I set about cutting off the old bits and making templates and welding back in new ones-tricky work!

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I used the tig welder to weld these because i wanted to leave them as neat as i could. If i was left with big blobs of weld from the mig welder to sand back it would be very easy to make a mess of this joint which would result in a very bad fitting rear panel! They came out ok though scared.gif A couple of mm out anywhere and i'd be back to square one (and to the nuthouse!) It went well though-RESULT!!.....

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I had also ordered 2 new corner pieces from dr. Manta and had to fit these as well. At this stage i think i was using about 20 vice grips to hold everything together! Got new corner pieces welded in ok though...

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She was coming together nicely joy.gif ......

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The new panel was actually a Cavalier rear panel-the only difference being that there were a few extra holes in the back of it to hold the Vauxhall lettering. Instead of welding up all of these individually and warping the panel into sh**e! i tacked a strip along the back of them so they could be filled with epoxy at a later date....

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I ran the welder into the corner of the shed at this point and had a stern word with it basically telling it i never wanted to see it again! grin.gif

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Next up was to try and get the underneath sorted. So i made a rain coat for the car and wheeled her outside for a hosing down around the arches.....

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That was a waste of half a day cos the pressure washer didn't even tickle the sh**e thats up in those arches!

Got her back inside though and rounded up a bit of help to leave it in a workable position. This was what faced me........

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Ah well nothing for it only a vast selection of wire brushes and lots of elbow grease. This was without doubt the dirtiest messiest job i ever done! I was taking it back to bare metal so all the underseal had to come off and the only way is with a wire brush on the grinder-trust me i tried everything! When your taking it off the underseal turns into little fine threads of rubber/gunk and go EVERYWHERE! Nothing for it only cover up and get on with it

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Along the way i came across some tin worm in the chassis leg so i had to coax the welder out of the corner again!

I peeled back the outer skin of the chassis leg and cut it away...

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Then i cleaned up the inner skin (which was ok-phew!) and lashed on zinc primer....

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I then folded up a channel sction to suit and split it down the centre to make 2 angle pieces out of it. Why?...if i had just welded the channel section over it i wouldn't be able to see where the hole for the crossmember struts was and would only be guessing with measurements so i welded one piece of the angle on top and then ran the drill through from the bottom through the existing hole in the inner skin. I then welded the bottom piece of the angle on and ran the drill through from the top through the hole i was after making. Then i just welded along where the 2 angles met and cleaned it off. Make any sense? Probably not!

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I sold the welder this time to make sure i wouldn't see it again! grin.gif

I eventually got her back to bare metal....

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This is what arches look like under all that gunk!....

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I then went along and brused zinc primer into ALL the joints and any of the bad surface rust areas. I followed then with a bead of U-POL Tiger Seal again in every joint and crevace.....

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I then went over all the joints and seams with 2 coats of seam sealer. I think it's airtight at this stage! Feck it at least it'll keep the tin worm at bay for another few years.

This is basically where i'm at at the minute. I just need to round up some help over the next few days to put the car on the other side to get at the other 2 arches and then 2 pac prime the whole underneath.

:thumbup

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The Pics are spot on, I really should take more photos so I can have a record of this sort of thing with the cars i do.

The underseal is one of the worst aspects of Manta restoration, I have spent days and days making stringy webs of mastic with a cup brush on a grinder !! Then having to go over it all again with a smaller wire brush to get the last of it off. Nasty.

Good work fella, keep us updated.

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Cheers for the comments lads It really is a horrible job and to be honest at times,while stripping the underseal from the arches only to end up puttin more back in at a later stage, i did think at times 'am i f***ing mad!? But glad it's done now and i know it's all solid underneath at least :thumbup

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  • 4 weeks later...

Thats exactly how i fixed my chassis leg, the box inside seemed very strong still. Only difference was i had to go further up and made a plate for each side then welded a seam to the inner box before folding a plate for the underside to complete the new box.

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  • 2 months later...

Some of the pics from above seem to have disappeared with the changeover but this is a quick re-cap anyway. I'm not one for gabbling on so i'll just post up the pics :P .........

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A coat of zinc primer,2 pac primer,2 coats of white underseal and a coat of 2 pac white later.......

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Boot sanded and primed.......

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Spent a few days rubbing down the engine bay to prep for paint.....

Before....

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After...

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It doesn't look much different but the skin on my knuckles would argue different! :D

I just mocked up the front end then to see how it was shaping up.....

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Still a lot of work but it's the closest it's looked to a Manta in about 3 years!

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  • 1 month later...

Love watching this take shape and its ben an inspiration to get mine done and ready for paint.

We have been kinda 2 steps behind you so the pics have been a great help.

Cant wait to see it finished

Suz n Jay

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