Polar White and Rust - a restoration epic, can it even be done?

IanMc · April 26, 2018

Just now, Snowy said:

Just thought I'd add, only because you said you'd finished the front suspension, that you do know you'll have to readjust the front wheel bearings after your first day of driving?

It's rare to get new bearings right first time as they will bed in.

I hadn't remembered that Snowy, sincere thanks for the reminder!

The last time I did a wheel bearing set on one of these was about 1988 lol

Thanks again matey

IanMc · April 26, 2018

Couple of tiny jobs completed tonight:

1) While I was looking for something else entirely, I found my tub of Stainless fasteners:

Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member.

2) Fitted the new coolant temperature sensor that arrived today:

Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member.

As soon as I had fitted that I could hear Julian behind me saying "clean that thermostat housing up while you are in there doing the carb" - he's right of course and I will...

Have a good evening eveyone.

IanMc · April 26, 2018

Blimey just realised that I have been at this project for just over 7 months - where has the time gone?!

IanMc · April 28, 2018

With a few spare minutes this morning, I decided to quickly have a go at polishing the carb.

I found my Dremmel and simply using a small wire brush attachment (no metal polish at all - run out!) it went from this:

Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member.

to this in about 30 minutes

Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member.

Quite a big difference already. Once I have got hold of some more Autosol, it should make it look a bit better still.

With the wind in my sails, I decided to take the shabby looking thermostat housing as well. This went from this:

Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member.

to this in about five minutes...

Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member.

Have a good weekend everyone.

robah · April 28, 2018

On ‎26‎/‎04‎/‎2018 at 22:47, IanMc said:

Blimey just realised that I have been at this project for just over 7 months - where has the time gone?!

At least you can look back on it via this thread I wish I had the memory and patience to photograph everything and write about it as I am doing it. I start off with good intensions but forget after a few hours/days then give up.

Great read keep it flowing, the light at the end of the tunnel must be very bright now.

IanMc · April 28, 2018

10 minutes ago, robah said:

At least you can look back on it via this thread I wish I had the memory and patience to photograph everything and write about it as I am doing it. I start off with good intensions but forget after a few hours/days then give up.

Great read keep it flowing, the light at the end of the tunnel must be very bright now.

I know what you mean about remembering to do it, it was tough remembering at first. I have kind of got into the habit of it now though, its almost part of the ritual: photos before, do the job, then photos afterwards.

Thanks for the kind words, the light is on - but the bodywork is casting a long shadow over it at the moment. We are nearly at that moment. One of the other jobs on my list this weekend is to remove one of the worst parts: the NSF wing...

With that in mind, I have just finished a couple of minor preparatory jobs:

1) removed the front spoiler

2) removed the 'hockey stick' chrome trim pieces under the front bumper/indicators. They might be peculiar to the Cav - anyone know?

Cheers for now.

IanMc · April 28, 2018

This afternoon's mission has been accomplished, the NSF wing is off....

The good news is that the top mounting rail is in great shape, as is the 'A' pillar. The bad news is (as I already knew is that the wing itself is in a real state, as is the bulhead to floor area.

This will be a good test of my fabrication and welding skills - wish me luck!

Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member.

Yeah of course I could just get a replacement wing, but what am I going to learn by doing that? You can remind me of those words when it all goes pear shaped

Cheers all.

bris jas · April 28, 2018

Good luck with the fabrication, like you rightly mentioned the more you do yourself the more your learn, take a close look at the bottom hinge on the pillar, can't quiet make out but is there a crack? Hopefully not but get someone to rock the door up and down while you take a close look at the hinge just to be on the safe side.

Headlamp panel doesn't look to bad either!

cam.in.head · April 28, 2018

Hi ian. Concentrating on that one corner of the car first you will pretty much always find corrosion on the bottom of the a panel side section where it meets the front footwell and lower piece right up to the jacking point.common areas on all b series cars.there may be some replica panels about but theyre not too difficult to make up anyway.

check the chassis section/swan neck thoroughly too as they are multilayered and nearly always showing signs of either bad corrosion, or top layer swelling or covered with previous bad repair patches( around the bolt area and under and round the inside especially).

if you find that they are good with only minimal rust now is the time to remove any bad bits and repair now as they WILL get worse. Repair as required and make sure they are well protected afterwards with the sealant/paint/rustproofing of your personal choice.

hinges are welded further into the panel and the a pillar wraps over them .they can also attract rust.

basically everywhere you now see has been known to rust on these cars,a pillar,sides,jacking point,floor,chassis legs,inner wing tops,inner wing fronts around headlamps,front piece section holding inicator lamp,front valance and wing mounting tabs,and lastly but not least the battery tray.

the outer wing is usually the last thing to worry about as years ago they could be had new/pattern for £27.but now its either stupid prices new ,sh replacement with some work or a repair on your existing one.

most owners on here who have worked on these cars for many years myself included will have repaired all these areas. Its all doable with time and patience.hopefully yours will not have all the aforementioned rusty bits but unless you arevery lucky it will have some.

Protect well afterwards to prevent future problems.

Cheers ian . Happy tinkering mate

IanMc · April 28, 2018

Thanks for the pointers, help and advice Gents, much appreciated. Tomorrow I will start to remove all the old underseal from the affected areas and see exactly what we have to deal with...

Julian · April 28, 2018

On 4/26/2018 at 19:57, IanMc said:

Couple of tiny jobs completed tonight:

1) While I was looking for something else entirely, I found my tub of Stainless fasteners:

Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member.

2) Fitted the new coolant temperature sensor that arrived today:

Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member.

As soon as I had fitted that I could hear Julian behind me saying "clean that thermostat housing up while you are in there doing the carb" - he's right of course and I will...

Have a good evening eveyone.

You must admit though Ian, it is well worth it, looks so much better, well worth that little bit extra elbow grease. just the same when you look at a woman it's usually the first glance that will decide if you are going to take further interest!!!

IanMc · April 28, 2018

2 hours ago, Julian said:

You must admit though Ian, it is well worth it, looks so much better, well worth that little bit extra elbow grease. just the same when you look at a woman it's usually the first glance that will decide if you are going to take further interest!!!

Yes Sir, you are correct - thanks again for being brave enough to mention it.

IanMc · April 29, 2018

Early start today. I stuck a small wire wheel on the end of my power drill and set to work.

Before:

Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member.

And after an hour:

Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member.

Interestingly, the 'A' post panel looks to be original:

Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member.

The chassis rail near the bolt is rusting and will certainly need attention, help and advice needed here please guys!

However, the unexpected good news is that the jacking point is actually solid, something I definitely wasn't expecting. So basically its the flooring either side of the jacking point and the corner piece that comes around to the 'A' post that are the worst bit.

To be honest, I expected far worse than that so bizarrely I am quite pleased and positive.

Have a good day all.

Mike. · April 29, 2018

It’s always a boost to morale when the bodywork is in better condition than expected.

im no expert I have only gained experience along the way with my restoration ( still ongoing ) when I tackled the rusty areas I never bared a lot of areas at once, just the area I was intending to work on, heat in the garage during the day and cold at night encourages rust on exposed metal the next day. I would remove the passenger door and tackle the inner wheel well, battery tray area, A post section and door post all in one before going on to the inner wing beside the front lights, for example, Rust is very hard to get rid of, in my experience a wire brush on a drill does not have enough power, to get to good fresh metal you need to use a twisted knot wire brush on a grinder, you get more rotation speed and it takes no prisoners, it’s either rusty and goes through or good metal and leaves it nice and clean, Once you have found the good metal cut all the rusty areas back to the good metal. The inner wheel arch sections are easy to form patches in ( remember to remove your carpets first before welding ) the bottom of your door pillar is an easy patch also. I purchased the A panel repair sections from Retropower these were again straight forward to do but I believe you are going to tackle this yourself. Everything you achieve in a day spray with zink primer to protect. It will probably amaze you how much sheet metal you actually use, even just forming small patches it soon disappears. A fire extinguisher in the area would be an advantage as the seam sealer on panel joints, wiring looms etc like to ignite. Protect any remaining trim, dash, plastics, glass and upholstery as cutting, grinding and welding produces abrasive dust, gets everywhere and can cause damage.

Good luck with the welding!

cam.in.head · April 29, 2018

When the cars get to this age thay will all be in various states of corrosion depending on the lives they have lived. When only a few years old it was not uncommon to see rusted out wing tops and the chassis rails starting to go.

to repair yours depends on its state at the moment. If i were you i would remove the chassis bolt(it may well be stuck!)and if the corrosion is on the inner piece of chassis i would remove that lower bracing arm completely for much better access.its then a case of removing the outer skin depending on its severity by your method of choice.chisel or small grinder with cutting disc would be my way.then with outer skin removed where necessary you can see whats left of the inner reinforcing section.you may find that its gone or starting to go on top too inside the car under the black soundproofing.they usually do but again it depends how your car has survived the years.

its good that the jacking point is ok on yours as they usually rot on its middle and side bits as well as on top into the car .

it sounds like yours is not too bad but i cant see your pictures anyway !.

IanMc · April 29, 2018

As always, thanks for all your input chaps - this forum is fantastic.

For my recent ‘significant Birthday’ I got a small bundle of Amazon vouchers, some of which I used to buy a new auto-darkening welding helmet, fire extinguisher and welding blanket. Obviously I knew this part of the project was coming along, so thought I would be prepared.

I have a contact who owns his own Engineering machine shop, so he has kindly sourced some sheet Steel for me. Currently I have four pieces, each cut into 1000 x 500 mm rectangles. My high school maths is usually quite good, but as you say, who knows what I might find along the fabrication road.

Cheers lads.

IanMc · April 29, 2018

Just spent a few minutes peeling the carpet back and removing some of the sound deadening material - this is what we see from inside:

Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member.

Always take the positives - it could have been worse

®evo03 · April 29, 2018

Cereal boxes are great for forming templates, clean the area, wire brush, knotted grinder wheel, right back to your clean metal. Before you cut your rusty metal out, see if you can lay down some 2 inch masking tape. This is almost like doing a wax crayon rubbing, i use a permanent marker felt tip, to highlight any high or low points.

Then cut the hole, i try and keep this hole square, easier to shape to rightangles. Use the cerealbox cardboard to get a very accurate patch, transfer to your new metal. use your masking tape template to transfer any shapes.

i usually weld flush, small magnets are useful, seam welded, and both sides of patch if manageable, zinc primer reverse of patch before welding, let harden for a few hours. Oil is present on new tin, remove this. Also dont use carb or brake cleaner, health reasons.

Do some experiments with new clean metal, i couldnt believe the first time i used a sanding pad to really polish the metal edges before welding, what a difference! Set your mig, know your two setting, maximum penetration, and seam welding 2mm tin.

The way i look at it the better penetration, the less cleaning you have to do afterwards, and the bigger the patch, if you make use of spotwelds, and original manufacturers methods, the better it will be, ie less weld cleanups.

I did find side panels cut from vans, Toyotas or Citroen are alot thicker metal, a bit more work to remove and clean paint, but better for areas you need or want to add strength too or making brackets. New sheet metal is easier to shape.

Majority of work, is cutting, shaping and refining new patches, welding only makes up a small part,

Good luck with your mig skills, great job on the carb, dremel now added to shopping list.

Oh to remove that bolt in swanneck, remove nut, use a rag soaked in parafin, small piece, wrapped on threads. I use a syringe to soak daily.

Oh becareful, if welding grinding, cutting this area. Fill a couple of trigger spray household plastic bottles with water, great for cooling welds, and hard to reach areas, a few wet rags also. I never weld with any interior in car, its always stripped out! If you have space to store itget it out of there, cardboard protects glass! Ps im not a welder, just doing it 20 yrs.

Edited April 29, 2018 by ®evo03

H-400 · April 29, 2018

Hello Ian, good luck with the welding etc...

I did this a few weeks back, together with my son:

Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member.

not that difficult and gives you a lot of space to work!

Succes!

®evo03 · April 29, 2018

Steering wheel on wrong side!

Quote

IanMc · April 29, 2018

2 hours ago, ®evo03 said:

Cereal boxes are great for forming templates, clean the area, wire brush, knotted grinder wheel, right back to your clean metal. Before you cut your rusty metal out, see if you can lay down some 2 inch masking tape. This is almost like doing a wax crayon rubbing, i use a permanent marker felt tip, to highlight any high or low points.

Then cut the hole, i try and keep this hole square, easier to shape to rightangles. Use the cerealbox cardboard to get a very accurate patch, transfer to your new metal. use your masking tape template to transfer any shapes.

i usually weld flush, small magnets are useful, seam welded, and both sides of patch if manageable, zinc primer reverse of patch before welding, let harden for a few hours. Oil is present on new tin, remove this. Also dont use carb or brake cleaner, health reasons.

Do some experiments with new clean metal, i couldnt believe the first time i used a sanding pad to really polish the metal edges before welding, what a difference! Set your mig, know your two setting, maximum penetration, and seam welding 2mm tin.

The way i look at it the better penetration, the less cleaning you have to do afterwards, and the bigger the patch, if you make use of spotwelds, and original manufacturers methods, the better it will be, ie less weld cleanups.

I did find side panels cut from vans, Toyotas or Citroen are alot thicker metal, a bit more work to remove and clean paint, but better for areas you need or want to add strength too or making brackets. New sheet metal is easier to shape.

Majority of work, is cutting, shaping and refining new patches, welding only makes up a small part,

Good luck with your mig skills, great job on the carb, dremel now added to shopping list.

Oh to remove that bolt in swanneck, remove nut, use a rag soaked in parafin, small piece, wrapped on threads. I use a syringe to soak daily.

Oh becareful, if welding grinding, cutting this area. Fill a couple of trigger spray household plastic bottles with water, great for cooling welds, and hard to reach areas, a few wet rags also. I never weld with any interior in car, its always stripped out! If you have space to store itget it out of there, cardboard protects glass! Ps im not a welder, just doing it 20 yrs.

Great tips, thanks mate.

I have a small stockpile of cereal packet cardboard set aside already for templates - worth their weight in gold.

Wish me luck lol

1 hour ago, H-400 said:

Hello Ian, good luck with the welding etc...

I did this a few weeks back, together with my son:

Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member.

not that difficult and gives you a lot of space to work!

Succes!

That’s a great photo Herman, definitely one for the family album.

bris jas · April 29, 2018

I think the guys have covered most things, just one to watch out for is your windscreen. If you are planning on leaving in place make sure you cover it over well.

The last thing you want once the car is finished is to have rust in the glass from grinding and welding sparks, also on the outer front screen this would affect your wipers passing over the screen!

IanMc · April 29, 2018

9 minutes ago, bris jas said:

I think the guys have covered most things, just one to watch out for is your windscreen. If you are planning on leaving in place make sure you cover it over well.

The last thing you want once the car is finished is to have rust in the glass from grinding and welding sparks, also on the outer front screen this would affect your wipers passing over the screen!

Thanks, much appreciated.

I also plan on disconnecting the battery and the alternator - just in case...

Quick update this evening.

Removed the passenger seat and center console to allow the carpet to be cleared away from that area.

This gives a little more space to move of course as well as removing a couple of sources of ignition - plus a clearer view of just what lies ahead - gulp!

Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member.

IanMc · April 30, 2018

The missing piece of my exhaust jigsaw turned up today, happy days

Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member.

The surface rust will get attacked with a wire wheel, then a coating of Silver high temperature paint.

The silencer in this downpipe section means that the car will be back to how it was when I took delivery = 3 silencers.

Edited April 30, 2018 by IanMc

IanMc · April 30, 2018

And a short time later...

Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member.

Sign In

Polar White and Rust - a restoration epic, can it even be done?

Recommended Posts

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Popular Posts

IanMc

IanMc

IanMc

Posted Images

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Join the conversation

Recently Browsing 0 members