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1981 Manta Coupe Project.


Nivlek2525
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  • 3 weeks later...
40 minutes ago, jamie077366 said:

Looks like you’re doing a great job 👍👍

Cheers, much appreciated. I've done a fair bit since but I'm terrible at keeping the posts up to date.

I'll update soon.

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A few jobs done on the driver's side. On the whole it's about the same condition as the passenger side. The back wheel arch is worse but the foot well and A post are better. On the whole not to bad. Mid chassis rails are mint as are the jacking points so can't complain.

A few photos of a hole in the boots before repair.

The cars upside down in the following pictures.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/uBJsnme4BqaVM6BWA

I cut out and replaced the structure that runs up into the boot. Seam welded isn't pretty but its strong and will never be seen. You can also see the small repair to the wheel well. I've tried to keep everything looking original which has meant making lots of small repairs up as the shapes are quite complicated.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/6SWqZKM2xwJ3RbyM8

Then I made a repair panel for the inboard side of the repair above. Joddled/joggled/flanged? The edge and spot-welded in place.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/LtcqccKUagbyimQb9

Everything is plug welded or seam welded in place with zintec and galv primer.

I can't to the rear wing repair yet as the outer wheel arch is too far gone so I need to buy a repair panel and then see what is left to repair. I think they are about £40.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/pU7UoiriF2pkjMXc8

Next I moved onto the sill. So much easier with the car turned over. And having done the other side I know what to expect.

Sill as found.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/rjNuCunaMLz4zeWw6

And with the filler and rot sanded away.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/87rmZFXkmj9PjSSs8

And then with the previous repair cut out. They seem to have made the repair up with multiple small bits of metal.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/gneZyZKmB4LLZxfV9

Again, no real problem with the inside. Got lucky again so just needs the outer sill section put back on. Still to do. The sill is in the rafters and I couldn't be bothered to get it out so I moved onto the foot well. 

As found.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/r3VT96z7rm3besvPA

Two repair sections needed.

Cardboard, tape etc and then this.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/mAbXCJh7voiHQ9Se6

And then the complex bit that ties into it. Again, I made a template out of gaffer tape, transferred it to card to see where to bend, stretch, shrink, bash, etc, then transfer to steel.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Pzso7xip28cw6Gmw6

Once happy the basic shape is there then an hour with my new Trevor's Blog approved planishing hammer, a few tech screws and the original panel as a buck got me this.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ofYRzrZp8yge6XnS8

A pretty good fit and reasonably true to the original. I'm pleased with these last few repairs.

I've got Sunday to myself which will see all this welded in and I'll share some photos. Nearly there with the underneath. Better start thinking about that roof repair around the screen.

Cheers all.

K.

Edited by Nivlek2525
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12 minutes ago, bris jas said:

Coming on well there Kelvin, never seen the gaffer tape method before although seems to work for you a treat:thumbup. Is there much repair needed above the jacking point inside the car?

Cheers, yes there's a small repair to do inside where the jacking point meets the chassis rail. It looks quite localised. Water has gotten under the sound deadening. Plus side is it came off a treat (gravity helped😀), down side is there a couple of repairs to do. Nothing that requires the removal of the jacking point I don't think. I'll take some pictures and post them up.

Feel free to use the gaffer tape method, my gift to the world.🤗

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  • 6 months later...

I can't believe my last update was May!I knew it had been a while but...

Anyway, work has been progressing. Slowly, but progressing.  The reason I stopped posting was that I was having to jump from job to job as time allowed and if didn't feel like I had anything to post that I'd completed. Ive complete, or nearly completed a few little tasks so here's a bit of an update.

I stripped the front subframe a while back and I've been cleaning, treating the rust, priming and painting and I've got most bits done now.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/G7nMJXLn9H2hFSEa9

A few more bits to go but the plan is to have it all ready for when the car can go back on its wheels.  When I get sick of welding and grinding I clean and paint. I hate grinding welds back. Seems like such a backwards step...

Anyway, about the same time I tackled the front headlamp inner mount area. 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Rdh4N6U92PpWY1pn8

This is upside down on the spit.

The passenger side is fine. The driver's side looked ok but on further inspection it was paper thin so...

I made up a new section

https://photos.app.goo.gl/9hDhMbzzWib9yhhA8

Which, like any small bits I've made me far longer than it should off. I think I get fixated on trying to get detail right when often a plate would do, look just as good and be far quicker. 

Then I cut out all the rot, cleaned up all the seems and surface rust and treated the area with converter. I try to leave as much good metal in as possible so I have something to reference. Might not be the best approach but I'm learning as I go here.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/b2jMz3vxCXTNvwXL6

Then I cleaned back were the welds go and add weld thru primer and we have this.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/iCYGNVcSgEuZswLC7

 

Then weld and paint. I welded enough to secure it but not so much that it distorted the metal. Basically I plug welded where I could and that ran 1" long welds where old met new.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/cD28YCQoooXUALFt6

Not perfect by far but not bad.

I've also made some progress on the rear drivers side wheel arch. Same story as the front really. Passenger side was good inside and out. Drivers side, not so good. I removed the outer skin to find the inner lip was paper thin. Which meant I had to try and make a new one.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/EoPeWPN6LEAemSY99

I did this by folding an angle in steel, cutting lots of slits into it. Shaping it and then welding all the slits back up again and then grinding everything back. Did I mention I hate grinding welds back?

Before I could fit the outer wheel arch I had to repair the inner sill to the front and the boot floor to the rear as well as clean up and soak everything between the inner and outer wheel arch in rust converter.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/QNzK7c5j9UoTdVa27

 

I then had to fit the outer wheel arch skin which was an absolute pain. I used a stepping tool as everything I read suggested this was the way to go, but I really struggles to get the swage lines on either side to line up and the arch to lie right. It took a fiddling but I got it to the point I was happyish. I've only tacked it for now as I'm going to wait until I can get to both sides to I can take some more measurements and profiles before I weld it in for good.

So this is the inner arch all welder, cleaned up and zinc primed, then one of it just before fitting with sealer/adhesive in place and finally welded to the inner arch and tacked all around.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/TCfynbV1N8f4M5zC6

 

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The I tackled the LAST UNKNOWN quantity on the chassis. There was a small area of corrosion on the rear chassis leg boot support where the two overlap. It looked so superficial I ALMOST left it but I decided to investigate.

A small corrosion spot turned into...this.

 

 

 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/3JjV9AqVwjmdVy2A6

 

So I tried to remake it as close to as original as possible, first make up some plates profiled to the shape and then cut out the rot.

Then weld in the plates, close in the top with another sheet bent to fit and more welding and grinding. I'm quite proud of this but as it looks quite neat.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/SqqYP1L8qkeEup3DA

I then had to made up the rear section that closes over the top but all I had left was this...

https://photos.app.goo.gl/C7uszUnXD9rmHGgy8

But I still managed to get this..

https://photos.app.goo.gl/CMdKiLbo7XQE1q3L9

The last picture is taken in the house as I wanted to show my wife what I'd been working on. She couldn't have been less impressed!

 

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Anyway, this is it all welded in.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/fn5JJ7FH5H8tbXf56

Although there's no rust now and there's so much zinc primer there's not likely to be much for a while it probably would have been better and certainly quicker to just weld the whole lot together rather than making pieces up. Still I did enjoy this bit for some reason and I suppose that's the whole point.

With that last repair to the rear done I was able to clean everything up, treat any bare metal, prime and red oxide the rear part of the car up to the axle line.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/afovRihA8yzCR3pD9

Basically, I went over the whole area and anything suspect I took the powerfile to and ground it back to bare metal bit left any sound paint as I could see no reason to expose metal which had been happily covered for 40 years. Then I used a rust converter. Let that dry. Then I used an etch primer on those spots before painting the whole area with red oxide.

Next job it to finish welding up the swan necks where I've added more reinforcement (I just can't leave them alone) and then that the entire bottom finished and I can get it off the spit.

If you've got this far..well done.

 

21 minutes ago, markyspark said:

Lots of progress Kelvin, neat work !

Many thanks.

 

Some of it is neat...some of it is, well...upol gravitex will make it neat.

 

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Many thanks.

Those bits at the rear were all done in 1.5mm I think. I bought 2 big sheets of 1.5mm and 2mm and then used my digital calipers from Aldi of all places to match original. I used 2mm at the front from memory to repair the swan necks but Ive since been back and reinforced it all with 1.5mm over the top. I need to finish them and then leave them alone. I'll get some pictures when I'm happy with them.

Everywhere else where I found 0.9mm steel I've pretty much replaced with 1.2 as it's a bit easier to weld but still easy enough to cut with snips.

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  • 1 month later...

Just a quick update. I managed to get all the welding and grinding back done on the underside. I found one more small hole on a seat reinforcement plate but it's all cut out now and new metal in.

I then spend hours and hours cleaning off ancient waxoyl, sanding back and cleaning up and spots of surface rust.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ax8Tewoae6kxkEGc9

Then I primed and bare metal with etch primer from a can and let that harden for 24 hours and used up a can of red oxide on any paint that was looking a bit thin.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/RXNZ9aFACDHnpsCF6

Then I had to wait for a warm(ish) day to play with my new compressor. I mixed up a litre of red-oxide/rust inhibitor primer with 10% thinners and a cap full of Japan driers. And then practiced on a sheet of card until I was happy with the gun settings. I then sprayed the whole underside with 2 coats of red oxide primer.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/FSAADZbPHMcEHNucA

It's not perfect but it feels good to get some proper paint on.

I've got to let this harden up for a week or so and wait for a warm dry day so I can seam seal the underside and get some stone chip on the exposed parts.

Then a couple of coats of chassis paint and then I'm calling that a day.

I've also picked up a cheap CIH engine which I'm busy looking at. The engine is a bit earlier than I thought so it's not unleaded so I'm just considering how much time and effort to put into it.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Arc9Hb5n9YzP5gwn7

I've partially stripped it. Bores look ok with no marks and very little lip, crank looks good under the big end caps. Cam and followers all look spot on. Not many photos because I was covered in oil but here are a few.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/zvLT5sbqGqkVRWU76

I've also managed to pick up the front section of an exclusive coupe roof which had rotted out at the sunroof so I now have the panel I need to repair the front of my roof where it's rusted under the vinyl. I'll move onto that while I'm waiting for the weather to improve for painting.

That's all for now.

Happy New Year.

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1 hour ago, 1200bandit said:

Nice to have you back lan

Ian couldn't resist a freshly painted chassis....

2 hours ago, H-400 said:

The head is of, so changing the valve stem seals is something I would do. They are still available from Reinz. 

I will. The ones I took off are different to the ones I remember taking off my exclusive years ago. The ones off the exclusive looked like a better design with a little spring that held the seal against the stem. Hard to explain. I'll look at the Reinz ones. Thanks.

3 hours ago, IanMc said:

Fantastic progress Kelvin - well done that man! :thumbup

Cheers Ian, good to hear from you.

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