Another hobby...cars!

Inspired by the "work" post @longk made, I thought I would start this thread to show another hobby. Car repairs!

This one started in much the same way as the Mercedes mentioned in longk's thread. It was initially recommissioned, and then the thoughts were to improve it in stages every Winter. That time of year is usually quiet for me.

It all started when I decided to repair a bodged sidelight that a previous owner had made a poor job at repairing. It had to be done, as these sidelights are difficult to find in good condition.





...as you can see, it was not a pretty sight! Even worse after the rust was blasted away...



...after quite a bit of welding, it ended up looking like this...



...and that was the start....

 

As you will see in this post, his toolbox also had filler in it as well. I think that there are two people on here that know what the car is, so I hope they dont spill the beans! Anybody that wants to guess as to what it is can pm me their answer. A Christmas Quiz if you like.

To continue...

I had seen a small amount of rust on one of the inner wings, so cut it out and made a patch piece to fit...



Some time later, after welding and painting, the repair looked like this...



When I started this part of the repairs, I noticed that there was a lot of hidden rust and filler on the wings. Some can be seen in this photo...



After seeing this, I went over the whole car making patch panels and repairing every piece of rust I could find. A couple of months, and several bottles of welding gas later, the rust was no more. Deceased, bereft of life, resting after a prolonged squawk....

 

Not the easiest of paint to work with Sandy but you're making a grand job of it!

 

Sometimes rose tinted spectacles are a blessing! But avoiding the issues only ever compounds your problems in the long run so if you have the know how and facilities best to get on with it.
One of the beauties of the Merc is that most of the light units are cast ally so most corrosion issues are easily taken care of with coca cola!

 

I completely agree! I was shocked to find how many rust repairs were needed on this. Especially as it looked quite good externally.

@longk as I'm sure you know, one of the problems today is that in regards to classic cars, far to many people think that they have the know how but in reality dont.

 

Sadly, all too often this has much to do with my response to the following...............

And sadly there are professionals who have realized that good filling with well presented contours and a smooth finish to the paint is a better way of making money than doing the job properly.
That doesn't even touch on the corners that get cut when it comes to the mechanical side of things. I recently attended to an automatic Pagoda SL that had the radiator from a manual model fitted which obviously lacks the heat exchanger for the automatic transmission fluid. No worries, they had simply made a hose up to join the pipes from the gearbox

 

@longk I'll tell a little story...

In some of the classic magazines, there are occasional articles written by certain person that is known as a bit of a "guru" in the classic car world. I used to know him well. In truth, he knows less than nothing. On one memorable occasion, he could not even manage to spray a bracket with an aerosol!

The point I am making is this. Many people will see his articles, and believe what they read. Thus spreading the poor quality repair suggestions further. I wonder why the magazines print his rubbish?

 

Prior to starting this restoration, I had done some other work on the car. Primarily to make it safer and more reliable. Being unable to find the correct radiator, I made one from scratch...

 

An older project. What came into my possession looking like this...



....ended up looking like this...

 

I recently restored the rear end of my rare classic 280ZX. A big hammer, a bit of body putty, some black paint and I felt like a hero. I'm not showing it to you now though, Mr Engineer

 

Go on, we are all friends on GC...

 

Well.. it's the same color as my ZX And that radiator!! What vehicle has one that big.. It's BIG whatever it is.

My know how came from YouTube videos and a friend saying.. go on, you can do it! Left hand rear was smashed into the aerial. Getting a second hand tail light was painful, shaping the body and curve around that made me an artist! And all in all.. for a hammer, some putty and paint.. she'll do for now. Still a ripple in the boot hutch though Here she is just back from a 380km drive and yes, that black from the exhaust.. I had to make the call a few days ago.. a new motor next and so she's now booked in for that