seank90, Back to cleaning

I think they will be handy for people who want to stitch weld there engine bay because they show the lines and were to start etc etc, Im only doing the engine bay, thats all thats needed realistically, This is a road car, now a rally car , these cars handle awesome without any mods so just imagine how much more awesome it will handle now with the front all welded. the rear end only has one job really, and thats to hold the car straight and smooth and follow, the front is were all the action is, turning and suspension and most the weight.

Thats why im only doing the front end.

 

I had a look around to were the sill is rotten on the drivers side because it will be the next piece of welding after the front is fully done and im surprised because i was expecting much much worse it seems to be all confined to one area so im going to get some rust treatment and treat the area inside the sill while its so accessible and then use a sound proof wax coating on the inside to reduce road noise





The finished panelwork doesnt have to be 100% perfect because it will be covered in a side skirt for the rest of its life but i will do the best i can! if anybody has any good rust treatment methods feel free to shoot there ideas, so far im going getting most of my rust treatment off this site

RUSTBUSTERS

 

thats the plan fernando! i have a second Celica which i can cut the parts from

 

So for todays job i removed the anti roll bar and the fuel and brake lines, the first think that has to be removed was the anti roll bar because it holds the fuel and brakelines from coming off , There was only 4 bolts holding these on




Now was for the brake lines and fuel lines, These were all size tens and were very easily removed with the impact gun :razz There steel lines and there should be no problem in refurbishing them.



There is two protective plastic covers to be removed first and then the lines can be accessed. Once accessed you must loosen off the ends going into the back brakes and then remove all the brackets holding them in place.





After a bit of fiddling the lines are then removed.


Also, a tip for people, leave the bolts to sit in a bag of kerosene to clean themselves up a bit! And start to eat into the rust on it

 

So i said to myself today that i was going to finish welding the engine bay and thats exactly what i did! so i only had the back panel left to do, and i started by stripping off the sealer which is a bitch of a job, and then cleaned it down with a wire brush.






And then i welded up the all the seams on the back panels.



Im not too sure if theres any need to do more, if anybody has any opinion please let me know... im kinda in two minds about it. syduck

 

Alot of the rally guys here only do the engine bays because it allows the back of the car to flex a little, while reinforcing the front stiffens the back also by giving it much less room to flex from left to right,

If the weight distribution of the car is 65 : 35 by doing the front your making up for the weight that has been thrown around... But if its worse off im just going to do the back again sometime. Back is simple to do compared to the front. Im sure a better antiroll bar in the back would sort alot of it anyway.

Rob, couple of Q's seeing as your a paint guy, What do i need to get to prime the front. this is what i have on my list so far, let me know if im missing something.

- Rust converter ( for were it was stitch welded )
- Seam Sealer
- Panel wipe
- Etch primer
- Thinners
- reg filler primer.

How does that look for a shopping list?? if anybody else wants to add feel free!

 

more than likely 2k... I just really want to stop the rust were it lies right now... You may be a panel beater, but even panel beaters know how to paint

i have loads of sandpaper! is prepsol not the same as panel wipe?? Also, would a 1.3mm head be ok for primer??

 

sweet... thanks for the info bud. Ill do the shopping and ill keep you all updated

 

shopping....

Went into town to get a couple of bits and called into the local auto garage and couldn't resist buying some stuff to work with... I was told that if im using etch primer there's no need to put rust remover on before it because it will just eat into it anyway and stop it from rusting and coming through the filler primer above it. So i went ahead and bought it! :byodood i also got some seam sealer and panel wipe and thinners.

The etch primer.


The thinners


Panel wipe


Seam Sealer


He said the etch primer is ready mixed so just put it into the gun and paint away, has anybody experience with that?
Also if someone could tell me the best way to apply the seam sealer to get a really clean finish that would be great, I have a few ideas but the more info the better!

 

thanks rob, thats what i was thinking but i wanted to be sure about it first before anything...

 

so my plan is to remove a bit more paint from around the seams and lay down some etch then, once thats done im going to leave it a day to dry and cure and then im going to really heat up the seam sealer so its more liquid form and it should give a really smooth finish, i want the seams to almost look hidden... i was thinking of using the cartridge type alright but i think the brush seal will do...