Whats up guys....not much of a poster but thought I'd share my summer project. So i had to fix a hack bondo job on my quarters but i ended up getting into quite the restore! I never attempted anything like this before but when i got my 240 fully restored i was in the shop very often and learned enough to give it a try myself. As i am using this as my winter car i chose to patch with fiberglass and not bondo....also i dont know how to weld, i want to learn and the next restore will be with metal lol.

Anyhow here it goes

First day






















this corner was all rotten and i have to fab this up


shaved trunk for new spoiler and fixed rust holes


not bad for my first wheel arch


ready for paint


In total i cut and patched rust from:
both rockers were cut and patched
both rear doors replaced
both rear quarters cut and fabbed
patched 3 rusted thru holes in the hood
fixed the pinch weld that popped under windshield causing the crack, fixed rusted window frame as well
inside rear quarters both needed patching
rear corners behind the bumper patched
probably a bunch more but i want to end this thread lol

I got some goodie after paint and will post after pics in 3 weeks.

 

damn..big work..would love to see the finished product..btw..my neighbors would flip out of I was working outside like that

 

ditto...looks like the one next door has put up a for sale sign
nice work tho.

 

Looking good! While you have it torn apart I'd fix that rad support!

 

Looking great, nice work. If that's a manual '01 we have the same car....and my rust looks just like yours. I need to do this too. Thanks for posting.

+1 on the rad support, it's not looking good. I just replaced mine a few weeks ago, looked just like yours.

 

that front end section is a lost cause lol....i was meaning to wrap a couple fiber sheets around it to secure it but by the time i was done the patching i was over it, way too much time. I just need 5 winters and its time for a new winter beater.

i just put the front together rite now. a couple custom touches i think it'll turn out looking as i envisioned.

last week of oct i insure it and go get winter tires...then post pics

 

i just moved in haha....actually a good 4 or 5 guys from surrounding houses came and checked the progress.

i cleaned and packed up back into the garage every day i worked outside, most work was done in the garage but yeah i welcomed myself fast

 

That's some amazing work! I really wish I could do that kind of stuff, let alone have a garage. The wheel arch rebuilds you did look flawless.

 

How many hours did the entire job take?

 

Well i took 2 weeks off and i worked everyday prob a solid 6ish hours a day. I did all the cutting and grinding the fist few days and patching with fiberglass and fiber putty for the rest of the time. It was a crazy learning experience. Its just like paper mache (sp?) in grade school. I never fiberglassed before and doing the rockers where you have to hang the sheets upside down....they were just falling and hanging out of shape. Decided to let it dry as is, and then i cut out the defects and it left me a nice base to complete the rockers looking just like stock. After cutting the rust i sealed the metal with rust stabilizer and undercoating. I'm pretty confident rust wont come back for a good 5-6 years....jus when i get rid of it.





This is prob my 3rd day on the rockers...cut out bubbles from hanging the sheets upside down and a good layer of bondoglass....its 100% fiberglass but it works like bondo. After i smoothed and shaped the new rockers out i put a thin layer of bondo to give it a smooth look and bondo on fbglass does not rust.

After those 2 weeks off i worked about 4 full days on the weekend to smooth out the body and prep and paint and put it back together.

 

Also i tried to change my rear pads myself but one of my slider bolts broke and the other one is just spinning. I am going to buy a pair of calipers on the net, but can i still remove the caliper with the broken slider bolt?

Oh and i copped a new gas tank cover as my hinge rusted and broke but one of the screwed for the door stripped. Can i get it out?

thanks

 

Come to think of it, if my slider bolt broke I can just remove the caliper bolt and slide the caliper off the broken slider pin?

Is it that easy

 

Got her back together and on the road for the winter season last week. Havent had a chance to take some decent pics but heres a couple cel phone shots.

 

Wow, that looks fantastic!!! Excellent job!!! Did you do the paint yourself? My next goal in life is to win the lottery so I can not work and learn how to paint cars .

 

Hmmm. I think I may have to kidnap you...