Durbs' 1980 Scwartz Storm resto

[Durbs]

Haven't really posted anything since the forum migrated to this one, so time to change that.

Well, having had her sat outside for the last year and a half I thought it was time to start the restoration. When I bought FAX back in August '07 I knew that she would need a strip down and rebuild in the near future as there was rust evident, particularly in the scuttle and rear beam mounting point.



I used her for a short while before the fuel pump seized. As the rust was also around the pump mounting I deceided to lay her up rather than bodge the repair and have to undo it later, since then she has sat outside but I've had no time to start.

This weekend I started to strip the interior, got the upholstery and dashboard out. Progress will be relatively slow due to other major commitments, but the plan is to ensure I do an hour a week. Hopefully next weekend I can finish removing the wiring and headlining. The rust in the scuttle also appears to have got into the windscreen surround, but not to too bad an extent.





Plan will be to get the shell acid dipped to remove all traces of rust, allowing me to carry out a proper repair and stopping it from rusting again as soon as its on the road. While this is not the cheapest of options it will be much less time consuming and will eradicate all traces of rust. Timeline is to see if I can get to the point of having the shell repaired and sprayed by the year end, which I think is achievable even with my other commitments.

[Durbs]

Progress was halted after the first post due to various work commitments, 2 house moves etc so I never achieved the desired endstate last year. However, things have started to move on. I managed to strip the shell completely over Christmas and managed to get it down to the acid dippers at the beginning of Feb.



3 weeks later I get it back, the dipping process worked really well. It's removed all old underseal, paint and rust. All I'm left with is the good metal on the shell, and as it runs into all the seams I know there is no hidden rot where I can't see.





The tarnish is from the temporary rust inhibiter as the whole car is back to bare steel.

Pleasantly there were no great surprises, holes where I expected them to be but a sound basis for a restoration. Rot is in the standard Scirocco areas

Rear wheel arches:

These have been repaired cheaply before with plenty of filler, fortunatley that all disappears in the dipping process leaving just the metal.

Rear valance:


Rear beam mounts/sill:





This area is the worst bit of the car, but easily salvagable with the panels available on the market.

The offside inner wing has acted as a water trap up at the scuttle:


A few minor holes hear and there, but only simple patches.





Strangely the worst areas of rot are on the drivers side, where its normally the passengers due to mud being flung up from the side of the road. As you can see from the photos this some bodywork repairs required but it could of been far worse on a 31 year old car, and I can easily see where the work is required rather than trying to rub down to find where rust is hiding.

The removable panels are all in a solid state except the passengers door which needs a little bit of repair work at the bottom. The next stage is to get a few repair panels in and get the shell back to new, these will include the valance, o/s sill, o/s beam mount and rear valance.

[Funky Diver]

AWESOME, ast oyu know you have a sound base to start with, and building it back up safely in the knowledge that once you're done. You're well and truly done.

Acid dipping was on my list of things to do, and may still be done.... but I'm kinda scared as the the outcome, haha. Better the devil you DON'T know in this case, lol.

Out of interest how much did the dipping knock you back?

[Old Mac Rocco]

Totally amazing, I wish you every success with this and look forward to your next update.
You certainly have plenty room to work on the car which is an added bonus.
Good Luck.

[Durbs]

The dipping does not come in cheap, it was £750+VAT. However, man hours saved in rubbing down are considerable but more important to me is it removes rust from all the box sections and reveals all.

My plan with this restoration is to do it right first time so I don't have to do it again, I know the car is never going to be worth what I spend on it but I'm doing it for my pleasure and want to be driving the car still when it's twice its age.

[SCIROCCOSILBERFEDER]

Hello!

Ahhh a man after my own heart!

These days there is no other way to restore cars than this.

Step 1: Get it stripped and dipped (assume its going back for the second phase of treatment?)

Step 2: Refinished and rebuilt.

I always said restoring mk 1's was simpler than your ABC's or 123's

Top job.

Well done that man.

KR

SSF

[monzajake]

Where did you get her acid dipped sire ?

Top work tho, makes 110% sense to me to do this.

[Durbs]

The only company in the UK who can dip an entire car are called Surface Processing, they're at Dudley in the West Midlands.

http://www.surfaceprocessing.co.uk/

The car will be going back for the second process (it's coated in an electrophoretic paint like modern vehicles), however due to the company that originally did this process for them closing due to the death of the British car industry they have had to find another place to do it. They are still running some tests as the car has to be dipped on its sides half at a time as the new company does not have a large enough tank, so they don't reckon that process will be ready for another 6 months (and it's put the price up considerably for the second process!!!) It also means large vehicles like VW Camper vans can't be done.

As I said the costs involved are considerable, and definitely not a thing you want to do if you are not going to be keeping the car, but with the Mk1 becoming increasingly rare and having had one in the family since my Grandad bought one of the first twenty Storms in '79 (no longer with us) I feel the cost is worth it.

[bensspares]

Amazing, thats how all restorations should be done...The mk1 scirocco although once a mass produced item is now a rare thing indeed....although money is not your motive, This will be worth a tidy sum when complete....

All the best with the journey..

[jimmy h]

Kudos Durbs indeed.

That is a very brave decision

I'm a huge fan of the tv show 'American Hotrod' shown on Sky (if you've not watched it, ALL projects start at the Acid Dipper)

After the building of my purpose-built Storm Garage I know I should be doing the same thing!

Yet it took a bit of pursuading to ensure folks, I know, I was doing the right thing with the addition to my mortgage.

I look forward to your updates, I sincerely appreciate your motivation.

Modern cars a rubbish.

[Durbs]

Well my replacement repair panels arrived last week. All from Big Boys Toys (including a Scirocco Register discount), at a good price and sound quality.



There is also a rear valance that is out of shot.

First thing I have to do is remove all the primer as otherwise I'd have to pay for a full redip before the e-coat as any paint left on would affect the way the process works. Plan is to use some Nitromores on them before they get cut to fit and welded in. This means that the repair work can now move on, the only down side is that I'm having to move job in August so hoping to get it e-coated before then. After that it will be back to the body shop for the respray before I move the whole project south to Lincolnshire, not exactly ideal and hoping I can get a decent workshop in that area.

Also picked up a new windscreen off automotive_m-j last week when I was doing some exams in his area as I had to smash the old screen to get it out as somebody had previously bonded it in with silicone sealant!

More updates to come as the bodywork repairs get completed.

One query, I want to roll the rear wheel archs once they are welded in to give adequate clearance with 15" wheels fitted. Does anybody know how much length of the arch I need to roll and how far I have to roll it in to give clearance?

[Ryan]

How wide are your 15's and what ET?
I'm running 15x6 ET35 and there's loads of room.

EDIT - 195/45/15 tyres

[XAJAYX]

RAD!!!!!!

[dingorocco]

Looking good, subscribed :D

[Durbs]

Ryan,

the wheels and tyres originally fitted were 175/50R15, with a 15x7 rim ET35. They were just catching on full bump, and while the car is in bare metal I thought I'd get the rear archs rolled to ensure that there was clearance. When I get the car back on the road I am looking at putting BBS RMs on it, if I can find some it generally looks as if I'm going to have to go for either 6" or 6 1/2" with an ET33.

Want to stick with the 50 profile tyres as well.