Kamei GTX - Finally Finished?

[Chaps]

Nice nice nice....

[Birdy]

Finally got a day free so i could get really stuck into the car!

Wanted to get the kamei kit off the car and into the garage so i can start to repair and re-spray it, while at the same time it would let me get at the rear arches to see how bad the rot is and sort out fixing everything.

Really pleasently surprised at how little rust there is under the kit, all the sills and floor are good as new, the worst is just the arches themselves

Near side



Off side



I've seen alot worse

Also nice and clean on top of the fuel tank



The tank itself is looking a bit rusty around the seam, im going to have to attack it with a wire wheel and see if it will need replacing or not!

Now ive got plenty to be getting on with, managed to get the re-furbed wishbones and new ball joints together



Waiting on the polybushes for these to arrive so i can get them ready to put straight onto the car when i get the chance

Next up is to get these pair cleaned up and like new



Forgot just how big the jetex sysyem is!!

Looking forward to welding the arches next

[Cpt Custom]

Coming on nice, can't wait to see the Corrado dash when it's all finished.

[sander hoogendijk]

good job daniel,

i love the way you discreetly adjust the dash, and steering collum and so on....

just doing your own style... respect for that!!

[Birdy]

Not to discreetly, think the neighbours hate it when im out working on the motor so much

Managed to get the rear beam stripped down today, removed the discs, calipers, stub axels fairly easily.

The arb brackets have both had it



Both split in the exact same place, may be getting the stainless ones from crazyquiffs - thats if i cant find any cheaper ones first!

The mounting brackets were slightly more of a pain in the arse....



Eventually got them both off and true to form the bushes are way past any kind of sell by date! Stuck fast and after some persuasion to get them out



Took some serious force on the vice to pop them out



Both well and truely had it - how they got through the mot for the last couple of years i'll never know
The bolts and bushes decided they didn't want to be parted; drastic tactics were the key



Fire
After they cooled down the remains of the bush came off the bolt fairly easily!
Now to get the beam blasted and re-painted ready for the polybushes and back onto the car!

[Birdy]

Busy, busy and busy

Started to get a few re-furbed and new shiney bits accumulated, always gives me a bit of incentive to get things done!



Still waiting on the rest of the bushes for the front end tho!

While i had the parts ive got the rear beam re done and put the bushes in - LOADS better than the ones i forced off!!





Decided to go for new pivot bolts, the originals weren't looking all that good so new was easier! Dont think the beam will stay this black for long once the cars back on the road tho

While i was at it and the weather was nice for a change it was time to get under the car and sort some of the welding out



This area was an advisory on last years mot, was told i'd get away with wire brushing it down and re-painting it; while the cars off the road i thought i'd do it properly and weld a new plate in!
After attacking the area with a wire wheel in the grinder i discovered there wasn't really much left of the original metal left Didn't get any photo's of the lack of material left that i had to weld new plates to - luckily the substructure was fine, no rot and still good!



After i'd done all the plating, didnt linish the welds down properly - i'd been lay under the car hours by this point and was in a hurry

[Birdy]

While i was on a roll i thought i'd start looking at repairing the rear arch.

I decided to use the full repair panel, figured it would be easier to weld and fill/blend with the original body panel



Got the panel ready to be marked/cut - i was surprised at how bad the arch lip was, not much left at all!



Out with the old rotten metal, was dreading cutting it out incase i'd marked it wrong and ended up taking too much out - could of been a nightmare



BIG hole in the side of the car



New panel in place - i'd got the marking/cutting right and it went in fairly easily! Phew
I'd already joddled all the edges of the repair panel so the original panel would lap onto the new metal - made welding it up alot more straightforward than trying to make all the edges line up properly.
Have to admit that i got a friend to do the welding on the panel for me - he does it for a living and is alot neater and faster than i am



Welded up and linished down, i've not given it a skim yet - due to rain today so there's not much point playing with bodywork until i get another dry day!
Still have to re-build the inner arch so i get the car sealed up properly. Luckily ive got some 1.2 0r 0.8mm sheet metal in the garage so it shouldn't be that bad to do. Hopefully

[Cpt Custom]

Cracking work on that arch!

Intersting to see someone using pretty much the whole repair panel. Chap that did my welding was concerned I think about the surrounding areas warping, but your guy really has done well. Look forward to seeing the bodywork progressing.

[stu.gtx]

Good stuff

[thebrief_1979]

Fair play - cracking job so far

[PeteGLi]

......The arb brackets have both had it



Both split in the exact same place, may be getting the stainless ones from crazyquiffs - thats if i cant find any cheaper ones first!

Big Boys Toys / VW Heritage - http://www.vwh2o.com/vw.cfm?act=shop.pr ... country=GB

[Birdy]

Big Boys Toys / VW Heritage - http://www.vwh2o.com/vw.cfm?act=shop.pr ... country=GB

I'll give them a look and compare prices

Managed to get a bit more done today, had a mare with the rear jacking point so its taken hours to fix it



Cleaned this up as i'd spotted a small hole starting to appear - soon turned much bigger when it met the wire wheel tho

Thats when things got worse!! Sat back in the car to change the radio station over and head a thud and the car dropped a little




Yup, it went straight throught the chassis leg

Proceeded to remove the mount and clean it up ready to be fixed



Not much left really!! How its lasted this long i'll never know - least its gone now and not when the car is back on the road




All welded up and nearly back in one piece, certainly not the best looking welding ever but its deffinately not going to be going anywhere again

While i was at it i got the inner arch fixed to the new outer panel




Rear lower valance boxed back in and the mount back in more or less the same place as it should be



Stopped there for now, didnt want to make a start on the nearside due to the time but did manage to get one more thing done today



Rear beam is back together with new caliper flexi hoses/hard lines bit i've re-used the old flexi's in the middle - they were pretty good once i'd cleaned them up properly

[Birdy]

Finally had the chance to get some more work done over the last couple of days, hoped to get a bit more done that i have tho!

Started on the near side arch, this side is in a much better condition than the other side!



Cut up an old wing to use the arch section, not going to need all of it





Just needs filling and priming properly now! While the car was back up in the air i had a look at the beam mounts



Bloody big hole but again, not as bad as the other side!



All patched up and ready for new underseal!



Nice and clean under here so i didnt do anything else with it other than underseal everything!



Just the new brake lines to put in and then the tank, fuel pumps and rear beam can go back into place

Then spent hours (and hours!!!!) repairing the side skirts and prepping the new front wing ready to be primed



Still a bit to do on the one skirt but i should be getting them into primer tomorrow or at some point in the next week!

Getting there slowly

[Bill]

Good work fella

[Birdy]

Managed to get a bit done in the last week or so, the better weather certainly helps

Got the wing and side skirts primed, still a bit of work to do on the one skirt tho



old wing off, inner wing is fine so there was no need for any repairs so got it undersealed



and the new wing on



When i removed the old brake lines one of the clips came off and left a hole in the floor. Cleaned it up with the grinder and the 'little' hole grew a bit




Annoying but i'd rather it happened now than in a few months! Got it plated and re-finished