Tech 1 Sport resto - Update 26/4!!

[dom-1984-320i]

well done on all your work so far mate, always good to see a tech 1 being brought back from the dead!

[josh-hocking]

great! truely great! top work

[ricey46]

Pad, Fantastic work mate, hats off to you!! Hopefully mine ain't as bad when I get round to doing it later this year. As the rest have said, glad to see another Tech1 saved from the grave!!

My spring turret is almost gone on one side,

not sure what to do there, not sure whether the part is still available I'l check when I get there....

Grant where is this??lol.

[Pad]

mmm, dunno what to do there. I think if you look on beardymats thread he had to repair a spring platform? Mine are OK (about the only part that is)

Back out there tomorrow so should have an update.

Laters

[Pad]

Update..

Did bugger all last weekend, spent some time with the family as all they see/hear of me at the moment is outside welding and swearing. This weekend mother in law is up so what better thing to do than to retreat to the driveway...

So, with a large percentage of the arches done it was time to get onto the 'smaller' bits. All along the rear valance were areas that needed doing, some bits inside the boot going into the inner arch, battery tray, sill and a bit of floor. Well, they are all done now and the car is solid!! Wayhey! well happy that I havent got to get the fookin welder out again for a a bit and I am really looking forward to some piece and quiet while I do the prep for paint.

anyway, a few photos to keep you entertained...









my best bit of welding yet - really chuffed with this...



and now all waxoyled, ready to get properly prepped...











Cheers,
Pad

[hammoj28]

Thats looking really good. Keep up the good work.

[d6dph]

Have you not finished this little job yet Pad?



You are doing a sterling job. Keep up the good work.

[josh-hocking]

come on!! i dying to see it finidhed

[Pad]

lol, sorry it isnt done yet!!

Just a quick update - I have now bought a new front panel and passenger wing, all the exterior trim is removed and I have been over it once with the DA sander to take a fair bit of paint off. I am going to try and get it painted on the weekend of the 20th if I can, a couple of photos of what I painted this weekend to get my hand back in... now this was a job and a half... the photos dont really relate how bloody bright it was - I was sooo tempted to do the sport in this colour...

[E30BeemerLad]

ingenious spray booth there mate, what a great idea.

£30 for a spray booth from Asda

[Aziz]

Sterling job you are doing there mate.

Hope it all goes well for you Pad.

A question where did you get the outer rear arches for the tech 1 I ask because I am going to replace themon my tech 1 next summer

Keep up the good work and to think all this in a tent on a drive.

[Rosc0PColtrane]

Excellent work and excellent reading. Real Heroes effort for keeping us in the loop. The Vdub looks cool!!!

[320Touring]

Fook me, that sport's come a long way!

nice work.

Wedge looks ok too-if a bit subtle

[m-dtech]

you have the same welder as me and your welds are 10x better than what i can get from mine.

you using it gassless or argon mix ?

ive used a few migs and im convinced mine is not right !

[Sanchez]

Grant where is this??lol.

Was wondering the same. Might be good to get there if local.

Weather looks a bit sunny for here.

[stevotheevo]

great stuff fella, will look the dogs bollox when finished

[SCOTT325SE]

WHAT A...................




FEKIN HERO!!!!!



Pad, The Sport in my Sig Pic is my little effort at a running resto! Its deprived me of £10k, hundreds of hours with potential lovely ladies, about 2 pints of blood, a litre of tears and a few friends..... but I still love it! I wish I had done what you have done and done my own bodywork, as I want to get the paint job and one rear wing re-done, as I'm not happy with the job they did of it. If you want to have a laugh, PM me and i'll shoot you some details of what ive stupidly done to mine. You wont ever be depressed when you look at yours then!

A man after my own heart!
LEGEND!

[Pad]

Sterling job you are doing there mate.

Hope it all goes well for you Pad.

A question where did you get the outer rear arches for the tech 1 I ask because I am going to replace themon my tech 1 next summer

Keep up the good work and to think all this in a tent on a drive.

Cheers Aziz, the arches I got from my local panel supplier in Hove - they are manufactured by Hadrain which by all accounts are one of the better pattern part makers... However, I got my wing and front panel from beevers auto panels (google it) which also supply Hadrian so they might be better for you..

Good luck!

[320Touring]

you have the same welder as me and your welds are 10x better than what i can get from mine.

you using it gassless or argon mix ?

ive used a few migs and im convinced mine is not right !

probably the tube at the end of the handle thats the issue

[Pad]

you have the same welder as me and your welds are 10x better than what i can get from mine.

you using it gassless or argon mix ?

ive used a few migs and im convinced mine is not right !

Hi mate,

Ive had enough practice since doing this car, thats all i'll say...

I use it gasless - because our house is about 200 yards from a cliff top the wind whips up a goodun so the gas would be useless anyway. I was having a bit of trouble myself with the set up at first - I found between 3-4 wire speed on the lowest power setting is about right for me to get good pentration. Just need to make sure that youve got a very devent bit of metal to weld to else you just end up chasing which is a night mare.

good luck!!

[Pad]

WHAT A...................




FEKIN HERO!!!!!



Pad, The Sport in my Sig Pic is my little effort at a running resto! Its deprived me of £10k, hundreds of hours with potential lovely ladies, about 2 pints of blood, a litre of tears and a few friends..... but I still love it! I wish I had done what you have done and done my own bodywork, as I want to get the paint job and one rear wing re-done, as I'm not happy with the job they did of it. If you want to have a laugh, PM me and i'll shoot you some details of what ive stupidly done to mine. You wont ever be depressed when you look at yours then!

A man after my own heart!
LEGEND!

cheers dude... 10K!!! fook me, thats a lot of money. I'll drop you a pm if I get a chance later to hear the full monty!!

Cheers

[Aziz]

Thanks Pad

I will probably try beevers as its on in Barnsley which is a 20min drive from me.

Thanks again and good look. keep the pictures coming

Aziz

[jbh]

good progress mate gives me insparation glad to see anouther tec1 gettin some lovin.. where did you get the rear repair panels for the arches ? what did they cost you ?

[elebub]

Just about to start on my wheel arches and have been following beardymats and now your thread, really excellent and inspirational stuff.

New to all this so bear with me if the questions are a bit obvious.

Going to get new rear outer replacements panels, but plan on fabricating the inner ones as the rust is mainly confined to the lip. Just trying to get my head around how to attach the inner to the outer - did you form the inner fabrications into a lip and spot weld?

What gauge metal sheet did you use?

And, how on earth did you cut the outer panel so neatly without mangling the inner?

Keep up the good work!

Andy

[Pad]

Hopefully you are right about the inner, in which case you can fabricate small sections and replace only the bits you need to. Basically I constructed the inner arch in a load of sections to come a bit lower than the outer arch and then ground it back to the correct form bit by bit, using the outer as a template proir to fitting it properly.

Once I was happy it would be touching in most places I then fitted the outer properly and then tacked the two together from the inside. There is then a liberal amount of waxoyl, weldseal and then waxoyl again to make sure that in the non welded secions, there is no chance of crap getting in there and starting the rusting process again.

I dont know what the exact SWG of the metal was, I would estimate about 1 to 1.2mm thick though - just asked for some appropriate stuff from my panel supplier and he gave me that.

The inner comes away from the outer quite quickly so you can cut the top of the outer without damaging the inner at all quite easily. Where it joins at the bottom (what was left of it in my case) I ground the outer back to leave the inner rather than cut it off..

Hope this makes sense!!

Cheers

[elebub]

Thanks for the comprehensive answer Pad, much appreciated, and yes, it did make sense.

What was your weapon of choice for the neat cut?


Cheers

[Pad]

4" angle grinder, believe it or not.... just need to be veeery careful...

[elebub]

Jeez, fair play, ace welder AND a surgeon.


Thank you again for the advice

[SCOTT325SE]

if in doubt, buy a dremmel and some of their sturdier cutting discs and be very patient

[jbh]

pad can you give me an idea on the price of the rear arch repair panel

[Pad]

sorry mate - mine were about £20 each from memory....

Cheers
Pad

[SCOTT325SE]

I have a new toy.... a spray gun kit. My dad has a "slightly" dented Ford Transit works van that needs some paint. Guess what my next skill is going to be?! White paint + 'spray keen' Scott = 1 potentially dodgy/improved Transit van!

[Pad]

got to give it a go mate, its great fun (apart from the major hazard to health... )

[Pad]

Hi,

Been quite busy this weekend catching up on work on the BM. Had some much needed help yesterday as well, from the person whos bus I sprayed a few weeks back.

Now the car is completely solid, its time to prep for paint. Friday, all parts that hadnt already been removed were taken off, wipers, door handles, light clusters etc... and the sanding down begins. I had already been over it once with a DA but the whole car and bodykit needed wetsanding, used 600 grit in preparation for a number of coats of hi-build primer.

In addition had to do a fair bit of filling to get all the blemishes & stone chips out, and also to blend the rear arches properly - I know if this isnt done properly then it will stick out badly once topcoat is on.

Also fitted a new front panel and went to put on the new passenger wing but it had been damaged in transit so will be on the phone to the supplier tomorrow for a replacement.

Some more prep needed during the week for the bodykit, hopefully next weekend will be able to get it all primered...

Some pics for your enjoyment..





















Cheers,
Pad

[Andyboy]

That is going to be such a nice car when when done - well done for saving it rather than just chopping it up. I think the Tech 1 Sport will be the most sought after E30 in years to come - so much nicer than the later car.