Respray progress

[steve 944t]

ORIGINAL: Peter Empson

Steve, don't start me on the colour issue again! I'm paying for the paint tomorrow and at that point it's final. Don't worry though, it will look different, just in a slightly more subtle way.

Fair enough. Wont mention again how stunning it would look in Viper Green []. I must say, white really suits the 944 anyway (looks almost as good as black [])
I was at Specialised Paintwork in Reading this morning. Very impressive setup. Should get a price from them imminently for new sill and repairs to both front wings.
As John says, am a bit nervous at what may be lurking under the wings, but the guys at Specialised certainly have the skill to fabricate repair panels so hopefully the final bill wont completely destroy this year's trackday budget.
Anyway, keep the pictures and reports coming Peter. Interesting stuff.

 

[Peter Empson]

ORIGINAL: Hilux

One recommendation (I would do if it were me) would be to strengthen the front jacking point (the one that bends the floorpan) and install one at the rear of the sill so you can jack the car up easier. I know (heaven forbid) its more weight but how much easier would it be to work on it?

Good idea. I've been trying to find the part number for the front jacking point piece as we need it but it doesn't appear on the drawings I have and it's difficult describing something when you've not seen the part yourself. I think I'll revisit this next week when the rest of the panels turn up.

ORIGINAL: Hilux

don't start me on the colour issue again! I'm paying for the paint tomorrow and at that point it's final. Don't worry though, it will look different, just in a slightly more subtle way.

Your not saying you`ve found your feminine side are you.................................


.............................its not.......................................pink.............................[].....................................ist it?

Since Diver944 gave the game away and mentioned the car was going to be inspired by the Pink panther mobile I have had to change my plans []

So given the extra expenditure so far I've just gone and bought two cans of Dulux Magnolia emulsion, which should do the trick.

To think Ollie at RPM was trying to convince me burnt orange was the colour to choose this morning. I should have held a poll here to decide [].

 

[edh]

How about Pink - like this one []

http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/pic.php?imagenum=3&carnum=421

 

[cuffn]

Steve

I will be interested to know how you get on and the price you are quoted from Specialised Paintwork as they are not a million miles from me and I need at least the bottom of one front wing rebuilt as well as the sill paintwork stripped back and redone. Please keep us posted.

Regards

 

[steve 944t]

Will do Nathan. Should hear from them Monday, so will let you know.

 

[cuffn]

ORIGINAL: edh

How about Pink - like this one []

http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/pic.php?imagenum=3&carnum=421

Maybe that pink one is appropriate for Peter with all the dotted lines showing where the repair panels have been welded in once painted! Only joking Peter keep up the good work. []

 

[Peter Empson]

ORIGINAL: cuffn

ORIGINAL: edh

How about Pink - like this one []

http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/pic.php?imagenum=3&carnum=421

Maybe that pink one is appropriate for Peter with all the dotted lines showing where the repair panels have been welded in once painted! Only joking Peter keep up the good work. []

Bloomin' cheek []

I do like the pink pig paintjob although I might have some explaining to do to anyone that knows I'm a veggie as to why I'm driving around with the cuts of meat labelled on my car in German

Starting to feel very glad I didn't have a poll on the forum after all []

 

[sawood12]

ORIGINAL: Hilux

Hi Peter,

One recommendation (I would do if it were me) would be to strengthen the front jacking point (the one that bends the floorpan) and install one at the rear of the sill so you can jack the car up easier. I know (heaven forbid) its more weight but how much easier would it be to work on it?

Just a slight point of clarification for consistency and to prevent any potential further problems, but the part of the car you are referring to as a 'front jacking point' was never actually intended to be a jacking point which is why it tends to bend the floor pan when you use it as one[]

The proper front jacking point is inboard of that and is the flat under floor which is where you'd put the wide flat pad of a proper workshop lift. God only knows why Porsche decided to make that cup shaped thing look the way it does because it certainly invites people to use it as a jacking point. Not their best design feature.

 

[Jonny944CS]

Just a slight point of clarification for consistency and to prevent any potential further problems, but the part of the car you are referring to as a 'front jacking point' was never actually intended to be a jacking point which is why it tends to bend the floor pan when you use it as one

I wondered if they were originally used by VW/Audi to position the bodies on the production line jigs maybe?
They don't seem suitable for jacking as the vertical mating panel runs down the centre of the mushroom, allowing it to tilt under load.
You could get away with using the ones on my old Mk1 golf, but the car only weighed 850kg.
I've attached a picture of mine, not the clearest, but you can just about make out the thickness of the supporting steel around the mushroom.

 

[ubertub]

my word! You've taken the bull by the horns there.... nice to see a car brought back to life. Truely shocking extent of rot though.
good skills!

 

[333pg333]

Peter. Big undertaking you've got yourself into but it's one of those things that you can't stop now! Do you think that you might consider getting a cheap runabout so this car isn't exposed nearly as often to the elements?

 

[Hilux]

but the part of the car you are referring to as a 'front jacking point' was never actually intended to be a jacking point which is why it tends to bend the floor pan when you use it as one

Hi Scott, I know, I should have made myself clearer but y`all know where I mean []

 

[Peter Empson]

ORIGINAL: 333pg333

Do you think that you might consider getting a cheap runabout so this car isn't exposed nearly as often to the elements?

Can't imagine it to be honest, but we'll see how I feel when I get it back []

 

[cuffn]

ORIGINAL: steve 944t

Will do Nathan. Should hear from them Monday, so will let you know.

Any news on the quote from Specialised Paintwork Steve?

 

[steve 944t]

ORIGINAL: cuffn

Any news on the quote from Specialised Paintwork Steve?

Hi Nathan
Apologies for the delay. Don't have the written estimate yet but they called me on Friday. Total is just short of £2.5k (including VAT). This is for both front wings to be repaired (rust cut out and new wing bottoms fabricated), new sill on passenger side, sill on drivers side stripped and repainted, minor repairs to both rear arches, includes new stone guards, etc.
This is an over-estimate, so hopefully it will come in a bit under that (well, it wont really cos I am going to have the wheels refurbed while it's there!)

 

[cuffn]

Phew! That's quite a bit of work and money! Mine is down at Jon Mitchell's at the moment, where it's been for a couple of weeks (picking it up tomorrow) having another interior fitted and loads of mechanical work done. Once I've got over that bill I intend to sort the bodywork which I think is mainly a repair to bottom of the offside wing and strippping back both sills and repainting. There are a few other bits that could do with being done as well (such as a wheel refurb) but I have to stop somewhere! I seem to be spending far more than the car is worth getting all these things sorted but I use it as a daily driver and you get attached don't you. When I have the funds one day I am still hankering after a late turbo but that will have to wait for the present. Thanks for the update anyway - I may drop mine in there one day for a quote, but please keep us posted with progress and your opinion on the quality of the work.

 

[Hilux]

Hi Peter I`ve just seen your web site. Therean awful lot of weight saving going on....................[]

 

[Diver944]

Any update Peter? Didn't you go and view the progress today?

 

[Peter Empson]

Thanks, yes I did go and see it today and am somewhat relieved that it's started to look a bit more like a car (from one side at least []).

Alan has made fantastic progress with the offside, in fact it's almost completed:

The new sill looks great too and the floor has been repaired in patches where necessary. Note the complete removal of all the bitumous panels from throughout the car, in fact the only sound deadening will be the carpet, I may live to regret this... []

The new fibreglass bumper is being test fitted and it's not too bad at all considering it's probably intended for a race car, I like the nice clean look too. Think I will probably have to do something with the exhaust as it's a twin exit design that was modified into one to fit through the old toast rack valence, I think it will look a bit odd if I run the rear nude as I intend []

The next job is to get the nearside done:

This is much better than the other side (I know it doesn't look it!) and will be quite an easy job to put right apparently. The windscreen is coming out at the weekend so the rust around there can be sorted.

Alan thinks it might be primered up fairly soon (possibly as soon as next weekend). He's found loads more holes in the interior to weld up (I wanted the noisy ones that the rear seatbelts would have located into done) and will be getting my pet hate sorted - yes, those nasty roof rack bolt holes are going! [][][]

I saw my GTS headlights for the first time and they're as bad as I feared, the buckets are quite nice but they don't match the covers (or possibly the car!). Alan thinks he can make them workable for the time being (my only request, as they're a temporary solution), I remain to be convinced, but he's been right so far.

The wheels need to be sent away for refurbishment soon and I think I'll be putting Toyo 888's on when they're back [] They probably wont last long with the amount of -ve camber I'm running, but it'll be a good excuse to get it on the track asap!

Once the front wings are on he can get working on modifying the front bumper to fit, this is still probably my greatest concern and may be the one thing I regret, but we wont know till we try it. It is going to be a pretty involved job, but nothing ventured nothing gained []

More pics here

Next update could be quite soon! Can't wait to be able to post those pics[]

 

[Diver944]

Lots of progress indeed. The offside is looking pretty much complete compared to the last set of pics. I'm sure the wait will be worth it and the extra lightness from the soundproofing removal and the fibreglass front wings will be very noticeable.

All that and a supercharger too [8D]