Restoration Project

Hi all,
 
I posted a while back about my R project, thought I better show a few pictures of my progress so far, must admit only got as far as stripping it down  
 
Before I started photos:
 

 

 
Anyway the story, I was on the point of selling her, owned her for 9 years and fancied a change, but when it came down to it, I just couldn't part with her!  So the plan was hatched of restoring the black beast, to be fair there's not much wrong with her, but I've got the time to do it properly so what the hell..  
 
Body work wise theres very little rust, plenty of surface rust underneath as you would expect but on a whole really straight and solid..
 

 
Over the last month or so ive stripped it down completely and made a rotisserie to make it easier to tackle the underside plus very handy for moving around the garage!
 

 
Some how I managed to weld the pivot point slightly off being straight on both dolly's! Christ knows how I managed that when everything else is perfect, oh well it still works!  Mental note to myself when I rotate the car take my tools and crap out the boot first  hmmmmm a lot of noise shall we say!
 
I meant to ask this question a while back, how do you take the rear light plastic lenses out?  I've taken the small fixing nuts off but the lenses seem to have a black sealant all around them, dont want to damage them by just tugging on them!  Thinking of a hairdryer to make the sealant flexible enough to pull free??
 

 
Need to raise the car another 200mm so it can rotate a fully without the roof and rear panels catching on the dolly's, also need to put the link bar in between the two dolly's so its all properly secure.
 
Engine wise im not too sure what I want to do yet, currently running 330bhp @ fly, been running that happily for 20k although the standard clutch I put in 7 years ago is now smooth as something very smooth  would like to run 400bhp, but don't want to start having gearbox problems etc, but that's a year or so away yet plenty of time to decide..
 
All running gear off to sand blasters and either powder coated or painted up. For the underside all old underseal removed (only had one coat when I had it imported 9 years ago) so shouldn't be too hard to get off, treat rusty bits, weld in new rear arch, full respray (black).  Will clean up the interior, in vgc anyway, roof lining a bit dirty, not sure how to clean that for the best, don't want to damage the backing board and cause creases..
 

 

 

 

 
Removed the engine the tried and test way, fence posts! easy as, never done it this way before had it out in no time at all, on my own as well.
 

 

 
Once I have some progress photos of the underside etc, I will post them up..
 
Gaz

Excerlant project and progress wish i had a garge big enough to work in well done on taking the time to post up

johnny gtir wrote:Excerlant project and progress wish i had a garge big enough to work in well done on taking the time to post up

Cheers Johnny, going to take a while cost more than anything, but certainly be worth it in the end!

Gaz

hi gaz and welcome to the forum if ive not already said so

now to your question regarding rear lights...........problem is in the 4th pic down you've left the lights on which will flatten your battery  
no as you said just heat the sealant a little with a hair dryer and apply constant firm pressure and they will come free.

brill write up btw and the rotisserie thing you made is the nuts

keep the updates coming please

Wow that's some project mate, I've just done the under side on mine but to no where near this level.

Bit of a update:
 
Rotated it for the first time tonight and discovered something alarming!
 

 

 
Just behind the ARB mounting points, is this a common problem with them?
 
I thought I had taken all the odd bolts and bits out the car before rotating, but no, clatter bang  
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmJ_G3p0PqU  -  not the best vid, will do another in day light... The crunch at the end wasn't the roof hitting   a locating pin washer got stuck on the frame, thought the worst had happened!!
 

 
Got a bit to be getting on with through the winter months!!
 

GTI-R US wrote:hi gaz and welcome to the forum if ive not already said so

now to your question regarding rear lights...........problem is in the 4th pic down you've left the lights on which will flatten your battery
no as you said just heat the sealant a little with a hair dryer and apply constant firm pressure and they will come free.

brill write up btw and the rotisserie thing you made is the nuts

keep the updates coming please

 
 
Will nick the mrs hair dryer over the weekend  
 
Yeah the rotisserie is a really handy tool.. Was going to buy one but your looking from 300 quid onwards for a decent one, got all the box steel for wholesalers down the road from me for 75 quid bargain! plus they cut it all to the sizes I needed   I wish i'd put a hydraulic ram either end to make it easier lifting the car up to the height needed, again fence posts to the rescue nice big T and a trolley jack, job done..
 

buckym120 wrote:Wow that's some project mate, I've just done the under side on mine but to no where near this level.

 
 
Been reading your thread, looking really good, hat off to you doing it all on axel stands though!!
 
Gaz

Awesome love the spit ..... i think it is a problem area  ive seen quite a few where they have been  jacked  up on that point wich its not designed for mines split there wich i got to weld up ...

Yep my arb poits was the same, had to weld them up

Rotisserie finished, can now lock at a variety of angles, cant wait to start work on the underside now!
 

 
What I have noticed, the rusty areas that need the most work are where 3 panels meet, sill floor and a inner panel?
 

 

 
To be honest im not sure what to do with these bits, either cut the whole lip out treat with rust remover then weld across the area, or clean it up with wire brush attachment on grinder then treat with rust remover paint and under seal.
 
Seems to be were its been jacked up before on wheel frees, crushed the seem
 
What's the best way to deal with this?
 
Over the next few months im going to attack the underside.  First off a full wire brush (the time consuming boring part   ) repair damaged to far gone sections, treat affected areas, paint and underseal..
 
Already looking into what products to use, for the rust treatment ive heard good things about:
 
Bilt Hamber Hydrate 80 - seems to be the one to use, or
Eastwood Rust Encapsulator
 
I will be spraying inside the chassis legs and any other parts with Waxoyl plus the whole underside.  Got a few new nuts to weld on as a few odd bolts sheared off cant be arsed drilling them out, tapping or helicoiling the hole, too much faff.  All bolt holes will be freshly tapped once sprayed up, to make assembly quick and easy.
 
Gaz

Edit: got a daylight vid of the rotisserie now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4JpMZAIdeM well bit lighter than the other  

I recently discoverd the most inexpensive rust cure ....vinegar ..... going to check your video out now ...

I had the chassis rails replaced on my last car due to being bent and cracked ARB mounting points. What normally happens is the captive nuts either strip or become unattached so you can't bolt the bar up anymore, I can't remember how much new rails are something like £40-£50 I think.



Rob

Don't suppose you have a part number for them Rob?

Been looking on fast but can't seem to find them..

Gaz

Hi,

Ive been busy over the last year, and thought id better update this thread really!!  So the shell is prepped and ready for paint now,  looking to respray it in the next few months then start the rebuild and sourcing parts etc for her..

My last post, I was at the point of starting to strip the underseal off, unfortunately this was hiding a fair bit of rust and rot on the rear end..

Discovering rust time!











Crack in front extension member



Hole



Rot back of floor pan



Remove rotted sump guard bracket







9" grinder handy for underseal removal



Underseal removal







Other front extension member cracked big time, but as its got a bracket on the inside, it looked worse than it is.



SOmething else to make



Rear arch



Rusted away, be interesting to make with nothing to go off!



Each time I cleaned to bare steel used Rustbuster FE-123 to treat and protect





Wheel arch meeting sill, didnt look that bad at first!



There must be an end to this!



Underseal removed













All finished back together, pmsl



Let the chopping commence









First bit fabricated





Tacking in



More chopping



Boom! done





Floor rot, ended up chopping the whole width of car in the end



Now the fun starts

















Wire brush attached to drill, clean inside sill, only light surface rust in there, wish the other side was the same!

Start the arch and sill fab

















Sill strengthening





Welded in



Floor Patch







Other sill, no messing this time chopping little pieces out at a time, chopped the whole thing out in one go, well kind of!























Bolts help to pull sill out flush when tacking



Great only bits I dont need to fabricate, lol



Nearly done



Boom, that side done. The black stuff you can see is Bilt Hamber S50, when grinding the welds down capilliary action pulled it into the joint, very handy for added protection! same thing on the extension members.



Here goes the rear arch









The only way I could make this was in sections due to the complex curves of the panel, looks messy once welded but does the job so not arsed really, english wheel would be handy!







Somewhere near, lol







Rest of arched cleaned for rust inspection



Bare bits had tiny bits of rust, not worth chopping so treating was fine









Whole damn thing needed fabricating in the end

Can anyone notice the welds, ;-)





Sound deadening removal





Rear extension fab

















Front extension now!







Welded in front and rear





More sound deadening removal



More rust rear floor pan





Other extension leg







Fabbing up front hood lower ledge both sides







Rear arch panel prep





The other side only needed patching







Paint on to protect underneath



Welded on, not bothering blending until next year when I tackle the panels ready for paint

Starting prep for epoxy paint





Bare steel







Lets get spraying, err think the mask is upside down?



Thats better!



Right so for the epoxy im using a product by Jotun called Jotamasic 87, its a 2k system and comes with a std hardner for above 10c and winter grade for below 10c, the company informed me most professionals use WG all year round, just means the pot life is 1hr once mixed, I was going through 600ml in about 15 to 20 minutes depending what panel I was on. Its been used on ship hulls for years, stands up to salt water very very well!!!! also used on oil rig legs and various other industrial applications.. Practical Classic mag are raving about epoxy products over conventional underseal, I was goig to use Rustbusters Epoxy Mastic 121, actually bought 1ltr tin of it but realised id need more, Jotun is cheaper and exactly the same product on paper so went with that.



Next day after 24hr curing, will take 7 days to be fully hardened!



































I used a LVLP gun, its a non iso product, so a decent charcoal filter mask only is needed. It can only be thinned to 10%, i found on the first coat it was very thick and hard to lay down out the gun, even though the tip was 1.8mm, left a orange peel effect due to the psi needed to shift the stuff, 2nd coat 16hrs later, thinned it to around 15%, much better to spray.. Possibly a 2.0mm tip would be better. It can be overcoated with most type of paints. The engine bay and underside im topcoating, just for the hell of it!

So thats it up to now, not doing much now till next year. Next job is to get shell sprayed, bits sand blasted and can start rebuilding finally!!

Gaz

Wow this is amazing to see, another one saved! You're obviously handy with a welder! How many hours have you put into this so far? Very interesting to see/read! Great work

Spent a lot of hours of trial and error alone on fabrication In all honesty once I got going with the fabrication it flowed quite quick, I was building an extension on the garage and landscaping the back garden as well so probably a couple of months of evenings and weekends (when i was aloud!) but spread over the year, hit it big time leading up to november so I could spray the epoxy beofre winter set in. If that makes any sense

Once ive sprayed it, Will start the rebuild, going to make a new engine wiring loom and custom ignition loom to incorporate alarm, new earthing points and rear mount battery etc, might as well with it being stripped, probably learn to regret doing this but test it properly before installing it shouldnt cause any problems

Going to be a few challenges putting her back together but im sure the GTi-R community will save me And I expect a few trips to Bobs for bits n pieces!

Gaz

Excellent work .... you sir have earned a rep point ...

Loving the updates. It's really interesting to see the amount of work and detail that's going into this restoration. It would obviously be a lot of time and effort. The fabrication work is also top notch

Cheers guys, i'll get a lot more updates posted this year!!

What can I say 
You sir are one very patient very clever guy

I and many others would have given up on that long long ago but fair play to you for top notch fabrication skills

Blimey that's some serious effort you've put into the r,well done and keep us posted for further updates.

that painted underside is explicit material +18

really loving the work you've put in to this, looking forward to the rest of the build !

Well done so far.. Great work