reshelling restoration

PostPost by: Sea Ranch » Wed Apr 22, 2015 1:11 am

Hope I haven't caused any confusion, etc.!! :shock:

The factory originals are (presumably) the model for the SJ Sportscars stainless version, which you can see here, freshly unboxed in my shop last fall . . .
IMG_1629 Some comparison shots after removal of right side sill - Should be said that the factory sill, in factory red oxide primer, is heavier gauge, and the box is still very solid . . ..JPG and

You can clearly see they are dead straight, including the lower flange edge. (Worth noting that the factory sill member, in original red oxide primer, is heavier gauge metal than the SJ version, and the box section proper is still very solid, though the lower flange is clearly totally missing; the 3 inner plates bolted through to the sill member were nonetheless keeping the car straight and pretty solid.)

Now here is my car's "rocker panel", as we call them over here, with the new sill member installed, and with its flange trimmed along its lower edge to what can be seen as the curve of the fiberglass flange . . .
IMG_3274.JPG and

Hope that clears things up. Straight sill member, straight lower door aperture/jam, curved bottom of rocker panel and curved lower edge of fiberglass flange. Interestingly, the fiberglass cabin floor tub is straight, so there is a difference at front and back between the level of the outer fiberglass flange edge and the bottom of the floor tub. This straight floor tub is what makes it such an ideal place to fix beams to when putting the shell on a rotisserie or dolly.

HTH . . .

Regards,

Randy
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PostPost by: RichC » Wed Apr 22, 2015 4:37 pm

very nice . that'll come in handy when i fit my new sill members in a few weeks time....
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PostPost by: Sea Ranch » Wed Apr 22, 2015 5:37 pm

Rich, my only other tips, from a novice, are:

I didn't drill out/off the heads of the flange bolts - I just slipped a thin kerf cut-off disc (on my angle grinder) up between the fiberglass flange/what's left of the old metal sill member/fiberglass floor tub and simply cut those bolts in half. WAY easier than trying to drill off the heads.

I removed the old sills out the rear end, not front, and I didn't worry about flexing the fiberglass rocker out some while helping the sill member clear the rear hubs. Jack up the car on the hub so as to compress the suspension; I believe that gives the best clearance for the sill member, and then pull the sill member rear-ward, under the hub, and don't worry about flexing the fiberglass (although, to be honest, I was stripping paint and redoing all body-work, so was not trying to preserve a beautiful paint job on the rockers).

HTH, your mileage may vary, etc.!! :mrgreen:

Regards,

Randy
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PostPost by: RichC » Wed Apr 22, 2015 7:33 pm

ah Randy you made me larf ....
I did indeed do the same - i.e. angle cutter up behind the grp flange until you see sparks from bolts then hold ...
the old sill member poured out in bits in a vertical direction ... no sliding horizontally required .
I then swept it up and put it in a bin ready to put on the garden .. very good when you have chalky soil .
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PostPost by: Sea Ranch » Wed Apr 22, 2015 8:51 pm

So funny, Rich!! :lol:

But I am surprised the main box/triangle section was that far gone. Really? You can see from my pic that my car's sills were solid, excepting the lower flange. And it spent a lot of time in Illinois/cold/wet, etc.
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PostPost by: RichC » Fri Apr 24, 2015 6:11 pm

I'll need to run a line along the floor behind the sill just to check it's true and not bowed. Nice pictures by the way Randy ....such a clean shell !! I hope mine ends up like that eventually.
my original(?) flanges are quite a bit deeper than that shown in your picture . They completely obscure the view of the rear floorwell , whereas yours don't seem to from this angle. Any evidence they have been shortened?
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PostPost by: Sea Ranch » Fri Apr 24, 2015 7:28 pm

RichC wrote:I'll need to run a line along the floor behind the sill just to check it's true and not bowed.
Nice pictures by the way Randy ....such a clean shell !! I hope mine ends up like that eventually.
Randy: Took lots of time/work, especially the wheel wells and all that awful bitumen!!

my original(?) flanges are quite a bit deeper than that shown in your picture . They completely obscure the view of the rear floorwell , whereas yours don't seem to from this angle. Any evidence they have been shortened
Randy: In the first pic I posted, you can see the SJS sill member as it's delivered, with full sized and straight/square flange. The second pic is after installation and after I have cut/ground off any stainless flange extending below the edge of the fiberglass flange. I assume this is what the factory did, although my car's factory flanges were almost totally rusted away, so I can only infer from others' pix and what would look right. :)

Hope that makes sense. Install, then trim lower edge away, especially at front and back. :mrgreen:

Regards,

Randy
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PostPost by: RichC » Mon May 25, 2015 6:10 am

ah right!.
I have the same SJS stainless sill members & the fibreglass lip runs in line with the bottom edge . no plans to trim the steel here.
must get some pics up
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PostPost by: Sea Ranch » Mon May 25, 2015 8:46 pm

Yes, will look forward to that :mrgreen:
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PostPost by: RichC » Tue May 26, 2015 9:10 pm

here u go Randy. Sill members are installed and pushed upward maximally (in the picture )i.e. down toward the road surface and fibreglass lip is still quite a bit prominent so will be 'tidied up' with a sander . Still to come is some fibreglass matting and mesh & tissue to be added to strengthen the rather weak lips . i've tried some blue coloured fibreglass resin paste to bulk up where the original holes were but I'd never use this stuff again . i had planned to use it for the holes in the floor (in view) ,but have decided against it . rather I'd go for the clear coloured matting and resin . The plan is to leave the floorpan naked as original , but not sure whether the gel cracks need treatment for the long term ....
P5260067.JPG and

P5260068.JPG and

P5260069.JPG and
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PostPost by: Sea Ranch » Wed May 27, 2015 1:58 am

RichC wrote:here u go Randy. Sill members are installed and pushed upward maximally (in the picture )i.e. down toward the road surface and fibreglass lip is still quite a bit prominent so will be 'tidied up' with a sander . . .

Great pix, Rich. I will say, though, that it's downright scary to see your car upside down like that!! :shock: Mine's on a rotisserie, so I see it that way often, but wondering what you're supporting yours on.

Not sure what you mean by the fiberglass lip being quite prominent . . . the face of it is rough?

RichC wrote:. . . Still to come is some fibreglass matting and mesh & tissue to be added to strengthen the rather weak lips . i've tried some blue coloured fibreglass resin paste to bulk up where the original holes were but I'd never use this stuff again . i had planned to use it for the holes in the floor (in view) ,but have decided against it . rather I'd go for the clear coloured matting and resin . . .

Yeah, I had a few gouges in the fiberglass down there, presumably previous owners running the car up and over something. Had to patch that up. I found the fiberglass flange to be too weak and the holes along it too large and/or ragged for the factory-sized bolts, so I ordered truss-head stainless bolts, which gave me an oversized head. This meant I didn't have to worry about them pulling through, though I don't know if they'll look out of place. Hopefully the satin black on the flange will hide their extra diameter. Filling the holes and redrilling would have been difficult as simply putting resin and chopped tissue in the tiny holes would not have given much extra strength there, and I was unwilling to run new glass strips along the length of the flange (though that would have been the correct way to strength that area). The oversized bolt heads seem to really be holding the sill members in place well, so I'm satisfied with the install, structurally.
All the structural fiberglass repairs and reinforcing I've done (and they were many) were with polyester resin and so-called one ounce matting. Have worked great.

RichC wrote:. . . The plan is to leave the floorpan naked as original , but not sure whether the gel cracks need treatment for the long term ....

I, too, am leaving the floorpan naked, as it came from the factory. Truth is, the gelcoat is in awesome condition on the underside of my car. Amazing, after 45 years of unprotected exposure. I plan to buff it and wax it for protection, and then leave it (though there will be body colour under the nose and the rear section of the boot and satin black on the underside of the spare tire well, etc.)

BIG question: What do you plan to do on the wheel wells? I am quite certain I want body colour on all four wheel wells, as that was what the factory did on mine (before someone put bitumen all over them).

Regards,

Randy
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PostPost by: RichC » Thu May 28, 2015 5:24 am

it's on an old mattress. nothing high tech here ....
makes it marvellously springy
the lip of fibreglass stands out beyond the stainless sill member bottom edge & so I'm going to trim it back flush
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PostPost by: RichC » Fri Jun 05, 2015 1:51 pm

having removed all the old patchwork repairs (see box below)
P6050074.JPG and
box full of 1970's -80's mickey mouse repairs weighing about 4kg



I started trying to get the boot floor into shape by fibreglassing the cracks held in place with self tappers & plank of wood on inside, tarting from their extremities and working inwards & had to work hard with self tappers and a plank of wood to draw together the rear wall cracks ( in picture) before I realised it was always going to be a Frankenstein's Monster of a repair as so much distortion had occurred..
P6050070.JPG and
despite best intentions to repair boot floor it's going to be replaced by donor panel
. so after all my hard work have decided on plan B to use a donor panel from what remains of my accident damaged shell ( i've just placed it in position for the camera shot ) next is to cut the damage out and fibreglass the replacement panel in place.
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PostPost by: RichC » Fri Jun 05, 2015 2:03 pm

oh yeah , and here's a picture of LH inner wing as i was picking the old repair apart . The cuts are old cuts ( i didn't do them!) which were hidden under the old repair :shock: and the piece came out and is lying in the middle .
P5190055.JPG and
Needless to say i did a lot more picking after this until i got back tot he original glassfibre and gelcoat and ground out the remaining cracks etc , after which I laid up a mould i made from the accident damaged shell inner LH wing and recreated the inner wing . I didn't have any releasing agent to hand so i used aerosol can of guide coat paint which is the black stuff . That'll all be sanded off before i lay some tissue down on the engine bay side.
P6050072.JPG and
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PostPost by: RichC » Sun Dec 04, 2016 12:36 pm

01ae091a7b9a73ef83b4c98be544aa9e0891339d8a.jpg and
..... back on the road !
MOT pass yesterday & pictures and agreed valuation form filled in and put in post .
Let's see what Club Lotus have to say .....
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