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Greg's LH SLR Resuscitation


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#1 mugginz

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Posted 05 June 2014 - 10:30 PM

So I finally got around to rescuing the first car I ever bought, a 74 SLR Torana.  Bought it around 1990 or so and was last registered in 92.  It sat around for a long time before I brought the car to a panel beaters to get rust repairs and a paint job.  Boy did I pick the wrong guy as you'll see later on when I put up the pix of his "repairs."

 

First, here's a pic of the car the day before it was loaded onto a trailer.

 

20-3-13-WashB4Trailerage-800.jpg

 

And now at a safe place where a proper resto can begin.

 

1-4-13-RustyFrontShot-800.jpg

 

Luckilly I'd pulled the car from idiots place of business before he'd had time to wreck the front of the car in the same way as he'd attacked the back.  The car went to his place as a running complete car wearing a new bonnet, passenger side front guard and nose cone all supplied straight from Holden.  They didn't have stock of the drivers side guards so that was replaced with one from a wreckers though it was just about in new condition.  If he'd stuffed the new panels up too badly I'd of been mortified.  As it was he'd only hit them with undercoat and sandpaper.

 

1-4-13-RustyPassSideShot-800.jpg

 

The weather had really gotten to the car.  I actually drove it to the panel beaters over 10 years ago as a complete thing.  So sad to see it in this state now.

 

1-4-13-RustyRearShot-800.jpg

 

1-4-13-RustyRearShot2-800.jpg

 

Just wait till you see what's lurking under these rear quarters.  When all the bog was ground out it was kinda heart breaking.

 

1-4-13-RustyRearShot3-800.jpg

 

Someone in another forum asked why you'd chop bits out of the dash steel support.  In my car someone had done it to mount guages.  I asked to have this restored back to factory. He at least did a half decent job here but given he'd been supplied with another dash to cut from it wasn't a huge ask.  I'll redo this bit though as I'm not happy with it, and this'd be the best of all of the "repairs" that he did.

 

1-4-13-RustyInteriorShot-800.jpg

 

The car was moved from my place to resto central late March 2013 and work began pretty much straight away.  A lot of his crap workmanship (if you can call what he did workmanship) has already been cut out and rectified but I thought I'd start at the start and, well this is what I had to work with.

 

Part two to follow.



#2 Shiney005

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Posted 05 June 2014 - 11:34 PM

Can't wait for part two. Name and Shame I say.

#3 mugginz

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Posted 05 June 2014 - 11:43 PM

So, onto the easy part for a start.  I picked the parcel shelf as my first job.

 

6-4-13-RustyParcelShelf-800.jpg

 

7-4-13-MessedUpSpeakrHoles-800.jpg

 

The previous owner kinda messed up the speaker holes.  I'll fix these up at some stage.

 

7-4-13-RustyCPillarsInterior-800.jpg

 

The C pillars were a bit untidy (to say the least.)

 

It was time to pick up some new tools and bits seeing as I'd need to be paintin' soon.

 

6-4-13-Compressor-800.jpg

 

9-4-13-PaintinBits-800.jpg

 

Application of the above to the above got me this....

 

11-4-13-UndrCoatedParcelShelf-800.jpg

 

While I was hangin round the parcel shelf inside the car, I noticed I'd have to be gettin rid of the flaky sound deadener.

 

9-4-13-RustyCeiling-800.jpg

 

Remember folks, this stuff contains asbestos so if removing it, use an appropriate approach.  The Victorian Gov website contains material on prescribed methods of removal.



#4 mugginz

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Posted 05 June 2014 - 11:46 PM

Can't wait for part two. Name and Shame I say.

I'm not sure this websites an appropriate place for me to so that but if you're in Geelong and thinking of dealing with a one man show for your resto, PM me with details of who's doing it and I'll let you know if it's the guy I had ruin my car.



#5 BIG KEV

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Posted 06 June 2014 - 07:25 AM

I am all for name and shame .....
these tossers need to be put out of business so no other person has the same problems with these fools .....its only a matter of time before someone gets badly burnt
Wish you the best of luck with your project/ rebuild

#6 mugginz

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Posted 06 June 2014 - 10:11 AM

If a mod says it's OK I'll name him but some forums are averse to this kinda thing.

 

I will say he operated from a garage in Mornington Street Geelong North when he butchered my car.

 

Oh, and I forgot to say that the pr1ck left my car outside where some grubby thief stole my SLR steering wheel.  On the first say he had the car no less.  There's about $300 he cost me just right there.


Edited by mugginz, 06 June 2014 - 10:16 AM.


#7 Shiney005

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Posted 06 June 2014 - 11:19 AM

Remember folks, this stuff contains asbestos so if removing it, use an appropriate approach.  The Victorian Gov website contains material on prescribed methods of removal.

Now that is a great tip. I had no idea it contained asbestos.

Edited by Shiney005, 06 June 2014 - 11:19 AM.


#8 mugginz

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Posted 06 June 2014 - 11:48 AM

Okay, so onto the next part of the story.

 

My god, I don't know what they paint their roofs with, but by god it was tuff to get off.  Here's a pic with the roof mainly clean (didn't get one with it all removed and de-oxedined.)

 

12-4-13-StrippedRoof-800.jpg

 

In this image you can see I left the front of the roof alone.  I also did the same for the back.  He was given factory repair sections to fix up some minor rust in the window apertures but his offsider gave me info that he went a little overboard and butchered these repairs.  At this stage of the repair I wasn't quite upto dealing with what might be lurking there so I chickened out at just left those sections for later.   I should say that as of this point in time I've actually had a look under there and, well, it aint pretty.  You'll get to see that mess when I get those photots up.

 

13-4-13-HiFilledRoof2-800.jpg

 

Here's a photo after I'd gotten the paint off the roof and c-pillars, deoxedined them, etch primed and then hi-filled them.

 

14-4-13-HiFilledRoof-800.jpg

 

16-4-13-BareDrvrsRearQtr-800.jpg

 

This quarter required sand blasting and plenty of deoxedine before etch primer and hi-fill.

 

21-4-13-BareDrvrsRearQtr2-800.jpg

 

Now, this photo (and the photos of the other side) don't really show the true horror of the lower rear quarter repairs.  And youse are gunna larf your ar5es off when you see what's on the other side of those "repairs."  (Pix of those bits to follow in the next post.)

 

21-4-13-BareBeaver2-800.jpg

 

Not only did he just bog over rust holes in the beaver panel, he was kind enough to leave the rust behind this bit to fester.  This'd probably be the best hidden patch he'd put in the entire car.  I think it's the only one he butt welded.  It looks worse than this in person.  Was not impressed when this was cut out and I got to see what was behind it.

 

21-4-13-BareDrvrsRearQtr3-800.jpg

 

Aaaaand back to his usual patch style.  Behind here lurks much dissapoint!

 

21-4-13-BarePassRearQtr2-800.jpg

 

Lumpy is the word.

 

My god it's bad behind this one as well.

 

21-4-13-BarePassRearLwrWndScrn.-800.jpg

 

Ah, the rear aperture lower repair.  I think if you saw what was under this crap you just wouldn't believe your eyes.  Defenatly a candidate for "worst repair ever posted on GHM-Torana.com.au"  I dunno if I have pictures of it, I'll have a look through the troves but I kid you not, he welded box section that had been bent to an arc in there.  And what's worse, it didn't really follow the proper arc of the boot lid and rear window.  Out it must come.  But first I'll get everything in hi-fill.

 

18-4-13-BareBeaver-800.jpg

 

21-4-13-HiFilledRear-800.jpg

 

All sealed up and ready to start to repair the "repairs."



#9 _judgelj_

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Posted 06 June 2014 - 11:54 AM

looks like he welded with a stick!

Good luck with your new project!



#10 mugginz

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Posted 06 June 2014 - 12:06 PM

looks like he welded with a stick!

Good luck with your new project!

Thanks, I'll need it  :D

 

And to think he actually used a MIG for those welds.  At least he had a nice MIG sitting in his shed.  (Maybe he used an arc welder when I wasn't looking.  :<_<: )



#11 _judgelj_

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Posted 06 June 2014 - 01:40 PM

It was probably a dummy mig ha.

Ran out of gas?



#12 mugginz

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Posted 06 June 2014 - 02:06 PM

Gotta say each time I cut out another piece of his handy work, the better I feel.



#13 _judgelj_

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Posted 06 June 2014 - 02:46 PM

Well at least it's done properly. No one better to blame than yourself. 

 

Will have to get in on a Vic cruise when you finish!


Edited by judgelj, 06 June 2014 - 02:47 PM.


#14 BIG KEV

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Posted 06 June 2014 - 03:13 PM

Don't look back at whats done .....just keep moving forward ...it all takes time

#15 mugginz

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Posted 06 June 2014 - 03:57 PM

Well at least it's done properly. No one better to blame than yourself.

Yep. With each progression the buck stops with me. I'm pretty fussy so progress wont be at lightnin' speed but what does get done hopefully will be of a high standard.

 

Will have to get in on a Vic cruise when you finish!

Hopefully she'll be finished in time for some cruisin later this year.



Don't look back at whats done .....just keep moving forward ...it all takes time

 

Words to live by while the jobs still a bit of a slog.

 

Can't wait to get to the really fun parts.



#16 mugginz

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Posted 06 June 2014 - 04:15 PM

With the back of the car sealed up I thought I'd get a new gun for top coat.  Sadly this gun has been waiting to be used far too long.

 

23-4-13-NewGun-800.jpg

 

While I was in the spending mood I bought some rare spares rust repair sections.  Drivers and passenger side rear lower quarters, beaver panel, and lower rear window aperture.

 

28-5-13-RareSparesRWndScrnLwr-800.jpg

 

26-4-13-RareSparesRQtr-800.jpg

 

These panels don't fit up like factory steel and require some adjustment.  It pays to have a shrinker/stretcher on hand especially for the panels I've bought.

 

Under the roof got cleaned, deoxedined, and coated with KBS chassis paint.  Then the braces a, b and c pillars as well as the sills were treated to copious amounts of cavity wax.

 

28-4-13-UnderRoofBare-800.jpg

 

17-7-13-UnderRoofPainted-800.jpg

 

And here's some more pictures of panel beating hilarity and fun.

 

29-7-13-RRearWWellMess2-800.jpg

 

He'd covered everything here in 3M texture coating.  Hiding poor workmanship would probably be his stock in trade.

 

This bit is especially lovely.

 

29-7-13-RRearWWellMess-800.jpg

 

These parts were interesting to repair.  This sides actually been done and I'm currently doing the other side.  I should put up the pix of the rear aperture repair first though.



#17 _LS1 Taxi_

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Posted 06 June 2014 - 04:19 PM


I will say he operated from a garage in Mornington Street Geelong North when he butchered my car.

Oh, and I forgot to say that the pr1ck left my car outside where some grubby thief stole my SLR steering wheel. On the first say he had the car no less. There's about $300 he cost me just right there.

Jesus dude. Phil has a history of selling valuable car parts and saying things were stolen. Apparently he has a gambling problem. Prick!!

Edited by LS1rana, 06 June 2014 - 04:23 PM.


#18 _LH SLR 3300_

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Posted 06 June 2014 - 04:43 PM

Some pretty bad repairs there. On par with some of the old repairs I've encountered on the LX hatch I'm restoring at the moment, except your guy fully welded the patches over the rust. The patches I'm re-doing on the hatch were for the most part just tacked in, which meant I could tear them off with a pair of pliers. Sometimes I suppose if you want the job done properly, do it yourself. Keep up the good work.



#19 mugginz

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Posted 06 June 2014 - 05:30 PM

Thanks LH SLR 3300.

 

5-8-13-RearLwrAptr1-800.jpg

 

An adjustment here, and an adjustment there and on and on till it fits just right.

 

15-8-13-RearLwrAptr2-800.jpg

 

While things were open I got in there with steel brushes of just the right shape and scrubbed with deoxedine then it was painted internally with KBS chassis coating.

 

When he drilled out the spot welds holding things together before he butchered this bit he went all the way through the mating panel which meant I had plenty of holes to fill and dress.  I guess a spot weld drill bit would've been far too expensive for his wallet  :banghead:

 

15-8-13-RearLwrAptr3-800.jpg

 

I took this chance to fix the brazed in patch that used to live here.  My god brass welds are very hard indeed.

 

15-8-13-RearLwrAptr4-800.jpg

 

This patch is located at the correct depth so the rear window will sit as it should unlike the last one that was in there.  It has a bit of extra material left until the other section is welded in.  That way it can be cut back to fit the other repair section.

 

15-8-13-RearLwrAptr5-800.jpg

 

Before welding things together I applied copper weld through primer to keep the rust monster away.

 

15-8-13-RearLwrAptr6-800.jpg

 

A plug weld here...

 

17-8-13-RearLwrAptr7-800.jpg

 

And a tack weld there...

 

17-8-13-RearLwrAptr8-800.jpg

 

Before completing the welds.


Edited by mugginz, 06 June 2014 - 05:30 PM.


#20 _LH SLR 3300_

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Posted 06 June 2014 - 08:37 PM

Good to see workmanship from someone who knows what they're doing. Trial fit with boot lid in place is the key here. Believe me, I've worked with plenty of so called "tradesmen" who couldn't do the job this well. Will keep an eye on this project.



#21 mugginz

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Posted 07 June 2014 - 08:55 PM

Time for the next update....

 

There were a few bits of rust around the rear window aperture that needed to be fixed (aside from the mess lurking along the top bit of the roof that I alluded to earlier.  The bit that I was too chicken to touch yet.)

 

24-8-13-DvrSideLwrSidePatchTstFit-800.jp

 

Drivers side lower aperture test fit after cutting out rust and deoxedining the area.

 

25-8-13-DvrSideLwrSideTreated-800.jpg

 

Treated area with weld through primer.

 

25-8-13-DvrSideLwrSidePatch-800.jpg

 

patch with plug weld holes and treated as above.

 

The same routine with the passenger side lower corner...

 

24-8-13-PassSideLwrCnrPatchTstFit-800.jp

 

25-8-13-PassSideLwrCnrTreated-800.jpg

 

25-8-13-PassSideLwrCnrPatch-800.jpg

 

Started on the top passenger side corner...

 

This was an interesting patch to make.  The shape of the flat steel didn't look anything like this shape before it was bent up.

 

21-8-13-PassSideUprCnrPatch-800.jpg

 

Test fit to see what final adjustments are needed.

 

24-8-13-PassSideUprCnrPatchTstFit-800.jp

 

Then the bog started to come off.

 

I decided this bit of the window would have to wait.  I haven't got a pic of the mess he made there so I'll post one up tomorrow.



#22 _judgelj_

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Posted 07 June 2014 - 11:39 PM

I always wanted to know what you do to the seam after spot welding it to completely seal it? More spot welds? 



#23 mugginz

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Posted 08 June 2014 - 12:01 AM

I always wanted to know what you do to the seam after spot welding it to completely seal it? More spot welds? 

When the cars are manufactured, parts are simply spot welded together without any rust protection coatings between them and it's totally up to the sport welds to hold the panels together.

 

Any panels I weld together where there's an element of overlap I make sure the surfaces are rust free and coated with weld through primer.

 

The above patches were plug welded where the factory would've used a spot welder and on the other edges they were fully seem welded.



#24 _mick74lh_

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Posted 08 June 2014 - 09:53 AM

Nice work. Great to see someone getting stuck in to a project like this.

 

I had no idea that the sound deadening in the roof contained asbestos by the way. How did you end up removing it?



#25 mugginz

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Posted 08 June 2014 - 11:48 AM

Nice work. Great to see someone getting stuck in to a project like this.

 

I had no idea that the sound deadening in the roof contained asbestos by the way. How did you end up removing it?

My current approach is to use paint stripper which turns it to slime which I then scrape off.  That way no material is disbursed into the air though I still use breathing protection though as much for the fumes of the paint stripper than anything.  An environmental hygienist I consulted did say that scraping it of would be fine as the bituminous base holds the fibres.  When this stuff is used on housing roofs the prescribed method of removal is also to scrape it off.

 

I wouldn't recommend rotary tools, etc.

 

I should say that the seam sealer also has trace amounts in it (as in background levels the same as the normal environment has) and I'm lead to believe that the stuff used in the wheel wells contains it too.


Edited by mugginz, 08 June 2014 - 11:51 AM.





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