I found this oval in 2002, was going to just get it road worthy and drive around , not bad condition , rusty in spare wheel area, where guards bolt to body, and other minor areas but heater channels solid, had been rear ended some time so needed w engine lid and correct rear valance.

doors and bonnett were amazingly straight and rust free, i believe it had original engine, later on when i got drums machined they measured original size and hadnt been skimmed before, not sure if this is a guage on low milage but i was suprised

After a few months of odd jobs on it i decided to do it properly so i went for the full resto option

the car was originally grey underneath the nice yellow, meanwhile i sent the engine off to be rebuilt, unfortunately i didnt take any before photos but looked nice after

engine tin powdercoated, trying to rebuild the heater exchanges was a nightmare, due to the rusted out J pipes no one could do the correct bend or radius but found someone in the US who remade them

meanwhile I had a gut full of stripping the paint off, looking under the bonnet and boot and seeing the 50 years of grit and grime i thought there must be an easier way, how long would it take to sand down the boot area ready for paint

so i stripped her and put her on a truck and sent her off to the sand blasters

Before i sent off to grit blasrers i needed to remove all the rubber sound deadner from under the guards and wheel wells, under engine firewall and other places, took a long time, also in this photo you can see the repair of a rear ender, this panel will be replaced later, as will the other side

looks much better when came back from grit blasters, you can see all the defects properly, i was lucky the chap did a good job, alot of things have been said about blasting, my panel beater doesnt like it it can weaken the steel, warp it , thin it i probably wouldnt do it next time, there are different blast materials which are milder.

unfortunatly i had doors and bonnet blasted by someone else ,and i didnt realise it until over a year later when the panel beater pointed out they were warped beyond repair, the bonnet was okay,clowns must have thought they were stripping paint off a wall

[ Edited on 19-1-2007 by oldnslo ]

finally got car off to panel beater, sourced a W enginelid from Greg and a h panel valance from Karman,
basically they will be replacing rear inner quarters, drip channel under rear window, front apron and wheel well, work on all gaurds, weld up old seat belt holes in pillars, small rust hole in b pillar and paint

Nice work oldnslo - I love a good resto project!

I know your pain with the sandblasting - my 63 ragtop doors were beyond repair after the overzealous operator put too much heat into them trying to get the paint off.

As you say, next time I think I'll try a different sort of media, but I'll also use paint stripper to strip away all the paint on the big flat panels (doors, quarters, roof etc). That way they won't have to blast so hard/long on those areas susceptible to warping.

All the best, keep those pics coming.
Alan

nice project i had similar with my 56 someone had made it into a Baja Bug ( yuk ) so had no front or rear clips lots of work but worth it in long run

theres not much left of the front clip

Paint stripper or dipping is best for the doors, bonnet and engine lid for sure

only sand blast where yopu have found heavy rust after the paint stripping

thanks Dasdubber and vw54, definetly hand stripping where u can and blast hard to find areas, I cant imagine what the finlal cost of the finished doors will be ,for all you kiddies out there beware.
after the guys removed the door skins and removes the hinge panel and that inner panel from the engine lid i got these acid dipped, apparently thats the way to go, but not recommended where the residue can sits between two seams. As you can see these doors were blasted but the surface rust remained inside,these should be the cleanest bug doors in aust

[ Edited on 19-1-2007 by oldnslo ]

Thats going to be another good resto Oldnslo.I had my Oval dipped and etch primed and couldn't fault how it came back to me.The only thing I had blasted was the sunroof panel,which was perfectly straight,only had some surface rust.I told the blaster how rare it was and it couldn't be replaced--so take special care.When it came back it looked like a bad day's surf(or good if you have a board) at Bondi,so cost me heaps to have it repaired-so will never take body panels to be blasted.I can feel your pain with the doors.I filled mine with fish oil in all the areas where moisture can cause havoc.Guess it's all part of the learning curve when doing restos.Keep us posted with your Oval's progress.

[ Edited on 19-1-2007 by nbturbo ]

[ Edited on 19-1-2007 by nbturbo ]

nbturbo been keeping an eye on your oval looking very sweet, i think i would dip and etch prime a car next time. must had been hard to see your sunroof panel come back like that, door can be replaced sunroof panel not so easy,

this was one of the more expensive repairs, under back window in engine compartment, maybe caused by slow leek from back window but they did a great job after paint couldnt tell the difference

i resisted the urge to strip the floorpan until the body work was completed due to the ease of transport but the pan was good cond, no rust anywhere even near new looking paint under the old rubber mats, this will be stripped and blasted later, and gearbox removed, stripped and whatever needs doing will be done

great work.. keep it up!

Just curious, if the blasters f!ck a panel or door beyond repair, are they liable for replacing it or covering the costs? Sounds like a right raping if they get away scot free for stuffing up something that's irreplacable or rare..

good question, i didnt realise the extent of damage until i took to crash repairer maybe 12 months later, maybe too late to claim damages.one for consumer affairs.

This will be as close to factory stock as i can get it, also staying 6 volt electrics.
the front apron and wheel well all fitted and primed,

preparing for paint

Looks like it's coming along great, looking forward to seeing it in colour. Going to bring it down to dovw on Feb 25th glenelg as a unfinished project?
When it comes to aligning the doors do it with the rubbers in, makes it easier in the long run
T54

Looks good so far, they are a big job.
I know first hand and the trick is to keep doing a bit each day if you can.
keep up the good work and don't foget to keep us posted.

nathan

I would like to take it to the DOVW Heath, as unfinished project
but unfortunately dont have a rolling chassis,
Will try to keep up the work, always something getting done at some time to keep me motivated