There is a mk1a front bumper bar on eBay at the moment. Its been on there twice now so if your after a new one could make an offer for it.
There is a mk1a front bumper bar on eBay at the moment. Its been on there twice now so if your after a new one could make an offer for it.
I saw that but, just to prove I'm as mad as a box of frogs, I've been having different ideas.
I need to teach myself to weld and to make new sheet metal parts... Mk1a bumper metalwork is getting rare so maybe I should repair one that's a bit trashed and document what I'm doing rather than start with a new(ish) one.
Sounds like a good opportunity to learn some new skills to me. The results would be on a part of the car that's not really seen so if my first attempts aren't too perfect it wouldn't be a problem. And it's thicker metal to weld before I start messing with the thin stuff on the body.
Now, of course, I've got a rusty bumper but it got ripped from the front of the car so the ends are totally destroyed and I have no idea what shape and size they should be. And the bit in the middle is slightly twisted too. Not a good starting point for a novice!
Anybody know of a MK1a nose in the South East with a rusty metal thing that needs a new home?
James
while i'm all for getting stucking and having a go, some things aren't worth the effort, keep your eyes open on ebay & due to weight of front rf bars you should pick one up for little money as a collection only item, I got a 1B bar in the summer rust free for £26Originally Posted by Sweetpea
You will have to get your front bar either shot blast or spend all the time in the world removing the paint as unfortunately you cannot weld to paint.
Another problem you will have, as you're current bar is rusty, finding good metal to weld to will prove to be an issue. You will probably make find it gets even worse anyway when trying to fix it. I'm sorry if it sounds like I'm teaching you to suck eggs.
I had an front end accident when I owned a MK1A. I bent in the front part next to the indicator hole which in turn snapped on the front side as it was rusty - I found a brick, a hammer and a stainless steel plate with two holes in it for a rivet did the trick. I shortly sold the car on after that but I would have spent the money buying another bar if I was replacing it.
Mk1's always look good in black, Great find there.
Chris
I have gone to that url, but I can't see what I do next. Any idea how I pay?
hi . the crash bar is the least off your problems if i'm honest , the damage on the back panel will i think be impossible to knock out to get any reasonable finnish and will take to much filler and its rusty anyway . there is away to fix it though , find a car being broken and cut the rear panel out ( with or without rusty acres ) but when you do the cut include half the rear end panel ( number plate panel ) as you can use the rear light fixing holes to locate the rear panel in it right position . a few pics of a car i have done to make it easier to explain .
cutting out donner panel
cutting out damaged panel
cut the existing panel in line with the fuel filling cap edge , its the most shortest distance for welding and will reduce distortion to a absolute minimum
tack the panel in and only do short runs ( 20 mm ) to have no distortion and cool with a damp cloth between welds .
grind weld back using a flap disc .
then fill match in
then prime and paint
if you take your time you can do it .
gary
Last edited by mk1 dal; 12th November 2011 at 09:32 PM.
That is a fantastic piece of work. I'm inspired. One reason I'm not worrying about the rear wing is that it scares me a so I'm ignoring it!
I probably should tell you my plans and problems.
The car is actually up the road, at Canterbury, in a garage with no power. It's got no chance of an MOT without a fair amount of work and that means I'll have to trailer it back here...
So the plan it to get the motor working so I can get it on and off the trailer easily. I need to find / buy a nose and 2 front wings (probably fiberglass) ready for putting back on when gets here. Oh, and teach myself to weld and bash metal around over the winter (hence my plans for learning on the bumper).
Next year (or possibly the year after) I'll have some time off work and try to get it structurally sound and through the MOT. Then I can drive it to Canterbury and back and life will be much easier. I don't actually know if the rear wing will pass an MOT or if I'll need to bash it out. Either way the first goal is to get it safe and back on the road. Then the pretty work can start!
I've started scribbling a blog about it. It's got (or will soon have) an assessment of the cars current condition and what needs to be done. I'll post a link in a few days when I've written a bit more. I'll also put it all in a resto thread when I finally get round to setting up a paypal account...
James
Finally I've just joined! These things take time when there is more interesting stuff to play with in the garage.
I'll start the restoration thread as soon as I get access.
In the mean time here is a link to the blog I started writing just in case you fancy looking at more photos.
http://www.braystones17.co.uk/Site_3..._MR2_Blog.html
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