DHC repairs #31: Finishing touches

When I restored my 1980 DHC in 2009 and 2010 I decided to use modified (custom recovered) interior door panels. Main reason being that I had a pair of structural sound door cards and doors from a model year 1981 car. Fast forward to earlier last year when I was collecting the parts for the body repairs. And the best DHC doors I had in stock were one of the original doors of this 1980 car and one from a 1981 Californian car. Which meant the inner frame from the car’s original door needed a small alteration to accommodate the later rectangular locking knob. The necessary repair piece was cut from the inner frame of a late and very rusty door that was lingering in the shed.

Compared to the work done so far that was a pretty easy repair. The next job was rather more involved. It was actually a job that I had planned when I restored the car in 2009-2010. At the time I only realised the amount of work necessary (including welding), after the car returned from the paint shop. So that idea was put on hold.

But when I was gathering the parts for the body shell’s repairs I stumbled upon the alloy filler cap. So that job was added to the list of things-to-do! Main job was removing/replacing the metal directly underneath the filler cap’s plastic bezel. First of all creating a flange to which the new fuel filler cap and funnel can be bolted. And to create access to tighten the mounting nuts underneath the filler cap.

Another change was in the boot area. As with my other two TR7’s I opted to get rid of the, in my opinion, badly designed gas strut configuration. So I decided to reverse engineer the shell to the earlier set up to accommodate the earlier mechanical telescopic boot lid stay. An easy job when the welding gear is out, as long as you have the correct measurements for the location of the lower bracket. No bets will be accepted on the origins of this bracket 😝

The final change was in the spare wheel well. Here the two mounting holes for the period aftermarket tow bar were strengthened a bit. Just in case I want to go caravaning with this car when I am retired 😂

Currently looking into chemical rust removal and E-coating of the body shell. It looks like a trip deep into neighbouring Germany will be scheduled in the very near future.

DHC repairs #30: Front nearly finished

With the inner panels at both sides of the front repaired or replaced it was time for the finishing touches. Fitting the outer wings. But not before the fit and alignment of all the panels involved, were checked on the body shell.

After the body-worker was happy with the alignment and the various the panel gaps, it was time to get the welder out. And with a lot of plug welds later all the panels in position. It is slowly starting to look like a car again!

And the final job was welding the lower front panel (WKC86) in position. An additional check was necessary here, namely whether the front spoiler also fits properly over the bottom of the front wings. It does!

Not really visible in the picture above is the fact that the front spoiler got damaged in the accident, but it looks like it can be repaired. This should save my last spare for ‘t Kreng!

DHC repairs #29: RH strut tower and inner wing part 2

In my previous post I had a look of the rust damage in the area around the front strut tower. And it was quite obvious that part of the right hand front strut tower was in dire need of some fresh metal. On the left hand side it was deemed best to replace the complete top of the strut tower. Luckily this (right hand) side only needed a fairly simple repair section:

Also the strengthening plate for the engine mount on the lower part of the right hand strut tower was also corroded and was in need of some tender loving care:

And the final job was replacing the badly damaged inner wing. The replacement panel again came from the previously mentioned parts donor body shell. With hindsight, this project might have taken another turn. But there's no way back now. Nor is there a reason anymore!

DHC repairs #28: RH strut tower and inner wing

Since my last post on this project the right hand front wing and inner wing have been removed. This revealed more rust holes, very thin metal and an old bodge repair of the inner wing’s front section. A few pictures of the bad areas: