Saving my FTO (photo heavy)

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MaxD
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Saving my FTO (photo heavy)

Post by MaxD »

It's not complete yet, but it's getting closer. This post covers the period 25/10/14 to 01/03/15.


SECTION 1. Skin Graft

25/10/14
And so it begins...

Step 1 - Find out if cutting slot in roof causes roof to sag.
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One new hole and no sagging!
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The offending bit of rust
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Step 2 - Clean up edges and remove rust from cross-member using angle grinder.
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Step 3 - Cut section of metal and offer up to hole. Mark with pencil.
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Step 4 - Cut approx 10mm away from pencil edge
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Step 5 - Use joggler to put step in repair panel
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Step 6 - Put panel in place and wedge in with screwdrivers.
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Step 7 - Spot weld to hold in place, then alternate spot welds until all welded in nicely.
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Step 8 - Grind off excess external/internal
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Step 9 - Remove distortions using specialist tools and blocks of wood/hammers. Step 11 photo shows distortions removed or as good as possible - filler will cure this.
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Step 10 - Rinse and repeat steps 1-9 on other areas.
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Step 11 - If there are two of you, start preparing bodywork for flexible filler. In the foreground you'll spot the area has had the distortions removed and sanded back to bare metal .
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End of day one (today 11:00-19:00) - front sections first coat of filler
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Day 2 - sorting out the rear.

Pretty much the same as the front, but only 2 sections of rust to contend with. All sanded back ready for filler.
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Two coats of filler and it's time to call it a night.
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There are more coats needed until it's perfect, but at least the welding is now complete.

In case any of you were wondering how I made sure I kept the curvature of the roof, I used this "Mitsubishi FTO repair kit". Note: No rust! That's just the glue you can see.
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I won't bore you with the coming filler images. Finished (for now) in grey primer. It is just a seal to stop the moisture getting at the bare metal/poly filler.
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09/11/14
SECTION 2. Cheek Replacement
This weekend's work was interesting as we had to make entirely new panels from our trusty Mitsubishi FTO Repair Kit.

A quick survey of what we had to work with:
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First off, cut out the rust back to nice shiny metal:
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Fashion patch panels:
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Do a spot of welding:
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Fashion next panel:
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More welding and then a spot of grinding smooth:
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Hard to spot, but drainage hole put in as part of patch panel at lowest point:
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A new rear end!
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A plastic polymer was used to seal all the holes prior to the 20yr old red oxide paint used (which is waterproof, unlike primer of today!)
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Rather than show you a similar repair to the other side, here's the final shot:
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22/11/14
Cutting out the outer arch section.
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Just a bit of rust in between the panels.
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Cut out, grind back and cut a straight edge.
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Cutting out the rust on the arch.
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Prepare area for trial fit of patch panel.
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Patch panel trial fit.
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Apply Neutrarust to protect metal.
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RAIN.... It must be time for lunch!

Cut slot for patch panel.
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Clamp in place.
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Adjust panel and close gaps by gently tapping the panels until they match.
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Draw curve onto board so that you can create the inner arch.
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Using Ford arch panel, mark curve and cut out.
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Trial fit patch panel.
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Clamp in place and spot weld.
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Tying up lose ends...literally.
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Spot weld outer arch patch panel.
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Grind spot welds and paint up all exposed metal.
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That's it for this weekend.


05/12/14
Reshaped and "finished" for the moment.
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Behind the scenes:
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15/12/14
SECTION 3. Thigh Replacement

In the lower section of this photo, the "metal" just crumbles/flakes off in big chunks of rust.
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Before doing any cutting, the new sections needed fabricating:
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Cut out the rust and ground back to shiny metal.
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Find out the rust covers a larger area, so more comes out.
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At this point it should be noted that the metal here is structural and as such is approx 2mm thick. Patch panel created and welded in place - say goodbye to that grommet!
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Painted to avoid rust coming back. New sections waiting to be welded on.
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The right hand side received a light tap from a hammer and highlighted the same problem.
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31/01/15
It's been a while due to back injury, Christmas and it's a tad cold, but here's a small update for the cheek repair.

Starting from the first poly fill done early December.
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Sanding back the high points.
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Once the high points were gone, the rest was hand-finished.
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Finally a red-oxide paint finish to protect from the elements.
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Before & After
ImageImage[/QUOTE]


07/02/15
Cheek Repair after today's session.

Fabricated end piece and welded in.
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Seam sealer used to finish before painting. Note the addition of a drainage hole. My SLK has drainage pipework like this, so if Mercedes think it's a good idea, I'm having it too.
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The copper pipe to be used for drainage.
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Poly-filler followed by sanding and red-oxide paint. Passenger side done. :)
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On to the drivers side.
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Grind back to good metal and remove rusty sections.
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At this point our technique had improved and we're spot welding in addition to a seam weld.
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Fabricated end piece and welded in.
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Seam sealer and red-oixde paint to finish. No poly-filler needed as didn't have to cut as much out.
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Time to tackle another section of rust in the arch.
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Patch plate and joggler to the rescue.
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A spot of welding.
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Welds ground back.
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Poly-filler, more red-oxide paint and job done for the day.
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08/02/15
SECTION 4. Kidney Repair
This is what happens when idiots jack the car up on it's rails. If you've got bent/crushed rails, there's a good chance you have rust and potentially water ingress (like me).

In search of some good metal to weld the not-yet-fabricated patch plate.
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More rust..., but wait, the end is in sight. The cables you see are for the heated seats. :cool:
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And it's gone. Rust was ground off, but no photo as I was working on repairing the other grinder.
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Patch panel trial fit.
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Welding it in place.
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Welding was spot on, so no need for grinding. :)
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Ground-side panel welded in and seam sealer applied to both sides.
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The drivers side...
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Bugger, it's worse. Yep, that's a hole to the outside world you see in the left of the photo and the rust follows the seam into the corner and round.
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28/02/15
SECTION 5. Heart Transplant
This proved a little more challenging than expected due to rounded nuts on some of the mounts. It came out today, so we met our target. Not too many pictures, but you get the gist.

All parts removed from engine in preparation to put on the hoist.
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Releasing the gearbox nuts (rounded buggers, which meant cutting them off with a hacksaw).
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Lifting the body to provide enough room to remove the engine & gearbox.
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Voila! In the garage just as the heavens opened up!
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Last edited by MaxD on Fri Jan 12, 2018 5:35 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Bennoz
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Re: Saving my FTO (photo heavy)

Post by Bennoz »

Thank christ we don't salt our roads, that's all I have to say!
Rob Furniss
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Re: Saving my FTO (photo heavy)

Post by Rob Furniss »

I remember having to have my rear rails welded every year to get it through the MOT (Pits).
Good work Max.
MaxD
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Re: Saving my FTO (photo heavy)

Post by MaxD »

New rear rails and fabricated work was done Feb 2013. Was also undersealed properly for the first time. It was imported in 2003 according to the paperwork. Welding plates over the rails is a sure fire way to keep the problem. I'm one for full removal, redress and fix.

Most of the rust is not from salt, but from poor maintenance, incorrect jacking & poor design. In some places, Mitsubishi has excelled itself, but in others the designed must've had a bad hair day or got out of bed on the wrong side.

If salt really was a problem, then our 1986 Pajero would have a rotten chassis. It's anything but. Our 1997 Ssangyong Musso with over 250k on the clock is solid is as a rock too which we've had since new.

So you can't blame salted roads on the condition of cars in the UK. Blame the owners. For example, my girlfriend never washes the underside of her car. I looked, it's got some rust starting to develop and it's only a 2011 VW Polo.
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Shhtuart
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Re: Saving my FTO (photo heavy)

Post by Shhtuart »

The FTO does sit a lot lower than a Pajero and a Musso.
MaxD
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Re: Saving my FTO (photo heavy)

Post by MaxD »

Ok. Scratch the 4x4's. The 1999 Mercedes SLK 230 sits about the same off the ground and it's not got a rust problem. It's 2 years younger than the FTO.

Regardless of the car, if you don't maintain it, it won't last.
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Bennoz
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Re: Saving my FTO (photo heavy)

Post by Bennoz »

Some cars off the production line have much better rust protection than others. It's usually an undercoating product either put on before paint or mixed into the paint or primer. Never in my life I have I seen an FTO in Australia with rust that bad. Not even close! And I've been running this club for the better part of a decade. Worst we have to deal with is the old roof rust issue.

Solid work on the repairs though. Most folk over here would've given up & grabbed another shell.
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bjk
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Re: Saving my FTO (photo heavy)

Post by bjk »

Dayum, solid effort.

Should've flared the fenders while you were at it! :lol:
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Re: Saving my FTO (photo heavy)

Post by Daniel2019 »

Excellent work and awesome write up. Good stuff :thumleft:
I fix cars.
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Re: Saving my FTO (photo heavy)

Post by MaxD »

All $ figures are AUD.

To put everything in perspective:

2011 - I bought the car £530/$1050. Had the wheels refurbished and replaced the front bumper, rear bumper, OEM HID headlights, side/fog/indicator lights & bonnet for £500 ($1k).

2012 - Next on the list was sorting out the suspension for approximately a £1k ($2k). BC Racing BR Series coilovers dropped the car 55mm all round.

2013 - Rear chassis rails and underside cleaned and undersealed for £500 ($1k). Bought a replacement engine (with 35k miles on the clock) with all ancillaries and autobox with driveshafts for £100 ($200). Bought manual gearbox with driveshafts, aluminium radiator with hoses, manual clocks, clutch plate (which I had rebuilt and housing skimmed) for £150.

Extras I don't really count as they're either maintenance or "nice-to-have's":
2011 - Audio, disc's/pads, cambelt & waterpump (3 inches of slack on the belt!), rebuild caliper's
2012 - Leather seats, interior bling, one-off mods
2013 - Heated seats (DIY using my old Ford Mondeo pads and cabling), engine bay bling
2014 - Replace brake pipes & hoses (uprated), HT leads (uprated), new alternator, new starter motor.

Call it $5k AUD total before we started carrying out the work. All the metal has come from the garage (we store useful sheets). The gas has so far cost $250.

The engine is out for a strip down and rebuild of the new engine with any of the good parts from the old one. The manual gearbox will be stripped down and rebuilt too.

The biggest cost in this project is time.
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Technikhaus
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Re: Saving my FTO (photo heavy)

Post by Technikhaus »

Wow, nice work!
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dstocks
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Re: Saving my FTO (photo heavy)

Post by dstocks »

WOW. Major effort. We dont have those sort of issues over here. Ive wrecked straight FTO's with far fewer issues than yours....... :oops:
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    bjk
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    Re: Saving my FTO (photo heavy)

    Post by bjk »

    Damn, wish I could've picked up an engine and box for $200!
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    Re: Saving my FTO (photo heavy)

    Post by MaxD »

    There have been a few gaps in progress, but things are still going strong. Here's a "little" update. :)


    07/03/15
    Popped down to a friendly breaker who cut out the "piece" I needed. Also picked up a rust & dent free bonnet & boot lid, front air duct/scoop (that invariably breaks), washer bottle & mirror connector (mines broken) all for the princely some of £70 (AUD $150).

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    The areas were marked-out for cutting on the drivers side:
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    Due to going away on holiday, there are no real before photos (of the parts removed), but you know based on this thread the level of work that goes into removal and replacement.
    The reason for cutting the end of the panel off and re-welding was down to the way the overlap has to happen for structural integrity.
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    Due to flooding in my area, several years ago I re-routed the air intake which meant the air ducting hole was not needed - looks like it got plated.
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    Some more of that dreaded rust was removed and a new patch panel went in:
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    The corner was misshapen by an inch down and an inch in which meant the wing and front bumper never quite tied up. The repair has returned the front-end to its former glory. Everything fits better and looks right.
    The drivers side received similar treatment, but due to the rust not being as bad, got off quite lightly. Same as the passenger side, the area was marked out.
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    That hole is solely from poking the triple-sheet panel with a screwdriver.
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    Rust cut-out:
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    New panel welded-in and red-oxide to finish. Not the best photo in the world, but you get the idea.
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    13/04/15
    A few more photo's of my adventures the weekend just gone and earlier this evening.
    The 3 stages of hole replacement in the inner-wing:
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    Started on the passenger sill, but it's still a work in progress:
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    Found a hole with the screwdriver and tried to plate it...
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    It turned out there was a lot of rust and the solution was to cut out a big section and do the job properly.
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    Had a bit of time left and finished off the drivers footwell.
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    14/04/15
    Tonight: I spy with my little eye something beginning with H. Admittedly it didn't start off this size, more a pin hole of light shining through through the floorpan when underneath. A little more investigation and it grew. The spinner will be making an appearance tomorrow evening.
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    Not strictly "saving" the Mitsubishi FTO, but I finally got round to dying the headliner.
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    27/06/15
    Not a welding update.
    The brakes never looked brilliant in dull red/rust/filth, so here's their refresh and full rebuild.
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    08/08/15
    A few more photos. You can see the rotten inner panel in so much that there's not a lot to see!
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    10/08/15
    This weekend I spent laying on back...under the car taking the crud/sound proofing off the underside back to nice shiny metal. The red oxide went onto the good metal and that which remains is waiting for some Neutra Rust. :) Nearside was completed on Saturday and the offside Sunday. Here are a couple of 'in progress' photos:
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    The red-oxide isn't the final step, it's just there to stop the rust.
    Last edited by MaxD on Fri Jan 12, 2018 5:35 am, edited 2 times in total.
    silverGPX
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    Re: Saving my FTO (photo heavy)

    Post by silverGPX »

    f**k yeah, it's like your restoring an old classic car
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    dstocks
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    Re: Saving my FTO (photo heavy)

    Post by dstocks »

    I cant believe the number of places youve had to fix. I would have gladly given you a shell or 2 for nothing that wouldnt have had a single one of those issues (apart from maybe the roof rust).
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      BorepYano
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      Re: Saving my FTO (photo heavy)

      Post by BorepYano »

      wow, that's epic; good on you mate.

      (makes me feel really bad about my old fto now though. :( )



      dstocks wrote:I cant believe the number of places youve had to fix. I would have gladly given you a shell or 2 for nothing that wouldnt have had a single one of those issues (apart from maybe the roof rust).
      But postage might be a little on the high side though?
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      silverGPX wrote:This requires a thread? lol
      There's potential for a thread about anything on FTO Australia
      MaxD
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      Re: Saving my FTO (photo heavy)

      Post by MaxD »

      BorepYano wrote:
      dstocks wrote:I cant believe the number of places youve had to fix. I would have gladly given you a shell or 2 for nothing that wouldnt have had a single one of those issues (apart from maybe the roof rust).
      But postage might be a little on the high side though?
      A tad expensive.

      The problem tends to be the salt on the roads and these beasts not being undersealed on entry to the UK.

      Most of the shells I've seen are in a similar to worse condition including those right up until 2001. It doesn't help that most of the FTO's here have received a shunt or two in their lifetime.
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      destinationtoby
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      Re: Saving my FTO (photo heavy)

      Post by destinationtoby »

      Wish I had deez skills
      Because nothing is faster than a p plater in a commodore.....
      except maybe a p plater on a unicorn
      FTOcrazy273 wrote: Destinationtoby probably has one of THE best FTO's on the forum I never get tired of looking at his pics! Good work mate!
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      Re: Saving my FTO (photo heavy)

      Post by MaxD »

      Due to family issues, the project is about 6 months behind. It's slowly getting there.

      The underside has now been fully stripped back to shiny bare metal and in places, rust (which has been treated/removed) & then a coat of red oxide. All that is left is to drop the tank (this week) and finish off the underside. Then clean up the tank. The final phase will be the engine bay. :)

      Looking towards the front:
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      And rear:
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      Last edited by MaxD on Fri Jan 12, 2018 5:36 am, edited 1 time in total.
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