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norustplease



Joined: 11 Apr 2011
Posts: 779
Location: Lancashire

PostPosted: Wed Nov 21, 2018 5:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Welding has begun.
I have now repaired the bottom section of both A panels and the lower bulkhead behind them. I have also chopped out all of the rot in the bonnet hinge area and let in a repair panel. the original repair looks like a plug of kitchen sealant, painted over, so obviously a serious attempt at some time in the little car's life to make a repair.

I have also copied, fabricated and installed a proprietary repair section for the battery platform, which , as is usual, was cracking the bulkhead either side.

I have this week chopped out the offside footwell and am in the process of letting in a replacement floor section. Welding of this section starts tomorrow hopefully. The fettling takes days, even with good quality panels and the welding up of 0.6mm steel is a challenge to say the least. Still, onwards and upwards as they say.
My main hope is to be in a position in the next couple of weeks, to sit the body back on the chassis, albeit the chassis needs a couple of more jobs doing in advance of this, mainly down to the installation of the brake pipes.
Pictures to follow.
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1953 Citroen Traction
1964 Volvo PV544
1957 Austin A55 Mk 1
Boring Tucson SUV
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norustplease



Joined: 11 Apr 2011
Posts: 779
Location: Lancashire

PostPosted: Fri Nov 30, 2018 12:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Progress:
both front footwell floors and the toeboard now have welded repairs, the floors with proprietary repair panels and the toeboard with a made up one. Both A panels and repairs to the lower front bulkhead are complete, so we are now in a position for the bodyshell to go back onto the chassis, since the remaining repairs in the vicinity of the rear seat belt mounts can be carried out with the body mounted.
The chassis needs a little more work in the form of adding the brake pipes on, and then this can happen.
It would have been nice to keep the chassis separate until the body shell is painted, but space being at a premium, the sooner that they can be back in one piece, the better.


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1953 Citroen Traction
1964 Volvo PV544
1957 Austin A55 Mk 1
Boring Tucson SUV
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norustplease



Joined: 11 Apr 2011
Posts: 779
Location: Lancashire

PostPosted: Mon Dec 03, 2018 10:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Further progress.
I had received the brake pipes a few days ago, and managed to fit them through to the rather complex rear wheel suspension, which involves feeding a coiled pipe through the main cross tuibe of the rear suspension, out though a hole in the centre where it bolts into a tee piece and thence via single pipe to the front of the car and the master cylinder. The coiled pipe acts in lieu of a flexible pipe and so the installation both front and back is a complete rigid pipe assembly, with movement absorbed by a series of coils.
This more or less completed the chassis build up and so, when my son announced that he was calling in this afternoon, I jumped at the chance to enlist him to help my wife and I lift the body back onto its chassis.
We lined the two units up as best as possibly, and then my son and I lifted the front whilst my wife pushed a stool under the rear boot floor. She then wheeled the chassis back under the body whilst my son and I raised up the front. My son and I were please with the result, my wife was pleased to get the chassis off the patio!!!
After a few shufflings we managed to lower the body into proper alignment with the mounting holes, and I was pleased to see that the rebuild of the toe board assembly had not lost the location of the chassis mounting holes locally, and that the splined spigot of the steering rack was virtually central on the bulkhead hole. I inserted sufficient bolts to make sure the alignment was okay and then retired for the day. It is surprising how little difference the weight of the body has made to the rear suspension height, although, of course, it is still devoid of seats, doors, bootlid, etc. There will probably still have to be some serious adjustment once the body is complete.



And this is how it looks. There is still bodywork to be done. The bottoms of the A panels need final finishing off cosmetically and there are a couple of patches under the cill to be done, that weren't accessible when the shell was on its dolly.
There are also a couple of bits internally in the vicinity of the rear seat belt mounting that need some attention, before we can get into paintwork, and the rear wheel arches need cleaning out and a few bits of surface rust treating.
Onwards and upwards.
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1953 Citroen Traction
1964 Volvo PV544
1957 Austin A55 Mk 1
Boring Tucson SUV
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Rick
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Joined: 27 Apr 2005
Posts: 22429
Location: UK

PostPosted: Mon Dec 03, 2018 11:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

True dedication! thanks for the updates.

RJ
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norustplease



Joined: 11 Apr 2011
Posts: 779
Location: Lancashire

PostPosted: Sat Dec 15, 2018 11:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The weather has closed in somewhat now, in particular temperatures have dropped substantially and this, coupled with the usual pre Christmas activity has slowed progress slightly.
On the body front, I have repaired both rear seatbelt mounts, in the offside by completeley chopping the whole thing out and fabricating and welding in a replacement with captive nut, etc. Also a small repair in one of the wheel arches has been carried out. The under cill repairs are under way with repair pieces fabricated for both sides, but not yet welded in, and there is a little sealing up of seams under the toeboard to be finished off.
Cosmetic work to the A panels, previously having had new metal welded in, has progressed and some connecting up of key bits in the engine bay, such as the handbrake, has taken place.
So that is where we are. Probably progress will be limited now until after Christmas when the extended family return back to their homes around the country. I will hopefully be out with the Traction during the holidays if weather permits and certainly will be over at the Corner House at Wrightington on Jan 1st.
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1957 Austin A55 Mk 1
Boring Tucson SUV
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norustplease



Joined: 11 Apr 2011
Posts: 779
Location: Lancashire

PostPosted: Fri Jan 18, 2019 10:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quite a lot has been done since my last post.
As I may have mentioned previously, my wife aspired towards a yellow 2CV. No problem, there were a whole load of variant colours, the one which particularly appealed was seen at the Manchester Classic Car Show in September, Jaune Cedrat.
I spent a lot of time with colour cards and chips and came up with RAL 1016, since nobody locally seemed to have a formula for mixing the Citroen colour, and I am using a Rustoleum Polyurethane paint.
The inside and outside of the body frame have now been painted. Initially I used the RAL 1016, which seemed to be the right colour yellow, but having painted the boot floor with it, it had a peculiar luminous sort of quality, and after looking at it in various lights, we decided that it was a no-go.
Back to the colour swatch. RAL 1018 seemed a little more buttery and less fluorescent, so I tried that.
Just the job and close to Cedrat. The committee approved.
The beauty of the Rustoleum is that you can both spray it or brush it, it self levels nicely without brush marks and it is fairly odour free and durable when cured. It is also a rust inhibitor and is self priming, although I always prime any bare steel before application.
Downsides are that it is slow drying, so two hours between coats is required.
However, the standard of finish on the areas painted thus far is fine. Detail internal areas are brushed and the rest is sprayed.
Boot lid and rear wings have now also been prepped and are awaiting the spray gun, but we now face another cold spell, so I will return to mechanical bits and pieces and continue plumbing in the engine and brakes until things warm up a bit once more.
Pictures to follow.
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1953 Citroen Traction
1964 Volvo PV544
1957 Austin A55 Mk 1
Boring Tucson SUV


Last edited by norustplease on Sun Feb 17, 2019 12:50 pm; edited 2 times in total
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Bitumen Boy



Joined: 26 Jan 2012
Posts: 1733
Location: Above the snow line in old Monmouthshire

PostPosted: Fri Jan 18, 2019 11:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

What sort of thinner do you use to spray the Rustoleum paint?
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norustplease



Joined: 11 Apr 2011
Posts: 779
Location: Lancashire

PostPosted: Sat Jan 19, 2019 1:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Rustoleum sell their own brand of thinner, but the paint (Combicolor) is usually thinned with white spirit. It has found particular favour with the VW bus community, who use it thinned and rollered on their vehicles with some excellent results. I have painted three cars previously with it, with excellent results, and long term durability reports are good. Once cured, the paint can be treated like Cellulose, in that it can be wet sanded and polished to remove any blemishes.
It is a good way of finishing a car that will be used regularly, and where a good smart finish rather than a concours finish is the aim.
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1953 Citroen Traction
1964 Volvo PV544
1957 Austin A55 Mk 1
Boring Tucson SUV
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Bitumen Boy



Joined: 26 Jan 2012
Posts: 1733
Location: Above the snow line in old Monmouthshire

PostPosted: Tue Jan 22, 2019 1:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

norustplease wrote:
Rustoleum sell their own brand of thinner...


Don't they all? Laughing Laughing Laughing I bet the price of white spirit goes up a bit with a Rustoleum label slapped on the bottle... Rolling Eyes
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norustplease



Joined: 11 Apr 2011
Posts: 779
Location: Lancashire

PostPosted: Wed Jan 30, 2019 10:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It is a good paint system.
So here we are with a yellow car, well the body frame anyway. The front wing is a replacement for the original which has some corrosion, and is being trial fitted. It has since had some remedial work and a layer of spray primer.

The weather has again turned very cold, so no further painting has taken place. However, there has been other progress with refitting some of the mechanical bits and pieces, and when it finally got too cold....I brought the seats in the house and re-covered them with over covers from ECAS. It is a similar material to that found in Charlestons, and has some integral padding. With a bit of careful work, it looks pretty good and would pass as the original style cover.
The two front seat bases were also rather saggy, the driver's seat had a small red plush cushion wedged into one of the back corners when I first viewed the car, because the rubbers were so slack and with some of the rest of the rubber suspension loops missing, I replaced the lot.
I have now refitted the back seat and wrapped it up to keep the dust and grime off it.

Once I have installed the steering column and coupled up the clutch pedal (next) then I will put in the fronts.
Brake works have previously re- started with the installation of the master cylinder, but to make sufficient space to tackle the rear brakes, I need to chuck the Traction out of the garage....and there are several inches of snow on the drive....watch this space.
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1953 Citroen Traction
1964 Volvo PV544
1957 Austin A55 Mk 1
Boring Tucson SUV
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norustplease



Joined: 11 Apr 2011
Posts: 779
Location: Lancashire

PostPosted: Mon Mar 04, 2019 9:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Things are moving forwards now.
I used the warm spell to get some paint on certain parts of the car body, and have started assembling from the rear bumper forwards.
So thus far we have a finished boot lid and both rear wings painted and fitted.,
Rear brakes were tackled. The adjusters were fused solid so I drilled them out and fitted a repair kit. The wheel cylinders were changed and plumbed in and the brake shoes were cleaned up and had quite a lot of meat on them.
Unfortunately one shoe had the lining starting to come adrift, so I scrapped both sides and bought a set of new shoes, which have turned up today.
At the front of the car, I have temporarily fitted and primed the wings and the triangular infill panels, and they are next on the list for topcoat.
The doors have been stripped down and have been primed and the more major blemishes (dents) dealt with.
It is starting to look more like a car now.
Photos to follow.
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1953 Citroen Traction
1964 Volvo PV544
1957 Austin A55 Mk 1
Boring Tucson SUV
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norustplease



Joined: 11 Apr 2011
Posts: 779
Location: Lancashire

PostPosted: Sat Mar 09, 2019 10:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

As promised, a couple of images of the work so far.



The second photo is a bit of a con, since the bootlid cannot be fitted properly until the hood is in place, and so is just placed in the aperture. Rear seat is covered with an old waterproof seat cover to preserve the new upholstery.

Front wings and bonnet have been removed again for paint since the picture was taken.
Rear brake overhaul is now complete for the minute and the front brakes have finally been plumbed in and the reservoir refitted. I have also obtained a set of new wheels and tyres to replace the old ones, a couple of which are corroded beyond redemption. I will retain the best one as a spare.
Current cold snap has slowed things down somewhat, (no good for paint) but I am hoping that temperatures will rise again slightly, soon. I may fit the hood, since the rest of the painting (doors/wings/bonnet lid) is done off the car.
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1953 Citroen Traction
1964 Volvo PV544
1957 Austin A55 Mk 1
Boring Tucson SUV
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Bitumen Boy



Joined: 26 Jan 2012
Posts: 1733
Location: Above the snow line in old Monmouthshire

PostPosted: Sat Mar 09, 2019 10:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Paint finish looks good.
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Rick
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Joined: 27 Apr 2005
Posts: 22429
Location: UK

PostPosted: Sat Mar 09, 2019 12:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Looking well, reminds me of a yellow 2CV that a neighbour opposite to us had back in the 70s.

RJ
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norustplease



Joined: 11 Apr 2011
Posts: 779
Location: Lancashire

PostPosted: Tue Mar 26, 2019 10:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The weather has improved again, and so some good progress has been made, since it has been possible to turf the Traction out of the garage with a reasonably clear conscience and create some addtional workspace.
All the panels have been painted now and assembly onto the car has begun. The photos make the car look quite complete, but I am waiting for door seals for the front passenger door, which is not yet fitted and the bonnet is simply placed onto the front of the car, without being slid into its hinge, since there will be work to be done in the engine compartment and this will be much easier without the raised bonnet lid to bang my head on.

Some detail bits such as windscreen wipers, mudflaps, etc are also outstanding at the moment.

Seats have been fitted, and the new wheels and tyres assembled.

Brakes have still to be filled with LHM and bled and although I am reasonably confident that I have all the electrics reconnected correctly, they will still need some final bits to be completed, such as the interior light and the indicator repeaters on the front wings.

Final act will be a full service on the engine, with new oil and filter, etc. then we shall add petrol and see what happens!



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1953 Citroen Traction
1964 Volvo PV544
1957 Austin A55 Mk 1
Boring Tucson SUV
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