5 GT Turbo R5 GT Turbo - Complete strip down and re-build #1

[Chris74#]

Superb, watching with much interest.

You might as well carry on with you ocd levels of persistence and quality. Once your happy with prep.....

You might as well paint yourself you know you can do it!

I am considering it but not quite got the bottle at the moment! it was a right ball bag having to clear all the previous fill out and go back to bare metal again! But at least it’s now right!! How are you getting on with yours?

 

[Duncan Grier]

Ha! Don't even ask about mine......short of rewiring and new lights of garage shamefully not touched

Have converted my part of wifes garage to a new office though

Do plan to get on it over winter....promise

 

[Mark_L]

Rather comment than see you having issues later on.

Paint techniques have changed over the years haven't followed it enough really.

What I do know is paint isn't a Bake and it's done situation.. as most think. Most of the top quality painters I've known have let primer dry for at least a week.

Once repairs are done. High build, leave dry block by hand, re prime. Some would do this 4-5 times for the perfect finish.. so many hours. Too much is done with a DA these days so end up with a ripple effect.

 

[Chris74#]

Rather comment than see you having issues later on.

Paint techniques have changed over the years haven't followed it enough really.

What I do know is paint isn't a Bake and it's done situation.. as most think. Most of the top quality painters I've known have let primer dry for at least a week.

Once repairs are done. High build, leave dry block by hand, re prime. Some would do this 4-5 times for the perfect finish.. so many hours. Too much is done with a DA these days so end up with a ripple effect.

Ha ha, have you been talking to Trev on Trevs blog? That’s his philosophy and one I am trying to follow. Expecting 3-4 coats of HB primer with extended drying times between each coat. Really appreciate your advice earlier!!

 

[Chris Smith]

Tbf I would be tempted to paint it myself… you seem to have the patience and a lot of the equipment anyway. I have seem some diy paint jobs that are quality …. And some shocking professional paint jobs.

 

[Duncan Grier]

Yeah what @Chris Smith said

 

[Chris74#]

Got out there again today, despite aching like a bitch from the previous two days graft! I'm getting too old and too fat for this manual labour! Anyway, decided to get the seam seal on around the hatchback opening before getting into the inevitable wire brushing of the doors!!
First of all i went out to the campus to have a look where the seam seal should go!

I then got the brushable dinitrol out and started at the top of the door!



I then moved on to the bottom of the post!

I noticed on the campus that there is a bead of seam seal from top to bottom, so I got the Dinitrol 410 and masked up the car ready.


Top tip for the future - use smaller sections of tape, these are easier to control when peeling off and covered in seam seal! I then got the gun out and pointed the seal in, I then wet my finger and 'dabbed' the seal into the joint!


Both sides dabbed in, I then smoothed them off with said saliva and finger! and carefully removed the tape! Another top tip - make sure you have a bin or box to hand when peeling the tape as it is covered in seam seal and gets everywhere!!



Very pleased with the outcome!
Then on to the wire brush again! I have already brushed, filled and primed these doors once!

I covered the car as this is going to get messy!


On with the brushing!




Then the other door!


Then on to the tailgate!



My hands are killing me, my back is aching and my arse is sore from the stool, I feel like I've done the grand national bareback!! Thats it for today!
On another note, I got the gearbox casings back from the vapour blaster, and the replacement shaft seals have turned up, just waiting on the bearings now, I've also zinc plated all of the screws and bolts that came out of the gearbox.


Shiny!

Thanks for reading guys!!

 

[Mark_L]

Coming on really well.

I always bring a bin next to me when removing masking tape when I've been sealing, sealing screens are the worst. Doing it quickly not to let it touch the car..

As for painting it yourself, if your confident do it.. straight colours are simple enough, just don't hit it to hard with each coat, metallic is a little different, base coats and then lacquer. If your watching you tube guides i'm guessing there is something on there for doing drop coats to stop leaving lines/stripes in the paint. Silvers are the worst for it..

 

[clarky_gtt]

Rather comment than see you having issues later on.

Paint techniques have changed over the years haven't followed it enough really.

What I do know is paint isn't a Bake and it's done situation.. as most think. Most of the top quality painters I've known have let primer dry for at least a week.

Once repairs are done. High build, leave dry block by hand, re prime. Some would do this 4-5 times for the perfect finish.. so many hours. Too much is done with a DA these days so end up with a ripple effect.

Wrong time of year to air dry.

A epoxy is a thick primer already. And so is high build, you should only need both. And this time of year force drying is the way. It's all for expelling solvents and letting the substrate shrink

Building lots of layers of primer and paint will cause issues down the road. Plus there is nothing worse than trying to repair a panel in the future that has thick microns of previous work!

 

[Chris74#]

Got out there yesterday and decided to have a go at some shrinking/ beating to try and reduce the amount of filler that will be required to fill the big dents in the passenger door! Spent a few hrs at it and managed to bring one of the dents all the way up and the other is an improvement on what it was! Still not perfect, but the filler will take that up!

I then got on with rubbing the doors down with 80 grit ready for the epoxy primer!


I gave the outside of them a good roughing up too!

All ready for a wipe down and epoxy!
Whilst rubbing the door down, I spotted some more rust!! So i got on with cutting it out and getting some new metal in there!


I had to clamp it up and give it some persuasion to form the curves! Thats an old hatchet head that I hammered the metal over to form the curve!!

I gave it a clean up and used a magnet to hold it in place while I gave it some final fettling!

I got the welder out and welded it in!

I then hit it with the flap disc to smooth it off a bit!

Once this was done, I mixed up some more epoxy gave the panels a wipe and clean and sprayed the back of the car, over the seam seal that I applied the other day, I also gave the doors a spray!






I also called in at the powder coaters today and picked up the cap for the gearbox! Thats all the bits back for the gearbox rebuild now!

Thanks for reading!!

 

[Ian M]

Some work going into that mate! Awesome!

 

[Chris74#]

Some work going into that mate! Awesome!

Thanks Ian, It has been a long journey so far with a long way to go!! Thanks for taking the time to read the post.

 

[Chris74#]

Been at it again today, had a nightmare with the spray gun, it started spitting paint blobs! Anyway, got the doors and tailgate primed, i'll sand the paint blobs off later!




While I was waiting for the paint to dry, I got on with getting some seam seal on that I previously missed! First I got the wire brush and gave the area a clean and painted some epoxy primer on.

Then I got it masked off ready for the seam seal.



Once the primer had dried, I got the seam sealer on!

I'll primer over this later on.
I then got the car out of the garage and fetched the bonnet. Someone had cut holes in the bonnet and fitted Astra GSI vents - really badly!

So I have taken them out and intend to repair the bonnet with some welded patches!
I had cut some cardboard templates previously.

I got a sheet of metal and marked the templates on it!


I got them cut out and began to fettle them in!!

Once I was happy with the fit, I gave the patch a good clean! and got it into position.

I then cranked the welder up and began tacking the patch in place taking extra care to keep the heat down with the use of the airline!

Kept on going, working my way around the patch!


All done! I got the grinder out and gave the welds a bit of attention!

Not too shabby! and not too much in the way of distortion. Then on to the other side, same drill, got it tacked in and called it a day!

Thanks for reading guys!

 

[Chris74#]

Got out there early this morning hoping to have everything stripped and primed by the end of today. I had set myself a goal of having all of the 'metal' in epoxy primer before xmas! First off I finished the welding on the bonnet!

Then realised I had missed a hole!

So I got my trusty piece of copper pipe and clamped it beneath the hole!

I then filled the hole with weld!

During the welding, I had a little bit of heat distortion which caused a dip in the panel, so I got some heat on it and started hammering! I managed to get it within acceptable limits.

Once this was done, I got on the wire brush again!! I have definitely had enough of this wire brush!!

I then gave it a rub over with an 80 grit flap wheel!

I then flipped it over, removed the bonnet stay and got some degreaser on it. I gave it a quick hit with the wire brush but mainly gave it a good clean and rub down with some 80 grit paper.

I then got started on the wings...





Same as the bonnet, I flipped this over and covered it with degreaser, this can wait till the morning for a clean!

Had a clean up and called it a day! Another delivery turned up! I believe this is the final piece for the gearbox

I never hit my target, but hopefully by close of play tomorrow, everything will be in primer and I can throw that wire brush in the bin!!!

Thanks for reading guys!

 

[Chris74#]

Got out there yesterday and did a bit! I started off cleaning the inside of the wing and then giving it a rub down with some 80 grit.


I then got back on the brush on the other wing!


As I got the paint off, I uncovered a previous repair!



I then gave the inside of it a degrease and rub down with the 80 grit.


I gave the dent a bit of hammer and dolly!
Finally finished with the brush!!!

I got the car out and set about making a hanger rail to paint the bonnet and wings! I used a piece of scrap bar that I picked up somewhere!





I then went and got some metal coat hangers and hung the panels!



I then mixed up the paint and gave the panels a final wipe down.

The paint gun is working again after I gave it a good clean yesterday! On with the painting!


Thats all the metal stripped and in epoxy! Next on to the plastics!

Thanks for reading guys! Merry Xmas!!

 

[Chris74#]

I decided to loose fit the panels back on the car for now as they take up less room!




Then decided to get on with putting the gearbox back together! First of all I put the diff and gears through the parts cleaner!





Then started to fit the new seals and bearings!




Then got the Diff in.


So far so good!!
Then a bit of a concern......
It seems that the caustic bath I gave the casing has eaten away at the casing and now the holes are oversize! The oil seals are loose, looks like this casing is scrap! I got one of the spare gearboxes down out of the loft, and stripped it down to use the casing!



What a nightmare!!


Anyway, spare gearbox is stripped and casing is in the parts washer, I'll give this one a clean in the parts washer and a going over in the blast cabinet and try again!!!
Beware of the caustic soda guys!!
Thanks for reading.

 

[Duncan Grier]

Ahhh crap news on nice shiney box issue , but result to having working spare.

Good work on box buildup

 

[Chris74#]

Ahhh crap news on nice shiney box issue , but result to having working spare.

Good work on box buildup

Thanks Duncan, I’ll get this casing cleaned up and keep the inards as spares or until I can find another casing.

 

[Chris Smith]

The ruined casing would make a nice bit of display furniture or something…

 

[Brigsy]

I have a jc5 to rebuild soon, how difficult is it to split the box/gearset?

Id put the outer cvs in if rolling the shell in and out of the garage or the front wheelbearings might fall to bits.