106 Rallye Prep and Restoration

[Cris B]

Cheers Chipper.

Managed a few more hours his afternoon on the car. Using cardboard I templated repairs sections for the internal chassis rail gusset and then the chassis rail top. I’ll let the photos do the talking…

Still plenty of work to do in getting these to a stage where they can be fitted to the car.

 

[Cris B]

Some progress to report. Finished the chassis rail top and have it ready for fitting. It was a complex shape, but came together okay.

Also finished work on the chassis rail gusset. Had managed to get the initial fold lines wrong and the original formed part was about 10mm too wide. Managed to reshape it around some 20mm box and then began the process of shaping it to fit in both the horizontal and vertical planes – cutting with slit discs, bending and then when the shape was right welding it all back into shape.

Coated these up in Rustoleum primer and then removed the temporarily tacked in chassis rail side from the wheel arch side and started cleaning up in preparation for putting it all back together.

 

[Cris B]

Managed a few hours in the garage over the last week. Primed the chassis rail gusset, cleaned, treated and primed the interior of the rail and today welded the gusset in. Also did some repair work on the metal where the chassis rail joins the cabin floor panel as it had been damaged when the rotten bits were taken off.

Chassis rail side that was previous tacked in has been prepped and is ready for refitting. Shown loosely clamped in place here. It deformed slightly when it was drilled so needs bending back into shape before being welded in.

 

[Cris B]

Near side chassis rail repairs complete.

Need to stock up on a few supplies before further welding.

 

[octo0072000]

looking good

Looking Good welding looking much better now yet that car would have passed a mot before you did the work are you going to box in the bottom arm mounts to make it a bit more ridged around there these things corner on three wheels when pushed hard
keep up the good work

 

[Cris B]

Have made some progress in terms of grinding down weld and prepping for further repairs, such as making templates and cutting repair sections out. Progress has slowed becuase I'm nearly out of argon mix and had run out of primer. Primer arrived tonight and hopefully should sort some gas in the next couple of days and get back on the case.

I'm waiting for primer to arrive and need to go and get some more argon mix gas before I can do much more on the bodywork so last night I turned my attention to the engine for the first time in over a year. The whole thing has done very little mileage and is generally very clean and tidy. The bottom end was rebuilt professionally and as you can see from the photos, it has a lightly ported head.

I have a baffled sump still to fit and that will be the next job once I have cleaned the iron block up. By the looks of it the previous owner painted the block, but used an unsuitable paint which has just blistered with heat and then rust has lifted the rest. Yesterday I started cleaning it up and once the rust is off and it is suitably degreased, I'll be painting it up with the same POR15 engine enamel I used on the gearbox.

I came home tonight to find...

...goodies 28 Quaife quick rack and pinion kits that were ordered on behalf of a group of members from the 106 Rallye Register.

 

[Cris B]

Looking Good welding looking much better now yet that car would have passed a mot before you did the work are you going to box in the bottom arm mounts to make it a bit more ridged around there these things corner on three wheels when pushed hard
keep up the good work

Already boxed these in

 

[Cris B]

A few months ago I picked up some 3mm steel brackets that were surplus from a refurbishment of our office space. I think that they're used to mount door closure mechanisms or something similar. Anyway it turns out that they were nearly perfect to make good the repairs to the gearbox mount top plate. Chopped 7mm off each bracket, v-grooved the faces to be joined and welded them up whilst they were clamped down to some thick steel plate to prevent them distorting.

Once they were welded up, I ground down the welds and then looked to save some weight out of the repair piece. Two 38mm holes later and a tiny bit of grinding gave a good fit. Primed the part up and now just need to v-groove the faces and sort out some further holes for plug welding before welding it on as repair pieces.

In between primer drying and other work, degreased the engine, dried it off before prepping it with POR15 Metal Ready. Once that had been left to work its magic, it was rinsed off and then left to dry.

Last thing tonight I gave the block it the first coat of POR15 Engine Enamel. I'll finish it off with a top coat tomorrow.

 

[Cris B]

Engine block all painted up. Next job is to drain the oil and then repaint the sump and fit the baffle.

 

[Cris B]

Not updated on here in a while...

Finally getting towards the end of the near side repairs. The final repair panel is now being welded onto the wheel arch side of the inner wing. Photo shows weld penetration from reverse.

 

[Cris B]

N/S inner wing works are finally complete. In the end I cut out a section I was unhappy with and redid it and it took a lot of time to get it all to a standard I was happy with. The inner wing is currently being prepped for primer. As this was now essentially finished off, it was time to do another job that I'd be waiting to get done - filling in the holes in the firewall bulkhead that are going to be surplus to requirements. One hole is from the fuel lines the other was used by part of the wiring loom. Some of the metal sections chopped out were a little rusted anyway either way it would have needed some attention.

 

[gloskris]

Fair play cris you have put a lot of time into this.
Can't wait to see the final outcome.

You and stu have inspired me to take on the rust mountain and do mine myself

 

[Cris B]

The N/S inner wing is now in primer and seam sealer which is a massive relief. I laid down two coats the other night and also did the lower half of the bulkhead. Not a pretty photo, but shows the progress made. The primer will protect the metal whilst other work takes place. The white stuff is POR15 seam sealer which I've put on last night. When the time comes and runs and other imperfections will be sanded down and the whole thing gets painted in a special tie coat primer before being top coated.

Nice one or two additions and general tidying up has taken place. I'm looking for a nice clean look to the engine bay when it's finally all done.

The next job it to get the suspension on and the engine/gearbox back in so I can figure out some other bits and pieces, but having had a look tonight underneath where the beam mounts on and the fuel tank sits there may be quite a bit that needs to be tackle to tidy it up. Behind the underseal there's some surface rust to tackle, but nothing serious on first inspection. So I may need to find another way to move the shell around to free up half the space in the double garage for my new project.

 

[Cris B]

Fair play cris you have put a lot of time into this.
Can't wait to see the final outcome.

You and stu have inspired me to take on the rust mountain and do mine myself

Cheers Kris, good for you! Get stuck in - you will save a bit of money and learn some really useful skills.

 

[davenport]

oooh that area of rust looks familiar!!!

let me introduce to a panel i like to call.. mister inner sill!!! lol

 

[Cris B]

Thanks Stu I hope it isn't as bad as it looks...

I need to move the Rallye in the garage and it's currently sitting on axle stands across both bays in the double garage. I'm not ready to put the suspension, steering and wheels back on so I thought I'd make up a rig. I had a hunt around tonight and managed to find all the materials I'll need for free! Result

That'd be a 30mm box section bed base - just need to chop off the two "legs". The other bits appear to be from some part of a bar bell weights stand. 50mm box section and 5mm plate - suits me! Includes the height adjustable bits as well if I want to use them!

Finally I managed to get four trolley wheels - two fixed and two rotating. Although not a matching set they all came off the same thing. Bit bizarre, but still they all sit at the same height... Despite the fact that they've been stood outside for years, a spray with some WD40 and then a bit of persuasion with the hammer they freed up. Worked them loose and once they were spinning freely, lubed them up with white lithium grease and they're spot on now

Proportions are pretty good for the car so should easily be able to weld it all together tomorrow to bolt to the front wishbones mounts and then support the rear most of the beam mounting points.

 

[Cris B]

Made a bit of progress tonight but not as much as I hoped. Ended up having to do some plumbing...

 

[Cris B]

Rig is almost done. Just need to cut the beam mountings to the right length and add a few more welds here and there. Should get the shell mounted on it on Saturday. May try and get some better pics outside.

 

[Coo]

Nice little distraction for you....front ends looking good now

 

[Cris B]

Cheers, yes it's definitely been a distraction, but I am pleased at the speed I have put it together and its has grown my confidence in what I can do.

All finished today. Needs a coat of paint at some point, but I've put it straight into service.

Shell went on with out any major problems just needed to slightly adjust the position on the mounting holes for the front supports where they tie onto the wishbone mountings. A lot of faffing with the trolley jack to get it off axle stands and onto the rig.

Garage is now home to two Rallyes. The new one is a mini project and needs a little bit of TLC to get it through the MOT and then will be a standard road car. Hoping to have it on the road next month.