Bent Saxo vts

[LewisT]

I decided to remove to remove the gearbox mount support bracket to aid alignment of the chassis leg, i used one of the core hole style spot weld drill bits.

If you have never used one before they only need light pressure i initially tried to use it like the other flat ended style spot weld drills with a lot of pressure it just causes them to wander badly.

The support bracket seriously did it need so many spot welds

Soon had it off.

Cleaned it up and got a straight edge on it, it ain't flat.

It has a bend in front of the mount but seems like the engine mount stopped the leg bending so i am going to cut out a strip just enough till it is flatthen weld a new strip in across both pieces, the inside of the end of the leg is fairly flat as well. The outside of the leg is a touch rippley and is going to need some new metal the outside of the end of the leg is also visibly bent, unsure if its the original piece of if they got another one that was also bent.

 

[LewisT]

Touch more progress, cut another slit out of the chassis leg, made a repair patch, made two clamps from "where can i get clamps like this" thread one got aborted.

Patch piece was ok for a first attempt but the two flats on it aren't parallel and the two flats are also slightly to close together so it might become two repair pieces then welded in separately.

 

[rhubarb7]

Rather than the laser level use diagonal measurements with a tape measure across the engine bay..IE: from O/S bulkhead to front edge of N/S chassis leg, and N/S bulkhead to front edge of O/S chassis leg.

Also with the N/S chassis leg I'd be inclined to slide a repair piece into the leg, then you can drill through and spot weld at each end and also seam weld the joined area.

 

[Myles1970]

A tram gauge might come in handy for checking diagonals .... my DIY version:

 

[LewisT]

Rather than the laser level use diagonal measurements with a tape measure across the engine bay..IE: from O/S bulkhead to front edge of N/S chassis leg, and N/S bulkhead to front edge of O/S chassis leg.

Also with the N/S chassis leg I'd be inclined to slide a repair piece into the leg, then you can drill through and spot weld at each end and also seam weld the joined area.

I tried to measure with a tape and it wasn't working well for me in certain areas, having a laser on centre line is easier as i mostly work alone, were the chassis leg is cut is beyond the front engine mount and the strut, its not really structurally important i think reinforcement is unnecessary.

A tram gauge might come in handy for checking diagonals .... my DIY version:

I like it, i did look at buying one before i got the laser, and i totally understand why you made your own thoses prices especially for the ones with a scale on them

 

[LewisT]

Still hasn't been scrapped, Inner support has been repaired and is now straight, chassis leg was been welded back on straightish , currently rebuilding the inner wing, the beads on it now align with the chassis leg.

 

[LewisT]

And had to make a deep grinder spanner cause i got a strip and clean disc stuck on it.

 

[LewisT]

Managed to get one of the chassis legs where it should be, had to brace the shell to the garage wall this a length of 2x4 to stop the car tipping off the axle stands, and welded a long length of box to the chassis leg to leaver the leg.

so went from this to this

Finally removed the front lower crossmember only part i have a replacement for

 

[Erie Fred]

If'n you'd convert it to electric...
You would have plenty of room in front for the electric motor.

 

[angellonewolf]

nice work and quite a lot of it as well

 

[northwest]

Absolutely no point in rushing these things.

 

[LewisT]

Got the front end mocked up today hell of a lot of work to make the fans fit yes the project moves at snails pace parents throw junk in the garage as quick as i clear it up, no space to work, completely kills my motivation.

Should be able to move on to mot repairs once this part has been completed.

 

[LewisT]

Tiny update, been working away at this but haven't been taking pictures of loads of small jobs, just one small hammer formed patch for the top of the chassis leg where the profile changes from folded to flat. Also bought a bead roller and a shrinker stretcher vevor branded off aliexpress, not touched the bead roller yet but the S&S does not in any way work out the box made a start finishing the dies probably going to need to make new wire springs for them.

 

[LewisT]

Getting close to done on the n/s inner wing, probably didn't need to do this but i had new toys and wanted some practice.

Stand for bead roller

Patch for inner wing using shrinker / bead roller

Had to massage it to get it to fit.

Pen reasonably good

Not bad for my first go with some tools, lessons learned; rolled beads way deeper than necessary had to hammer the two pannels for alignment.

 

[LewisT]

NS inner wing only needs fettling, might just leave the weld bead like the look of it haha, its not going to interfere with anything.

Made a start on the other side removed part of the engine mount and cut out some rot, going to end up a repair much like the NS

Luckily the rot doesn't go anywhere too difficult to get at.

What ever citreon used on the underside of these is terrible, yellow spongy stuff that water seems to wick behind and rust

 

[a1topdog]

It is possible to get repair sections for the inner wings, and other common rust spots on these saxos.

D Whitworth Vehicle Fabrication | Facebook

Specialist in Peugeot 106 and Citroen Saxo bodywork repair panels.

www.facebook.com

 

[LewisT]

Another long overdue update.

Patched up the vertical wingy, did it in a few small patches to keep the panel aligned did cause it to warp a bit though.

Used a step roller to replicate a factory look here, for some strange reason Citroen did it differently on this side compared to the other only to complicate repairs

Made a new piece for the inner arch and made a former to hammer a recess in to the panel, made from some offcuts of oak wood flooring.

Welded in, part smoothed where part of the engine mount needs to go, hammered finish looks about as good as cellulite.

Didn't go without drama, burnt a hole at the end of the butt weld so made a small sacrificial patch.

Currently having a go at recreating this small piece that closes the chassis leg

Had to bead roll it first, going to cut out the beads where it needs to be folded and weld the joints back up. the bead have also distorted the crap out of the patch should be fine one i fold it.

 

[LewisT]

Made another wooden too to aid folding the chassis top piece in to shape, was originally the complete shape but wasn't perfectly parallel so i just flipped it along the short axis to get the smaller fold angle

Turned out alright, cut a bit much out of the beads at the fold line to aid bending will weld it up. Havent added the two holes they don't get used think they are factory alignment points, also did some shopping at zoro's thanks for the discount code thread.

Started cleaning up the inside of the near side chassis leg, welding up unwanted holes ect. its a touch wavy going to be fun putting it back together.

 

[indy4x]

Be interested to know how the Kennedy panel beating set works out?

 

[LewisT]

Be interested to know how the Kennedy panel beating set works out?

Mostly in a crude fashion, making panels meet, flattening flanges ect doubt they will see much body panels