Projects

Projects - 1972 2000 Berlina body repair & road legal racer modification

March 2016: Another project which needs some bodywork. This time a 2000 Berlina (105 series) with some more or less common corrosion issues and some special modifications which will prepare the body into a road legal racer / fun car in the end.

Section of the front floor around the drainage hole in need of attention.

Rust affected material cut out and reconstruction on its way, of course in factory original geometry.

Hand made repair section for floor in factory original shape finished.

The front indicator lights are not necessary on this race and will be closed.

Right hand side indicator light closed, no need for any filler due to completely flush surface.

Right hand side front bumper attachment point removed and welded straight material in position.

Right hand side bumper attachment replace by completely flush surface.

Front right hand corner repair finished, looking solid.

Left hand side rear end of sill, cut out of sick material on its way.

Left hand side rear end of sill, repair required.

Left hand side rear end of sill completely removed.

Left hand side rear end of sill, completely solid again and no need for any filler.

Left hand side rear end of sill, treated with anti corrosive coating.

Left hand side rear end of sill, 100% factory original geometry restored.

Fuel filler cap in left hand rear wing welded shut.

Hand made repair section for floor welded into position and treated with coating.

Section near spare wheel well with some doubtful quality previous repair.

No other option then to remove the section and replace it with fresh material.

Spare wheel well looking quite different after repair.

Windshield frame, some rust affected material replaced.

Left hand side A-pillar, some sections cut out.

eft hand side rear end of sill, completely solid again and no need for any filler.

Front valance opening in between bumper connections.

Front valance opening significantly enlarged to increase cooling capacity.

May 2016: As always time flies. The month May has started. Lets see what can be accomplished within this month. The target is of course to be completely finished, but the likelihood on that actually happening is about just as big as me turning into to an avid Opel fan ;-) The main issues to tackle this month are the front valance & wings and attack the severe rust in some sections of the engine bay.

Hand made stiffening rib around edges of front valance opening.

Left side front bumper attachment protrusion on fender which needs to made flat & some corrosion.

Left side bumper attachment on fender protrusion removed & front valance brushed clean .

Material around left bumper attachment amply removed to enable creating completely flush surface.

Front valance treated with anti corrosive coating.

Front valance ready for many years of racing to come (as long as nobody crashes it).

Lower end of left front fender made solid again.

Lower end of left front fender treated with anti corrosive coating.

Right hand side engine bay near windscreen, some indicators for need of replacement.

Right hand side engine bay new section welded completely flush into position.

Right hand side engine bay vertical wall removed.

Right hand side engine bay vertical wall replaced, seen from outside.

Right hand side engine bay vertical wall replaced, seen from inside.

Left hand engine bay near windscreen.

Engine bay near windscreen, crispy as cornflakes, however not eatable.

Additional overview of "cornflake" area.

Fresh material in engine bay.

Hand made engine bay repair piece with factory original geometry.

Hand made engine bay repair piece with holes for welding purpose.

Engine bay prepared for welding.

Engine bay welded and excessive weld material removed.

Engine bay, of course factory original lip geometry recreated.

Engine bay repair for this section completed & treated with coating.

Repaired engine bay section from a different angle.

Engine bay drainage feature.

Engine bay repair completed.

July 2016: After a short unintended break the activities continue in July. This month the emphasis will be on the floor. The left hand front side is in worst condition, the right hand front side can suffice with some relatively small repairs.

Another floor section in need of some attention.

Left hand side front floor section, rust affected material removed.

Hand made floor repair piece under construction.

Removed floor material which clearly needs replacement.

Floor section section almost finished, looking quite okay in my opinion.

Small repair section for vertical wall welded into position.

Hand made floor section welded in position with factory original drainage hole.

Vertical wall incorporating lip for wiring loom welded.

Left hand side front floor completed & treated.

Left hand side front floor completed & treated seen from a different angle.

Left hand side front floor completed & treated seen from a different angle.

Left hand side front floor completed & treated seen from underneath the car.

Right hand side front floor with unintended ventilation hole.

Right hand side front floor repair in progress, drainage hole completed.

Right hand side front floor repair in progress, drainage hole completed & treated.

Front valance seen from engine bay side, the screw drivers are an (expensive) extra.

Front valance seen from engine bay side, obviously in need of some repair.

Front valance seen from engine bay side, not sure whether this is the intention ;-)

Front valance seen from engine bay side, all rust affected material removed.

Front valance, hand made repair piece under construction.

August 2016: The end of the project is approaching, but still some repairs need to be made. The rear wheel arches definitely need attention. Besides the usual rust repair they need to be adjusted to enable putting bigger/wider wheels under the car without touching the fenders. Normally these cars have a flange of about 1cm pointing inwards going inside the wheel arch, I will reconstruct the rust affected sections on the visible outboard side in factory original geometry, but the flange pointing to the inboard side will be minimised so wider wheels won't touch the fenders.

Front valance seen from engine bay side, solid as a rock, of course with factory original drainage features.

Left hand side rear wheel arch, these holes are not factory original I guess.

Hand made wheel arch repair piece for right hand wheel arch.

Left hand side rear wheel arch, rust affected material being removed.

Right hand side rear wheel arch, trial fit of hand made repair piece.

Right hand side rear wheel arch, welded & excessive material removed.

Right hand side rear wheel arch, perfectly flush surface with original body material.

Right hand side rear wheel arch, repair finished, no need of any filler.

Right hand side rear wheel arch, top section also affected by rust.

Right hand side rear wheel arch, top section seen from the inside.

Right hand side rear wheel arch, top section repair piece under construction wit less deep flange on inboard side to enable big wheels.

Right hand side rear wheel arch, top section repair piece trial fit, good fit.

Right hand side rear wheel arch, top section repair piece trial fit, good fit also on inside.

Right hand side rear wheel arch, welded into position and excessive weld material removed.

Right hand side rear wheel arch, repair completed seen from inside of wheel arch, more room for bigger wheels.

Right hand side rear wheel arch, repair completed, straight as ..........

September 2016: This month should be the last one for this project, lets hope. The problem is that you never know what you come across whilst working on a car. Unfortunately I'm too meticulous to leave small issues as they are. That's a fault from my side which sometimes leads to a significant amount of time being spent which some people may consider as being overdone, but I like things to be completed in a proper way.

Left hand side rear valance with a filled and strange looking seem, potentially hiding something?

Left hand side rear valance strange looking seem.

Left hand side rear valance, material round strange looking seem removed.

Left hand side rear valance, reconstructed seem looking fully factory original.

Left hand side rear valance with a factory original seem, nice (if I say so myself).

Left hand side rear valance looking good.

Right hand side rear valance with a filled and strange looking seem, looks terrible.

Right hand side rear valance filled seem close up.

Right hand side rear valance removal of filler in progress.

Right hand side rear valance seem appearing after filler removal.

Right hand side rear valance material removed and rear wing repair completed.

Right hand side rear valance hole after material removal.

Right hand side rear valance, removed material with crappy previous repair seen from inside.

Right hand side rear valance, removed material with crappy repair seen from outside.

Right hand side rear valance, trail fit of hand made repair piece.

Right hand side rear valance, removed material & hand made repair piece.

Right hand side rear valance, repair piece welded into position & excessive weld material removed.

Right hand side rear valance, repaired section with removed crappy material dangling underneath.

Area near windshield frame in middle section, some repair needed.

Area near windshield frame in middle section, some more repair needed.

Area near windshield frame in middle section, rust affected material removed.

Area near windshield frame in middle section, new material in position & treated.

Area near windshield frame in middle section, repairs finished.

2000 Berlina repairs, all removed material gathered.

As always the project took longer than I hoped due to unexpected issues popping up during the repair activities. I guess there are no projects with no unexpected surprises. I still keep on hoping that I will once encounter a project which is less labour intensive than anticipated, but I suppose that time most probably will never come. In the end the result of this project is satisfactory. I'm looking forward to seeing this Berlina on the circuit at some point in time.

Last update: March 5th 2017