Hi Guys
Spent some time back in the GTV6 lately and think it deserves better. So I am hatching a plan to bring it back to glory.
Not a concourse piece, I just want it to look nice and be nice to look at. Currently, if it's dark, or you are some distance away the car look great, but cancer is gowing and needs to be stamped out.
So this thread may eventually become the oldest thread still going on this forum. My Ducati thread has been going for 10 months and has around 8500 hits, so once again the GTV6 has some competition.
It won't be a quick project - unless $20K drops from the sky and I resist the urge to pay bills or buy another Ducati :-)
So this will be my thread to bring back The Beast.
So if you see me in the Beast at a club function, forgive it if there is some filler here and a bit of primer there. EVENTUALLY it will get a full respray and look the goods.
Which leads me to the first question,
Questions 1: need some idea on what a respray would cost.
A good one not a cheap job, happy to deliver the car masked and ready to paint. I watch "Wheeler Dealer" on Turbo Max, one of my fave shows and costs go from 500 quid to 2000 quid in the uk.
Toyed with the idea of buying a compressor but I would be kidding myself. No way I could do a decent job on a whole car. Maybe a bike tank or fairing but not a whole car.
Happy to receive info via PM if you dont want to reveal too much. Happy to receive contacts to talk to who do a great job.
Question 2:
Common "hidden" areas or rust. Mine is an 86 so better for rust than older Alfa's but still has some ugly birth marks around. So where do I find the hidden bad spots.
Question 3:
Someone who is good at rebuilding seats. I love the seats in the GTV6 but they are contoured foam and 25 years old so new foam and recovering are a must for the drivers seat - any recommendations. I have a guy who is awesome with Motor bike seats and he has a mate who does car seats so he is one option
Thanks in advance guys. Looking forward to the process.
Did you pull out the ECU the other day when you were chasing the double relay fault? If you have the kick panel off and the ecu out you can peel the carpet back & have a look at the inside of your rails by the front jack points/bottom of the A pillar.
AL.
Shane,
I am in exactly the same boat as you - would'nt mind at all if you shared any insight that you gain. ;D Good luck!
Cheers
Marty
Thanks Al. I will check that out.
Sounds like fun MArty if we're in the same boat.
Thanks as alwasy Choderboy.
Shane, my experience with gtv6 rust is fairly minimal as all my cars have been garaged. rust appears at the base of the windscreen, in the sunroof , lift up the door seal on the sill, top of the door skin under the trim and i have never seen a coupe without rust in the seam behind the rear bumper bar. Pull off the panel in the front wheel arch, the one near the door, and after you clean out the years of muck will hopefully only be steel. You will need to drill out the rivets and is best to replace them with screws to make cleaning easy. Doug
No worries Doug, thanks for that. Mine has some rust in the hatch under the window, and a bit on each door.
I will take those panels off probably this weekend, have been told these are usually the new home of a couple of kilos of mud and crap.
I have no rust that I have spied on the sun roof which is col, but a will be trying to clear out the dran holes, I think they go in behind the said little panels ??
Thanks again.
I have a spot of rust about the size of a 5 cent piece about an inch in from the edge of my RHS rear wheel arch - any thoughts/wisdom on how to tackle that one?
Marty
Hi Marty
I've done some research on the prodcuts from these guys http://www.septone.com.au/ they have some videos and are an Aussie company.
As a patch up I would remove the rust, spray some rust converter/stabiliser into the hole for the rest of the panel, and fill the hole with their metal filler, then filler and paint. That's how I plan to tackle the holey rust I have on my car.
Catch ya
Shane
Thanks Shane - will check out the link - I have been treating surface rust with some rust converter/primer followed by underbody sealer. As it looks to be a double layer panel where the quarter panel meets the wheel tub - what's the best way to cut out a section without cutting both layers? An angle grinder isn't exactly a surgical instrument.
Cheers
Marty
I'll be using a dremel.
Use a small angle grinder with the very thin discs(sorry not sure what they are called). There about 1mm or less thick. They make a very clean cut you just have to controll the depth. An angle grinder can be very acurate once you get used to it and your using the rite size and types.
Also insted of using normal grinding discs use flap discs. They come in a variety of grit levels and are much more gentel to the surface of the metal that a 'normal' grinding disc.
You could use a cutting disc in an air tool if you want to spend the money on some quality tools and a large compressor but if you mean dremal as in that electric toothbrush forget about it they are junk. Doing any serious panel work is hard on your tools and physically hard if you buy or use tools made from cheese your only making the work harder.
Found photos of some of my handy work today. Gives you an idea of whats under the outter skin. Might be helpful.
And
bt46 - You replaced half the car!!
Those thin discs for grinders are called cutting discs and you can buy them in packs of 10 from Bunnings. As you say they cut through sheet metal very quickly and neatly.
aggie57
Yes they are cutting discs but the ones im talking about are thinner than the normal type from bunnings and have a specific name.
Yeah - I know the ones you mean. I bought a pack on the weekend. They're sitting in the box with my grinder - I'll see what they're called.
Alister
pickies look awesome, thanks for sharing.
Jeez I hope I don't have to go to that amount of cutting... Thanks for the pics - excellent stuff.
Marty things would be more easy if we had a supply of replacement panels or even repair sections for alfetta GTV's. In the case of the red car in the pictures the quarter panels and rear panels where pretty rusty. I had the white quarter and rear panels from a car that had no rust. It made sense to change the entire panels where they are spot welded rather than weld in three or four repair sections. Its my opinion that if the panels where avaliable this is the way you would undertake a repair correctly.
The problem you have trying to patch up a 'bit of rust' in say a lower quarter panel is that if it has come through to the outside it will have certainly started effecting the inside. There is the outer skin that rusts (you can see in this case i replaced) however the subframe unfortunately suffers the same fate. If you wish to keep the car or undertake the repair properly you really need to remove the effected outside skin and repair the entire section with a replacement panel while repairing the sub frame otherwise in another 12 months you will have more surface rust and in time the sub frame will be destroyed. Of course you could just load the thing up with filler and take it to the track without fear of stoving it into the wall. You need to determine what you wish to do with the car because believe me after you spend the time restoring the body correctly you won't ever want to park the damn thing in a supermarket carpark. A patch up job is fine especially if you use the car a lot. Just bear in mind with an alfetta you will always be chasing rust every summer. That's just part of owning a GTV.
Once you get all those panels together , it would be a good idea to blow some Tectyl 506 into all the box sections. It will stop any corrosion in its tracks and keep new sections rust free permanently.
OK - so now I am starting to think about this a bit more seriously, I suspect I may have a bit of work to do around the left side A pillar and a small patch near one of the front shock towers. Thankfully my doors are in fine form (although the pins are sagging so the doors don't shut entirely properly or nicely). What do people do for replacement steel - buy a donor car or form their own repair sections. If you make your own, what thickness and grade steel do you use? Anyone got a tip on welders - what should I look at? I am of the "if you are going to do it, do it well..." mentality.
When a mate of mine saw that I bought my Alfa he did say "Bucket list item ticked; own two Alfa's... they will be the same car." ;D
Marty
To fix the hinges drill them out for Commodore pins. Have a chat with a panel shop first.
Italians make excellent small mig welders that you can use flux core wire. Makes a different weld to gassed units but it is just as strong. No bottle rentals. You can use gas with them too if you want. Buy a "look through" welder's mask so you see your work before the strike. Huge assest. Should be available for around $750 for both.
Quote from: MD on February 18, 2011, 01:40:55 PM
To fix the hinges drill them out for Commodore pins. Have a chat with a panel shop first.
Italians make excellent small mig welders that you can use flux core wire. Makes a different weld to gassed units but it is just as strong. No bottle rentals. You can use gas with them too if you want. Buy a "look through" welder's mask so you see your work before the strike. Huge assest. Should be available for around $750 for both.
Is this the sort of thing you mean?:
http://www.bunnings.com.au/products_product_120amp-weldcorp-mig-welder_469.aspx
More or less although if Bunnings sells it, I personally wouldn't buy. I use a SIP Migmate Turbo 150 that I have had for many years. Have done all sorts of welding with it up to 6mm plate and it penetrates well. Also will do really thin stuff around 0.7-0.8mm thick so you can tack sheeting with it. I have used about 300metres of flux core wire through it. Built roll cages, repaired trailers and did all my panel work with it. Around the home or home workshop, I'd say its all you need
Only difference is, when I bought mine,they were $450. :)
The mask I use is made in Switzerland, Optrel Micra, which is made to European flash control standards. I don't trust Chinese masks to safeguard my eyes. I'm still using 'em. Up to you.
Mask type : http://victorsafety.com/optrel-mira-plus-welding-helmets-pr-581.html
Welder type :http://www.nationalwelding.com.au/150amps_to_200.htm (http://www.nationalwelding.com.au/150amps_to_200.htm)
Thanks - I've got to buy one soon so appreciate the recommendation. Having seen my father burn his eyes with an arc welder years ago what say about masks makes perfect sense. Thankfully he had no permanent damage.
Good stuff guys.
I have a mate with a mig/tig welder and I have an old arc. The welder you recommended is now on a wish list.
Went down and visited the guys at http://www.xtox.com.au/ today.
They are specialists in the new water bourne paint technology which is mandatory in Europe. Nice guys, some beautiful paintwork and I will see if we can organise a Tech Night there for the Club.
Hopefully make a start this weekend on some clean-up initial work.
Finally had a clogged plug Thursday on the way home from work so the Beast was telling me enough is enough of the city crap. Cleaned the plugs and a run down the highway and all is good again.
CAtch ya
Shane