new to me daily

[dutch]

when someone takes the time to bondo shock towers after 3 layers of hack job over rust....

Got some reconstruction to do here ( and on the other side ) To make sure my fenders will still bolt on correctly, I`m going to work from the outside in.
Once these new panels are tacked in place I will cut out the mess in the enginebay and have the new part to guide me.

[Old Iron]

Nothing but a thing for you.
Nice panels

[dutch]

finished the shock tower area repair today. The small to large radius reversed curve took some time to get right... First and second attempts with the shrinker/stretcher ended up in the experience bin. The third was a great plan.
I cut 2 pieces of metal in the desired curve and gas welded them together. Then I hammered it into the radius needed. Actually...I made 3.
The first one I welded the strip to the wrong side. While making the second one, I was distracted by my wife so I did the same thing again The third one worked just fine... welcome to my world.
Still got a couple smaller holes to fix and then it`s on to the other side...

[zzrodder]

Great work on the rust repairs, good as or better than new.
Is that a special fire proof blanket you're using ?

[dutch]

thanks, yes it is. Dash and driveline are still in the car so I need some spark protection.

[dutch]

picked up some period correct bling yesterday...

[dutch]

Been a while since the last update on the bmw.
I got a lot of repairs done, but still a bunch to go... 47yrs of Dutch weather and salt took a bite

I am out of the engine bay. It needed everal firewall repairs and both inner fenders / spring towers had bad structural damage and in several spots I had to remove good metal to get to the crap further down the rabbithole, but I got all the rot out and there`s no trace left of previous hack jobs... just mine. There`s a big difference with these cars compared to 60`s / 70`s US cars when it comes to sheet metal repairs. There is way less room for everything so if there`s a dimple in a panel, you better make sure you get it in the exact same spot when making a replacement panel, or you will run into problems with parts that need that space. No room for shortcuts.
I also replaced both sills and I was surprised to see the insides looked almost like brand new, while the outer panels were rusty between the rot. Driver`s side floors are next. Lots of shape in those panels, so that will be a challenge.

Meanwhile I rebuilt all 4 brake calipers and Im happy to have found a pair of NOS OEM front struts. Someone actually repaired them with bondo
Installed new Bilstein B6 shocks and wheel bearings ,so that ready for install once the body is done.

All in all about 83.6% more work than anticipated...still happy with the car tho.

[dutch]

pics...

[Tripper]

Good thing you like to & are good at beating metal to your will!

BoB

[Couper]

Awesome metal work Dutch! Better than new!