fbekholden.com

Yeah, thanks paroharo, ahem Sandstorm Metallic . Thanks to everyone for the vote in confidence. Somedays I look at the car as think that given the right alignment of the stars, it could be finished by early next year, and sometimes I wonder if it will ever be finished! It's all good though...

Great plan Wagonman, I know one thing though. Little ones will slow you down ALOT!!! My sedan was supposed to bring the first one home instead it was painted just prior to the birth of the second one

Good luck, should be real nice when done.

don't say that. i'm trying to get my first done by the birth of my first in march. i hope i break tradition
L&K.

Well, good news and bad news always happens when you get a car sandblasted (goes without saying, really). All the panels and doors, bar one, were in really god shape. The front guards have some areas to be touched up, but are not too bad at all. The body however.... there was a fair amount of bog in areas around the car, that hid some pretty big rust holes. Looking at photo's of the car when I first got it, you would think I was mad to pull it apart, but I have now been vindicated! Ha! Still, now I gotta fix it all I know I asked earlier, but has anyone had experience fixing the floor outboard of the front seat mounting holes? Not sure how I am going to tackle it yet, but may use some section of old front floor to stitch together.



Note: this "rust repair" has effectively welded the front clip to the body!



The rear end is a little untidy, but hopfully not going to be too hard to repair

After checking out some other cars under construction, I'm not going to complain ever again about how much rust I have in the wagon! I applaud those who are going all out to fix their pride and joy.

Well, managed to pick up a 135amp mig welder off evil-bay for $500! The guy I got it from had no idea how to use it, so it was basically brand new. Happy about that! So far I have replaced the front passengers floor, stitched up the holes along the side window, and manufactured new pieces for both the upper firewall corners, and the mating surface of the front body clip, and welded them in. With work starting again, next week, it doesn't look like there is going to be a great deal done over the next few weeks. Oh well...
(A little more welding required to finish)

(RH side done as well)

Think L&K picked up a 135 - I like what I see in your work Wagonman....surely got to be better than plastic - I have found the "metal" in a mig weld to be very resistant to an angle grinder - plastic however....... pfffff in a cloud of dust......

Pity you didn't get it a bit earlier...... keep you mind "occupied" when you're back in the salt mine......

frats,
Rosco

Looking good wagonman keep up the great work.

Geez doesn't time get away from you... Forgive me superman, for I have sinned, it has been almost two years now since I last did any major work on the wagon (coincidently about the same age as my daughter). But I have had the last three weeks do do some decent cutting, welding, and grinding (ad nauseum). The sills have been fun! It looks like the rh front section has had two previous attempts at fixing the rust, so third time lucky (I guess). Have also had a chat with some engineers, and they pretty much don't want anything to do with airbag suspension, so it looks like a triangulated four bar with coil-overs could be an alternative.

The lower inch of the inner sill has since been replaced, and the front fixed. The new section can be seen inside. I don't know if anyone else has had the same problem, but the new sills (Rarespares), are not quite the right profile and have required some adjusting to fit.

(sorry photo is on the side) A shot of the rusted sections that had come off the car at the time of photographing. Notice the red section, which was pop riveted over a hole in the floor (If you can't see it- it isn't there approach to fixing rust).

Great to see you are still around, Trev

Little ones are great time wasters, hey... You can bring them into the shed, you know, but they have a tendency to move things and then not remember where... that, and they don't like power tools - my 3 yr old son has a morbid fear of 'the noisy'.

Keep up the good work!

Matt