1974 Dolomite Sprint

[SiC]

A little research (I was pissed off with rain stopping other activities....) online this afternoon indicates that the seat belt warning wiring was on passenger side only and the driver's side circuitry ended at the floor stalk.

Are the seats a matching pair or is it likely only one of them came out of a LHD model? Interesting.....

They differ but Swiss would be LHD and this would have been the passenger seat...

[Hooli]

A little research (I was pissed off with rain stopping other activities....) online this afternoon indicates that the seat belt warning wiring was on passenger side only and the driver's side circuitry ended at the floor stalk.

Are the seats a matching pair or is it likely only one of them came out of a LHD model? Interesting.....

That's logical, no need to have a 'bum in seat' sensor for the driver after all.

[Scruffy Bodger]

A little research (I was pissed off with rain stopping other activities....) online this afternoon indicates that the seat belt warning wiring was on passenger side only and the driver's side circuitry ended at the floor stalk.

Are the seats a matching pair or is it likely only one of them came out of a LHD model? Interesting.....

That's logical, no need to have a 'bum in seat' sensor for the driver after all.

Unless it's a Tesla.

[Bangernomics]

The joy of sparkly sticks, and how nice is it to have proper panels rather than bits of old tumble dryer nailed to the floor.

There’s a good few days work there you brave chap.


Less annoying tag line.

[SiC]

Busy weekend hacking away slowly at this sill.

First job was to weld in the piece that was clamped up a few months ago. Also welded a bit more up on the inner membrane. I have a new panel that I could replace all this, however I'm keen to keep most of what I can as some of it is in good shape and original too.

Before

After


Next was to tackle the rear of the sill. This had been repaired before but looked like externally without having as much access as I do now.


A lot of chopping of old repair work out left quite a bit missing.


Now a case of piecing it all back together again.








That took a good 6 hours of work over the weekend. Slow progress but chipping away at it a piece at a time.

The inner wheel arch is going to need serious reconstruction. The inside panel is completely missing at the bottom corner. It is quite a complex curved shape that needs to be replicated.


Then there is holes along the top and then quite a bit missing at the bottom rear. Outer arch I have a repair piece. But there isn't too much for it to join back onto yet.


Probably going to obtain a panel to repair this. Not cheap and I will only need a smallish section to do this. But would save a whole lot of time while being a neater job.

[captain_70s]

On my car Mk2 Golf inners were used, due to being sub £40 a side, and brutally hammered into the correct fit. I was in need of a fair expanse of metal though...

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Not the prettiest but it all butted up flat to the outer panel in the end, which is all it really needs to do.

[paulplom]

What are you using to make the rusty metal shiny again? Grinder and drill with attachments?
Our front garden gate needs addressing and I'm in two minds on buying a new one if it's going to be too much slaver.

Top work on both accounts btw.

[SiC]

On my car Mk2 Golf inners were used, due to being sub £40 a side, and brutally hammered into the correct fit. I was in need of a fair expanse of metal though...

DSC_6626 (Copy).jpg
arch2.jpg
118680105_1824313497710569_5101579364459351572_n.jpg

Not the prettiest but it all butted up flat to the outer panel in the end, which is all it really needs to do.

Yeah I remember you saying at the time and made a mental note for my car. I have noticed Rimmers do a panel for the arch, tempted to get it if it's vaguely the right shape. Bloody expensive (because Rimmers) at £110 a panel, but I'd hope it would save me time trying to get another arch to fit. I did look at other car panel arches but there isn't anything quite a close enough fit really.

I probably should have put some bracing across my doors like you did really. Might drag the door across next and check it still closes

[SiC]

What are you using to make the rusty metal shiny again? Grinder and drill with attachments?
Our front garden gate needs addressing and I'm in two minds on buying a new one if it's going to be too much slaver.

Top work on both accounts btw.

Most of the time I use a knotted wire wheel or cup on my grinder. I find this cuts through the paint and rust without taking too much metal with it. Also does it pretty quickly too. Just wear a respirator. I didn't this weekend and I'm still blowing grinding dust and paint out with my snot ...

Flap discs are great for removing metal material and will do paint, but tend to clog up more. Knotted wheel lasts for ages. I think mine were just the ones from Toolstation. The grinder for that I use the cheapest one I found in The Range. Haven't killed that one yet. Even if I abuse it by tapping the rotor lock button as it spins down to undo and remove the wheel when changing.

There are also abrasive paint removing discs. They do work well but don't last that long. Also really expensive for how long they last. I think they're more useful if you're doing bodywork with good metal underneath and you really don't want to remove, overheat or damage the metalwork.

[brandersnatch]

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