Dolomite Nismo

[James467]

On to the boot floor, using..... yep you guessed it the club repair panels!

I have removed all of the underseal and drilled out the spot welds, I wont use the whole panel, just the bits I need.



The wheelarch and rear wing have gone as well so I'll remove everything and work from the inside out to repair.



I just cut off what I needed and offered it up ready to weld into place.



Then seam welded along the join. Once ground back you wont see this.

[new to this]

Great stuff James.. that new toy of yours is really helping you here.

Do you use 0.6 or 0.8mm welding wire out of interest?

Kind Regards

MC

0.8mm Matt, 0.6 just isnt worth bothering with!

James

nice work be ,interested in how you repair the rear arches mines gone it the same places also boot floor as well gone

when you fit the club sills cant see from your pictures , do you cut the bottom edge where it folds back on its self

Dave

Which edge is that Dave? At the top? No, I have used a bead roller to create an edge, lap jointed it to the top then ground back the welds to create an invisible seam.

James

the bottom edge of the outter sill folds back over its self and covers the inner sill thats the bit , do you cut that returned edge

Dave

[Carledo]

the bottom edge of the outter sill folds back over its self and covers the inner sill thats the bit , do you cut that returned edge

Dave[/color]

I don't know about James, but I cut it off because a) it's not original and b) it's a rust trap if it's folded up, there are SUPPOSED to be drains in the sill, I always make sure to make some. That's not possible if the lip is folded over.

Steve

[new to this]

the bottom edge of the outter sill folds back over its self and covers the inner sill thats the bit , do you cut that returned edge

Dave[/color]

I don't know about James, but I cut it off because a) it's not original and b) it's a rust trap if it's folded up, there are SUPPOSED to be drains in the sill, I always make sure to make some. That's not possible if the lip is folded over.

Steve

Steve

Thanks , didnt know the sill was meant to have drain holes

Dave

[Carledo]

the bottom edge of the outter sill folds back over its self and covers the inner sill thats the bit , do you cut that returned edge

Dave[/color]

I don't know about James, but I cut it off because a) it's not original and b) it's a rust trap if it's folded up, there are SUPPOSED to be drains in the sill, I always make sure to make some. That's not possible if the lip is folded over.

Steve

Steve

Thanks , didnt know the sill was meant to have drain holes

Dave

If you look at a rare original, you will see there are drains formed in the inner sill, at least 3 of them, maybe more.

This often disappears, along with the lower sill edge when the tinworms bite and the club undersill panel, lovely as it is, doesnt include them. So I make them in the outer sill at the clamping on stage (front, center and rear) by clamping a large screwdriver blade between the outer and inner sill with a panel clamp. Works for me, the drains are regular in shape (so don't look out of place) and slightly larger and more efficient than the originals. Lets out accumulated water AND excess waxoil/whatever you use, so the sills don't disintegrate from tinworm 2 years later!

Steve

[Carledo]

Here's a pic of my own unwelded original sill.




Looks like 2 holes together, but it's an inch long slot, half gummed up with Ziebart.

Not easy to see from this angle but there is also a deliberate "low spot" in the outer sill coinciding with the drain, so it gets the last drop of water out (in theory at least!) There are indeed 3 of these each side.

Steve

[new to this]

I don't know about James, but I cut it off because a) it's not original and b) it's a rust trap if it's folded up, there are SUPPOSED to be drains in the sill, I always make sure to make some. That's not possible if the lip is folded over.

Steve

Steve

Thanks , didnt know the sill was meant to have drain holes

Dave

If you look at a rare original, you will see there are drains formed in the inner sill, at least 3 of them, maybe more.

This often disappears, along with the lower sill edge when the tinworms bite and the club undersill panel, lovely as it is, doesnt include them. So I make them in the outer sill at the clamping on stage (front, center and rear) by clamping a large screwdriver blade between the outer and inner sill with a panel clamp. Works for me, the drains are regular in shape (so don't look out of place) and slightly larger and more efficient than the originals. Lets out accumulated water AND excess waxoil/whatever you use, so the sills don't disintegrate from tinworm 2 years later!

Steve

Steve

Ill have go at some drain holes ,im going to fit the Stag stainless cill trims to my dolomite , i found out today which did surprised me from bumper to bumper the Stag is longer ,but from cill end to cill end the dolomite is longer meaning the Stag cill trims are about 2 -3 inches short

Dave

[Albuzz]

Absolutely brilliant set of photos to help a complete novice like me before setting about repairing/replacing sills...

I have read somewhere that the club outer sills are straight, whereas the originals have a slight curve... is that right and if so, how did you allow for that?

I know that it’s necessary to brace the shell before cutting out the old sill... do I need to do that before cutting out the outer sill (so I can see what I need to replace?

Can I also ask where.s the best place to fix the brace (welded?).

Brilliant post... thanks
Akan

[James467]

Thanks!

Yes the orginal steel pressings have a curved profile on the top lip of the sill, I cut slots in this to allow it to curve and match the profile of the original.

If you are just replacing the outer skin, reinforcer and lower inner section it isnt really necessary to brace the shell. Axle stands under the subframe and rear axle and just dont move the car! I braced the door gap on Richards just where I cut off the top of the sill section to gain access to the reinforcer. I was worried about the inner section folding in on itself where I had cut the lower section away. I would brace the doors as well as at the base of the B post to B post across each other and bottom of b post to top of opposite B post creating an X if I have to cut a lot of the floor or inner sill out, but I haven't had one that bad yet! Although, I know Alun has one lined up for me!

Sorry Steve and Dave, I didnt reply!

I dont cut off the lip, I bend it down slightly to create a sort of drip rail plus I use it to line up the sill! My concern with cutting off the lip is that water will travel up into the seam through capillary action, which is probably the cause of rust here anyway! Plus its stronger with that lip. I do put three drain holes in, but drill a hole in the corner of the inner sill then bang the lip over t make it look like the original, you just cant see them well with the lip on! The seam does get a thin bead of seam sealer and as we all know, the sills should still be protected internally with a good cavity wax.

[Albuzz]

Thanks for the quick reply... Much appreciated.

Alan

[James467]

A lot has been happening since the last update!

Both rear wheel arches have been de-rusted and thier lips repaired where necessary.



The turret has been boxed in where the turbo wastegate sits.



The handbrake has been moved backwards an inch to give Richard more room around the gearlever. It doesnt look like much but it has made a huge difference.





Whilst it was on the rotisserie Richard came over and stripped all of the old underseal off, it was a big, pig of a job but what a difference! Any rust has been treated then zinc coated before seam sealing, a coat of smooth stonechip, then a shultz coat of stonechip under the inside of the wings and rear wheel wells.

























Then it was off of the rotisserie and back on its wheels ready for the next jobs.

[Tony Burd]

What did you use to strip the underseal?

[James467]

Now that all of the rust is gone it's on to the fun stuff! The Rad and intercooler mounting.

The setup uses a Range Rover P38 intercooler which fits prefectly with some minor adjustments to the inner valence. I have mounted it in front of the rad to get the greatest airlow from behind the grilles and plan to try and direct as much air into the intercooler as possible. The P38 intercooler has a couple of brackets in exactly the right place so I have been able to ustilise them all!

This is the basic setup using some scrap steel to support the rad.





The intercooler will mount to the front using spacers and captive nuts, it leaves plenty of space for the engine and ancillaries.



The first job was to design a radiator top support bracket. The idea is that this can be removed to allow the rad to be lifted out, or the whole unit can be removed with just four bolts, this is V1, it was modified a lot!!!!







The idea is that it closes off the top gap and doesnt allow any air to escape over the top of the cooler. After a few modifications this was made!













Then I moved onto the support frame for the rad, designs were drawn and templates were made!





The lower support is made from 2mm strip steel with the sides bent up to create a channel, the lower support holes have been reinforced. The centre support bar is 2mm strip bent to 45 degrees for strength.



The whole unit mocked up









A couple of lower brackets fabricated and welded on





I welded some captive nuts to the upper brackets and mounted everything to the car.



To remove the rad simply undo the two nuts here...



The upper panel can then be removed and the rad lifted out.





Or you can undo 4 bolts and the whole assembly can be removed. The whole unit is very strong and does not move at all! I have test fitted the front valence, the bottom of the rad is in line with the bottom of the valence so with the front spoiler fitted you wont see it at all.

Overall I'm really pleased with this. Tomorrow I will fill the rad with fluid, I think I'm going to need a couple of supports from from the halfway support to the centre base.

[James467]

What did you use to strip the underseal?

Old Petrol, a gasket scraper then white spirit with lots of rags!!

Never again am I doing that job!!!

For your own sanity get it shot blasted!

[Tony Burd]

Funny you say that I have been looking into getting the shell blasted. There is a company near me that uses plastic media, need to give them a call to find out the cost.