The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

If you're 100% certain that the bulk of the soffitt section is solid, then letting in some repair sections would be ok, but for the most durable repair, you know what I'm about to say.....

John what do you think I should do with that corner section and the very end of the soffitt, the other side was solid so I didn't have to touch it.

Many Thanks

Darren

This really is one of those times when I wished that I lived closer to Essex.
I'd be tempted to cut the soffitt right back as far as that reinforcer that the seat belt mount attaches to and make a new piece to run from there to the end. That way, the join would be where there's already a stiffer area in the form of the reinforcer, so in the event of a shunt, the panel would deform as an original one would but that's mainly because I'm anally retentive in the extreme when it comes to repairing bodywork and not because there's any real safety issue with a repair that joins closer to the end of the sill.

Your instinct has been pretty good so far, so I'd tend to follow that, just be careful to measure everything carefully, especially as there seems to be some rust quite near to that suspension arm mounting channel and I wouldn't be surprised if that needs some TLC while you're in about at it.

JPB wrote: If you're 100% certain that the bulk of the soffitt section is solid, then letting in some repair sections would be ok, but for the most durable repair, you know what I'm about to say.....

That makes two of us thinking the same.....

Not got that far yet Ian

Today I have been doing the repairs that needed doing, and after a lot of head scratching I came up with a simple repair for the back rear rot. Found some more hole's too but this welding laying on your back under a car getting smothered in splatter foooook that hurts.

When my wife went to get my stuff from the panel place, they offered this other weld through primer instead of the upol one, it's less than half the price, but I'm getting a better earth with it than the upol one too.

Even managed to get my son to do some rubbing down and primering of a few bits

Pic 1 is for John





























I will cut the rest of the soffitt off this week and put a new panel in like the other side. Might as well do it properly after all this hard work.

Many Thanks

Darren

It's been a while so thought I had better update, work has been slow but steady, the engine and gearbox are ready to dropped in once I get hold of the hoist.

The sill on the n/s is nearly complete, I haven't put the sill cover on yet, as I have moved to the rear arch. This will enable me to get the sill in the right place, hopefully this weekend will see the arch completed.

Some pics:

















Many Thanks

Darren

I just love the way you're taking the bull by the proverbial horns here Darren. This thread should be a great source of inspiration for anyone with similar rust issues to overcome, so that'll be about half of the folk on this forum then.....

This is good, strong and thorough work that looks certain to replicate the original strength in these critical areas of the car. This thread also demonstrates beautifully that, no matter how good a car looks; the true state of the diaphragm and inner sill areas, as well as the inner edges of those jacking points and the inside of that soffitt section cannot possibly be assessed accurately by cutting out in piecemeal fashion and letting in patches where the visible rust was.

Keep it up mate. This is great.

Thanks John, Mable will be on the road in 4-8 weeks time And I just can't wait

All the best

Darren

JPB wrote:This thread also demonstrates beautifully that, no matter how good a car looks; the true state of the diaphragm and inner sill areas, as well as the inner edges of those jacking points and the inside of that soffitt section cannot possibly be assessed accurately by cutting out in piecemeal fashion and letting in patches where the visible rust was.

Keep it up mate. This is great.

Absolutely. "All that glitters is not gold."

I keep on saying exactly that, which undoubtedly could be taken as personal criticism of the car owner and the car.
However, given what I know, it is better to speak out and accept the flak.
If I said nothing I would deserve the flak and be guilty of irresponsibility.


This thread should have been mentioned in the latest Dolly Mixture Darren, however an email from the editor confirms that
he received no email submissions in time (due to a Yahoo problem) but that it has now been received so hopefully next time .
I am sure the editor will welcome a full report once the car is finished.............
hint, hint

I cannot add anything other than echoing what John and Ian have said - "inspiring".

Thanks Ian, Might be able to do something for the mag, in the near future.

Well today trying to make a panel for the arch was a total nightmare. I was hoping to have the inner finished today, but things conspired against me. Hopefully might get a few hours in after I have been to see Mr LordTolly tomorrow.

Approx 50% of the panel is in and welded, the best idea I had was to make up 2-3 inch plates and weld them in one at a time, cutting the bad stuff out as I went along. The main problem I have is making a plate for the back of the arch. I have made 3 plates up the best one is in a pic, just cannot get it quite right.

Anyway some pics of the days progress, very slowwwwww!













All the best

Darren

DazasDolly wrote:Approx 50% of the panel is in and welded, the best idea I had was to make up 2-3 inch plates and weld them in one at a time, cutting the bad stuff out as I went along. The main problem I have is making a plate for the back of the arch. I have made 3 plates up the best one is in a pic, just cannot get it quite right.

You have my sympathy Darren because it is really difficult and slow .
I used some heat to make each plate easier to work with and did a section at a time. It looks quite rough when finished but
it does do its job.

On a more general point, I am sure that the plastic bags containing insulation that Triumph chose to wedge above the inner
wheel arch are a bad idea because I believe that these create a moisture trap for condensation. The nett result being the corrosion
of the inner wheel arch from the inside. This opinion is based on what I observed when I remove the back wings from two Dolomites.
By the way, repairing the inner arch is no easier with the back wing removed. You still have to remove the back axle and
lie underneath to weld (upside down).

Bespoke hand made panels cost a fortune to make but the skills involved are something to behold .

I agree with you Ian, plastic and metal causes condensation which is going to drip onto the arch, and create rot if left untreated. When I cut this arch away it had already been replaced at some point in it's life. Lots and lots of waxoil will be going into these cavities. On the bottoms of the rear quarters inside is about 3/4 inch of bitumen type stuff, god knows how I'm going to take this shite out.

Well today after work I carried on with the arch repair, and I'm well chuffed with how it turned out. Might need a slight fettle once the new arch panel is cut to size, but I think it will look good when finished. Also finished the spot welds on the reinforcer, so things are ticking along nicely.

Some Pics:







Many Thanks

Darren

Well things have gone considerably well this afternoon. Now have the sill in place and welded in. This time I drilled the holes from the rear of the sill, and the result's were that it was far easier to weld. On the other side it took me 2-3 welds in each hole before it would take, so this is much better. I have also started closing the sill, soffitt and reinforcer joint.

Also I took another pic of the plate I welded yesterday as it looked very square in the pics, this time I took from the rear so you can see the shape more clearly.

Pics:





Ooops forgot to say the engine is going back in on Saturday

All the best

Darren

Just read the lot of this thread, well done mate. I lose heart when i find rust, but this has inspired to pick up my welder and sort my car out by myself, its the only way to learn, so thanks