JohnnyB's 'lude

[NafemanNathan]

Got to be a good feeling getting all that done

What about that small amount of rust between the two knobbles on the sill in the middle pic? Looks rather cancerous. Or have they just not got that far yet?

[wurlycorner]

Excellent pictures
Yep, it's really common that body shops only use part of the replacement panel rather than the whole thing. Both ludes I have had done have been the same.

[JohnnyB]

Got to be a good feeling getting all that done

What about that small amount of rust between the two knobbles on the sill in the middle pic? Looks rather cancerous. Or have they just not got that far yet?

Yeah feels great, it'll be even better later in the year when I've had the other side done and the wheels refurbed

I asked them about that patch of rust - apparently it's only surface rust so they've not cut it out. They've gone a bit further down the sill now as you can see in the next photo's but they've still got a scabby bit to remove around one of the sill clip holes, should be done tomorrow.

She was all welded up when I arrived but they'd already slapped some filler on to get the shape right so I didn't get photos. Looking good none the less



Here's the sill all welded up:



Here's the new section welded in where they discovered the sneaky hole behind the bumper...



The quality of workmanship looks really good from what I've seen so far, I'm pleased I chose this place. Including patching the holes it is costing about £400 excluding the repair panel which was supplied by Cebul... I'll pop in again tomorrow lunchtime by which time it should have been fully shaped and primered

[wurlycorner]

£400 is a very good price for a proper cut out repair

[JohnnyB]

[wurlycorner]

As you say...

Must feel great.

[mercutio]

wheres the swage line?

[JohnnyB]

wheres the swage line?

It shows up really badly in photos, I'll try and get some better ones when the sun is out properly

[mercutio]

considering thats a replacement panel there is a lot of filler on the bit i would expect to be metal and metal where i would expect the filler????

[JohnnyB]

considering thats a replacement panel there is a lot of filler on the bit i would expect to be metal and metal where i would expect the filler????

She's taken a hit there in the past - My ex's father managed to scoop a big chunk out on his drive about 10 years ago. They've taken all the rust out but since the original damage went further than the replacement panel we felt it was the better option to reshape what was there as best they could and only replace what needed replacing. That meant more filler than I would have liked but completely removing the damage would have left a patchwork quilt of welding which is more likely to cause more issues further down the line and would have needed filling anyway. The pictures above are about halfway through the rough sanding so more came off after that was taken - the filler is pretty thin now but it's a necessary evil. They've told me it shouldn't cause any problems and I trust them to fix it if it does so I'm happy with it I won't be expecting to see any on the other side when it's done, assuming she wasn't hit on that side before I bought her

Anyway, I've got bigger problems right now - my clutch hydraulics are fubarred I popped out for a drive this evening and stalled whilst parking which is unusual... Restarted and went for the clutch and the pedal was on the floor I toed it back up and nursed her home to find a trail of hydraulic fluid where I'd parked up on the drive I'm guessing its the master cylinder but haven't had a chance to look yet. I've got a braided clutch hose to fit anyway but this seems to have forced my hand

It'll all be worth it in the end - at least that's what I keep telling myself