1990 country squire resto/lowrider in UK

[gadget73]

the fill door is brown? Odd.





I think those are the taillights GS is referring to.

[andyfanshawe]

the fill door is brown? Odd.





I think those are the taillights GS is referring to.

I thought that, but its obvious why. The vinyl wood sticker doesn't go quite to the edge of the gas filler door (2mm spare around the perimeter) so if it was white it would stand out like a sore thumb!

Andy.

[marquisman]

yea, wagons got a brown filler door to blend in with the woodgrain. i had an 88 colony park that had a replaced door. that tan parimeter stuck out pretty good lol

[andyfanshawe]

Trim hole welding up time..........

Here you can see the copper backing plate underneath the hole to absorb a lot of heat and prevent the panel warping.



Now to do something about the gas filler pipe. I want to fabricate and fit a stainless pipe that bends quite sharply around the inner wheelarch, goes through it and exits just behind the rear light unit. Then I can weld up the aperture on the quarter panel.

Here's the first bend in place,...view from the wheelarch



and a view from underneath...



Just remind me to not weld it up with the pipe stuck into the gas tank!! Probably won't be anymore updates if I do
Andy.

[johnunit]

maybe you've mentioned it here before, but have you thought of going to disks in the rear? It's a relatively easy swap once you actually get the parts, and they're all parts (to my knowledge) that could be ordered online easily.

[andyfanshawe]

Hi johnunit.
Yep i have thought about discs in the rear, but am not going down that route just yet.
The rear brakes are good at the moment but considering it will be towing a caravan it may be the way to go by the summer.

Although I wouldn't have a clue where to order the parts from!

Andy.

[johnunit]

shipping would be expensive, but Rockauto.com is a site sponsor (5% discount code is on here somewhere) and is a common solution for europeans with American cars. They have a ridiculously large selection and exceptionally good prices.

[andyfanshawe]

Thanks John. I have used rockauto in the past and have good experiences. I'll consider the swap during the summer.

Back to earth now though!
I need to remove the inner wheel arch to reshape it like the other side and eliminate that double skinned wheel arch lip rust trap. And of course to eradicate any lurking rust I find. Then, of course, reshape that quarter panel and finish fabricating the new gas filler pipe.

Heres the mark for cutting. You can just see the black line.



First bits removed...







Got a bit late then so the use of a noisy air saw is not really appreciated by the neighbours - so we will continue tomorrow.

Andy.

[andyfanshawe]

Heres the rear quarter lower corner just behind the drivers rear wheel.



looks in good shape, right?

Here it is with the paint ground back



and heres a back view of it



This has been repaired before. Here is the panel cut out





Here is it cut out and a patch panel clamped in ready for spot welding in.





Heres the wheelarch lip marked for reducing in width



.........

[marquisman]

ooooo a first person saw view! kinda like a "saw cam" lol...nice work. cant wait to see the finnished product.

[andyfanshawe]

I have to reshape the lower bit to match the other side, so the inner panel has to come out. See the black lines?



Cut out ready for reshaping





Now the inner wheelarch is out and down to a single skin, lets have a look how rusty it is on the inside lip



Absolutely immaculate!! Wish the other side had been like that!!!

Andy.

[87gtVIC]

Andy I have a question. How was that lower quarter piece previously repaired? From the pics it looks like a piece of metal was welded in then hammered down and puddied over.

[andyfanshawe]

Andy I have a question. How was that lower quarter piece previously repaired? From the pics it looks like a piece of metal was welded in then hammered down and puddied over.

Hi 87gtVIC.
A piece of metal was slid down the inside and welded from the outside. You can see it here





Was never going to be perfect because there is a double skin there, but it has lasted probably about 5/6 years or maybe even longer.

Andy.

[87gtVIC]

Ahh I see now!

[andyfanshawe]

Thanks big John!

Reshaping quarter panel next.
Here is a cardboard template to fit the passenger side I did last year



And heres the profile of the drivers side after a bit of tweaking



Not too far off!

Look at the rust in the bottom corner here...



Thats now been shotblasted clear.

Heres some temporary supoports welded in place until I can get a panel fabricated



Heres how the back corner matches up after a careful bit of cutting. Managed to get a good butt fit.



Andy,.