This 3.0S came to us direct from the customer via Soda Blaster all ready stripped. The first job to address was the roof skin, corrosion had set-in in the usual area behind the sunroof. A reclaimed rust free roof skin was supplied by us and was soda blasted ready to be fitted to the car. Some minor repair work to the rear section of the roof frame was required prior to treating all the inner frame and flanges with zinc primer and weld-thru primer. The new skin was spot welded to the car and the joints welded and blended in.
Once the roof skin was fitted and finished the next area to move on to was the usual turret and wing rail areas. Like most V6 shells corrosion had set in around these areas. Previous wing rail repairs had also added to the problems so the top plates and gusset panels were removed to allow repairs to the inner wing turret area and the new wing rails to be fitted.
The A-posts and kick panel areas also needed some work. Again previous patch repairs had to be removed before we could correctly repair these areas to the vehicle. the corroded sections were cut out and sections were fabricated in order to repair these areas. The area around the top of the headlamp bowl had also corroded so again the sections were cut out and repair sections made to repair this area. It was much the same story for both sides of the car.
Once the repairs had been finished on the turrets, A-post and kick panel areas, the floors were next to be addressed. Once again plates welded to the underside of the car had, if nothing else, added to the rust issues in these areas. The plates were removed and the corroded sections to the floorpans cut out. New sections were made and welded into position.
Once the front floors had been repaired, the shell was mounted to the rollover jig to gain access to the underside of the car. The rear seat mountings had corroded on both sides of the car so the fixing plates were removed from the floor pans and the corroded sections of floor cut out. Again we fabricated the floor sections and welded them into the floorpan. Again it was the same with both sides of the shell.
The next area which again is a problem area with the Ford Capri was the forward rear spring mounting and chassis section. You can see from the pictures below that this area was a mess of patch plates and rust. The chassis section had also corroded. The whole area including the section of chassis leg was completely removed so the floor area could be repaired first. Fortunately we had some sections in stock that we had removed from a scrap shell a few years back. They were rust free so we broke these sections down just to be sure there was no corrosion issues visible. All was well so the section was fitted to the car. Again the same to the other side of the shell.
There had also been a rather nasty repair carried out on the section of the offside chassis leg over the rear axle area. This section of chassis leg was cut from the vehicle. The above floor area was treated prior to a new section of leg being welded in. Well, again it was a section saved from the same shell the spring mountings came from.
Once the repairs were completed to the rear chassis and floor areas of the car, the usual rear arch inner areas had suffered along with the rear sections of sill's and lower quarter panels both in front and behind the wheelarch. Most of the sections to wheelhouses were fabricated and repair panel sills used to repair the rear sections of both sills. The inner arches or outer wheelhouses as they are known were repaired prior to the new wheelarch panels being welded to the car. Also a new lower rear valance was fitted at the same time.
A new front panel and front wings were fitted to the car and aligned with the doors and bonnet. Both the front wings were treated with an anti-chip coating prior to being fitted to the car. At the same time, the inner wing areas were etch primed and then sealed before the wings were welded into position. The front panel was also sealed inside and then the front inner wings and front panel coated with anti-chip coating. It was then a case of going around the complete body of the car repairing any damage and imperfections in readiness for the shell to be primed.
Once all the repair work had been finished, the next stage was to begin the process of re-finishing the car. First was to get the underside of the shell etched as required and then fully sealed prior to the complete underside being treated with anti-chip coating. The inside of the shell was also primed and prep'ed before new anti-drum pads were fitted as per original. The car was left on the rollover jig to enable us to apply the anti-chip coating to the underside.
The complete shell and engine compartment was primed in readiness for re-finishing. The next stage was to prep the engine compartment and re seal all the seams to this area as per original. Areas such as the top plates that Ford never sealed from factory were sealed by washing sealant into the seams rather than brush sealed like the other seams. In the booth for masking and then the new paint could be applied to the engine compartment.
Once the engine compartment was finished the inside of the shell and the underside were the next areas to be re-finished prior to the actual outer body itself. Once again all was sealed inside before re-finishing and the engine compartment and exterior masked to avoid any overspray getting onto the body.
With the inside, underside and engine compartment completed, it was time to move on to the actual outside of the body. Much time was spent preping the car as gold's and silver's have a tendancy to show any imperfections. The car was completely preped by hand with blocks down to a very fine grade paper. It was then wheeled into the booth and masked, de-greased and tacked ready for the new Oyster Gold finish to be applied. Using high grade two pack product and a low bake in the booth for forty minutes the car looked stunning and at this point all the effort pays off. It was left overnight in the booth to air dry. In fact we always leave the car untouched in the booth for a few days after re-finishing to ensure the paint has fully cured.
With the body and paintwork now complete it was time to start refitting the car. First was the wiring loom and components to the engine compartment. Brakes and suspension etc. all fixings were replaced or in the case of the main suspension fixings all bolts etc were zinc plated with Gold passivate for that fresh from factory look. New brake lines throughout and unions etc. The car was also fitted with a new pair of 2.8I single rear leaf springs and polybushed throughout. It already sported 2.8 front struts and brakes so these were kept but re-finished to give that new look. The correct Tan Carla Check interior was also fitted to the car along with new carpets.
23/Sep/11 - Additional Pictures Added
