1303 resto

hi new to the site but brought a '73 1303 for the wife back in jan and had it stored away till just before her birthday in may. any way i have already lifted off the body starting a big resto project, as i have to replace heater channels, floor pans and front chassis support. along with the classic body panels.
this is my first resto project and its turned into quite a big one as i found out when removing the body from chassis, as someone had welded patches on the bulkhead to floor, it got better when the front frame head bolt captive nut spun in the rotten body/chassis leg. so i have now just repair that section now on with the rest.
any tips on replacing any panels welcome

captive nuts - soak in a penetrating oil, then try wedging it or pulling the panels apart as you undo it...

Nomates will be along soon dude, or Joker

Welcome aboard, look through the restos on here they are a true inspiration,

Look for nomates restos and jokers, they are bloody good at it in my opinion and there threads are not to be missed

got the new front bumper mounts screwed in place and front valance lined up now but went to check the wings lined up but the wings i brought (told they were 1303 ones ) dont fit think there gt wings. so im a little stuck linein up at the min. any body got any going cheap? havent got orignals as were so rotton they fell apart on removing.

I think your missing something .......................................PICS






Please

first thing to do is make sure the doors line up well and them weld bars in across the door gaps ,and the other way from door to door ......take the doors off after you have done this as the car will bend when you cut out the old heater channels .......also get a wire wheel attachment for your angle grinder and some paint stripper (not nitromores ,a proper one from an auto paint supplies place ....like the panel shop in worle ) then you can expose all the spotwelds ..using a spot weld drill (from nuts and bolts in weston) then your repairs will look factory .....


get aload of pics up we can help a lot more if we can see what your up against ......also we are all picture whores ...lol

and good luck mate ,there are a lot of clever peopl on here always willing to help .......just stay away from dubberatlast because he loves tranits

nomates wrote:

.......just stay away from dubberatlast because he loves tranits

He couldn't make his mind up whether to say Dubberatlast loves Transits or Trannies (as in Dudes in frocks).
Well, he's into both, preferably the Trannies in the Transits!!

P.S don't look at the whole amount of work ....pick a part to repair and don't move on to the next one till your 100 percent happy with it ,check and double check the fit ,before you weld anything , and pick out where to cut andweld the panel carefully ,as the weld will distort the panel ,so pick flat areas rather than swage lines or edges to weld (this is if you have cut the panel) .....also if the original panel was spot welded ,spot weld it back in ....don't worry about continuous welds if they're are not necessary ....it again will look mre 'factory' this way ........and before you weld anything , spray on some weld through primer ,this will stop joints rusting ...

hope this helps

Mr Scoops wrote:

He couldn't make his mind up whether to say Dubberatlast loves Transits or Trannies (as in Dudes in frocks).
Well, he's into both, preferably the Trannies in the Transits!!

is this post wise?

thanks for the tips, will put up some pics soon.

have got on quite well since last post as front valance and bumper mounts all on and now have stitched in the o/s/f rear arch panel and rebuilt the inner top parts where poor mot repairs have been done. just seems to be every time i go to replace a panel im finding more bits that need fabricating and repairing! spose thats a beetle resto project!

PIC'S Please

I'm well into my first rest, sounds like you are motoring through it. Good luck, always ask questions and get some pics up to show us how you are getting on.