Fiat Barchetta - Pictures and Restoration
Discussion
SUCH RUST! There was a strengthening panel, about the size of an A5 sheet which seemingly only served to trap water...drilled out the spot welds to leave this:
Cutting out the rotten panel:
Thought about leaving this hole and trying to pass it off as 'air conditioning' but thought better of it
Cereal boxes are perfect for making templates
A short while later:
Nearly there. My welder isn't the best but it's doing the job, just leaves a fair bit to tidy up after. Should have this arch finished in the next couple of days....then back to that floor!!
Cutting out the rotten panel:
Thought about leaving this hole and trying to pass it off as 'air conditioning' but thought better of it
Cereal boxes are perfect for making templates
A short while later:
Nearly there. My welder isn't the best but it's doing the job, just leaves a fair bit to tidy up after. Should have this arch finished in the next couple of days....then back to that floor!!
Happy Sunday everyone, the light nights and warm weather has done wonders for this project!
I masked the car up to paint....
...and a couple of coats of zinc weld-thru primer...
...but then looking more closely to the bits you can't see in these pics decided the lip in the wheel arch that I'd welded my replacement panel to was getting a bit thin, and the right thing to do was cut it out and replace it. More work but it'd always annoy if I didn't do it now.
Out with the grinder...and glad I took the trouble cos the outer skin is starting to corrode in the corner, as seen near the bottom of this pic. The spot welds were inconsistent, as you can see...
Better view of the rust
Zinc primer on inside of the outer skin, and will be cavity-waxed afterwards
New panel ready to weld in. 2mm steel so it's approx 1.9999mm thicker than what Fiat used originally
I'll definitely get the arch finished this week then onto the floor!
I masked the car up to paint....
...and a couple of coats of zinc weld-thru primer...
...but then looking more closely to the bits you can't see in these pics decided the lip in the wheel arch that I'd welded my replacement panel to was getting a bit thin, and the right thing to do was cut it out and replace it. More work but it'd always annoy if I didn't do it now.
Out with the grinder...and glad I took the trouble cos the outer skin is starting to corrode in the corner, as seen near the bottom of this pic. The spot welds were inconsistent, as you can see...
Better view of the rust
Zinc primer on inside of the outer skin, and will be cavity-waxed afterwards
New panel ready to weld in. 2mm steel so it's approx 1.9999mm thicker than what Fiat used originally
I'll definitely get the arch finished this week then onto the floor!
Evening all.
Wee update - the NS arch is finished. Paint still drying in these pics and need to go back to cut the hole for the drain pipe.
On to the offside. I patched up a little bit when I first got the car but after taking the paint off it looks pretty.....lightweight!
The lips for the panels that are mostly missing were a pain to get off with such limited access
But I've got most of it back to bare metal
Really hoping to get the welding done by the end of May but fully expect that to overrun...
Wee update - the NS arch is finished. Paint still drying in these pics and need to go back to cut the hole for the drain pipe.
On to the offside. I patched up a little bit when I first got the car but after taking the paint off it looks pretty.....lightweight!
The lips for the panels that are mostly missing were a pain to get off with such limited access
But I've got most of it back to bare metal
Really hoping to get the welding done by the end of May but fully expect that to overrun...
I had a T plate Barchetta in silver with a burgundy roof and it was a lovely car with a great engine that handled very well, it made the Mazda MX5 I test drove after I had it feel like a domestic appliance.
They were not built by Fiat, they were built by Italian coach builder Maggiora and were largely hand built. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maggiora_%28manufacturer%29
They were not built by Fiat, they were built by Italian coach builder Maggiora and were largely hand built. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maggiora_%28manufacturer%29
Edited by Pooh on Monday 11th May 21:37
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