As some of you may know, I now own a R100 GTA in charcoal grey...

What else is there to say...
ITS PROPER FUCKED. Rust has really taken hold and I've taken this mammoth task on to simply say:

Gone are the days of plentiful Tros, Gone are the days of un-rusty Tros
Today I usher in a new age of restoration, an age where welders tire of endless shifts.
no longer do I wish to follow infidels cursing "its not worth it"
No longer can it be told a rusty metro, is a dead one.
They have seen so many decades now its time to stand!


Sons of metropower, of Metro owners club! My brothers!
I see in your eyes the same doubt that would take the motivation from me!
A day may come when the strength of steel fails, Where we Forsake our tools and break all bonds of ownership.
BUT IT IS NOT THIS DAY!

An hour of hopelesslness and shattered hands
when the age of metro comes crashing down!

BUT IT IS NOT THIS DAY!!!
THIS DAY WE WELD!!!!!!
I bid you stand, Men of the METRO!



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Wheres my sill gone?!!!?



Oh there it is:

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Tucking her away with my make shift seat...

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So progress today:

Found this hiding away in the corner of the cave:


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This is the actual cave! and yes that is a mk1 fiesta that belongs to my dad. Slowly populating this space with various metro spares. The Gta actually came with several spares, 2 wings, gti bumpers and a gti spoiler and a mint gta interior.


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Next jobs:
Is cutting the rot out of the floors.
tackling the front chassis legs and front crossmember.
cut and trim good panels out of white shell i own
measure up seriously bad areas for donor panels
buy certain panels (certainly rear valance and possible front crossmember, arches

watch this space, alot of work still to come just preparing for welding. Let alone welding.


Have certain trouble areas, serious structural issues front subframe rear mounting point (driver side) and support rail seriously corroded. Have to drill out spot welds for seat mounts and also support beam for floor. remove and possibly replace. possibly chop entire spare wheel well out and replace after dropping the fuel tank and rear subframe down. probably as ruined as the front subframe was.

Also would like to add i was undoing the front subframes driver side, front mount, and well it crumbled to dust. The engine along with the subframe was holding on to only 3 points of the chassis. 3 out of 4 bolts sheared off from rust. and the grinder came out a few times...


SO MUCH GOD DAMN MOTHERFUCKING RUST ITS BEYOND CATASTROPHIC

today more progress:

Stripped down the rear end. Rear subframe and fuel tank. The grinder came out a few times... lots of hammering smaller sockets onto slightly larger bolts to undo them. Lots of rust and lots of dirt, clag, moss plants webs and spiders.


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SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE FRIEND!


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the only thing holding the floor to the inner sill:

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The car that will donate some panels and floor to the Gta. Fear not they are not rust stains, they are rust marks from parts stored inside.


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only had a couple hours today!

Managed to remove brake and fuel lines and binned the hydragas lines.

Found yet more rust on the minor scale, the exhaust shields even have created water traps and rusted out the floor. So they have all been binned aswell!

Then things went wrong, i broke two spot weld drill bits that are possibly 20 years old?!

Also got myself a wire brush attachment and set to work attacking suspect rust areas... Then the grinder blew up. Seems like all the gears in the thing have munched each other, the motor works just no drive!

Pics:


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Ok on my mission to salvage some decent metal and specific areas from the white Tro i own, i've made a bit of progress. Just went at it with an angle grinder and went through a tonne of discs.

Also been wire brushing with the grinder on most rust areas trying to determine whether or not it needs a plate etc. Has made it seem a bit more saveable now...

some areas in fact are completely sound and just had surface rust.

I'm on the hunt for metro arches and outer sills so hopefully welding can begin this month or next. Hand a few friends round who took the piss with a marker pen (see below)


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More progress today, we are heading in the right direction at least.

In a nutshell today i drilled out the spot welds for the seat mounts then proceeded to cut the rot out of the passenger side. The way i see it I'm going to fix the floors first then the sills. From there i will then tackle both the rear and front subframe mounts. then after that the spare wheel well.

decided to start over with the gearbox steady mount. I have a replacement i can just puzzle in and weld up instead of trying to figure out something else that could've ended up being a bodge.

Interestingly this car has had welding before in the passenger foot well (see below)

more to come next week!


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So today i had to butcher the subframe mounts to get them off, the bolts were rust-welded to the chassis and the mount.

i also test fit part of the k reg floor into the gta.



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Lots of progress recently, the first bits of fresh steel in! (after spending a haystack of money on gas)

the K reg is completely destroyed now!

also starting to shape and test fit more replacement panels.

Please remember i am only 21 and have very little welding experience a very tired welding gun (which i am replacing) so do not expect works of art. However they are solid and specific sections go really well, so i am getting there!




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I've not given in!

I have done a lot of plotting and lets say 'self motivation' to get this well and truly underway. Again bare in mind, I'm 22 have no direct guidance for welding - only the web and certain peoples distant advice. I've been progressing when it comes to welding - STILL NOT PERFECT - but better and frankly neater!

Its all in the preparation - nice bare metal - steady hand - patience and concentration.

Anyway here are the pictures of recent progress!

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Here are some pics of my workspace...

if you would call it a unit...? To me its more like a shack!

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HOW IS THIS FOR SOME HEIGHT THEN! LOL!





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A long day of work today!

Got the entire inner sill finished! It took a bit of patience, but the measurements from door seal to floor should be 190mm. This ensures the outer sill panel i've still yet to purchase will fit properly. The angle steel i got came in relatively cheap at £25 for both, it was a tad to thick but it still works. a nice tidy strong weld! probably my best yet, i've downsized to 0.6mm wire and it seems to of helped me stop melting through the body.

The only c**k up being the back corner/fuel tank housing step up. But its strong just looks ugly :S

I NOW HAVE SOME STRUCTURAL RIGIDITY!!!!!!! finally able to sit/stand on the passenger side floor.

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Step by Step i am getting there, i can happily say that the passenger footwell floor is complete!

just need to plug weld the seat mounts/rail back in.

Still some improvement to be had with my welding, but in all honesty its pretty good. I just loose my steady hand in awkward locations and the very tired thin metal on this car likes to be a bastard and open up when laying a weld.

So from this...

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to this:

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and finished like this:

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More progress today, a few messy welds today! :S nothing a good flap disc cant tidy up! think what made it worse was the angle/access to the area.

However, gearbox steady now on, rear subframe mount now fully solid and finished.

I also took the entire crossmember and chassis legs off the front as it was probably the most rotten thing on the car!!!

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