GSI2000 - Bare metal rebuild!

[retropower]

Hi everyone!

We're a good way through rebuilding a 1991 GSI and thought i'd share it with you as I'm quite proud of what's been achieved so far.

So, this is where it all started - looks ok, but then they always do, don't they

[retropower]

No point messing about.... Let's take the plunge!

[retropower]

A good session of torching and scraping to get rid of all the underseal prior to blasting starts to show a few suspect areas.

[TurboDan]

Proper job! Love it.

Nice to see one turned over to do a full job.

[retropower]

[retropower]

And a few more., These were taken after the shell got a light coating of zinc etch primer to stop the surface rust while the metalwork is being carried out.

[btcctroy]

Great job, will make the metal work so much easier to repair.
The chassis will probably need repair to the underskin, they tend to corrode between the skins which can be a nightmare to repair. But it depends how pedantic you are :D

[humbucker]

Hi Callum! Great to see this project thread on the forum (I'm also looking forward to seeing the car in print in the not-too-distant future, hehe!).

Keep the pics coming

Dan

[retropower]

I'll cover the worst bit first, which was undoubtedly the rear chassis rails

First we made a jig to keep the relative positions of the subfram mounting points.

[Robsey]

Interesting to see how these shells look when stripped of all fixtures and fittings.

Loving the work - It puts all the necessary hard work into perspective.

This is one good reason why I haven't hassled Troy over my shell.
It takes as long as it needs, if you want a good final finish.

Looking forward to even more pictures as the old stuff is cut out and new metal is welded in.

[retropower]

So we start peeling away the outer layer of the chassis leg to reveal the inner structure. The inner is the more structural part and much more rotten than the outer skin (ie. rusting from the inside)



First section of rail made up and ready to plug weld the threaded insert plate in place:



rotten section cut out.



New inner section aligned with jig and ready to weld in.



Inner section welded in. The front edge is left un-welded as the next section forward will also need replacing but we are working one section at a time so as not to totally loose the shape!



next section forward, with spring seat removed:



cutting out the next section:



old side piece of rail at the bottom, newly made piece at the top:



top (well, bottom if the car is the right way up lol) face section made up:



So thats the next section forward rebuilt. Still only on the inner layer though!

[retropower]

Moving forward to the more challengin part of the chassis leg:



Wanted to make sure the shape where it meets the inner sill isn't lost, so made a template in ply.



Cut away outer skin - almost nothing left of the inner!

[retropower]

First two sections of the inner layer made up



side section welded in



and top section welded in



back edge of crossmember (that the front of the leg joins to) repaired



new spring seat made up







Last two sections of the leg made up:



And there we have it, one leg complete (rusty relics of original laid out next to it!). Various bits left un-welded as the floor above and inner sill both need repair first.

[retropower]

The other rear leg was pretty much a carbon copy, so i won't bore you with those pics!

Pulled off the sills that had been replaced in the past and found them to be just slapped on top of the original rusty ones - not totally suprised tbh!

[Lowrider Dave]

Some epic and proper repair work going on there, well done for going about it in, what I consider, a proper way! I'm sure this will look fantastic when completed. Looking forwards to many more updates

[retropower]

mmmm, tasty



Let the hacking commence



first bit cut out:



and relevant repair section made up:



more cut out



Inner sill is scrap



new section of inner sill made up:



A bit more cleaning up here and we can weld the new inner sill section in



That's the inner and middle sill repaired



and sorry for the slight fast-forward, but outer on:

[retropower]

mmm. Crisp spot welds.... always a pleasing sight (or is that just me haha!)



some more chopping out and welding in!

[retropower]

got some arch panels but they are a bit rubbish because actually they repair bits of two seperate panels, the body side (door shut) panel and the quarter panel. There is supposed to be a join between the two, so we hack them up and recreate the join.







doors on to check the gaps



tacked the arch in ready for TIG welding in, (edge-to-edge as per all the other repairs)

[retropower]

more cutty-cutty!



Inner bit made up:

[retropower]

Right that had better be it for tonight - trying to post while making homemade pizza (like, actually making the dough and everything!) is not going entirely well

I'll be back with the next installment soon

[btcctroy]

Amazing work there! No doubt a dying art in this country
Home to all the gear for nothing but a professional finish.
How longs it took to get to where you are now

[beermonsterblack]

been watching this on you facebook page absolutely stunning work

[Envoy CDX]

Simply wow!
Just been going through this and the attention to detail is superb! Really, really looking forward to seeing this one completed. As Troy said how long has this taken so far?

[colin1]

What an outstanding thread

Be following this one...

[humbucker]

Jamie did tell me that his GSi2000 was rotten before you started, but...