Bodywork repair

We started restoration works on the body shell first.

We removed damaged layer of the paint from the external surfaces manually.

Now defective areas become obvious.

Inner structural surfaces we cleaned by sandblasting.

Behind removable components, we found many areas to work on.

We cleaned all accessible structural components.

After cleaning of the body sheet metal parts, we applied protective primer to preserve cleaned surface.

We repaired damaged frames of the doors.

We restored salvageable left front wing.

Junctions between front part of the body and doorposts were destroyed by corrosion on both sides.

We cut away all layers of sheet metal to self-manufacture necessary pieces anew.

Restored right hand side junction.

Left hand side recreated as well.

Carcass of the body around headlamp housings was seriously damaged by corrosion.

We cut away all layers of metal to recreate the structure.

We checked compatibility of the recreated areas with restored front wings.

We cut away damaged outer “skin” of the rear wings gaining access for restoration of the inner structure.

Under outer shell of the doorsteps, we found several other layers of metal severely affected by corrosion.

We removed all layers of damaged metal to start recreation of the doorsteps.

First, we completely cleaned this until now hidden cavity and applied protective coating.

At the rear of the wheel arches there was lost material joining rear wings and floor of luggage compartment.

We self-manufactured from adequate material missing pieces of the doorstep structure.

Side panel had deep dent and we applied our spotter to re-shape it.

We self-manufactured all bits and pieces necessary to re-create structure of the rear end of the body.

As all new parts were fixed in place, we applied protective coating over reconstructed elements.

Now it was time to tailor received patch panels to fit our rear wings.

With rear wing patch panels in pace, we finished re-creation of the doorsteps.

We cut out completely destroyed floor of the spare wheel recess.

New self-manufactured floor panel fixed in place.

Similarly, we had to work on the left hand side of the body.

All hidden areas before closing we covered by protective primer.

Protective primer applied over restored surface to protect new parts while we are working on further areas.

As shape of the front panel was corrected, it appeared that front part of the body at some accident had been pushed in for some centimetres.

We pulled out front part of the body.

We put received new wing onto the car and noticed that it is far from precise fit.

We had completely rework recesses for turn indicator lamps as existing lamps did not fit in.

Shape of the wing was incorrect also with regard to doors and hood.

We had to cut new wing along the flange and produce necessary piece of metal to join wing and the body in proper way.

Door panels had unrepaired dints.

We use our spotter to achieve correct shape of the outer panels of the doors.

We started preparation of the body shell for the painting.

We prepared removable body components for painting also.

All necessary kinds of materials layer by layer were used during preparation of the body for painting.

We applied test paint over the body to discover exterior areas requiring additional attention.

We applied protective coating all over the bottom panel of the body.

We final-painted inner surfaces of the restored body.