Body Shell Rebuild 2003 Index
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Body Shell Rebuild Winter 03
 
Over the next few pages you will see stages of the rebuild and repainting of the body shell of my Capri V8,
I will try and give as best description and detail of the repairs being done and how we did it.

This Section Was Last Updated on Wednesday, 25 August, 2010 12:27
A-Pillar Repairs
The Bodyshell Going To Primer At Last, 13/03/04
Top Coated Body Shell Being Collected 05/04/04
The Shell Refit UPDATED 09/04/04
The Engine Refit UPDATED 29/04/04 ***NEW***
A-PILLAR REPAIRS
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The horror that awaited us on removal of the old wing,
The wing rail near bulk head had rotted away, the drivers A pillar had suffered the well know Ford tin worm, and the headlight bowl also suffered from tin worm,
But i had faith in Aston and knew he would not be beaten 		After hours of work removing the rusty metal and re welding in new metal the drivers side is painted in etch primer and seam sealed, all that's left is stone chip to be painted on
And the trial fitting of the new wing,
The trial fit of the wing is perfect,
No adjustment needed, 		The pattern wing is such a close match to the original Ford one that the curves round by headlight are perfect along with the swage lines down rest of wing.
(We are now stocking these wings for mk3 capri's)
The passengers side was in an even worse state,
The A pillar is nearly disappeared due to corrosion, the screen scuttle has rusted and the wing rail has corroded like on drivers side.		 The battery tray has been removed, due to the battery being boot mounted, the double layer of metal where battery tray fixes had corroded so we removed the affecting metal work and have replaced with new
As you can see the passengers side A post is in a desperate case of rebuild,
The screen slam panel has already been repaired, this is when we found out the reason why the A post had rusted so bad, the drain hole fron the screen lets water run down a small channel to the engine bay, mine had a small rust hole in thus letting water down into the A post area		 A second view of the excessive damage
A post starting to take shape again, after the rust had been cut out. After the rust has been cut out i thought the car was on a course to the breakers yard, But Aston as always has proved me wrong
The rusted A post metal has been replaced with the same gauge steel to regain it's original strength.
'A' pillar fully restored and looking like new door hinge bolt holes redrilled to match old 'A' pillar. Underneath of the 'A' pillar also restored including the swage grooves (not visible in primer),
These were done with slight heat and a ball pein hammer, It was done this way to groove the new metalwork to match original panel, (not immitation filler).
The front scuttle taking shape now after metal work has been replaced The drivers side after 3 coats of Stone Chip and 3 coats of Wax Underseal, I don't think Ford went to this extent of rust prevention.
Passengers side had the same treatment as the drivers side,
3 coats Stone Chip, 3 coats Wax Underseal. 		Even the inside of wings got the 3 coats of stone chip and underseal
 
More attention was paid around the joins and seam area's  
WING REPAIRS AND REFIT
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Aston trying to look busy on camera Yes he is working, but a fine job he has done,
All fitted and sitting pretty, last thing to do now is DA the wings back and coat with primer ready for top coat Second shot of wing, all fit's sweet round by the front valance to
The wing has been attacked with the DA and any indentations have been skimmed with filler.
BOOT MOUNTED BATTERY AND ARCH REPAIR
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Passengers floor area needed some TLC, arond seat fixing points and where the roll cage bolted to the floor, Same as for drivers side.
A view of the rusty rear arch (the paint has been removed to see how far back it was rotten) Aston busy removing the outer arch skin,
The two sections of the arch, the original oter skin (with rust arch removed)
And the inner skin to which the new arch will meet up to. 		New arch being tack welded in place,
It was done this way to reduce the risk of panel warpage due to excesive heat build up due to constant welding, When finished it will look like a constant weld around the join,
Arch Before removal, you can just make out the rust bubbles under paint. And after, just needs skimming with stopper and sealing on the back with seam sealer.
Wheel arch after a skim of filler has been added Arch starting to take shape again
Boot area stripped waiting to be cut up, Area where battery will sit is removed.
Battery tray is temporary fitted for clearance. Battery added to battery tray to double check battery clearance.
REAR VALANCE REPAIR
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Rear valance needed attention too, This was repaired with the metal removed from the boot for the battery
 
All repaired and coated with etch primer, just needs a bit of stopper and filler primer  
ENGINE BAY REPAIRS AND PREP
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Engine awaiting removal,
the car looks more like something from the breakers yard at the moment,		 Big hole where the V8 lived,
Next to come out is wiring loom, servo brake pipes, basicly every thing to make the engine bay clear for painting
And what is left now,
NOTHING!
Totally gutted ready for prep,		 The heart of the car, Rover 3.9 efi alloy V8 with nitrous oxide injection,
Front panel on drivers side needed a bit more TLC, Passengers side front panel was beyond saving and had to be replaced,
 
Passengers strut top was rusted out so this had to be replaced with new metalwork,  
THE BODYSHELL GOING TO PRIMER AT LAST
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Car waiting for masking up The body shell with wheels removed, and wiped down with panel wipe and masked up waiting for filler primer.
Second shot of prepped shell. First coat of filler primer on new rear arch.
Front panel and wings with primer on. Shot of drivers wing.
Engine bay looking better now. New arch after 6 coats of filler primer
 
Boot area after primer.  
Passengers side of shell looking nice and shiny. drivers side of shell also looking shiny.
Front shot of painted shell. Car on trailor (kindly donated by A1 Auto Movements) ready for the trip home.
 
Car sat home in garage awaiting the refit.  
   

                 

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