Quote:
Originally Posted by Salop Farmer
Best of luck with your rebuild. I’m coming to the final stages of a massive 544 restoration on a budget. Sadly total originality when replacing parts has proved very expensive so I had no choice but to compromise. My car was extremely rusty and the interior seating and panels scrap. I didn’t buy any replacement body parts but fabricated everything from sheet steel. Seats from a Ford Ka and all interior panels from hardboard covered in leatherette. Quite pleased with results so far. Of course if money’s no object then.........
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There's nothing wrong with that approach at all. As these cars age, or disappear altogether, orginality becomes expensive and increasingly time consuming. I think it's better to have a car back on the road in whatever form than being banger raced or scrapped, or just left to rot because the parts are unobtainable.
Repair panels are OK but sometimes they can actually make the job more difficult, as often they have to be modified before they can fit. The only repair panels I find essential are full sills as it can be difficult to get the profile exactly right, especially if it's a combination of bends and curves.
On my 240 project it was often the case of just making do with what was available. For example I seam welded the inner and outer rear arches together instead of spot welding them at the flange. In theory the seam welded fix might actually be better, as spot welded double skins are rust magnets.
Do you have a thread for your 544?