[Ke26 restomod project]

That's a beautiful build, always glad to see any old Toyota get a good resto mod 

I was previously interested in how he did his 2ar-fe rwd conversions. But it's a hard conversation, I'm going a slightly different route with a rwd engine.

But Holley actually make 7" led headlights in a retro style. Even stedi make an homage light to use on resto mods. 

 

[Ke26 restomod project]

Well I have come up with a semi-ingenious way to line up the tailgate when putting it back together. I have a small template of the few remaining spot weld holes on the frame, as I can use these holes to line up. Transferring these holes into a steel sheet means i can use this as a welding template of sorts.

I have been playing in CAD and designed a weld on stud, it has a base of 12 mm so I can weld it on, a flange of 8mm the same width as the spot weld hole to line the panel up perfectly and an m7 thread so i can put a nut on and secure the last of the skin to the car. 

I'm just getting 8 machined from an online service, i will need 4 for the tail gate but ill need a few to practice welding on first. Fingers crossed this works out... 

[Ke26 restomod project]

I started the final welds but then started running low on argon about half way through. So the color of the weld was a little off.

But still had decent penetration and so I'll hit with Scotch Brite and see how it looks. 

And that marks the majority of the tailgate done. A few small rusted edge pieces to go and I'm making some braces to strengthen the frame.

[Ke26 restomod project]

I finished fabricating the replacement piece, it was a similar process to the other side using the old timber from before made the job a little quicker

 

Then it was fettled, tacked in place and prepped for welding

[Ke26 restomod project]

Well with the temperature not in the single digits I returned to the garage to continue work. So I finished welding up the spot weld holes, but you have seen the previous holes and it's not much different, but all 36 holes are now filled. 

I have started filling the seams of the panels with rust converter before I go through and take the surface rust off. Using a syringe to inject the rust converter in the cracks

 

I then started on the rest of the bottom, I was waiting on some metal and a new toy. I got a small English wheel so that now I can shape the bottom edge properly. This is because the bottom is convex in shape.

 

[Ke26 restomod project]

Well I'm half way, 18 holes filled and that leaves 18 to go. Had been some lessons in this but the results are ok, I will go back and touch up a few with the welder

[Ke26 restomod project]

The only thing is starting with a disc cutout  little thicker than you need, just tap it down with a hammer and then keep hammering it until it's stretched to about the size you need. Bring you are using mig you need a little more room around the edges than I do as I'm on tig. 

Also use a copper backing, if you do have a hole close to the edge there is a good chance you'll just burn away the metal without it. Don't ask me how I found out... Thankfully it was on scrap metal

[Ke26 restomod project]

So it's been a little trial and error, mostly on scrap steel. But I have a way to fill the spot weld holes. I have a cheap metal hole punch, so using that I can punch out some 1mm steel to close to the size I need.

Then I flatten it using a hammer, I also then stretch it and to fill the hole as much as possible. This should bring the thickness down close to the 0.8mm of the original metal. 

It makes filling the holes much easier. I'm still going on the holes, but I'm getting there...

[Ke26 restomod project]

Well I spent some time pulling the old window, it was a fight but I got it out keeping the seals mostly in tact. 

 

The new seals do seem to be a touch to small, but they just might need to be stretched. 

But as a contingency I will see if I can find a local slip to make up the seals from the originals as that's in one piece 

[Ke26 restomod project]

Actually, if I find someone local I have a set of original window seals for the middle window where my rear passenger doors are. 

Yes any rubbers that came close to working I would hoover up

I could have those made up into new seals for the panel can guys

[Ke26 restomod project]

well it took a long time finally find someone, but if you look up old is hot corolla on facebook youll find them. It has taken me literally years of emailing people and asking lord knows how many parts suppliers. I think I must have messaged everyone selling old toyota parts on facebook and eventually there was someone in the USA who was willing to have a go at remaking them if someone could get them a pattern and whole bunch of pics. 

 

fast forward some emailing, patterns, etc and we may have some actual replacement seals. but ill keep you posted if/when they arrive and how they fit

[Ke26 restomod project]

So this week was a mixed bag of results. I decided to just remake the while bottom of the frame for the tailgate, but I didn't have a piece of steel long enough and I didn't want to put in a weld to get two pieces in when I can do it with one. So I'm holding off on the bottom until I get the steel.

However I finally found someone willing to remake the rear quarter window seals. 

So using some rope in the locking channel, using that as a guide I took some basic measurements, lengths of each side, each angle and I even made a plywood template of the window.

But then I sent all those off and I eagerly awaited the results. The photos sent through looked good

So I now to remove the window and do a test fit when it arrives. If this works I'll order the same for the other side. Hope this works (insert gulp)

[Ke26 restomod project]

Thanks @pogopins, that's handy to know. I will continue my hunt then, if anyone has a recommendation then please let me know. 

 

[Ke26 restomod project]

But as I draw closer to having the repairs to this tailgate done I am starting to think about some of the requirements/upgrades that I would like to have for this tailgate. 

- but more strength : I will put some extra bracing in the door frame as previously I noticed how bouncy the panel was. I have a plan for this one so stay tuned 😉

- Central locking : this will take some thinking. I'm open to suggestions

- rear window wiper + nozzle : I will try get a kit and see what it looks like. I know the VW/Audi hatches have the nozzle in the spindle for the wiper so this could a neat solution

- reversing camera : this should be easy enough, but I'm just thinking of a way to mount it cleanly beneath the Toyota badge. 

 

Most of these will require some modification to the tailgate, but this is the perfect time to plan for them

 

[Ke26 restomod project]

The finished product turned out ok, it was a bit funky welding at different angles as the replacement panel bent over curves. So my welding went a little astay in some sections. 

But a little grinding to get everything flush and I will need to go over the whole thing and get the file finish I'm looking for. But the front turned out ok, 

The back I'm still working on but you can see a little warping in the bottom of the panel, but I'll be cutting this but off anyhow. 

[Ke26 restomod project]

Well I took a clean template from the side I haven't touched yet before I started to weld the pieces in.

Once the measurements were taken I then grind flush the tacks and did my stitch weld process to minimise the heat in the panel

This is also a good time to get the hammer and dolly out to lightly tap the weld and release any tension that had built up.

Then I went back over and completed the weld

[Ke26 restomod project]

Heya, I do watch cutting edge engineering as it's amazing to see how they repair such massive pieces of equipment. I have seen those helmets but you are right they are not cheap, but they are required if you are a professional welder or if you weld over 300amps (you will need to check me on that, I'm not in that league so I'm not totally sure. Could be more or less...). 

But for me the thing is to keep the metal clean before welding. They means sanding the paint off and I usually Scotch Brite right before I weld. If parrot is working on a scuttle he may not be able to clean the back side so the fumes could be burning paint, but a respirator helmet is a few hundred and could be worth it.

[Ke26 restomod project]

Thanks parrot, glad you are enjoying this thread. I'm still learning a lot and there are mistakes a plenty, but I'm just taking my time to make sure the work is still of a decent quality.

are you using gas shielded mig or gas less mig? If you are running the argon CO2 mix you might need to move the fan, it will blow the argon from the weld area and can give you a poor weld. 

[Ke26 restomod project]

So here is an example, I'm using 0.8mm cold rolled steel. Starting on the right I went too fast and you see the weld is proud and almost shiny. Then I slowed down and let the puddle form and you can see the change in the weld, goes flatter and the filter rod flows into the parent metal. 

There was no change to the settings, no change in gas, I just slowed down a little. Flipping it over, again right to left with the metal butted hard up against each other I didn't get penetration because I was too fast. but then looking right to left you can see I get good penetration once I slowed down.

Hope that made sense and it helps

[Ke26 restomod project]

I usually have panels fairly flush, no gap bigger than 1mm however I like them hard up against each other. but I'm using tig so I can control the heat and get the right penetration because I can watch the puddle. If you find you aren't getting the penetration then you can up the Amps for TIG, or voltage for MIG. however a much better welder then me well have more advice.

[Ke26 restomod project]

And the finished product for today... One corner peice tacked in place

 

Next time I will get the bottom radius from the better corner and trim the bottom to shape 😉

[Ke26 restomod project]

So armed with my very rudimentary tools I notched a small divot from some timber and with a soft jaw clamp got to hammering

 

Then with a few minutes I was getting close, I know many people will be upset with how I'm doing this but I have to work within my tools. However the result is starting to get close

[Ke26 restomod project]

After what seems like forever, my life is somewhat back in order and my torn ligament in my left arm is still painful but healing. So it's back to it...

 

Started where I left off, the corner. It has a step on the side, unfortunately both sides of the tailgate are damaged and so getting an accurate measurement is proving difficult. But with some pliers and a small hammer I have it fitting back on the skin of the door well. So I'll run with this guestimate of how it should look.

 

I then took a few cardboard templates and cut some steel. 

 

You can see the profile of the lip for the frame edge here, and some small templates to give me some references

 

[Ke26 restomod project]

With much trimming and fettling I got to a point where I was happy with the patch panel. So I tacked the new peice into place

 

Looking along the edge of the bend it still needs some work but it came out ok in the end

 

So the next task will be to make the corner peice.

[Ke26 restomod project]

So I then cut out the old rusted section and I am again manually adjusting to get it to fit. 

But there is a curve to the bottom of the tailgate, so I will need to use a shrinker to get the right curve. But it's getting close.

I have had to straighten the bottom a bit more but it's looking ok at the moment, considering it's just hacked up tools at home