Ke26 restomod project

[wenisman]

The front apron was bent inwards and the brace between the upper and lower radiator mounts was also bent. 

So I paint striped the front apron and got to work with the rubber mallet, hammer and dolly and some cardboard profiles I guestimated from the rest of the panel. The tears in the metal from the accident need to be welded up but the apron is looking ok. 

The next item was the brace. It was bent so much it resembled a banana, the only way I could straighten it was to clamp it in the vice and using and old plant holder as a long dolly I was able to keep the radius on the channel.

 

You can see where I have been working to straighten it near the grill mount. I'll post up a pic once I paint strip and have it much straighter 

Edited February 27, 2023 by wenisman
Spelling

[wenisman]

I also spent a little time on the area around the locks. They had a halo effect from being pushed in, looks like they had been forced open with a screw driver I think.

 

 

It was a tricky spot to try and hammer and dolly as I was hitting from inside the door with the dolly on the outside. But with the new lock in place it looks reasonable.

[wenisman]

So I started putting the engine, and it's in a very rough condition. The radiator was completely clogged in the bottom with rusty gunk, I can't explain the water... The Thermostat housing was completely clogged as well and checking the water galleries they are rusted through. 

 

I tried putting some oil in the engine and tried cranking the engine by hand. It was very notchy when turning, and after a night a good chunk of the oil was sitting on my garage floor. So I'm not sure where the leak is... But I think the engine is shot. So I'm looking at retiring the old engine and doing a conversion.

[Banjo]

Hi Geoff,

                I was walking through a major shopping centre car park, this afternoon, when I spotted a Hyundai Coupe, from a few years ago, with an interesting & business like fuel lid & surround, that you might like to consider for your project.

 

 

It has a curvature, from top to bottom, & may well suit the spot on your KE26, where the fuel filler is.

 

It certainly appeared to be large enough in area & diameter, to  cover the KE-26 fuel filler opening.

 

If you are interested, I would see if you can find a Hyundai Coupe & measure it up, & take a pair off scissors & cardboard, to assess the profile.

 

 

 

Cheers  Banjo

 

 

Edited March 10, 2023 by Banjo

[wenisman]

Thanks banjo, that cap looks the business. I know the Hyundai that you're talking about so I might see if I can find out more as well. For the mean time I've got a tridon call on there and it is holding the fumes in. 

 

just wrapping up the rear suspension... I'll have to harass the superpro support for a matching bushing but I'm excited for this suspension.

Edited March 11, 2023 by wenisman
Update

[Banjo]

Hi Geoff,

               Just be careful, as to what rear spring bushes you chose.  I ran into all sorts of problems several years ago, when I pulled the rear end out, & rebushed front & rear of the rear springs. Initially, I went for the "blue" polly bushes.  They were were so squeakie, I couldn't stand it any longer, & pulled the whole lot out, & put in the red ones, which were nice & quiet.

Cheers Banjo

 

 

[wenisman]

Yeah I find with the blue poly bushings you really need to keep them greased very well. So I'm hunting around for a greasable shackle bolts in the right size. 

 

But I have also been busy on the tailgate. The first rusty corner was removed

 

Then a new peice was fabbed up, welded in and file finished into place

 

The small holes were filled with weld once the over all shape was back to where I needed it to be

 

[Banjo]

Absolute "Work of Art", Geoff !  I take my hat off to you.  That takes real patience.

 

Cheers Banjo

[wenisman]

Strange how time flies, but the bottom of the tail gate window was badly corroded. 

 

So I have been fabricating a new peice. It's been a few hours of fettling. But first i had to remove the old rusted metal.

[wenisman]

But the new peice was roughly fitted

 

It's not a great fit as it's pulling the skin of the door down. However I have tacked it in place whilst I test for the rear window with the rubber seal.

I still need to deskin the door to fix the accident damage. So I can fettle the window at that time

Edited March 22, 2023 by wenisman
Update

[wenisman]

But I had had to change tactics on rear shocks. The original shock I was going to use was to wide, taking the top sleeve off and putting it in the mount shows a modern adjustable shock isn't going to work

But nether the less, garage48 have come to the rescue. An upside down shock fits in. It fits, however it does mean that the adjustment screws are now trapped inside the between the mount and the boot floor. So if I do find that I need to adjust the shocks regularly then I may have to cut a hole in the boot floor and fashion a removable plate.

 

[wenisman]

So the after removing the top sleeve and then putting on a rubber sleeve from a Hilux the rear shock fits inside the rear mount. I'll secure it with a house clamp or something in the future.

Because of a larger top bolt diameter and larger bushing I had to file the top mount hole to 18mm. 

But all up the rear shock looks good to me 🙂

[Banjo]

Hi Geoff,

              Looks good !  Looks like plenty of adjustment there in length, once you install rear springs & diff, & let it all hang, at lowest drop point.

 

Keep up the good work, & the pics.

 

Cheers Banjo 

[wenisman]

So I spent some cutting the sill off the window so I could fettle it a bit more. And then it was a case of tacking the new sill back on one tack at a time and then trying to combat the warping. 

 

 

So now you can see that the light is even, the tailgate is no longer being pulled out of shape by the sill 

The left side still is out of shape because of all the damage from the accident.  But the next task is to make the bottom of the tailgate. 

[wenisman]

I have been busy with work so haven't had the time to work on Kevin, however a lot of thought went into the plan for rest of the tail gate. I decided to fully deskin the tailgate before I tackle the damage on the bottom, this was mainly due to the twisted frame.

 

So with plan in hand I got stuck in deskinning the tail gate. I Drilled out the remaining spot welds and then split the seams around the edges. To give me two halves

With the tail gate split you can see the amount of rust internally, but also the dented and twisted frame on the bottom. For the keen eyed out there, I have put a few pilot holes that go right through both panels. So when it comes time to join them together I can insert a cleko and make sure it's all lined up.

I have started blocking out the damage to the skin so I can take a good enough pattern to cut the bottom off completely

Edited May 2, 2023 by wenisman