Rusted Out 1970 850 Spider Fix-Up

I'm back! Vacation time was nice, but it is time to stop fooling around and get this car on the road! Still working on sanding and bondoing the fender. This door is a mess. I really would be better off with a new one, but this is what I have! I will make it look best I can. Tomorrow I go get cable for the window, and try to get the pulleys loosened up!

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That is a lot of rust repair. Just for fun, look up aircraft spruce and check their metal selection. If you need any brackets check A&A manufacturing. I think Eastwood has a flanging tool, which would make a overlap weld, easier fit up than a butt weld.

Looking at that poor car, I wouldn't know where to start, but somehow you are bringing it back to life. Will be watching the progress.
 
Just had a good junkyard run to pick up some rear side marker lights, couple of spare window cranks and a spare window regulator. Gave me a chance to study a factory setup that worked. They used the window clamp to pull in any slack cable. Veddy interesting! 5 bucks for everything was a deal.
 
Too dang hot to be working on the car, but I did it anyway. Big umbrella to the rescue! I got the big hole welded up. Towards the very front there was so much rust that I needed to weld in a patch on the backside just to give me something to work with. Anyway, clean up and bondo will have to wait for another day.
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Also got this emblem in the mail today. Ordered the cheapest one I could find. Seems fitting for this car.
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First layer of bondo is on the door, and the final skinny layer is on the quarter. Also, I got out my jaws of doom and got that drum off. Time to put the welder away for a while, get that door looking decent and start on the brakes. It is going to be weird not messing with the body for a while. The 4th wheel will be here soon, and then tires! I think I am going to go with white walls. I like the idea of that on this little car.

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Bondo and sand. What fun! I did take a breather from that wretched process tonight to install one of the rear wheel cylinders and one of the rubber brake lines. New parts are cool!
 
Ok, so I went and had a quart of paint mixed up in greenish yellow. Looks pretty close. I am going to use it to roller paint the car. Should look pretty good!
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In the meantime, bondo and sanding continues. This flimsy metal warps right up the middle of the door!
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I was going to wrap up the driver side brake tonight, but being the master mechanic that I am l, I deduced that when the brake lining falls off, time for new shoes!
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Daniel Gibson said:
Ok, so I went and had a quart of paint mixed up in greenish yellow. Looks pretty close. I am going to use it to roller paint the car. Should look pretty good!View attachment 23685

In the meantime, bondo and sanding continues. This flimsy metal warps right up the middle of the door!
View attachment 23686

I was going to wrap up the driver side brake tonight, but being the master mechanic that I am l, I deduced that when the brake lining falls off, time for new shoes!
View attachment 23687
Click to expand...

Good idea to pull the stub axles and check the bearings and races. Better now than later when you have reassembled everything.
MWB has brake shoes and related parts, I'm getting an order ready for mine. Plus, it's a break from Bondo dust and welding.
 
Ok, no start today. I have to clean up and tighten electrical connections under the hood. Spark was weak, due at least to dirty points, and it looked like the dirt on the starter was starting to smolder. So, I decided to hose it all off and call it a day. I consider it a success! Engine cranked and door is done! This car has 49k miles on it. If I can get it running, I might not pull the engine. Just run it and wait for things to break!
 
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