1959 Austin a35 restoration

Restoration projects and Austin related chat in here please
Bigdaz
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Re: 1959 Austin a35 restoration

Post by Bigdaz »

Won't be any welding for a while need to pay off the credit card, just brought a job lot of parts boot bonnet both doors pasnager wing, full interior radiator wheels plus god know what else £395 on eBay pretty much all the bolt on parts I need, I'd probably pay a lot more if I brought individually and take a while to find them all, over time needed now lol
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A40FARINAGURU
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Re: 1959 Austin a35 restoration

Post by A40FARINAGURU »

Bigdaz wrote:Won't be any welding for a while need to pay off the credit card, just brought a job lot of parts boot bonnet both doors pasnager wing, full interior radiator wheels plus god know what else £395 on eBay pretty much all the bolt on parts I need, I'd probably pay a lot more if I brought individually and take a while to find them all, over time needed now lol
yes i saw that lot
Nick Bayliss

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Bigdaz
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Re: 1959 Austin a35 restoration

Post by Bigdaz »

Thought it was a good price for all the parts, Tried to talk him down but he wasn't going to budge
Bigdaz
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Re: 1959 Austin a35 restoration

Post by Bigdaz »

I'm having a go at making some of the panels , I've been looking at the battery panel and wondering does anyone know how I can form the ribs neatly, I'm sure I can make some of the panels with basic tools and the aid of my home made bending do da,
Bigdaz
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Re: 1959 Austin a35 restoration

Post by Bigdaz »

Ok so had a practice at forming the ribs for the battery shelf and all when well so today I spent quite a while measuring and marking a peace of steel, started forming the ribs in the same way I did yesterday and the steel curled up and looks like a bloody pigs ear, so in frustration I beat the hell out of it with the hammer, when I practiced on the smaller peace I think it worked better because it had a flange bent in it and was smaller, I need a coffee and calm down a little and start again I think, I know a bead roller is the best way to get the job done but it's just not feasible to buy all the extra tools, now the only other ideas I have are to put a flange on each end form the ribs then cut them off after hoping this will keep the panel flat, or getting two peaces of wood cutting Holes where the ribs need to be clamping the steel in the middle and beating the ribs in that way,
Unless anyone has a better idea ???
Last edited by Bigdaz on Wed Aug 02, 2017 3:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Bigdaz
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Re: 1959 Austin a35 restoration

Post by Bigdaz »

There after I calmed down and started again things went much better it's not perfect or is it quite the same as the original and I'm certainly not going to win any prizes but it will be sold And I think it will look ok once fitted and some filler,, I put a small flange front and back to keep it flat and cut them off once I had finished beating the ribs in, I'm very pleased with it,
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Chairman
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Re: 1959 Austin a35 restoration

Post by Chairman »

Good effort :thumbs: , it is very rewarding when you are able to make your own repair sections. We all expect them to be nigh on perfect first attempt! But it takes years and years of practice and a lot of metal to get to a consistently high standard. Neil will tell you that, along with a few others......keep going :clapping:
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Bigdaz
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Re: 1959 Austin a35 restoration

Post by Bigdaz »

Bit of body filler and a bigger battery and no one will ever no lol, it is a lot harder then it looks but I am pleased with my first attempt I can make it fit and it will do the job,
Dave Clark
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Re: 1959 Austin a35 restoration

Post by Dave Clark »

One way is to do it as Neil does - make a former in hardwood (or steel if you can), clamp the workpiece to the former and then hammer the ribs into it.This means that you stretch the material into the hollows and the rest is kept flat while you are doing it.

Well done in doing it the way you have !
Bigdaz
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Re: 1959 Austin a35 restoration

Post by Bigdaz »

I may have another go, the ribs are to wide not that it really matters but it will bug me that it's not right,
I looked in to hard wood but it's expensive especially when you only need 12"x12"
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Neil Evans
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Re: 1959 Austin a35 restoration

Post by Neil Evans »

Bigdaz wrote:I'm having a go at making some of the panels , I've been looking at the battery panel and wondering does anyone know how I can form the ribs neatly, I'm sure I can make some of the panels with basic tools and the aid of my home made bending do da,
A simple hammerform is best... Cut a slot the correct width in a piece of MDF the same thickness as the depth of the beads and screw it down to a solid base. Cut another similar piece to the first and sandwich your steel between them, aligned with the slots below. Clamp it all tightly down to a bench or similar. You may have to drill holes in your steel sheet to do this but if you keep them small it's simple enough to weld them up later.

Make a calking tool from hardwood, etc, the profile shape of the beads and hammer this into the steel a little at a time, using the upper slot as a guide. The ends are tapered so either another tool is needed, or reshape the original slightly to suit... :thumbs:
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Bigdaz
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Re: 1959 Austin a35 restoration

Post by Bigdaz »

Thank you, I'll have a go at that when I'm off work,

Traveled 330 miles round trip to get some body panels today all are mint no rust at all even the wing is in great condition, they don't fit great tho which is odd, the passenger door fits ok, the drivers door has almost no gap where it meets the b post and there's no left or right adjustment ????? The boot lid is over to the left a few mm
So I'm sure I can file the holes a little to make it fit better, it's the doors I'm concerned about, I think there off an a30 if that makes any difference,

The interior is in pretty good condition no rips just dirty but there a30 to so I'll stick with what I've got
So if anyone is interested in the front and rear seats carpet which looks to be original to and all the interior panels a radiator which needs recoring and a front bumper make me an offer

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Bigdaz
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Re: 1959 Austin a35 restoration

Post by Bigdaz »

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gazza82
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Re: 1959 Austin a35 restoration

Post by gazza82 »

Bigdaz wrote: So I'm sure I can file the holes a little to make it fit better, it's the doors I'm concerned about, I think there off an a30 if that makes any difference,
Not 100% but I think A30 doors are slightly different. I'm sure someone like Neil will confirm that and whether the work on an A35 shell.

Most doors need "fettling" to fit as they were in the factory ... production wasn't as accurate as todays robotic lines so things had to beade to fit.
"If you're driving on the edge ... you're leaving too much room!"

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Cars: "Project 757" '59 A35 2-door bought in 1971 & Subaru BRZ SE LUX Auto plus "family fleet": Alfa MiTo, Peugeot 206, (Ex '98 Alfa Romeo 156 2.0 TS)
Bigdaz
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Re: 1959 Austin a35 restoration

Post by Bigdaz »

The only difference I can see is the handle inside and the way the skin if fixed to the frame, there not to far out I'm sure with more time I can get a better fit,
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