VIN#6126 Chassis restoration

[Rich Hanlon]

Thanks very much Chris. I'm really looking forward to reassembling everything now [emoji846].

The 'before' condition, especially after I had the chassis dipped, was revealed to be pretty poor. The front frame extension was very advanced and appeared like a patchwork quilt underneath. But what really drove the removal was the corrosion in the V either side of the transmission which meant the full stripdown.

Anyway, at the NEC event in November I was introduced to Alex Denny who is a DeLorean owner (his brother also has one!!) and a welder/ fabricator by trade. He has built himself and several other customers a new chassis from scratch. He has also completed a previous restoration of a badly corroded chassis, so, as my chassis was on the stand he was able to cast his eye over it, and declare it mercifully rescuable!

So after mine was dipped and chemically stripped it went to Alex (near Great Yarmouth ) in January this year, where it was assessed and began to be rebuilt in a special DeLorean chassis jig he had constructed. The front frame extension was declared beyond rescue so that was cut off before I was even home again!!                    

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I was kept up to date with regular updates on the welding and as each piece of the horror story was revealed!

Anyway, once this was all done, it was transported off to be galvanised and powdercoated as I mentioned the other day, (I had identified RAL7037 as the appropriate colour first).                    

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[Chris P]

I know it looked "rough" before you got stuck in, but I think these chassis are so 'over-engineered' the the chances of it actually failing, were pretty low. You did the right thing though. Belt and braces as we say .......Up-Norff.

[Rich Hanlon]

Yeah, hopefully it wasn't about to fall on half!!

As Alex pointed out, the front frame extension gets the hardest time. Not only in the event of an impact, but also on cornering and braking during regular driving, there's a lot of twist and load imparted into it by the anti roll bar, hence it flexes quite a bit - giving rise to common epoxy failure around it, as the epoxy is hard but relatively brittle. Think like a choc- ice-effect - a hard stiff coating around a more malleable body, hence crazing of the surface. This, plus a couple of water-traps, and places where the drain-holes are not at the lowest points makes the front frame extension a pretty vulnerable area.

In the end I decided to go for full galvanising for longevity, which Alex arranged for me in Yarmouth. Apparently the risk of distortion during hot dip galvanising can be due to the experience of the operator on the dipping process and it is about how the component is dipped, rather than chucking it in any old way. Anyway, there's no distortion evident. Powdercoating is largely a "line of sight' process, so whilst it is good for external surfaces I wanted the dip for internal protection, especially in areas like the engine cradle and the front frame extension.

Any threaded holes in the chassis need to be re-tapped afterwards. Alex bunged these with fire-cement for me before the 'dip' to reduce any ingress of galv or powdercoat. That's what I'm on with at the moment.
   

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[Rich Hanlon]

Let the rebuild commence    

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[Rich Hanlon]

Progress is slow, despite, or because of, all this free time we supposedly have.

Refitting refurbished starter tonight...    

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[Chris P]

Looking good Richard....Yes I know what you mean,.......I'm having trouble getting motivated to work on the car.

Been faffing about in the garden and reading a lot.

[Rich Hanlon]

Got one trailing arm on last night. Typically my most productive time is the 11pm to midnight slot but that's quiet time!!    

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[TristanC]

Wow Rich!!

What a feat to undertake. It something I am brave enough (or have room) to do!

Kudos to you sir!

Tris

[Rich Hanlon]

Hah, thanks! I'm nearly at the first anniversary of the body separation. Still keep finding things to do.

Just brushed up the rear hubs. Come up nicely [emoji16]    

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General synopsis at 1949hrs:    

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This bloody spring is the reason I ended up taking the body off in the first place!! (Swapping it showed me what a state the frame was in!)    

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[Chris P]

Well done Richard, you and Tris are braver men than me.

[Chris Williams]

Looks great, are you/have you renewed all the bushes etc as you go in all the trailing arms or sticking with what you had? If new are you going OE? Next and most important question where did you get the large DMC sign from?
Chris

[TristanC]

Yes - where did you get that sign !?!?!

[Rich Hanlon]

I've replaced most of the bushes, but some of them are fine, so I'm leaving them for now. As such, I'm keeping to stock. The thing is, I can always go back later to swap them, and I have more than enough spending going on upon stuff which is dependent upon having the body off!

That sign came from Ireland from a chap I met over at Mervyn Richardson's place years ago, but I can't remember his name! It's repro of course but I like it!

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There might be an old link to them on the DOI forum if that's still going?


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[Rich Hanlon]

Conor Doyle, that was the fella!! Got it in 2008! He was a DOC member then, not sure now

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[er1c]

Loving this thread and seeing the progress. Whenever I find a rusty section or worry about repairs to the chassis in the future this gives me some hope that worst case this can be done.

Q. Was it hot dip galvanized ? any risk of distortion ?