Panel list

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Panel list

Postby gazpman » Wed May 28, 2014 6:09 pm

HI, does anyone know if there is a list in existence (ideally with pictures) of the panels available for the HC Viva? I've got a couple of areas that have rotted right through and I'm not even sure what they're supposed to look like. It'd be good to know what I'm even looking for.

I know this is available for the Beetle for instance, but I'm being a little ambitious here.

Any help useful, thanks
Gary

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Re: Panel list

Postby pbottomley » Wed May 28, 2014 6:31 pm

Sills




Errrr THAT IS IT :cry:
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Re: Panel list

Postby droopsnoot » Wed May 28, 2014 6:33 pm

Available? That won't take long.....

Most panels that turn up at the moment are those that have been hanging around for a while. Various companies used to do things like wheelarch repair sections, chassis repair sections, inner wing sections, sills. I think you can still get sills from various eBay suppliers, but the rest will just be a case of dropping on them. Inner wings were factory only, outer wings were factory, or a handful of third parties, or GRP. Rear lower valances were available, complete back panel was factory only. Floors were never available as a repair section, but you can get Holden panels from Australia, or make them for (possibly) less cost by the time you take into account shipping and possibly duty and VAT.

For chassis repairs, I maintain that a half-decent repairer will be able to make the section as required - the old repair sections were quite thin and were designed to weld around the outside of the old chassis section. Which presumably then continued to rot away behind the repair, leaving your gearbox supported by a piece of 20swg folded tin, instead of a double-thickness 18swg pressed section.

Let me turn the question around - what sections do you need? I've made quite a lot of repair sections in the rebuild of my Sportshatch, and could probably knock some up if you could describe the areas with pictures if possible. Or did you mean that you want the pictures to show you how to make the repair panels? In which case, show us the areas concerned - I have quite a lot of photos of the work I've done that might suit as a reference for you.
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Re: Panel list

Postby gazpman » Wed May 28, 2014 8:53 pm

Ha ha, I think most of the sills are ok :) but I haven't had a good look yet. They don't really exist under where the lower part of the wing was. If I do need some, is the coupe the same as the 2 door saloon?

Thanks for the other info.

I've taken both wings off and have a GRP pair to replace them with, the steel ones are actually ok apart from all the edges that were welded to the car (if anyone is interested in some front wing "repair panels"?).

The main area I'm looking at now is between the bottom of the A-Pillar and the sill where the wing was welded to. I have a pair of "inner wing repair panels", but while similar, they don't appear to be the same shape.

I'll get some photos tomorrow to make it a bit clearer.
Gary

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"It's a 1975 Vauxhall HC Viva E Coupe, with a Pinto"
"It looks like a hit man's car"
"It's going to be awesome"
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Re: Panel list

Postby droopsnoot » Thu May 29, 2014 10:27 am

No, the inner wing repair panels go on the inner wings, basically where the battery tray is on one side, and the opposite version of that. They're nowhere near the bottom of the A pillar and sill joint.

Sorry to say that's a bit you'll have to make. I've just been doing a similar repair on my project car, having rebuilt the bottom of the footwell and A pillar once I found it wasn't quite the correct shape. But this is roughly what it should look like, if I've understood the location correctly.

Image
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Re: Panel list

Postby fistfullofV5's » Thu May 29, 2014 11:02 am

When I was making panels I found as many photos of the areas I was working on as I could. I then scaled the photos against measurements taken from my own car and Fred's Firenza at a show. Then I got hold of some black art card from hobbycraft as it holds a shape when bent and is the same thickness as the sheet steel I was using. I basically made models of the panels in card then when I was happy with them, took them apart again to use as templates for cutting the steel. Took time but card is a lot cheaper than steel if you're not satisfied with your first effort. Obviously if the panels were available I wouldn't have gone through all that tedium ,but they're not so hey ho.
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Re: Panel list

Postby gazpman » Thu May 29, 2014 6:12 pm

Thanks for the tip Dave. I was going to use cereal boxes, but that stuff sounds better.

Yeah, the panels I have don't seem to line up with that area either, never mind they'll be useful steel anyway.

That photo hits the spot, that's essentially what I need to recreate, but probably more of it than you have had to by the looks of things. I'm going to give a it a good go at fabricating it myself before I go elsewhere. Thanks droopsnoot.

I'll get the angle grinder and fibre wheel out this weekend to have a better look
Gary

"What is it?"
"It's a 1975 Vauxhall HC Viva E Coupe, with a Pinto"
"It looks like a hit man's car"
"It's going to be awesome"
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Re: Panel list

Postby droopsnoot » Thu May 29, 2014 7:01 pm

gazpman wrote:That photo hits the spot, that's essentially what I need to recreate, but probably more of it than you have had to by the looks of things.


Probably not more than I've made there - in that view, the only original bit is the door pillar (and that's been out) and the roof. The sill is a replacement that I dropped on, all the scuttle panel (as I call it, the flat bit inside the door pillar), all the floor in the picture, and virtually all the chassis rail, is all home made. This is the "during" shot:

Image

The other side wasn't quite as good as this.
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Re: Panel list

Postby Icedmunkie » Thu May 29, 2014 9:13 pm

droopsnoot wrote:Available? That won't take long.....

Most panels that turn up at the moment are those that have been hanging around for a while. Various companies used to do things like wheelarch repair sections, chassis repair sections, inner wing sections, sills. I think you can still get sills from various eBay suppliers, but the rest will just be a case of dropping on them. Inner wings were factory only, outer wings were factory, or a handful of third parties, or GRP. Rear lower valances were available, complete back panel was factory only. Floors were never available as a repair section, but you can get Holden panels from Australia, or make them for (possibly) less cost by the time you take into account shipping and possibly duty and VAT.

For chassis repairs, I maintain that a half-decent repairer will be able to make the section as required - the old repair sections were quite thin and were designed to weld around the outside of the old chassis section. Which presumably then continued to rot away behind the repair, leaving your gearbox supported by a piece of 20swg folded tin, instead of a double-thickness 18swg pressed section.

Let me turn the question around - what sections do you need? I've made quite a lot of repair sections in the rebuild of my Sportshatch, and could probably knock some up if you could describe the areas with pictures if possible. Or did you mean that you want the pictures to show you how to make the repair panels? In which case, show us the areas concerned - I have quite a lot of photos of the work I've done that might suit as a reference for you.


Now I find out I could have got floor panels!! Oh well its useful to know!
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Re: Panel list

Postby droopsnoot » Fri May 30, 2014 10:02 am

Icedmunkie wrote:Now I find out I could have got floor panels!! Oh well its useful to know!


Yes, but they're only the front bits, not the complete floor - same place also does boot floor repairs, but the trouble is the shipping cost adds up compared to pressing some ribs in a bit of sheet steel. I did have someone contact me who has a complete HC floorpan, but I can't find his details now.
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