Project GTV6

[shane wescott]

Hi Guys

Spent some time back in the GTV6 lately and think it deserves better. So I am hatching a plan to bring it back to glory.

Not a concourse piece, I just want it to look nice and be nice to look at. Currently, if it's dark, or you are some distance away the car look great, but cancer is gowing and needs to be stamped out.

So this thread may eventually become the oldest thread still going on this forum. My Ducati thread has been going for 10 months and has around 8500 hits, so once again the GTV6 has some competition.

It won't be a quick project - unless $20K drops from the sky and I resist the urge to pay bills or buy another Ducati :-)

So this will be my thread to bring back The Beast.

So if you see me in the Beast at a club function, forgive it if there is some filler here and a bit of primer there. EVENTUALLY it will get a full respray and look the goods.

Which leads me to the first question,

Questions 1: need some idea on what a respray would cost.

A good one not a cheap job, happy to deliver the car masked and ready to paint. I watch "Wheeler Dealer" on Turbo Max, one of my fave shows and costs go from 500 quid to 2000 quid in the uk.

Toyed with the idea of buying a compressor but I would be kidding myself. No way I could do a decent job on a whole car. Maybe a bike tank or fairing but not a whole car.

Happy to receive info via PM if you dont want to reveal too much. Happy to receive contacts to talk to who do a great job.

Question 2:

Common "hidden" areas or rust. Mine is an 86 so better for rust than older Alfa's but still has some ugly birth marks around. So where do I find the hidden bad spots.

Question 3:

Someone who is good at rebuilding seats. I love the seats in the GTV6 but they are contoured foam and 25 years old so new foam and recovering are a must for the drivers seat - any recommendations. I have a guy who is awesome with Motor bike seats and he has a mate who does car seats so he is one option


Thanks in advance guys. Looking forward to the process.

[Al Campbell]

Did you pull out the ECU the other day when you were chasing the double relay fault?  If you have the kick panel off and the ecu out you can peel the carpet back & have a look at the inside of your rails by the front jack points/bottom of the A pillar.

AL.

[martym00se72]

Shane,
I am in exactly the same boat as you - would'nt mind at all if you shared any insight that you gain.  Good luck!
Cheers
Marty

[shane wescott]

Thanks Al. I will check that out.

Sounds like fun MArty if we're in the same boat.

Thanks as alwasy Choderboy.

[alfa duk]

Shane, my experience with gtv6 rust  is fairly minimal as all my cars have been garaged. rust appears at the base of the windscreen, in the sunroof , lift up the door seal on the sill, top of the door skin under the trim and i have never seen a coupe without rust in the seam behind the rear bumper bar. Pull off the panel in the front wheel arch,  the one near the door, and after you clean out the years of muck will hopefully only  be steel. You will need to drill out the rivets and is best to replace them with screws to make cleaning easy. Doug

[shane wescott]

No worries Doug, thanks for that. Mine has some rust in the hatch under the window, and a bit on each door.

I will take those panels off probably this weekend, have been told these are usually the new home of a couple of kilos of mud and crap.

I have no rust that I have spied on the sun roof which is col, but a will be trying to clear out the dran holes, I think they go in behind the said little panels ??

Thanks again.

[martym00se72]

I have a spot of rust about the size of a 5 cent piece about an inch in from the edge of my RHS rear wheel arch - any thoughts/wisdom on how to tackle that one?
Marty

[shane wescott]

Hi Marty

I've done some research on the prodcuts from these guys  http://www.septone.com.au/  they have some videos and are an Aussie company.


As a patch up I would remove the rust, spray some rust converter/stabiliser into the hole for the rest of the panel, and fill the hole with their metal filler, then filler and paint. That's how I plan to tackle the holey rust I have on my car.

Catch ya

Shane

[martym00se72]

Thanks Shane - will check out the link - I have been treating surface rust with some rust converter/primer followed by underbody sealer. As it looks to be a double layer panel where the quarter panel meets the wheel tub - what's the best way to cut out a section without cutting both layers? An angle grinder isn't exactly a surgical instrument.
Cheers
Marty

[shane wescott]

I'll be using a dremel.

[bt46]

Use a small angle grinder with the very thin discs(sorry not sure what they are called). There about 1mm or less thick. They make a very clean cut you just have to controll the depth. An angle grinder can be very acurate once you get used to it and your using the rite size and types.
Also insted of using normal grinding discs use flap discs. They come in a variety of grit levels and are much more gentel to the surface of the metal that a 'normal' grinding disc.

You could use a cutting disc in an air tool if you want to spend the money on some quality tools and a large compressor but if you mean dremal as in that electric toothbrush forget about it they are junk. Doing any serious panel work is hard on your tools and physically hard if you buy or use tools made from cheese your only making the work harder.

[bt46]

Found photos of some of my handy work today. Gives you an idea of whats under the outter skin. Might be helpful.

[bt46]

And

[aggie57]

bt46 - You replaced half the car!!

Those thin discs for grinders are called cutting discs and you can buy them in packs of 10 from Bunnings.  As you say they cut through sheet metal very quickly and neatly.

[bt46]

aggie57
Yes they are cutting discs but the ones im talking about are thinner than the normal type from bunnings and have a specific name.