Beta Volumex HPE restoration

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I’ve had the good fortune to acquire another restoration project. The timing was perfect seeing as the Berlina is now finished.
It’s going to be a complete body, engine and interior restoration with no timeframe so that I can enjoy the process.
Both my previous restorations had a hurry up point along the way due to loosing workshop/storage space. This  time it is different as I now have my own workshop at home.
I’m not very good at recording and posting progress of all the work that we know goes into such a project, but I will try my best to post more.

Ian

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There’s a bit to do here but thankfully it seems complete, original and as far as I can tell from spinning it by hand, it’s got a smooth supercharger.

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It’s going to need a bit more than a blow with an air-line.

[Nigel]

Lovely acquisition Ian!
Doesn't look too bad from the pics.

All the best with it,

Nigel

PM sent.

[peteracs]

It’s going to need a bit more than a blow with an air-line.

You think?

I can just imagine the creative words on Ebay!

Looks like a good starting point.

Peter

[WestonE]

Nice project. You end up with a sought after Beta to complete your set.

You will probably have it finished before my engine runs the rate I am going at.

Eric   

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Nigel and Peter you are very right, the shell has a few repairs to address but they are minor for a 38 y.o Beta.
I didn’t really need another project but this was to good to pass and a HPE really is the everyday all-rounder in the Beta range.
I know you’re going to have that running long before me Eric. I have to go back to full time employment in October 😢
Not sure I’m ready for it tbh

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With the excitement of a puppy and a new sofa to chew I had to get going. So I chose the highly visible hole in the rear quarter panel to practice some fabrication and right way up welding. I hate upside down welding. In fact I’m convinced my receding hairline is all down to welding burns and nothing to do with ageing.

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Hole be gone

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Next stop, rear wheel arch

[WestonE]

Nice work. This working every day thing is really slowing me down!

[mangocrazy]

Nice work. This working every day thing is really slowing me down!

I retired last July, and I haven't noticed any significant speeding up of my Beta restoration/refurb since... I now wonder how I ever had time for work...

But Ian, that looks a cracker of a purchase. I owned an HPE in the early 80s and it was a wonderfully versatile workhorse. Plus yours has added VX, so even better.

[squiglyzigly]

Yes I’m hoping that by the time I have this finished it will be ‘Historic status’ so that I can daily it to work in east London. The fuel consumption of a VX is something of a concern but at least it will be free road tax (instead of the current £240 p.a)
Meantime the Berlina is the daily London commuter.

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Bit slow on the progress posts but work has been trickling along.
Once I started on the rear arch, it quickly became obvious that I needed to include all the other rot that linked to it. So it became inner and outer sill repairs and replacement as well as wheel arch lower corners. I had a good s/h arch that came with the car but had to fabricate the lower sections.

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Also whilst the outer sill was cut away it seemed a good time to tackle the usual lower rear corner door shut water trap. I’m sure most of you know that this is always much worse than the small bubbles of rust indicate. This is because it is more than one skin and the water gets in between. You know the rest!
I fabricated this from a couple of pieces of sheet, shaped joined and ground.

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Whilst repairing the inner sill sections I chose to add a few extra fillets of metal running from the inner sill (carpet side) through the central sill and connecting to the outer sill. The particular areas of note where the box section that the front seats sit on, the jacking point and the bottom of the A-pillar. This is to improve chassis stiffness and is very apparent now when jacking the car on the middle jack point This will be repeated on the other side.

[SanRemo78]

Looks absolutely superb now! Have you taken the C pillar plastic trim off yet? One of my VX HPE's was completely rotted through there...

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Then a rather messy job of taking the rear quarter, door shut and sill back to bare metal with a poly strip wheel on the angle grinder, followed by 160 grit hand sand it was ready for 2k etch primer and high build 2k primer to finish.

Next stop, n/s door.

[squiglyzigly]

Looks absolutely superb now! Have you taken the C pillar plastic trim off yet? One of my VX HPE's was completely rotted through there...

😛 you mean this area?
Yes I cut it all out and re-fabbed that too.
There was some repairs around the rear light unit as well. All new metal now.
It’s easy to forget how many repairs you do if you forget to take pictures. And I regularly forget the pictures. 🙄

[SanRemo78]

That's it - mine was gone from front to back when the poor thing got scrapped... Today it might have been considered saveable but not in 1990...