Beta Volumex HPE restoration

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Yes it’s a shame some of the cars we let go. I remember being ‘given’ a gold series II facelift because it failed the mot on a little rust and some poor brakes. “I broke it!!” Criminal. And I still remember thinking every piece I took from the car, ‘why am I breaking this?’
At least one of the wings has made it onto this car.

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N/s door was quite good really. Had the usual rot inside and out due to the mandatory water ingress from the quarter light mounted mirror assembly. But the lower areas of the door seem to be well preserved presumably due to lots of cavity wax.
So a few little repairs and it’s a good door.
Bare metal and etch/filler primer as before. This is to be the process for the whole car.

I’m starting to feel as though I’m getting somewhere.

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Prime time

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Another panel ready

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The inside always looks terrible but it’s not really as bad as it looks.

[SanRemo78]

My first Beta was a 1978 HPE, one owner for it's first 3 years, sat in a heated showroom for the next 3 before I got it in 1984. Zeibarted from new it was mint until the day it died courtesy of an errant trucker. I did have a minor bump in it that needed a front end and it got treated to a full respray. The ONLY rot we found was on the top of the inner door panel just like this. Just treated it and left it with a drain route. I wish I;d kept that one to this day. All I have left is the number plate transferred to every subsequent daily I've had since.

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Some good news under the front arches. No repairs necessary. Just a quick prep to some very minor surface rust and then some more zinc primer and body Shultz which will get a final coat of Dinitrol once everything is finally assembled. All box sections are having extra access holes drilled into them for annual Dinitrol top ups.
Quite pleased to see the front end in such good condition.

[peteracs]

That is one of the big differences between having and not having wing liners.

Peter

[WestonE]

Hi Peter

My thoughts exactly

Eric

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Progress has been a bit slow lately due to a flu/virus thing flooring me for nearly 4 weeks which led seemlessly into covid.
With a few more simple panels repaired and prepped I’m now about 3/4 of the way around.

Next area of attack will be the roof and windscreen surround. There are a few holes to repair at the bottom of the windscreen and a small hole in the n/s top corner. The sunroof was a nightmare to get out as it had previously been fitted with one wrong slider which prevented the roof from dropping and sliding. God knows how they managed to get it in but it left some panel straightening to do after removal.

I might be a bit slow to learn some tricks n tips but I have just found the ‘copper plate under a pin hole to weld’ trick. You all know this right? I didn’t and can’t believe how simple it is.
If you need to weld a small pin hole in a panel, you simply hold a piece of copper plate under the pin hole and spot weld/fill the pin hole. The copper doesn’t take the weld and holds the weld so it can flow into the hole. Quick grind and prep and it’s gone. Bit annoyed I’ve been swearing at ever expanding pin holes for 20 years.

[WestonE]

Great Work Ian

And sorry but I did know about the Brass/ Copper plate under a Pin hole thing I think from a teach yourself to weld video over 20 years ago.

I will how creep off smugly for about 10 minutes before my next major cock up brings me back down to earth!

Cheers

Eric

[Nigel]

Concur with Eric, great work. At some time in the future, i've got some
rust on the pax door and both rear window apertures to deal with.

I see on your garage wall you have some Lancia cards in frames. I have a similar
looking frame which I picked up from a flea market in Johannesburg many years ago.

[TonyLanciaBeta (Tony Harrison)]

Amazing work Ian, so pleased Rob's HPE found the right owner 
I sent the previous owner a link to this, and he's so absolutely chuffed the car's being restored.
Cheers
Tony





 

[peteracs]

Hi

I also have the cards in frame, bought on Ebay about 10 years ago. I never realised they were a production item!

Car is looking great, sorry to hear about the illness, I seem to have had one virus per month this year including Covid, so hoping we both have a clear April….

Peter

[squiglyzigly]

Lol cheers Eric, when I discovered the copper plate trick I knew it must have been an old practice that passed me by.

Peter/Nigel, the picture cards in the frame seem to be a popular thing a few years back. My sister gave them to me a few months back when she found them clearing the loft for her house move. Funny how we follow similar likes.

Today I’ve just got my first COVID negative test so I’m looking forward to getting back to full speed in the garage once I get home. Currently having a breather in Southern Italy and enjoying buzzing around in the Lancia Ypsilon hire car.

Thanks Tony, I hope to do the car justice in its restoration and the end goal is for it to be my daily’ish runaround. Currently the Berlina is doing a good job in that role so I’m not sure what will happen when the HPE is finished albeit that’s a year or two away.

Right it’s beer o’clock here, Moretti time.

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Moretti time is over and now back in Blighty, I was keen to get the windscreen panel fixed and the roof stripped and primed seeing as it’s the largest area on the car. A reasonable amount of repairs were needed around the windscreen panel but minimal enough to justify repair rather than replacement.
I just kept finding small repairs which made it feel never ending but in the end it got prepped.

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As to be expected the scuttle was the worst area with gravity working it’s magic.

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A relief to get this large area repaired, bare metalled, etch primed and finally primed.
One new discovery for me was that the factory sunroof has a pair of stainless steel runners welded into the roof where the sliding roof guides rub. At least that’s what my eyes tell me judging from the different colour in the bare metal.
This would explain why that part of the roof never rusts when the paint is rubbed away.
Never given it a thought before as I’d never bare metalled a Beta before.

Every day”s a school day!

[WestonE]

Fantastic progress and that curved corner is a high class piece of fabrication work. I have lost all progress in getting my house on the market.

Eric

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Thanks Eric but I can’t take credit for the corner piece fabrication as I cut it from a donor car.

Are you moving to a nice garage with a house attached?