The first main bit of work I did on the Torana was stripping it down and organizing all the parts. I left the running gear in so that the car was mobile. There was plenty of bodywork to be done. Before this car, I'd never even blocked a panel back, this was the start of the biggest learning curve so far.

The bottom of the left rear quarter was rusted out (both inner and outer) and covered in half an inch of bog...

I wasn't very happy with the previous repair job in the quarter, where the metal had actually sheered and been bogged back together! So I cut the dodgy section out and replaced the inner metalwork to start off with. That was easy
 

As I had access to an end-cut of a UC Torana, which shares the same bodywork as the LX around the appropriate area, so I cut the section I wanted out, and that was welded in with a friend's help. That's my first long weld on the left (trying to avoid getting heat into the panel) and my mate in action on the right: 

Finishing up with the welding process of the guard, a metal piece from a spare door was bent into shape and welded in place of the hole from when the rust was cut out:

Many aspects of the car didn't line up very well, and still don't - this is because of accidents that it would have been in before I got my hands on it. The rear end was pulled quite straight by temporarily welding a plate onto the hidden area behind the bumper, and using that plate to support the weight of the car down the hill supporting the car on the downhill with that plate, and stress-releiving the area with a hammer and dolly set. Worked a treat

Because the welder was already out, I decided that it would be ridiculous to leave all the holes in the rear end. Bootlid badges and tail light surrounds were 'shaved' off.

I didn't want an original-style aerial on my car, and my replacement driver's door had been through a few dodgy mirror installation hack-jobs, so I rectified those problems:

Badge holes in both guards:

To make the car look cleaner, I 'shaved' the external lock barrels of the car off as well:

Finalising shell's preparation:

Me spraying some base coats on the shell:

Door jams and hinges painted:

 
Rear 3/4 assembly, top coats:

I then finished off the front guards, nosecone and bonnet:

This is me feeling stoked that I've finished painting my car after all that time!

Pages:
1 - Main Page
2 - Progress
3 - Bodywork
4 - Interior
5 - Running Gear
6 - Driveline
7 - Motor