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Front bumper/inner fender repair 111 coupe
So even though we are getting ready to move I have finally found some time to commence with my LONG term project-my well driven 3.5 coupe. It has the typical front bumper support/inner fender damage that well driven cars have. it is a Ca car but has a lot of miles so just road debris beating on surfaces eats them away. The front bumper support is similar on most 108/109/110/111/112 cars so this would apply. The inner fender channels are only on 111/112 cars. I will document the process for anyone that might benefit from it. I cut a replacement bumper support from a rust free 280S in the Pick n Pull. There have been many hours of drilling/grinding spot welds on the car and the replacement piece. I will have to fabricate repair panels for the inner fender channels. My goal is to make the repairs as transparent as possible.
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Tony H W111 280SE 3.5 Coupe Manual transmission Past cars: Porsche 914 2.0 '64 Jaguar XKE Roadster '57 Oval Window VW '71 Toyota Hilux Pickup Truck-Dad bought new '73 Toyota Celica GT |
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Got all the welds drilled/ground on car and replacement support and test fit-fits like a glove. I have to take a trip to Reno this weekend to get some paint supplies(you can get the good stuff in Nevada) and then I will weld it in. Pics coming. Did some research on duplicating the look of original spot welds but there is really no where the welds can be seen once the car is assembled so I will use plug welds and grind them smooth.
Used 36 grit disks in my 4 1/2" angle grinder to grind the spot weld nubs down. I will use 2" Roloc disks to clean up the tight spots. The spot welds are so dense it's difficult to drill them all so a lot of grinding to get it cleaned up.
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Tony H W111 280SE 3.5 Coupe Manual transmission Past cars: Porsche 914 2.0 '64 Jaguar XKE Roadster '57 Oval Window VW '71 Toyota Hilux Pickup Truck-Dad bought new '73 Toyota Celica GT |
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Hey Tony...thanks for sharing. If you have any detailed diy write ups that you've done; you may be interested in our DIY Project Expert program. If we publish your article, we'll give you 10% off your next order. Check out the link below if you have an interest.
Enthusiast Tech Article Submissions - Pelican Parts -Dmitry |
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Thanks for the offer. This is mostly basic bodywork skills. I had to remove the bumper mounting brackets from my old support since the ones on the piece from Pick n Pull were damaged. This added quite a bit of work to the process. I want to media blast and coat the parts with epoxy primer before I weld them on. I spent a lot of time researching weld through primers and decided it is better to epoxy prime everything and just remove the paint where the plug welds will be with a flattened drill bit. after welding use a small brush and work the primer into the weld joints. There is factory paint behind the original spot welds so the factory spot welded through paint. Now i'm waiting for a warm day so I can prime the parts. I will get some pics on soon.
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Tony H W111 280SE 3.5 Coupe Manual transmission Past cars: Porsche 914 2.0 '64 Jaguar XKE Roadster '57 Oval Window VW '71 Toyota Hilux Pickup Truck-Dad bought new '73 Toyota Celica GT |
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I ended tacking on the media blasted bumper support to hold the frame rails in alignment while I was transporting my coupe for storage. Project is on hold for a bit while we relocate. It was quite involved to remove the rusted support. I cut off as much as possible to expose the spot welds-I would say there were at least 150-they were so dense they overlapped so I ended pulling off bits of metal and grinding the weld nubs flat. The radiator support is attached to the bumper support and is in an awkward location and the metal is thin so much time involved as not to damage the radiator support. Also cut out the rusted inner fender channel which is so prone to damage from road debris on the coupes-the 108s are constructed differently and don't have the channel that protrudes into the wheel well area. I am fabricating repair panels.
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Tony H W111 280SE 3.5 Coupe Manual transmission Past cars: Porsche 914 2.0 '64 Jaguar XKE Roadster '57 Oval Window VW '71 Toyota Hilux Pickup Truck-Dad bought new '73 Toyota Celica GT |
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Back on this-decided the bumper support I prepped is not suitable and I found a better one with good bumper mounts and no rust. Also has a foot of the frame rails still attached so I might cut the frame a few inches back and weld on the support at the frame. That will look better and there won't be hundreds of spot welds to drill out. My new support is bashed in from being hit on parking lot/curbs for years. I built a rig to pull it back flat-I will detail it for someone on a similar journey.
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Tony H W111 280SE 3.5 Coupe Manual transmission Past cars: Porsche 914 2.0 '64 Jaguar XKE Roadster '57 Oval Window VW '71 Toyota Hilux Pickup Truck-Dad bought new '73 Toyota Celica GT |
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Much respect to you, Tony H. I'm delighted to find something here in detail. I'd appreciate some photo as you go. That will help me comprehend the details of each step you take toward this replace/repair job. Thank you so much.
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