Before being shipped to us, this Lancia Fulvia spent time stored outdoors at another workshop. Believe it or not, the paintwork looked presentable prior to this episode of outdoor storage. But, a year outside on the East Coast revealed lots of poor preparation work, and areas of rust, which spread quickly.
The owner’s budget wasn’t large enough for a full tear-down and subsequent restoration. So, we elected to strip 85% of the exterior and refinish the body, jambs, and engine bay.
Not so pretty. Pre-existing repairs around the body left a lot to be desired and were buried beneath copious amounts of body filler.
Well, rust is always deeper than anyone assumes. We are now repairing the wheel wells, inner rockers, and outer rocker panel before even considering reinstallation of the fender.
New lower sections for each front fender were made in house.
Finalizing the fit. The entire fender will come back off, so the new lower section can be welded and metal-finished from each side. From there, the freshly repaired fender is welded back on.
Putting the puzzle pieces back together.
Hand files and (occasionally) a body dolly to raise the area are the preferred method for knocking down welds.
Getting there.
The factory used lead for the seam between the rocker panel and fender – so we did the same.
Etch primer and a few coats of urethane.
Moving around the body, we continued to find sub-par repairs. So, most of the exterior is being brought to bare metal.
Fast-forwarding a few steps, we’re moving right along with the application of primer, which is followed by blocksanding and more primer.
Color, final sanding, and reassembly to follow.