Cutting a long story short, my current project is a 1987 XR2. I've had it about seven years, and it was a daily driver for the first two or three, then a weekend toy for a year or so after that.

I took it off the road about four years ago for a Zetec transplant and a general tidy up, but life being life, it hadn't really progressed far until a couple of months ago when I dragged it out of the barn where it was being stored and brought it back to the house.

The shell is pretty straight, but I was aware that it needed some attention to the rear of the nearside sill and arch. Seems sitting in a damp barn for four years hasn't been kind and what was minor attention then needs major attention now. I took the plunge and pulled the plastic wheel arch off yesterday to see what I was faced with and, whilst it's not too bad (I've seen XR2's in far worse states than this) I need to be realistic about my abilities and stick to the spanners rather than the welder.

Also the paintwork could do with some freshening up. It's had a respray in the past, I believe in about 2000, so it's not too bad but those years as a daily driver (including commuting into London) took their toll, and it's picked up a few more scrapes and knocks from being climbed over and having stuff stored on/around it in the barn where it was kept. It also got broken into before I took it off the road so the nearside B pillar has a nasty mark on it right at eye level. My vision of it being minty fresh fades with every new scratch and mark I see!

So, I've come around to the idea that it needs the attention of a professional welder, and if I'm going to the effort of having that done I might as well fix all the other little niggles it has. If I do that it will definitely need paint, and then if I'm going to all that effort I might as well have it dipped whilst it's apart.

If I'm going to spend all that money on making it look cosmetically good I want the shell to be solid. There's no point going to all the effort and expense just for it to fall apart in a couple of years, so I want the person I get to do the welding to really know what they're doing. In other words, they'll cut all the nasty bits out and replace properly, rather than just tacking a repair panel over it and covering it up with seam sealer.

Anyway, cutting to the point of this post, I wondered if anyone had any experience of getting this kind of work done? Any recommendations on a companies that do it? Or maybe a fellow LocostBuilder does this kind of thing and would be willing to take it on? I've looked at the likes of Prepfab, but that seems a bit over the top - it's never going to be a racecar!

Also, any ideas on costs? I believe a dip costs around £750, and I'm guestimating a budget of £1k for paint, given that it will be dropped off to the paintshop completely stripped and just needing any minor ripples and dents fixing, then a rub down and spray. But what about the welding work, what should I be budgetting? Or is that the same as asking 'how long is a piece of string?'

There are some pics of the car in my archive here. One below as a taster which was taken on the day it arrived back at my house after four years in the barn!

Any comments, recommendations, discussion, etc welcomed! (Including whether I should just forget about it and build an RX7 V8 instead!)

Cheers, Chris


Arrived back at the house pt3

Mr Henderson

Maybe ask the dipper if they can recomend someone to weld it. They must see a variety of cars from different welders and have an inkling which are doing it properly.

£1k for painting is a bit lean. Especially for a full paint inside/out/underneath. Reckon materials could be£300- 500 and thats without any clever finishes. (about 5-8 litres of topcoat, plus etch primers/filler primer/stonechip, and thats with 2K. Water based may be more expensive?) I know a respray can easily be upwards of £2k, but then you may have a friendly chappie who can do it for a lot less. But having done a car a year or so back, and it wasn't a especially great, it takes an age with all the flatting between coats and getting it right. Wouldn't want to do it for a living.

retropower would do a good job but its not the post of thing they do normally and you may have a long wait. Have you asked who the classic restorer people in your area use?

some interesting 2 litre conversion forum with rust too.

you sound like you are attached to it like i was too to my XR2 but do you realy want to spend £2.5k on it, could you buy a already refurbed one for that where someone else done the hard work?

if you have the space i would look at buying a mig and doing most of the welding youself, maybe with replacement panels rather than patches, good way to learn whilst saving cost of someone else doing it, if you are looking at dipping then its making it into a concourse one you may be talking atleast £3k+.

looking at the pictures it doesnt look that bad and making it into a half decent looking one should be possibel for a lot less.

good luck

Have a look on Retro Rides for inspiration. linky

just forget about it and sell it me lol.
adam

Ok, I went and had another fiddle with it today. Took the offside plastic arch off and found that's nearly as bad as the nearside, although at least it's not got into the sill.

Some pics of the nearside damage now in my archive including this one:


Rotten rear arch 1

Thanks for the comments so far on this everyone. A few replies to points raised:

In terms of the Zetec conversion itself I've got no concerns about completing that. I've done a couple of Zetec's into mk2's before, then a complete re-shell of one of them after someone drove into one of them, and put an 1800 into my mk3 Escort. In other words, the mechanical part doesn't phase me at all.

It's a pretty tidy car considering the age and their propensity to rot. The usual bits that go on them are where the arches meet the front panel - not a problem on this one - on the seams below the rear lights - perfect - battery tray, etc. The tailgate is rotten, but I have a perfect replacement I bought years ago.

I'm not into the concourse thing, but I don't want it looking like an 'old car' either. It just needs to look fresh and tidy... risking sounding like a right snob... to look like I'm driving it out of choice rather than necessity.

Yes, I could break out the MIG and have a go at it myself. I've got plenty of space, light, power, heat etc. I had originally considered doing that, with Conrod's help most likely, but having had a proper look at the job I'm just not confident I could pull it off properly. It's about being realistic about what I can and can't tackle. The spannering isn't an issue, electrics are easy, but my welding is awful, and it's not like it's a cosmetic repair to a single skin. We're talking three panels that form part of the structure of the car, and I want to be 100% sure it's been done right.

In terms of paint, I know a local guy that I'm hoping will do me a deal, especially as the car will be just a shell when it's delivered to him and I will probably give it a once-over before he even gets it.

As for being attached to it, I guess I am a little having owned it for so long. I had one as my first car when I was 17 - actually a 1400 Ghia rather than an XR2 - but this isn't the same one. Yes, I could go out and find a clean shell, but there are so many good bits on this one it seems silly. Is it even possible to find an immaculate one these days without spending silly money? My guess would be not.

Anyway, keep the comments coming, especially if anyone can recommend someone to do the welding work!

Cheers, Chris