My Delta HF turbo ie Restoration

[Rob]

To be honest it wasn't my intention to do a full restoration on my Delta but as is often the the case, once I started the repairs to the rear wheel arches & near side seal I began to realise that it wasn't going to stop there!

[Rob]

Here's a few more pics!

[frankxhv773t]

I have just caught up with this post and it is very like a superficially reasonable Prisma I had to abandon. Anyone with a Delta or Prisma who hasn't checked for similar rust would be well advised to do so. My Prisma would have needed a two to three inch wide strip welding in from the A pillar on the drivers side all the way round the back and forwards again to the A pillar on the passenger side.

[Rob]

Yes very similar corrosion to my Delta! It's where the two sections of the rear inner wheel arches are spot welded together. Over time moisture gets in between the spot welded joint & the rust takes hold. Here's a few more pictures of my Delta restoration.

[Rob]

This was one of those low points in a restoration when you start to wonder have I bitten off more than I can chew? These following pictures show what happens when you put a new seal straight on top of the old rusty one, you make a bad situation much worse!

[frankxhv773t]

That looks a lovely job. Well done.

[lancialulu]

Excellent work. The Delta workshop manual has real detail on the complex construction on the sills......

[simonandjuliet]

Are panels still available ? Looks complex and well done !

[Rob]

Thanks guys, I've tried my best! The only panels that were available at the time were the outer seals, everything else was made by hand just like the old Lancias.

[Rob]

These areas (front wheel arches, behind the bumper) were quite easy to fix as the shape of the repair sections were fairly simple. Due to the high level of corrosion I decided to fabricate the repair sections from stainless steel.

[Rob]

The next big fabrication & welding job on the list was the scuttle panel which had three areas that were badly corroded. The worst of these being the area on the passenger (near side) where the rust had eaten away the scuttle panel plus the box section underneath! I fabricated a new box section in stainless steel then welded it in place then welded three repair sections into the scuttle panel. I finished it off by cleaning up the welds, a skim of filler, primer & paint.

[Rob]

These are the pictures for the repairs to drivers side (off Side).

[Rob]

These pictures are of the center section of the scuttle panel.

[neil-yaj396]

Amazing work! I've seen Beta's with similar corrosion issues deemed totally un-restorable.

[Rob]

Thanks Neil . The only reason those Betas that you mention were un-restorable was most likely due to financial reasons. If I had to pay a company to do the work I've done already the bill would be at least £5000 which is about what the car is worth. As I'm a Sheet metal worker by trade I have a fair idea of how to repair the bodywork & shell (most of the time!). Although some of parts of the restoration have been quite challenging  . Cheers, Rob