Here are some more of my old photos. I took these photos around 1985 in Hampshire when I was on my way to a car show at Thruxton Motor Racing circuit with my dad.
Wild body kits like the one on this Mercedes 190e were a fairly new thing back then so it wasn't common to see cars customised like this out on the street. This 190e would have only been around one year old at the time so I expect it was probably modified when it was new...
I checked the registration number online and it shows as having been first registered in May 1984 but was last on the road in October 1988 so it didn't last long at all! Perhaps it was in an accident or maybe stolen?
I have searched with Google but cannot find another body kit like this one so I don't know who it was made by. I guess it could have been custom made and unique but I doubt it.
I finished the body repairs on my Hyundai Pony pickup...
...primer...
...here the primer is sanded smooth and everything masked up again for painting...
...final paint...
I also repainted the hinges and supports for the tailgate...
Before putting everything back together I rust prrofed inside the body with some cavity wax...
Here's the inside of the tailgate coated in protective wax. These Hyundai Ponys rust easily so it's best to do this...
Here it is with all the parts re-fitted...
Next I have to refit the rear springs and shock absorbers. I removed them to give better access for welding the chassis. I'm glad I did as I found that the rubber bushes were all worn out!
I have been sorting through a big box of old photographs recently. There are lots of old pictures (some taken 20 years ago or more) of rare and interesting old cars which I have seen. Here's a picture I took in 1996...
I saw this Toyota Crown hardtop (MS75?) on the side of the road in Thirsk which is in the North East of England. It was quite rusty and it looked like it hadn't moved in a long time. I checked the registration online and it doesn't look like it was ever on the road again so I expect it has since been scrapped. Back in 1996, old Japanese cars like this were worthless in the UK but now they are rare and very desirable.
In the background, you can see my 1968 Datsun 1000 wagon (VB10). Although I don't own this car any more, it still exists. It is one of only two VB10's left in the UK. When I find some better pictures of it, I will post them in the "Cars" section.
I will scan and post up some more of these old pictures as I have taken hundreds of them over the years!
The tailgate on my Hyundai Pony had some bad dents, especially at the top above the handle, and a little rust along the bottom. The picture on the left below shows how it looked when I got the truck. On the right is how it looked after I stripped away the paint and straightened out most of the bad dent at the top. You can see only a little rust along the bottom...
The rust didn't look too bad but after cutting away the outer layer you can see how bad it really was...
After grinding away as much rust as I could, I used some rust remover to dissolve the remaining rust. This kind of product usually contains Phosphoric acid. .It takes a few hours for this stuff to work but here you can see it has dissolved pretty much all the rust...
I painted the inside area with some zinc paint then made a section to repair the bottom edge and welded it in. I forgot to take some pictures here as I was doing it but here you can see the new piece welded in...
On the inside edge, the lip of the repair wass folded over and hammered flat and then welded in the corners...
Next, I had to finish removing all of the dents and use some filler to make the panel straight again...
Then some primer. I used some grey 2k primer made by U-pol....
...and finally some paint. This is 2k paint in the original colour called "Jamaican Blue"...
