Newbie

Cgarside · #1 01-01-2014, 12:24 PM

Hello all,
I found this forum yesterday while searching for info on car body restoration. Looks to be a wealth of valuable info including shared experiences of members.
I have restored a number of E Types over the years and I have recently started on the restoration of a 1968 Aston Martin DB6 (which is in a pretty bad way). I plan to repair the body myself. The steel platform chassis and internal structure should not present too many problems, although I expect repairing the aluminium outer skins to be more of a challenge.
Given the above, I will no doubt be seeking advice from forum as work progresses.
I hope to post progress, although I expect the work to take a couple of years.
Look forward to sharing experiences.
Chris

Peter Tommasini · #2 01-01-2014, 04:58 PM

Hi Chris welcome to the forum
Peter

HEATNBEAT · #3 01-02-2014, 12:33 AM

Hi Chris and welcome!

www.kustomgarage.com.au · #4 01-02-2014, 02:58 AM

Hey Chris, welcome.

David Gardiner · #5 01-02-2014, 02:25 PM

Hello Chris, welcome to the forum. Restoring a DB6 Body is no small task. I have done several DB5's. Its an ambitious project.

David

Cgarside · #6 01-03-2014, 05:59 PM

David, i bought your DVD mid 2012 (best money I have spent in a long time !) and was inspired to tackle the bodywork.
Ambitious it may be, but if I don't try I will never know if I can do it !

David Gardiner · #7 01-04-2014, 03:03 AM

Chris, I am pleased you like the DVD so much it was a lot of work and my intention was to inspire people to do a good job and to give information that helped them gain the skills to do so. Like I say on the DVD - practice and practice some more. Once you have mastered the skills you will be able to make a fantastic job of the Aston Martin.

Never cut anything off the original body until you have a new piece made to replace it. This is something I say on the DVD and what I practice in my own work.

You will need to remove most of the panels from the steel frame in order to repair them. This is no small task as all the places where the aluminium wraps over the steel will need to be replaced in all probability. You are likely to find corrosion in these areas and its unlikely that you would be able to open up the flange then re-close it without some cracking occurring. Re-edging all the panelwork is the best answer.

Some people would close the flanges and weld the cracks, flux inclusion would be a problem but even if these are tig welded the heat would start the corrosion and nothing could be put between the steel and the aluminium to stop galvanic corrosion because it would be burned away.

David