The Rear of the car

OK now we move on to the exterior.

You can see in this image of the bootlid (rear bumper removed) that there is corrosion and a dent on the bottom edge.

It's not to serious so should be an easy repair.

This is a closer image of the nearside rear wing (rear bumper removed) that there is corrosion and a dent on the bottom edge which also looks like it's been caused by a 'bump' to the wing itself

Probably 1 of the 'parking' dings we suspect happened some time ago

Again, it's not to serious, so should be an easy repair.

Holds breath, crosses fingers and toes.......... (eventually in 2015 the rear nearside wing was replaced with an undamaged one)

So on 13th November 2012, the car was taken to the paint shop for a bit of a make over and by Thursday 15th November this is how it looked, stripped of wings, doors, windscreen, bonnet and boot.

In the 1st picture below on the left, you can see that the recently fitted (before we got the car) exhaust down pipe, is hard against the cars frame, transmitting engine noise and vibration into the body. That will be rectified prior to the car being painted.

28th November 2012 sees the body shell etc. being prepared for the paint shop by flattening back the old paintwork and looking for any defects

In these first 3 images we can see the boot lid, nearside front wing and the bodyshell rear being prepared for filling and removing any existing rust spots.

With the wings removed from the car it was apparent that there was more work to do than initially thought.

The Offside front wing has 4 separate splits on the outer edge that were not apparent until it was turned over, these all require welding before any further preparation is carried out.

Also, underneath the trailing end alloy 'finisher', there was a pile of filler (right side image). When the finisher was removed there was an actual hole which will require a 'patch' welding in so will delay the overall body restoration.

Below we can see images of the shell Nearside (RHD), a close up of the nearside rear doorway which has little or no primer under the black paint and the front of the roof where you can see filler around what appears to be an old opening.

It's not actually an old sunroof opening as some people think, but where Citroën welded a panel in to complete the roof. These days roofs tend to be made out of a single 'pressing', but the Traction was never made that way and we are taking the opportunity to cover the whole panel joint up.

29th November 2012 and now we have some real progress

The Bodyshell preparation was completed late yesterday and this morning, went into the paint chamber and had it's first coat of primer.

I also collected the completed, recovered, interior door panels from the upholsterer today and they really do look good in two tone leather, but that is for another instalment.

There is still a way to go yet, but progress is visibly happening at last.

Whilst the car has been with the painter I have also polished the bumpers and had the road wheels shot blasted (you can see the condition before cleaning in the image) and powder coated to match the interior window frames

I actually sourced a set of 4 wheels from a long term Traction owner in Aberdeen so that the wheels could be ready when the car was.

Just waiting for the painter now so we can get on with putting the car back together with all the new rubbers etc. I have sat in boxes in a spare bedroom........

4th December 2012

The bodyshell has it's top coat of 'Super Black' (RAL 9005) on now and work has started flattening the paint back and then polishing it, twice.

So it is a bit of a slow process getting the finish right.

In the centre image below (lighting in the workshop isn't great where the car is sitting) you can see that the old weld line in the roof has disappeard completely

The paint process to get the finish looking it's best has multiple stages which the images above and this one show.

First any repairs necessary are carried out, holes welded and filled etc.

An intial 'primer' coat is applied then flattened off, then a new coat of primer is applied, this is again flattened off. Then the Black top coat is applied

Once the top colour paint is applied, the paint booth turns into an 'oven' and all freshly painted parts are 'baked' at 75 degrees to dry and harden the finish. Once dry, the black top coat is flatted off by hand using a 2000 grit rubbing paper, then, on close inspection, any 'shiny areas' around any imperfections stand out. These are then again flatted down by hand so the surface is super smooth.

Then a 2 stage machine 'polishing' process begins using 3M 'Fast Cut' liquid and a sheepskin covered disc. The image on the right shows an area on the rear 'C' pillar which has been polished once. It still requires a final 'superfine' polish before the process is complete.

These images show the process better on the boot lid.

Left is the boot lid after being painted in primer and rubbed down to find any imperfections. The centre and right side image show the top coat 'Black' in 2 stages. It has been 'flatted off to again remove any imperfections, then areas around the lock and hinges have been polished prior to fitting to the car.

The next stage is to paint the front wings, grille and bonnet, then fit them to the car however progress has been delayed by the unforseen welding required to a couple of the wings.

In order to avoid potential damage to the fresh paint, once painted, the parts are fastened back on the car. Once the car is fully assembled, the whole car will again be machine polished and waxed.

While the car is in the paint shop (as said previously) I sourced a spare set of wheel rims.

These have been shot blasted to remove all the old paint and rust and 'powder coated' by Northumbria Coatings of Cramlington in Pearlweiss RAL 1013/CM400. I have also sourced and fitted a set of plastic sleeves where the valve comes through the rim from the inner tube in an effort to stop water ingress as the wheels had corrosion on the inside rim as well as the exterior.

The 'Top' Hats (Hub Caps) have similarly been shot blasted and powder coated in Gloss Black and the original chrome plated centres and bolts have been cleaned with 'Autosol' once the car is back on the road it will go to a local garage to have the tyres checked and swapped over

15th December 2012

The wings, front grill etc. have all been painted, flatted back and machine polished, so we managed to fit them to the car today (no headlights, or indicators yet though) along with the bumper which has simply been cleaned with 'Autosol' again.

17th December 2012

Today, whilst the painter was preparing and painting the 4 doors I cleaned the windscreen surround, removed the old outer 'seal' and fitted a new one ready to refit the screen to the car (that alone took the best part of 1.5 hours) however some of the original retaining bolts were in poor condition so some will have to be sourced before refitting the screen to the car.

18th December 2012

Today the doors were put back on the car which was rather tricky as they both haver to be 'hung' at the same time and lined up with the 2 hinge posts. It took 4 of us to do it!

The rear wings and boot are being 'prepared' for painting and so hopefully, are the interior window trims as 1 is required to refit the rear window.

19th December 2012

Today I replaced the door seals, injected Bilt Hambler Dynax S-50 Rust Protection into all the cavities, fitted the exterior door handles, new door mirrors and the bonnet.

The interior trims are all painted so hopefully the rear window can go in next and if the rear wings get painted along with the boot lid most of the final assembly can proceed.

20th December 2012

The rear wings and boot lid were fitted today along with the headlights (but not wired up). The car requires 'polishing' around the rear window prior to fitting the glass so that was left until the morning.

21st December 2012

The rear window was 'fitted' today. That's a rather loose term as it was actually 'bonded' in using Silkaflex-255 FC. The internal window trim does help retain it though and hopefully after 24 hours when it 'sets' and by using modern windscreen bonding will finally stop water entry.

22nd December 2012

Today the front 'scuttle fresh air vent' was flatted off and polished and it, along with the windscreen were fitted and are the last major components to do. Both are rather 'fiddly' to do and there is not a lot of access to some of the fastenings, but I got there

All that is left now is to fit the windscreen wipers, the rear light covers (new bulbs have yet to turn up from Belgium) and give the car a final polish before it leaves the workshop. The bulbs can be fitted in the garage at home when they eventually arrive.

Hopefully after Christmas (I'm under orders not to even look at the car Christmas day!) work can commence on the interior...............

The car is sat in the paint shop and is covered in dust, but you can see how it is coming on below.

I will upload some more images once the car has it's final 'polish' and we can get it outside and into a bit of 'sunshine' (if we ever get any......)

During the rebuild process, where possible, any fasteners below M6 were replaced with A4 Marine Grade stainless steel ones, so they won't corrode in the future. The wing bolts were in pretty good condition so were re used, albeit with a coating of 'copper slip' just in case they ever have to come off again.

24th December 2012

Today I drove the car home after it was given it's final hand wax. There are a few unfinished items, like indicator wiring and new bulbs for the rear lights but there minor points, Oh and the wheels are still to change.