classic daimler DS420

The Other Side – Metal Repairs on the Passenger Side of the 1986 Daimler DS420

As the work is being carried out on the other side of the 1986 Daimler DS420, our fabrication team have been working on the passenger side of the car at the same time.

One of our amazing fabricators, Chris, has been working on removing any corrosion from the classic limousine. Much like the other side of the car, the team have been focusing on the rear arches, inner arches, sills and front arches. Every time an area is in need of repair, Chris would create handmade patch panels specifically for the area they were needed in recreating much of the sills and inner arches by hand.

Capped – Repairing the Arches and Sills on the 1986 Daimler DS420

The fabrication shop at Bridge Classic Cars have been busy carrying out further metal repairs to the sides of the classic Daimler limousine.

The team are working their way through repairing the inner and outer wheel arches along with extensive repairs to the sills of the car. These have been cut back the area to expose any corrosion which ad begun to run deep into the underside of the car. All of the area was then treated to neutralise any rust issues before the team began to make the various patch pieces needed to rebuild the structure into the car.

Both wheel arches have also been cut out and repaired as part of the work.

Underneath – Repairing the Rear Valance on the 1986 Daimler DS420

The fabrication shop at the Bridge Classic Cars restoration workshop have been continuing to work on the 1986 Daimler DS420 in for restoration.

This time, the team have been handmaking several patch panels to the inner structure of the rear wings which were then plug welded into the body for strength. Then, they could move on to hand making one of the bigger patch panels needed.

This piece runs along the entire bottom edge at the back of the car. From a flat sheet of steel, the team have shaped and tweaked the panel into shape for a direct replacement. Shrinking and stretching the bottom edges to match the curve of the panel. Once in shape, the team could weld and smooth in the end caps which have been completely made by hand by our fabricator Monty.

Then, the whole piece could be test fit to see if any areas needed clearancing the bodywork to accept the new piece.

Going Deeper – Assessing the Rear Wings and Sills of the 1986 Daimler DS420

The fabrication shop at the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk restoration HQ have begun to look deeper into the corrosion on the bottom of the 1986 Daimler DS420.

The fabrication team began by cutting a section of the bottom of the Offside Rear Wing which had corroded on the bottom before removing the outer skin of the wing around the entire arch all the way down to the sill.

At the sill, they have trimmed back the outer sill to expose the inner structure to check for any corrosion or damage to that area.

Repairs – Inspecting and Repairing the Arch and Sill on the 1986 Daimler DS420

The 1986 Daimler DS420 in with Bridge Classic Cars for restoration has been in with our fabrication team to have its arches and sills repaired.

The team have begun the process of stripping back and removing any affected metal to a solid starting point to build out from. The first piece was replacing the wheel arch which had corroded before then moving rearward along the bottom of the classic limousine.

A new handmade patch panel, which was shaped to perfectly match the gentle flair at the bottom of the arch was carefully made and fitted onto the car.

As the team began to inspect and assess the sills of the DS420, they noted the corrosion was quite deep in some areas and would require the area to be repaired and built back up in stages to retain the rigidity of the car.

Working from the rear, the team have begun to cut away any affected areas to gain more access to inspect and repair the sills and channels.

Readied – Priming the Doors of the 1986 Daimler DS420

After their metal repairs were completed by the fabrication shop, the doors for the 1986 Daimler DS420 have been taken into the Bridge Classic Cars paint shop to be primered.

The doors were first thoroughly cleaned down before the team set them onto the door jigs to be sprayed. The first stage is to get the panels into Epoxy Primer to stop any rust from forming on the bare metal doors. These will then go on to be reworked by the team until perfect and keep going through various sanding and priming stages until they’re ready for paint and then reunited with the body.