Replacement of four doors - 6.9

[Styria]

Probably for the last four to five years, I have had on hand four replacement doors for Gleaming Beauty. I knew that rust was starting to be a problem with her as I had no under cover parking facilities for the last ten years - since she had been re-sprayed in the MB877 Petrol Blue - should really be green. At the time, the doors were completely stripped of all internals and fittings, the inner and upper sections were repainted and cleared with the Petrol colour, the outsides were high filled and guide coated and hung up for future use. The following picture shows two of the doors after Jerry had rubbed back the high filler, and carried out some minor repairs.




He hadn't been particularly happy with having to accept the standard of finish of the 2-pack Petrol sections that had already been painted, so a new coat was applied to all of the doors (the inner sections)...



...and honestly, it is difficult to fault new paint and new clear. I am sure you will agree.

I then turned my attention to the four doors that I had removed from Gleaming Beauty prior to her being flat-bedded to Michel's premises at Prestons. Dismantling ALL components from the doors took just on about eight hours. All rubber door seals had needed to be removed gently without tears or damage, and I used INOX to provide some lubrication in freeing the rubbers from the channel sections. These are some of my observations:

1) No wonder doors are afflicted by our friend rust - to have a fixed channel on the bottom that the rubber fits into is a sure fire way for rust to start without being aware of it - it was of no help that I had rust proofed the door internals on previous occasions...





Ideally speaking, the lower mst part of the rubber seal should be partially removed in order to clean out and rust proof the channel and then refitting the rubber. Never mind the drain holes, even if they are unclogged and clear, rust still forms in that lower channel and eventually finds its way to the outside of the doors by way of rust bubbles.

2) Contrary to opinions expressed on other occasions (and/or forums), the alloy strips around the window apertures can be removed with gentle and judicious leverage - usually they are secured by two small self tappers.

3) Window Regulators - at long last, I am able to produce a photo of an after market Regulator that had been fitted to Gleaming Beauty's front passenger door back in 2001 - with the courtesy of Ofentenay's 6.9 and its previous owner. Unlike original (gear driven), it is cable operated, utterly efficient and complete replacements are available at about $280.00 - that includes the electric motor and everything (not fitting !). Compare that with about, is it $600 ?, for the genuine item (WITHOUT motor) and it starts to make sense - how many of you have painfully slow moving windows ?





4) Regarding the Regulators for the rear doors - quite frankly, I am astounded at their apparent longevity record . The amount of distortion in the base plate, and the angle of the operating lever, are nothing short of unbelievable - don't know how they can last for as long as they do.

5) Jerry also insisted that all door apertures be re-sprayed, and to this end he carefully rubbed back all areas prior to painting. The doors were not refitted until the rest of the car had been prepared for painting.



More to follow in due course. Regards Styria

 

[Lukas]

Looks good so far Styria - that is some rust in those doors. Curse of living in Sydney I imagine.

 

[Oversize]

Hi all,

I'll have to be careful, otherwise I'll spend more time reading posts & posting my own than working on (or driving) my cars!

After 30 odd years it'd be rare to find doors that don't have at least some rust, particularly if a car has been left out in the weather, or kept near the coast. And if the sunroof drains block up, it'll rust through the roof & the whole car will be ruined in no time. Thus a collectable car becomes financially untenable and unless there's sentimental reasons to soldier on, turns into simply a collection of spare parts... Unfortunately this has happened to many good vehicles and it seems that as their book value drops, so does the owner's care factor.

Two of the 6.9s I own were rescued from a horrible fate, grovelling on the ground in Melbourne's four seasons in one day weather. If you don't have a garage, buy a good tarp & some octopus straps (they're not that dear)!

Styria I was wondering how the factory painted the jambs & doors thoroughly without damaging the paint around the hinges & bolts. I'd imagine if you bolt the doors on after painting, the socket will damage the paint on the bolts & make it obvious they've been removed. Obviously I'm not a painter, but I'd imagine this'd be a problem on all removable panels & I'm not sure how it could be avoided. If painted with the doors already fitted, there'll be many areas that cannot be painted thoroughly, without removing the front guards first. And then you'll have the same problem with the bolts that mount on the guards....

If there's any electricals in the doors that need a good ground, you may have issues with the paint underneath the hinges.

And I've always wondered how to hang a door properly without binding. It might be easier with the seals removed.

 

[Styria]

Hi Lukas, I guess Sydney's weather wouldn't help, plus the ten years of open air parking.I would go back to questioning the design of the rubber retaining channel - I have my doubts if you'd find a similar design in today's modern cars. Forty years on, and car design is a different ball game. Regards Styria

 

[Tony66_au]

If you don't have a garage, buy a good tarp & some octopus straps (they're not that dear)!

Sorry for being off topic here but Mark Ive got to disagree with you mate, Cars breathe and with a tarp and whatever you hold it down with they cant do that any more.

How many cars have you looked at that have mold and mildew on the steering wheel and upholstery?

Ive seen plenty and I always walk away because it usually means its been tarped trapping in moisture which often condenses on the inside of the roof turret and then dribbles down the A, B, and C pillars causing rust and electrical issues.

If you cant garage the car my suggestion is to build a sand pad to park the car on (Packing sand is $20 to $25 a cubic meter) as grass "wicks" moisture to the floorpan and then park the car in an area not too shaded.

During hot weather crack the windows or open them up and start and run the car every few weeks taking it for a drive if possible.

I also avoid car washes (No names no pack drill lol) as they use an alkaloid wash which is difficult to rinse off and turns any dust or dirt that is trapped into a caustic paste rapidly accelerating the destruction of your car.

An example is a 56 Silver cloud I had for a while, immaculate and near concourse for a working vehicle which was sold to change the fleet a bit.

I saw it 12 months later with rust bubbles galore actually at a carwash being abused, Stopped and said hi and copped an earfull over the supposed piece of junk Id "Sold" him (Even though he had a RR expert pre purchase inspect the car).

If you really want to keep them under cover then there are a lot of car tents that do the job with small modifications and a few sandbags.

BTW, Tarps also Damage paint thru abrasion and on contact with paint ESPECIALLY the Poly Tarps.

Cheers,
Tony

 

[Oversize]

Hi Tony,

Yes I agree that tarps have their limitations & would only be suitable for a short time on vehicles that need repainting anyway. It's a compromise bw a mould haven & letting water get in through leaking sunroofs, windscreen seals, weather seals & all manner of places. To a car enthusiast water is the biggest enemy (unless it's in the cooling system, or washer bottle)!

I had a nasty experience with a temporary pergola that turned out to be very temporary & ended up on the neighbour's roof in a storm! Won't be doing that again... Even a carport allows more dust to settle on a vehicle than I'd ever expected. Basically no substitute for a garage!!

I'm only renting at the moment & my next place will have acreage with a decent shed... Particularly when the missus buys another car (we'll have a different one for every day of the week)!!

 

[SEL_69L]

I am a car detailer with a major motor group.

When it comes to washing my cars, I do not use shampoos or alkaloid cleaners. All I use on the 6.9 is the water blaster, chamois and spraypainter's clay. I have access to two very different paint protection systems, and I use them both. I do not polish any of my cars. The paint protection is sufficient.

With a 30 year old 6.9, it can be dodgy to risk a 3000 psi water blaster over the engine below the bonnet. I hav'nt enough nerve to try it! Just a gentle hosing with a solvent based engine cleaner should be all that is needed, hopefully. I do use a water blaster in the wheel wells, under the engine and gearbox.

If you can't get paint protection like I can, a good quality polish is fine, just apply it every 6 months to keep the paint sealed. Use spraypainter's clay before polish, if required.

The paint protection I use in combination has the comined effect of sealing the paint like a polish, and so prevents paint oxidation and an ultraviolet block which also helps prevent paint oxidation.

Nevertheless, the single most important thing you can do to prevent deterioration to bodywork generally is the garage the beast. Fortunately my garage is like the Arizona Desert, where they park old planes to prevent deterioration. It is almost always bone dry.

 

[Tony66_au]

Might be worth carving this off to a separate thread, theres some good oil in here.

 

[Styria]

Tony, I think we can leave it as is. With such diversity to deal with, it is not surprising that discussions can become a little off-topic. I don't have a problem with that.

Mark, regarding the painting of the four doors and all of the four door apertures, initially I had been reluctant to respray the aperures on account of the work involved and the cost associated with it. I had felt that with the insides and the top sections of the doors having already been sprayed, that it was prudent just to hang them and maybe put up with unsightly rear of front guard and A pillar sections. Luckily, neither Michel nor Jerry wanted a bar of that. So all sections were sprayed beforehand (looking nice and shiny) and we then just hung the four doors. That turned out to be relatively easy (surprisingly), but the left front is still defying a one hour effort to position it correctly. The bolts had been sprayed prior to usage and fitting of the doors, and there is some slight chipping of paint around the bolt heads that can be brush touched.






SOME IDEA OF THE TWO TONE ARRANGEMENT ! For a long time now, I have advocated that 6.9s needed, or should have had some body styling/paint differences to set it aside from its other sister models. Sure, the mechanicals were different (as we know), and that may have suited new car purchasers at the time. Remember the initial Volvo T5 Station Wagons - all turbo charged, 5 cylinder rocket ships and all painted yellow ! So when you saw one in that colour (not that there were that many), you knew it was the front tyre scrubbing, scrabbling T5 - no traction control available then. So this time I decided to practice what I have been preaching. Believe me, it was not easy, and I am still uncertain whether or not my experiment has paid off.





If nothing else, the choice is discreet and at times almost imperceptible. Sorry about the quality of pics, all taken with my i-Phone. There will be better pictures to follow in due course. Regards Styria

 

[Tony66_au]

No doubt about the colour scheme, ITS GORGEOUS!

 

[BenzBoy]

The colour scheme certainly looks attractive and the differecne between the two colours is distinct without being excessive. In fact one might call it subtle. Will this mean your super-bling wheels will be changed?
Regards,
Benz-Boy

 

[Styria]

Hi BenzBoy, for the benefit of others, I am showing the rims you are referring to.



Quite honestly, as far as after market and 'bing' wheels are concerned, I tend to think that these 18" Speedy Wheels are fairly conservative and well proportioned. I know that not everyone likes them, nor would they approve of the duo tone colour scheme, but that is what I have and mentally I need to make the most. Mind you, if they were 20" full and huge chrome shinies, I'd worry but that is not the type that I would fit to Gleaming Beauty, but with these, I'd go so far asw to say that they have been one of the more attractive visual aspects of the car. Regards Styria

 

[Michel]

I can only concur on the quality of work and the preparation done by Styria in terms of taking the doors apart and of the car.

 

[Damo]

I like the colour and the paint job michael

damien

 

[Styria]

It's uncanny that I have just come across this thread in view of the fact that just yesterday I posted details of chrome Bundts fitted to Gleaming Beauty as part of a recommissioning process that I am undertaking. I can in all honesty say that the ride, even with the Super Heavy Speedys, is totally acceptable - in fact probably a little bit like an Air Suspension 6.3, but still comfortable and certainly surefooted. It is a long time since GB had been fitted with the conventional Alloys, but I did not think that there was anything particularly remarkable as far as ride comfort and handling were concerned. It will indeed be interesting how GB will react to the Balloon proportioned 215.70.14 B.F.Goodrich Supertown (s) manufactured in...wait for it, Columbia. They are very impressive looking with a fairly coarse thread. Regards Styria

N.B. I have just spotted these very same tyres, but in 15", advertised on ebay by Tempe Tyres.

BF GOODRICH Radial T/A 215/70R15 97S 215 70 15 Tyre | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for BF GOODRICH Radial T/A 215/70R15 97S 215 70 15 Tyre at the best online prices at eBay!

www.ebay.com.au

 

[Oversize]

I wouldn’t imagine those tyres would be great on wet roads. But it’s good that size is available. Of note is if the profile is the same the rolling diameter will be different. I’ll have to check my references to see if the 15s are still within the limit that won’t affect the speedo.

Ive been collecting good Aussie doors to combat the rust issue & they have the huge benefit of side intrusion bars which was a sticking point when trying to get a RWC for the grey imports.

 

[Styria]

Mark, how uncanny is your observation in regards to handling properties with those B.F.s fitted to Gleaming Beauty. I never bothered to check the date of manufacture as there is plenty of good thread on the tyres and they were, as luck would have it, the correct 6.9 size tyres. During the last three days, I have driven GB on roads somewhat wet/half dry from rain Sydney has experienced over the last few days. At one stage, take off from lights and going uphill resulted in wheelspin on a VERY light throttle, and accelerating out from a Round About again made the tyres chirp again on moderate throttle opening. I have adjusted my driving to compensate for the lack of grip from the tyres on a moist road surface. Regards Styria

 

[c107]

Mark, how uncanny is your observation in regards to handling properties with those B.F.s fitted to Gleaming Beauty. I never bothered to check the date of manufacture as there is plenty of good thread on the tyres and they were, as luck would have it, the correct 6.9 size tyres. During the last three days, I have driven GB on roads somewhat wet/half dry from rain Sydney has experienced over the last few days. At one stage, take off from lights and going uphill resulted in wheelspin on a VERY light throttle, and accelerating out from a Round About again made the tyres chirp again on moderate throttle opening. I have adjusted my driving to compensate for the lack of grip from the tyres on a moist road surface. Regards Styria

I would strongly encourage you to check the age. Tyres over 8 years old get hard and lose their grip - they become seriously unsafe and modern synthetic rubber compounds are far worse with this. Having experienced a few cars with old tyres it’s my view that annual roadworthy checks should inspect this and fail cars with aged tyres. Far more unsafe than some tread wear.

 

[Michel]

I would strongly encourage you to check the age. Tyres over 8 years old get hard and lose their grip - they become seriously unsafe and modern synthetic rubber compounds are far worse with this. Having experienced a few cars with old tyres it’s my view that annual roadworthy checks should inspect this and fail cars with aged tyres. Far more unsafe than some tread wear.

A lot of garages check tyres for age and fail cars if they are 7 years or older.

 

[Styria]

My friends, I hear and read what you are saying. Certainly no arguments from me. I will just see what action I will take in due course. Regards Styria