#81 Problems!!!

[pjkaiser]

For those of you that have gone through this before, I thought I would give you an update of what was found.   This car was entirely covered with over 1/4" of Bondo, with many plates underneath holding the body together.  In some places, the Bondo was over 1/2" thick.   When all the Bondo had been removed, you can see by the pictures what was left - gaping holes, gouges, and whole pieces missing.     I am fortunate to have The Department of Customz doing my repairs, they know what needs to be done with fiberglass and how to repair these problems correctly.   The body will be solid and strong when they are done.    I will send more pictures as more is exposed and as we progress!!!

[joefrazer]

Its amazing what was hidden beneath layers of Bondo and paint. Keep us informed of your progress!

[pjkaiser]

I believe the car was in an accident and quickly and cheaply put back together to sell.   It took a really good picture.   There are 3 metal plates in the front of the car by the grille, the one on the right front fender (the one in the picture and three plates in the back and one inside the right rear fender that holds no fiberglass.   I will take a picture of that when it is removed.

[pjkaiser]

He didn't know, he purchased the car in Pennsylvania in 1974 already repaired and looking good.    The people he purchased it from were the ones who had the work done.    Then it just sat for the next 38 years until I purchased it.

[pjkaiser]

Ok, got one of the doors off today, the drivers side.   Are these handles supposed to be brazed on?  Both sides are like this.   Also, the slides are pretty much ok but the sliders are brass rollers.   I thought they were supposed to have plastic inside the slides.   The doors were not on very well.    Are new/used door handles available at all??

This car was definitely painted Kaiser Blue over the Yellow before being painted Red.

[DTort96646]

May I suggest you find some copies of the door mechanism and door latch diagrams. You have an early car, so the Darrin parts list would show what you vehicle was built with before any factory revisions were made. Source maybe Ebay or Darrin registry or club member? The handles were not brazed on and the slides were nylon(self lubricating), replacements are delryn (longer lasting, self lubricating). Slides are aluminum channel. Door handles face,  for debate or personal preference.

[darrin502]

Bob Adams in Scottsdale has door handles. The door hard ware should come through  where the brazing was done and a round spacer with a square hole in it goes over the square shaft from the door handle shaft then a cotter pin holds it together. On the handle side the shaft goes through the door handle escutcheon then a round pin goes through the door handle through the shaft. 
It is definitely a bit tricky. There are door hardware diagrams out there. 
Good hardware will be hard to find.

[pjkaiser]

how can I get one to use on a spectrometer???   I will return it.

[darrin502]

The old paint chips fade after that many years. I think Bob Adams has the color codes. Rudy Phillips may have them too.

[DTort96646]

Here are the PPG mixing formulas for acrylic lacquer. My Darrin is yellow satin and painted with the mix from this chart. The top and upholstery match the paint perfectly. Any PPG platinum dealer or quality paint shop can mix your color from these formulas. Note these are acrylic lacquer formulas. Some shops cannot or will not use lacquer because of EPA restrictions.  I have also included Rinshed-Mason formulas K-W bulletin 222. These formulas are for nitro cellulose lacquer that is almost impossible to get, but included for your information.

[joefrazer]

And, here are door gut scans.

[joefrazer]

A couple more scans that may be of help.

[darrin502]

Some of the door plans are of the original door hard ware which was changed early in the production and retrofitted at the dealer. The first diagram is correct.

[joefrazer]

Found this today...it's instructions around how to assemble a Darrin door. It's dated June of 1954 so it must be for the later production cars, or those retrofitted with the later hardware.

Interestingly, it does mention that when using this assembly method, the door handle will face the rear of the car. Just speculating, but this may be where the decision was made to do so since I've not seen any mention of handle direction prior to this.

[pjkaiser]

This is all good stuff, thanks.

I have borrowed an original paint chip from a former member who owns a Darrin.   The color "Red Sail" looks more maroon than red.  You can really tell the difference on a paint chip with all the red colors.    I can't seem to get a return call from Larry Barker, in Phoenix, I have left two messages.   Anyone know his address, as I will be in the Phoenix area later next week???   Also, is there a Dean Livermore in the Phoenix area as well.    I don't have a club roster so I can't look anyone up. 

How do I get a club roster, if they are available?

It looks like my restoration shop, Dept. of Customz, is going to make a mold of the front and rear ends, since no one has any.   The Fiberglass is so poor and broken up, it would be cheaper to do that then try to repair it.    They will then have it available if someone is in need of it for restoration or if someone wants a front clip to hang on a wall.