Best Botches, Bodges and Balls-Ups.

[HS30-H]

Inspired by a couple of recent posts on the Bring-A-Trailer thread, here's a thread to show some of the 'It wasn't me' type beastliness inflicted on cars by previous owners or their paid minions. I think we've all seen them.

To get the ball rolling, I present to the jury this absolutely arcane replacement fuel filler arrangement on a 1970 car. I had been asked to perform an inspection and appraisal of the car for its new (and somewhat green) owner before he commissioned a restoration by a specialist here in the UK. Being an early Japanese market variant with a low production volume, a second opinion was being sought and I was happy to oblige. Lots (lots!) wrong with the car, and this particular example was not even the worst of it.

A used rear quarter (in fact, totally the wrong type for the production year of the car...) had been attached but it must have somehow been supplied without its original fuel filler 'box', prompting the attachment of something from an entirely different vehicle (answers on a postcard please) and some mind-bendingly arcane domino-effect er, 'fabrication'.....

I'll let the photos speak for themselves, but just add that the latching mechanism (look closely) was verging on 'field repair' genius...

 

[HS30-H]

Rubber-bonded Harmonic Dampers get old, the bonding can perish and - worst case scenario - the outer ring makes a bid for freedom.

No problem! Just break out the white Tipp-Ex correction fluid and paint some new timing marks on what's left. What can possibly go wrong?!

[HS30-H]

Car needs a replacement rear quarter? Well, make sure you follow the old maxim; Measure Once And Cut Twice...

Or was it the other way around...? Anyway, make sure to do the same on both sides.

 

Edited August 1, 2023 by HS30-H
M O C T!

[HS30-H]

But if, by some twist of cruel fate, you end up needing to hide some of these small errors of judgement, you can rely on the wonders of modern polyester fillers to get you out of the hole (so to speak...).

The same guy who did your welding is pretty good at this sort of stuff. He's pretty handy with the spray gun too. It'll be all but undetectable. Trust me.

 

[Patcon]

Got to imagine there are all kinds of nasty surprises on a car like that!

[HS30-H]

More tea, Vicar?

After you've welded on those used rear quarters, Frankenstein style. you might find a few unsightly gaps need filling.

We have just the product you need! No Nonsense expanding foam fills the space lacking in your integrity as well as in your car...

[HS30-H]

These cans are quite large, so you should have enough to do BOTH sides:

 

[HS30-H]

Some holes are too big for No Nonsense foam, so when you fit a complete impact-bumper type rear panel on your 1970 production-dated model you'll just have to put up with some nonsense like this:

 

[RIP260Z]

On 8/3/2023 at 10:06 AM, HS30-H said:

No Nonsense expanding foam

 

So the thread is balanced, other brands are available!

[HS30-H]

1 hour ago, RIP260Z said:

 

So the thread is balanced, other brands are available!

Important that any self-respecting botcher and bodger uses the very cheapest and most unsuitable material for the job, of course 😉

 

[HS30-H]

Same car. Tunnel and floor. Assorted strange patch welding, fibreglassing and a mixture of brush painting and spray painting. Flash sometimes making #918 look like #920.

Nice attention to detail. If it doesn't move, paint it

:

 

[HS30-H]

Aha! It was originally a #905 Red car: