| Author | Message | ||
     Rodney Peach Frequent User Username: rodney Post Number: 68 Registered: 12-2003 |
Hi All! I am restoring my 1974 corniche contvertible mulliner park ward as we have started to strip down we have come across alot of body filler but its not for accident damage car has had no bangs ! So how come ? can it just be over the years when re sprayed or from the factory they shaped them slightly with filler? Doe's anybody know how they worked the bodywork mulliner park ward? Regards To All | ||
| David Gore Moderator Username: david_gore Post Number: 1338 Registered: 4-2003 |
Hi Rodney, it is my understanding that it was not unknown for the car body to be damaged during assembly or road testing prior to delivery necessitating cosmetic repairs to the body and paintwork or to "smooth out" visible imperfections in the paintwork. If my memory is still correct, the factory build sheets for DRH14434 mentioned several visits at various times to the body shop to fix "problems". | ||
| Rodney Peach Frequent User Username: rodney Post Number: 69 Registered: 12-2003 |
Hi David, This it what I think that filler is there to either shape or sort a problem out! As underneath th filler the bodywork is fine and straght! Its funny I would like to know more how these mulliner park ward were built. Regards Rodney and thanks! | ||
| Bill Coburn Moderator Username: bill_coburn Post Number: 1523 Registered: 4-2003 |
When I was there in 1980 they were lead filling the fronts of the last Shadows to correct profiles. This was necessary as apparently the dies used in the original pressing had worn and the shape was not up to scratch. The process was hazardous given the risk of lead poisoning and required sealed rooms and operators in full respiratory suits and helmets. From my reading, your biggest problem may be the doors which rotted or sagged or both as I remember. There is an illustrated account of the repair which I think even involved re-skinning. | ||
| Rodney Peach Frequent User Username: rodney Post Number: 70 Registered: 12-2003 |
Hi Bill , Thanks for reply ! theres filler at the rear and rear wings underneath the rear windows on the convertible and even along the line in the body work you rub away no bangs ! just seems funny ! as the were bulit by mulliner park ward I was wondering if they got the lines and curves in wings etc bang on by using filler but I don't know much about how they built they bodywork back in 1974 . Regards Rodney | ||
| gordon le feuvre Experienced User Username: triumph Post Number: 19 Registered: 7-2012 |
We repainted a Corniche under warranty (late '70's) as the paint on the swage line had bridged/cracked along sides as the radius was too tight. The fix was to strip to bare metal and run a line of filler along swage using finger as radius gauge! We used stripper instead of DA machine as we thought it would be quicker as the Factory would only allow certain hours for job. It was only when we did this we found out that filler had been used all over the place to obtain correct shape (tops wing etc.) This car had NEVER had any paintwork done after leaving Hythe Rd. The car should have gone back to them, but I was a young and niave manager at time. So yes, they DID use filler!! | ||
| Rodney Peach Frequent User Username: rodney Post Number: 71 Registered: 12-2003 |
Hi Gordon, This was bugging me ! Because no accident damage but filler in places! So this was down to Mulliner Park ward was it? Regards To all  | ||
| David Gore Moderator Username: david_gore Post Number: 1349 Registered: 4-2003 |
Rodney, Perhaps the factory practice of referring to bodies moving through the various assembly stages as "bodies-in-white" now becomes clearer........  . | ||
| gordon le feuvre Experienced User Username: triumph Post Number: 20 Registered: 7-2012 |
I GUESS NO ONE WILL EVER ADMIT THINGS, BUT "OUR" CAR DID HAVE FILLER IN PLACE OF LEAD TO SHAPE THE TOPS WINGS ETC. iT GAVE US ENDLESS GRIEF AS THE PAINT STRIPPER WE USED "SUNK" INTO THE FILLER AND THEN WE HAD TO DA THIS ALL OUT AND THEN FILL /RFESHAPE TO GET BACK TO WHERE WE STARTED FROM. THE FACTORY DID NOT GIVE US ANY EXTRA HOURS TP DO THIS EITHER!!!  | ||
| Brian Vogel Grand Master Username: guyslp Post Number: 669 Registered: 6-2009 |
Personally, I don't know why the idea that the filler was used to "perfect" certain small imperfections is at all surprising. It's even less surprising by the time the mid-1970s and the financial troubles that came with them hit Rolls-Royce. Now that I've owned two late SY-II cars, the second of which was virtually unmolested in any way, I've been thoroughly disabused of the notion that Rolls-Royce was "above doing" what many other automobile manufacturers do as a matter of course. Even though I love both my cars I have said repeatedly that there are things that Rolls-Royce did that I would not have accepted on a Chevrolet of the same era. In my opinion Rolls-Royce survived on the mystique and cachet of its name far more than the absolute quality of its product through the 1970s until the end of the SZ series. That doesn't mean that the materials used were not some of the finest, but the execution, particularly of things invisible, was heavily subject to "shortcuts." Brian | ||
| Jan Forrest Grand Master Username: got_one Post Number: 519 Registered: 1-2008 |
I have to agree with Brian. When I removed the beautifully figured wood dashboard from The Old Girl I was shocked to see the 'quality' of the wood work behind the veneer. Bits of mismatched plywood lashed together in a manner I wouldn't accept in my kitchen - even as a DIY project! | ||
| gordon le feuvre Experienced User Username: triumph Post Number: 21 Registered: 7-2012 |
What did surprise me is that the filler was used to shape the wing tops, define wing/door gaps. We did this on daily basis in our bodyshop, but at time thought R-R used lead only. That does not mean I am not in awe of R-R, it has been good to me over my career. I love driving my unmolested '73 Corniche fixed head that I did the P.D.I check on when new. Time warp or what! | ||
| Randy Roberson Prolific User Username: wascator Post Number: 166 Registered: 5-2009 |
I have the original Factory records for my 1970 Car, SRH9391. Among the interesting parts was the inspection reports: it was sent back to the paint shop for corrections, including partial resprays and polishing, 4 times. From what I have read and learned while studying Rolls-Royce, they had to do a lot of things "the hard way" back in the 1970s, that modern automakers, although mass-producing relatively cheap cars, accomplish via quality, high-tech tools and processes today. Among these items was using filler "skim coats" to correct body panels and panel fits, et al. For this reason I suggest being careful in preparing a Car for refinishing: why take off all the original panel and fit correction, and end up either having to put it back, or painting a Car which does not have the fits and panels right? Save the original as much as possible, if one is not prepared for what chemical stripper might do. This seems to be one reason for the repeated application and flatting of primer and paint: correct different flaws. They just worked until they got it right (or at least past the inspectors). The end product was pretty nice for the day, and of course the Car was always exclusive, but many fairly common cars today have much better panel quality and fit as a matter of course (4 mm panel gaps, mass-produced!). I enjoy my Car but I am not in awe of it, technically speaking; only style-wise and as a cultural icon of the 20th century. | ||
| richard george yeaman Prolific User Username: richyrich Post Number: 143 Registered: 4-2012 |
In the late seventies I was buying and selling damaged repairable cars mainly ex rental cars. one car I remember well was a mark three Cortina powder blue in colour it had a blemish near the front of the Bonnet/Hood turned out to be filler that had been put on with some ones finger or thumb it hadn't been rubbed down, Been painted, And still had that persons FINGER PRINT still there, Wouldn't happen on a RR or B (would it). Richard. |
