Body works continue … the trunk floor of the sedan is rusty, we knew that. So the bottom of it will be rebuilt from scratch. As the cargo door is very pickup-specific, we will use it. Also the bumper of the Pick-up is much lower than the one from the sedan.

The rusty rear cross bar I could source as NOS, but the green wire will be replaced with an orange one ;-)))

The Pick-Up parts came back from sandblasting. Not too good as we expected, but doable. After a chat with Timo it turned out that the back of the passenger wall and the cargo door are more tricky than it looks. Lots and lots of dents and there must have been severe damage to the rear end. Lots and lots of tin used, many many little sheets of metal for repair ... and so on and so forth. Why should it ever get easier?

Well I'm SOOO lucky to have someone like Timo who takes on such a job. With all the setbacks so far, it feels like the lottery win with him.

So Timo is still busy repairing the rusty parts of the sedan. Before the (ex-) rear bench, there were some tricky spots to be repaired. As you can see on the photos, he's done a perfect job, also putting the nuts in the correct place again.

The trunk floor was rusty, we knew that. As this will be hidden in the future due to the cargo area, this can be fixed in a more easier way. I could source the rear cross-bar in Holland, so at least that can be used as a reference.

This is the advertising section for the fantastic work of Timo ;-) :

He continued with the cargo area support. Those profiles are self-made, must stronger than the original … and look at the detail, how they are connected. I guess it's finally time to call the body works of this Pick-Up better than original!

Director's Cut (to quote Timo) ;-)

Again fantastic progress from Timo: The Pick-Up (ute) takes shape! Not welded yet, but the roof is taken off, rear passenger wall fits in … just enjoy the pics!

Timo could save some original parts from the Pick-Up and had them sandblasted. They were in a reasonble condition, so they can be used.

The roof's off now, the car didn't fall into pieces ;-) … so works can continue! Again, but it cannot be mentioned often enough, a great job and I'm very happy, that Timo does it so thoroughly!

Timo continued his great work with the rear cabin wall. As the bottom 30cms were completely rotten, he made a perfect sheet of metal himself. Fits perfectly and looks great!

The rear cabin wall is in place now, not welded yet but it looks good. The gap to the doors is perfect and the long, detailed work of Timo pays off now. Or to quote him: "It's like eating an elephant, bit by bit" ;-)

Timo is working hard on rebuilding the cargo area and it is taking shape! Those fantastic cargo floor panels, especially manufactured from a local company, are cut to size now. They're not fixed or finished, but it gives me a really good picture of how it will look like. Thanks again to Timo for this fantastic work!

I guess we're now > 130 single metal sheets made from scratch by hand. The cargo door will be - more or less - rebuilt completely new too, see the pics. It's just put up there for design purposes. Timo is putting a huge effort into this, nobody - I guess including him - would have imagined the amount of work for this transition.

To give you another impression of the massive amount of work that has to be done: The original reinforcements in the rear fenders were so rotten and bent, that they had to be redone. Of course not straight, but it has to follow the car's shape. To quote Timo (to me that's magic):

"This is done to bent the profile the correct way. The profile should be following the sideline of the car, which is straight till rear wheels then it bents inward quite strongly. After changing few bits (one meter) of the profile it was too straight. So welding a dot will shrink the surrounding metal some tenths of a millimeter... so this is the way to bent the beam controlled way. If you check it closely the dots are mainly on the inside of the profile also the amount is changing along it."

Timo continues on the b-pillar and the rear doors. As the original pick-up sheets were so bad, we use the rear door sheets. Of course additional sheets have to be handmade to fill the gaps. Also the bottom of the b-pillar is a challenge (original too rotten again), so more sheets have to be made. At the moment the estimate is > 200 sheets to be made.

Timo sent me two pics today from "hand-restored" original cargo door hinges from the Argentine Pick-Up ... even those elements were produced locally. Absolutely amazing ... another "original part that could be saved.

Lots and lots of details have been done so far ... it's just difficult to see all those details. But as the rear fender reinforcement is now properly in place, Timo continued with the outside of the rear doors ... still held by magnets, but you get the picture. Can't wait to have the car back ;-)

Here's just another example why all this is complicated and takes a lot of hours. The license plate holder on the cargo door should be rebuilt properly as it is one key element of the design. However it is in bad condition (no surprise) and not that easy to rebuild. When the cargo door is closed it should be fixed upright and when you open the cargo door it should fold down, so it can be seen too.

The mechanism is totally rusted and fucked up. There's a spring bolt, that fixes the license plate holder in those two positions ... Timo will rebuild it to the original ... estimated hours: 15 (!).

Still a lot of effort and hours on the body works. Here's some examples of the cargo floor panels. It wasn't just having the profiles done ... it has to fit the cargo area and the ends should look like original. Imho great work and I'm looking forward to the finished panels.

Timo is making a lot of fantastic progress these days. The rear doors are welded in (looks great) and he's working on the cargo door frame. He found out, that just on one side, there's about 2kgs of lead on top ... needs to be removed. The other side is done "free-hand", so it doesn't fit at all (compared to the rear lights). So more stuff has to be done from scratch.

Lot of progress last week; the rear area takes shape. Lots and lots of hand-made little sheets to fit the rear lights perfectly into the orginal cargo door frame.

To give you another impression, what amazing amount of work is involved here ... the spare wheel compartment. One thinks, well that's there in the sedan too ... well yes and no. Here's just one of more than 200 examples of hand-made sheets of metal to fit nicely in the spare wheel compartment. Of course the cargo area is a bit higher, so this had to be done from scratch too ... the original being completely rotten.

Another episode: the spare wheel compartment was designed for wheels 185/15 ... as you see on the photos, the 205/15 just about fit, but already with 215/15 I would have a problem ... just lucky this time ;-)

The cargo covers are in place provisionally ... imho it looks very good. The vertical ones on the side are still the original ones, the bottom ones are new. All hand-made according to the originals, even the profile ends have the original 45° angle.

Contrary to the original (tapping screws) those cargo covers will be fixed with proper screws and thread rivets, so it is easier - and longer lasting - to remove. Especially as the battery will be underneath those covers. Another detail, that requires skill and time.

When you think, you've detected all rust ... the body is with sandblasting, so the doors could be examined. After removing the last rubbers ... voilà, some rust on the driver's door. At least it doesn't get boring. The passenger's door (right side) had an accident in the past, we knew that. However it was obviously an American machine gun repair ;-) ... lots and lots of little holes. Unfortunately, lots of filler, so Timo will restore the door. This door is - otherwise - completely rust-free. He just wanted to make sure, that the paint doesn't crack in a few years time ...

... think twice! I wanted to have all undercoating removed, Timo agreed. So this stuff was really resistant, didn't want to come off ... so it was nearly 2,000 Euros for sandblasting and epoxy paint (and 500kgs of sand).

BUT, big but, what if we hadn't done it? We really thought, all rust was tackled, but no. Lots and lots of small rust holes all around under the undercoating (just remember, the donor car IS really good!). And a major hole where the cross bracket of the passenger's seat is located. I could source that cross bracket now (NOS), so it makes life easier for Timo. "Again what learned" as we say in German ;-)

Timo has started repairing the rust areas, which became apparent after sandblasting. Already in 2017 I could source two original floors (left/right) from Mercedes; they were shipped with the cars to Timo. We thought, we don't need them ... well, now it's good to have them ;-). They aren't available anymore, so big parts of the floor can be replaced with original parts now. The rusted cross bar under the passenger seat (rusted from inside) I could source as NOS (one piece only!) as well ... it's on its way to Finland. Now it's christmas and we're all having a break!

Today I want to show you something really awesome ... Timo has made it: The rear bumper brackets were rotten and bent (is it a surprise?), so making them by hand from sheet metal would have been a huge effort.

Timo designed those rear brackets in 3D, the program automatically produces a "flattened" version, so a laser cutter can produce that part and it only has to be bent. Less effort (and money) and - for sure - more sturdy than the original!

Repairs after sandblasting continue ... part of the original floors I sourced in 2017 (!) are now welded in. It turned out to be a general rule for me: buy parts as long as they're still available! I got so many parts in 2017/2018 which aren't available anymore at Mercedes ... so it was a good investment.

Timo also continues at the back end; "as usual" everything was so rotten and bent (must have had several accidents), that he has to do it from scratch. Together with the bumper brackets that part should be more sturdy than original!!!

The outside of the cargo door had to be done from scratch, as - due to many accidents - the original could not be rescued. The shape was quite tricky, especially the "dent" for the license plate holder. This recessed part is actually original.

As Timo was reluctant to do it himself, he asked an old friend to do it for him. "old" has a double meaning here; he refers to him as "the guy with JUST 60 years experience of panel beating" ;-) ... so imho this looks really good!

It's hard to believe - after nearly two years - that the final body works started. Finishing the rear end corners, grinding, cargo covers and a few other bits and pieces. At -24°C it's hard work ;-) ...

Luckily we found a paint shop now, who is able to start on this car in March. It's quite a challenge to paint this. For example, the long rear fenders are tricky to get done properly and in the end you're painting nearly two cars. Why? There are just much more visible areas than in a "normal" car, i. e. the cargo covers, the cargo side walls, the rear cabin wall (inside and outside) and the motor area should be "nice" too, as the V8 will be quite prominent there. Let's cross fingers!

Quite some progress on the body works front. The cargo covers are welded and Timo managed to make them completely removable. Contrary to the original, where certain corners were permanently welded in place; quite a practical option ... so thanks for that! The passenger door is being repaired and the rear end is close to being finished. There's also first ideas how to fix the tonneau cover behind the passenger cabin ... stay tuned!

As the painter will start next week, the finishing works on the Pick-Up are progressing! Timo has designed himself some stainless steel brackets for the rear bumpers. The bending was done on a modern CNC-controlled machine (see photo ... I like the use of these old tools) ;-) ... imho it gives it a great touch! I guess, when this car ever rusts, the rear bumpers will fall off last!

Also the fastening of the cargo covers progresses ... first rivets are in place; as mentioned before, the cargo covers will be held by threaded screws instead of tapping screws.

According to Timo it was quite tricky to fit those rear bumper brackets in a way, that the bumpers are centered and straight. I think it looks fantastic with the old Pick-Up bumper test fitted. Hopefully soon the first pictures of painted parts will be posted!

The swivelling license plate holder was made out of aluminium, but badly damaged and with a lot of holes. Rewelding the aluminium turned out to be impossible, so Timo actually rebuilt a 100% copy himself. Completely original, made out of aluminium ... hats off to that work!

The license plate holder was not only built from scratch, the mechanism is "new" (but original) too. It has to be fixed in two positions: when the cargo door is closed and - 90° - if it is open. The holder shouldn't swerve around, so Timo rebuilt the complete mechanism. Inside the cargo door additional reinforcements are installed, so that the forces on the outside sheet metal are reduced. Holes for the license plate and the lights are done too, I'm impressed with his works!