Technical Replacing A-Pillar

[francisco83]

Hi All,

I am new to the site. I recently acquired a Fiat 500F and I am fully restoring it from the ground up. I am seeking help relating to the technical aspects to replacing the A-pillar. I am planning to cut out the a-pillar and weld a replacement part. I have already gotten the A-Pillar replacement from Ricambio (London), but before starting to cut, I am looking for some guidance from someone with prior experience doing this. This car was built around the doors and this is probably the most critical modification one can attempt, so I want to make sure I get it right before attempting it.

See below a couple of pictures of the restoration and on the a-pillar in specific. Thank you in advance for any help!!

 

[fiat500]

Are you replacing the supporting part that has the tapped nuts for the door hinges?

 

[francisco83]

I am actually replacing all of it, the supporting panel with the bolt thread, the a-pillar panel (one that goes on top of the mentioned) and the inner a-pillar panel. From the picture they are all in pretty bad shape.

 

[fiat500]

I am actually replacing all of it, the supporting panel with the bolt thread, the a-pillar panel (one that goes on top of the mentioned) and the inner a-pillar panel. From the picture they are all in pretty bad shape.

That will indeed be quite a challenge. I have experience of cutting back the base of that area and replacing some fairly large and complex parts of it, but I'm not sure where I would start for completely replacing the inner support with the hinge tappings.
Generally, when doing something complex on the body work I recommend not completely stripping out all of the rot in one go. If you can trust that those corroded panels are at least located correctly, it might be best to try to tack in one of your replacement items, and to use it as a guide for the other.
It looks like that area has been through a lot of quick-fix repairs already, so your door and panels might have been poorly aligned already. If that is the case, the job is going to be a lot harder, but on the plus side, you can't make it worse.
Good luck, and keep us posted.

 

[MalcolmfromMoffat]

Front wing off first I’d say. Then some pictures of new panel and the area it’ll need fitted to.

Is the new panel a pattern part?

 

[fiat500]

Front wing off first I’d say. Then some pictures of new panel and the area it’ll need fitted to.

Is the new panel a pattern part?

...maybe just cut across to expose things, but leave as much of it as you can, still attached to the wheelarch, scuttle, and front panel.