Joined
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149 Posts
this is my worklog of the (as far as i know) a full restoration of a 156 V6.
as a base i used a empty chassis (the shell itself has done about 15k miles in it's entire life.) that was FULLY stripped of all undercoating and modified by a expert that welded all the useless holes shut like the ones on the floor underneath the seats. loads of other small modifications were made to prevent future problems like the roof antenna hole that was welded shut.
after that the chassis had a full respray (including interior) and the underside was coated with a brand new (and thick) layer of that black goo.
after that the chassis was brought to a company that coverd the entire innards of the body with a dinitrol treament (the mess was unbelievable
)
![]()
![]()
![]()
the front wheel is a bit "off" because we utilised a reas suspention and put it in the front
then i found >in germany< a donor car: a full options 2.5V6 that had a bonnet-related-issue on the autobahn and had been sitting in the back of a lot for about 8 months with the lid still in the "highway" position and that kinda looks like this:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-kHYJbkRqs7o/Tklj2BJHufI/AAAAAAAAAcI/g_-i47CHFgk/s800/DSC_4597.JPG
sensitive people might want to look away right about now....
![]()
but it has to be said for the busso: after 8 months out in the open while it froze -5 (and giving it a boost from a pack) it coughed a few times and it spun like a kitten. the engine ran absolutly perfectly.
alright, more pics:
stripping out the interior of the donor:
![]()
![]()
driver side (the proper side ) has seen better day's. the previous owner had the aircon problem i asume we all know and did fix the result but not the cause and then you get **** like this, lots of welding and wet feet:
![]()
drivetrain taken out:
![]()
closeup of the aircon problem:
![]()
lovely view of the "unknown" side of a V6, please take not of the placement of the oil filter and ask yourself on how to replace it when there is a firewall 2 inches from it....
the oil filter "problem" is going to solved permanently by mounting a remote oil filter that relocates the oil filter to a position next to the engine were the battery used to be. the battery itself is positioned in the spare tire space
![]()
10+ years of driving nirvana sticking on everything:
![]()
3kW angle grinder with 30cm cutting disk and venting some pent up agression later:
![]()
![]()
anyone interested in some 156 "parts"?
![]()
![]()
now this is an easy way to check the bottom for rust:
![]()
please observe the increased legroom for rear passengers:
![]()
fuel tank bracing on this 156 was totally shot. i did not need any tools to remove the tank, some whacks with a piece of wood was enough... please look at your 156 and see if those braces are still in good condition
![]()
"out with the old and in with the new" or whatever the saying goes:
first some pics to appreciate the work that went into this shell:
![]()
![]()
beginning of the soundproofing, i used copious amounts of the stuff. this is 2.5mm high density rubber with aluminium backing. in total i used 10m2 and need an additional 5 to get the enitre car done. floor has a double layer, the enitre roof has been done instead of the 8 sheets the size of half an A4 and all the surface area of the hood that i could stick it
on.
the floor is going to be topped off with 3cm of acoustic material instead of the crappy stuff that was on there originally
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
test fitting the magnesium dash frame and aligning the pedal/steering support:
![]()
the new wire going to the back were the battery is going to be placed. (more room in the front for the custom air intake)
![]()
more sound proofing to prevent the blower from viberating too much and adding some dead weight to the housing to get less or at lease lower noise from the blower.
![]()
![]()
ABS cable is the one running across. the black holder is for the ABS unit. i sandblasted it like i am doing with all metal parts going in the car and giving them a decent paintjob before putting them back in. all the metal on the bottom of the car and the fan housing on the raditator are powdercoated.
![]()
fuse box on the support frame:
![]()
back side with the relais and the top box with the green sticker is the immobilizer box that connects to the antenna to read the key. if the yellow key remains on during starting the right small plug on that box is the one to take out and wind the wire up a dozen times and plug it back in, problem solved:
![]()
entire unit put in, by this time i already done the door wiring and power windows:
![]()
partial build of the engine bay cable and small stuff like brake lines:
![]()
here you can also see the powdercoated rear frame waiting to be placed:
![]()
main tools to get the dash and interior parts back into showroom condition: (blood and sweat not shown)
![]()
![]()
before and after sandblasting the pedals:
![]()
dash partially built:
![]()
finished roof:
![]()
sanblasted the bonnet catch and paint:
![]()
rear wheel bearing lying on the sound insulation of the back seat. the blue wires are for the amplifier in the back:
![]()
new heat shielding and fresh multi-layer black goo:
![]()
calipers getting the treatment:
![]()
new logo:
![]()
![]()
shiny new heart:
![]()
![]()
redone all the cables with new protective tape:
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
partial rear suspention built and the steel thingy hanging from the tiewraps is the handywork of some guy from britan making unicorse replica's: (my guess is that most of you know
him)
![]()
![]()
front and back window placed against dust and loose hands from my co-workers and the rear bumper placed. the weird color the car has is just because of the 2300K tungsten lights, the camera on my phone craps out with those lights and makes everything look pink. it's really 130 rosso:
![]()
![]()
teardown of the drivetrain started:
![]()
some brand new stuff going on the car:
![]()
new brake lines, rear lower suspention bars and longtiutinal (or something) bars, new bolts for said bars and note the white gear shifter housing that was cracked on the donor car, and a nice view of the powdercoated rear suspention frame and the new GTA stablizer bar or whatever it's called in the UK. GTA bar is actually cheaper then the normal one... go figure...
and the small boxes are revision sets for the brake calipers. new handbrake lines are not shown.
powdercoated centre tunnel and in the corner you can see a bit of the old one.
![]()
nice view of the wonky gear shift problem and it's solution:
![]()
sandblasted the BAD side first.....
![]()
pappa's got a brand new suspention:
![]()
![]()
![]()
"standard" B6 from bilstein (upside down model for strength, notice the very thick rod underneath the blue cover) and custom made progressive springs with the progressive bit in the middle instead of one end so the paint does not chip off so fast.
waterpump of the V6 already had the telltale crack signaling it's demise:
![]()
the clutch was already nocking on the pearly gates....
![]()
![]()
thermos before sandblasting:
![]()
![]()
![]()
after:
![]()
after heatresistant paint and clear coat:
![]()
other stuff i did at the same time:
![]()
![]()
![]()
been (re) building the subframe:
![]()
![]()
temp fitted to prevent "how did that connect to that" and "where are all these bolts supposed to go" questions:
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
that's it so far....:thumbs:
i dare to say this is the only 100% rust free 156 in existence....
as a base i used a empty chassis (the shell itself has done about 15k miles in it's entire life.) that was FULLY stripped of all undercoating and modified by a expert that welded all the useless holes shut like the ones on the floor underneath the seats. loads of other small modifications were made to prevent future problems like the roof antenna hole that was welded shut.
after that the chassis had a full respray (including interior) and the underside was coated with a brand new (and thick) layer of that black goo.
after that the chassis was brought to a company that coverd the entire innards of the body with a dinitrol treament (the mess was unbelievable
)
the front wheel is a bit "off" because we utilised a reas suspention and put it in the front
then i found >in germany< a donor car: a full options 2.5V6 that had a bonnet-related-issue on the autobahn and had been sitting in the back of a lot for about 8 months with the lid still in the "highway" position and that kinda looks like this:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-kHYJbkRqs7o/Tklj2BJHufI/AAAAAAAAAcI/g_-i47CHFgk/s800/DSC_4597.JPG
sensitive people might want to look away right about now....
but it has to be said for the busso: after 8 months out in the open while it froze -5 (and giving it a boost from a pack) it coughed a few times and it spun like a kitten. the engine ran absolutly perfectly.
alright, more pics:
stripping out the interior of the donor:
driver side (the proper side )
has seen better day's. the previous owner had the aircon problem i asume we all know and did fix the result but not the cause and then you get **** like this, lots of welding and wet feet:
drivetrain taken out:
closeup of the aircon problem:
lovely view of the "unknown" side of a V6, please take not of the placement of the oil filter and ask yourself on how to replace it when there is a firewall 2 inches from it....
the oil filter "problem" is going to solved permanently by mounting a remote oil filter that relocates the oil filter to a position next to the engine were the battery used to be. the battery itself is positioned in the spare tire space
10+ years of driving nirvana sticking on everything:
3kW angle grinder with 30cm cutting disk and venting some pent up agression later:
anyone interested in some 156 "parts"?
now this is an easy way to check the bottom for rust:
please observe the increased legroom for rear passengers:
fuel tank bracing on this 156 was totally shot. i did not need any tools to remove the tank, some whacks with a piece of wood was enough... please look at your 156 and see if those braces are still in good condition
"out with the old and in with the new" or whatever the saying goes:
first some pics to appreciate the work that went into this shell:
beginning of the soundproofing, i used copious amounts of the stuff. this is 2.5mm high density rubber with aluminium backing. in total i used 10m2 and need an additional 5 to get the enitre car done. floor has a double layer, the enitre roof has been done instead of the 8 sheets the size of half an A4 and all the surface area of the hood that i could stick it
on.
the floor is going to be topped off with 3cm of acoustic material instead of the crappy stuff that was on there originally
test fitting the magnesium dash frame and aligning the pedal/steering support:
the new wire going to the back were the battery is going to be placed. (more room in the front for the custom air intake)
more sound proofing to prevent the blower from viberating too much and adding some dead weight to the housing to get less or at lease lower noise from the blower.
ABS cable is the one running across. the black holder is for the ABS unit. i sandblasted it like i am doing with all metal parts going in the car and giving them a decent paintjob before putting them back in. all the metal on the bottom of the car and the fan housing on the raditator are powdercoated.
fuse box on the support frame:
back side with the relais and the top box with the green sticker is the immobilizer box that connects to the antenna to read the key. if the yellow key remains on during starting the right small plug on that box is the one to take out and wind the wire up a dozen times and plug it back in, problem solved:
entire unit put in, by this time i already done the door wiring and power windows:
partial build of the engine bay cable and small stuff like brake lines:
here you can also see the powdercoated rear frame waiting to be placed:
main tools to get the dash and interior parts back into showroom condition: (blood and sweat not shown)
before and after sandblasting the pedals:
dash partially built:
finished roof:
sanblasted the bonnet catch and paint:
rear wheel bearing lying on the sound insulation of the back seat. the blue wires are for the amplifier in the back:
new heat shielding and fresh multi-layer black goo:
calipers getting the treatment:
new logo:
shiny new heart:
redone all the cables with new protective tape:
partial rear suspention built and the steel thingy hanging from the tiewraps is the handywork of some guy from britan making unicorse replica's: (my guess is that most of you know
him)
front and back window placed against dust and loose hands from my co-workers and the rear bumper placed. the weird color the car has is just because of the 2300K tungsten lights, the camera on my phone craps out with those lights and makes everything look pink. it's really 130 rosso:
teardown of the drivetrain started:
some brand new stuff going on the car:
new brake lines, rear lower suspention bars and longtiutinal (or something) bars, new bolts for said bars and note the white gear shifter housing that was cracked on the donor car, and a nice view of the powdercoated rear suspention frame and the new GTA stablizer bar or whatever it's called in the UK. GTA bar is actually cheaper then the normal one... go figure...
and the small boxes are revision sets for the brake calipers. new handbrake lines are not shown.
powdercoated centre tunnel and in the corner you can see a bit of the old one.
nice view of the wonky gear shift problem and it's solution:
sandblasted the BAD side first.....
pappa's got a brand new suspention:
"standard" B6 from bilstein (upside down model for strength, notice the very thick rod underneath the blue cover) and custom made progressive springs with the progressive bit in the middle instead of one end so the paint does not chip off so fast.
waterpump of the V6 already had the telltale crack signaling it's demise:
the clutch was already nocking on the pearly gates....
thermos before sandblasting:
after:
after heatresistant paint and clear coat:
other stuff i did at the same time:
been (re) building the subframe:
temp fitted to prevent "how did that connect to that" and "where are all these bolts supposed to go" questions:
that's it so far....:thumbs:
i dare to say this is the only 100% rust free 156 in existence....
