The Camaro Club (UK)

You probably have a hernia on a disc, usually called mistakenly a slipped disc.
The disc has not slipped anywhere it´s just squeezed out of shape and is pressing the nerves.
It can happen just by leaning forward on a chair.
I have one and initially it was murder, I first thought something was up with pins and needles in my right leg.
If you are careful it should subside but stupid moves will bring it back.
The doctor told me the very last resort is an operation.
I should use painkillers sparingly best not at all.

Walking is supposed to help relieve it.

Hi guys and thanks for the helpful advice. I did some reading up on hernia on a disc and it's not a pleasant situation. There's a good illustration on wikipedia and effectively it's like having a gasket that inflames and pushing itself outwards and then pushes against a nerve. You'd think that 2million+ years of hominid evolution would have taken care of the back issues that seem to be quite common amongst people

Yesterday was already a marked improvement. A lot easier to move around but still difficult. Today it's a lot easier to get out of bed than yesterday. Still getting a periodic ache from the area and can still feel there's something there. I have asked work if they can exchange my holiday this week for sick days, seeing as i don't take sick days, so this would be a first. Even when i had facial paralysis at the start of the year i worked through it (for a couple of months i sounded drunk and always looked liked i'd just come from the dentist). My last week off i had friends over, then the other week i had off was when we had the big August heatwave of 30+, so couldn't spend too much time in the garage. I was hoping this week to be a productive one but i'm pretty annoyed as you can imagine.

The pain is slightly off centre on the left side, my friend thinks it's a pulled / damaged muscle as my runnning shoes are worn out. She was saying how they are designed to keep your fleet flat but once the sponginess starts to loose its spring, it alters the way you are aligned and after a while that can cause some damage as your body is landing in a slightly twisted way on each step. Which kind of makes sense as i started to get pain around the left side of my knee recently also on my left side (was relieved quickly with a stretch and massage). So i really hope it's that as opposed to spinal.

What happened to your back Steve, that sounds painful! Thanks for the ebay link, it may be worth getting one and then using it in when working in the garage to help stop any excessive movement which could bring back any issues.

Cheers for now,

Ray

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Ray a good massage will help you out......
I'm sure there will be a good one near you
http://www.acemassage.net/



My back is bad but I cant understand a word the doctor says If I took maybe 2 months off work it may sort itself out but that aint happening...... but sticking an ice pack on my back while driving to work and wearing a belt keeps me going.....

Hopefully you will be fit enough for chelsea next week

A girl at work that i fancy is a beautician (evenings and weekends) and does massages etc. She has a BF but nevertheless it's a good avenue Failing that, the link you posted has some interesting looking professionals If you see me at Chelsea with company, well

Hope to be down there. I have a mates birthday meal to attend tomorrow evening so that will be a good test of progress. Then i'm planning to see sportsroof race at Silverstone on Saturday if all goes well on Friday and i don't have any further pain. So should be all set for Chelsea. Are you going to Ace Cafe before it?

Good news from work today, they were ok with me cancelling my holiday and using it as sick days. Only thing is i can only take the week in December. I was hoping for November while the weather still stays mild, as i promised myself that i wouldn't be killing myself in minus 3degrees C temps in the garage again. Not much you can do with a paint gun full of ice

A couple of months off work would be good! Can you not get a doctors note and have the time as sick pay? I would hate to think that it get's any worse by prolonging the healing.

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Any progress during the Xmas break dude.. ???

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Yes, my back is back in action since November (was still a bit off at the Halloween run). Have managed to finish coarse sanding the front, made a license plate bracket and holder (didn't want to drill holes into the bumper face). Almost done with the other rocker now, coarse sanded and just need to bump down a couple of high spots of metal and give it a final skim. During sanding near the rocker i found the bottom of the quarter panel had a small hole so drilled it out to get rid of any thinned metal and just in the process of welding and smoothing it today. Had a massive clean up of the garage, took about 3 days! went through every cupboard and box, put together 4 black bin liners of rubbish, one of which was almost all sanding dust! Once i finish the rocker and the the small rust hole, then it's over to fine sanding. Once that's done, if we happen to have some decent weather i can primer it, if not, then i'll start on the exhaust, maybe get the glass installed, finish off any other niggly jobs (change a few things on the wiring, put new brake fluid in and bleed it, that sort of stuff) until spring brings us some decent painting weather.

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SOAB. In finishing sanding the rockers, i started sanding the bottom of the 1/4 panel too, the part that attaches to the rocker. A small hole appeared, so i got a smallish drill bit out to cut out any weak metal. Started to weld up the hole and the metal on lower side kept burning away. Tried to chase it but it got worse. Turns out, as this is one of the main rot spots on f-bodies, that it had been badly repaired before. It had started to rust out and bubble at some point, so the previous fixer put in some metal behind, welded a few spots to keep it in place and then fillered over it all. That's what's known as bad idea. The moisture got in through the back of the bare steel replacement piece and the exposed filler and started to rust out the whole area again. So now, i have no bottom quarter panel. What's that word that rhymes with duck?

The second from last pic shows you where i left off tonight. I've got some rust remover caked on the inside panels, so will keep that stirred tomorrow after work to remove as much as possible, then if there's anything left i have a bit of rust to paint converter left over that i will apply. Then over the weekend i will make up a new piece to go in, paint the back with weld through zinc primer, weld it up and add a skim of filler to flatten it out. Then, we should be able to get onto final sanding.

From the second to last pic, you can see the cause of the rot spots on f-bodies in this area. The quarter panel is attached to the rocker by a couple of spot welds, so there is a small enough gap between panels where moisture can gather, do it's business of helping the metal to oxidise which then carries up in the corners and up, to help rot that part of the panel out. It would have probably helped for GM to put in a vent hole and slight dent right by the lap over, to help moisture fall away from the area and help keep air moving across it.

It started with this:



Which was an indication that this was going on: (sorry for the slightly blurry pic)



In the midst of uncovering the mystery:



And here we are before new metal is going in:



The bad metal that was cut out:

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Ok so most of the rust has gone... ran out of the Bilt Hamber deox gel so tried out some of the Hammerite rust killer and it worked pretty well. Was quite pitted in some areas but it's mostly back to clean metal now and still solid on the inner panels, so that's a relief. Also worked along the the wheel arch and along the rear of the 1/4 panel to get rid of any rust. The wheel arch was pretty solid with mostly surface rust and a few pits here and there. Used a wire wheel brush to get at everything and then coated with a few treatment of rust killer to be on the safe side. Found a fair bit of filler which i dug out using a blow torch and scraper. Thought the bottom of the 1/4 was dented but turns out there is a factory crease on the bottoms of the 1/4's. Was a relief as i thought i would be body working that section. Started shaping the new metal , bit fiddly as it want to keep it as one piece so trying to get the bends in the right places and curves right etc. So next is a case of finishing the new piece of metal to make it line up well, then weld through primer the metal on the back of the piece and the metal that's currently exposed. Then weld, grind, skim of filler to make sure it's straight and then some clear waxoyl on the inside and the inner rockers too to give it some extra precautions. Then, back onto sanding, just in time for it to be freezing February meaning no paint until spring. Guess it'll be onto the exhaust next then! Pics to follow...

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Ok so here's the latest.

Area all cleaned out with a selection of wire brush wheels as best as possible, then applied a rust killer gel (Hammerite stuff). Got rid of everything after leaving it on for a couple of days (re-brushing / agitating, cleaning off and applying a new layer and repeating as needed).



To play it safe, i added a layer of Bilt Hamber Hydrate 80, just to get rid of any oxidisation that may be left over. It will convert this into a black layer that can be painted over http://www.bilthamber.com/hydrate-80



Once dried, i coated with 2 layers of U-Pol Zinc 182 primer. This will cover any remaining bare metal and help slow down any future oxidation. I will be adding a later of clear waxoyl to this crevasse and the others, once the car has been painted, for even further protection.





Tacking in the new piece:



Checking the fit:



After filling in the welds and grinding down (leaving time in between welds to stop the area from getting too hot and warping):



And the result:





What now? I need to get a wire brush wheel on the angle grinder to clean out the areas of the welds. Then i need to hit it with 80 grit to scratch up the metal and apply some short strand glass filler (in case of any pinholes, regular filler could absorb the moisture, the glass based filler is a barrier to moisture) as it's not perfectly straight if you put a rule against it. Sand that down, go over with some regular filler (the glass filler has a bit of a coarser finish). Then, move onto the next areas! Off to get some supplies...

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Blimey all that just cos a couple of paint bubbles eh... Good job in sorting it...

Is that converter any good.? I've got a few bits of inside panels I can see that could do with nipping in the bud..

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“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.”