Canterbury Auto Fabrication

Canterbury Auto Fabrication Canterbury Auto Fabrication Ltd is a coachbuilding company dedicated to quality restoration and repair work at an affordable price.

Another wee mk1 gem in the booth for first prime, this one's had extensive repairs , from complete front end to new door...
13/08/2026

Another wee mk1 gem in the booth for first prime, this one's had extensive repairs , from complete front end to new door skins, bottom of inner frames and new boot floor.
Monday we will start blocking the primer with a view to getting it into final prime by the end of next week , the plan is to have it shiny by the end of the month.

11/08/2026

Pt2 of doing things a little differently

At The Cust rumble 2026 Warrick from Canterbury Auto Fabrication will be bringing his rare as hens teeth Datsun 260c fastback to display . Warrick will be doing metal shaping demos during the day and showing you all what epic work they do !!

This car will be going wide body !!

Check out his page for all the update on Current work the are doing .

bogged on fibre glass flares be gone! The mighty TA22 has been fettled with once again, this time sorting out that mess....
22/07/2026

bogged on fibre glass flares be gone! The mighty TA22 has been fettled with once again, this time sorting out that mess. It’s amazing what can be hiding beneath !

Next on the chopping board is repairing and flaring the front guards out of metal, I’m excited to see what’s under the bog on them!

A few more days on the bosses KH330, passengers zipped up and plenty strong. Still work to do obviously, but will be com...
20/07/2026

A few more days on the bosses KH330, passengers zipped up and plenty strong. Still work to do obviously, but will be completed after blast and once it’s on our 360* rotisserie.

Jumped onto the drivers side and knocked out the same repairs to a lesser extent thankfully!
As at end of day, ready to spot and plug the the upper inner sill piece in, sling a door in the hole and then zap the outer sill in place.

Next course attack will be removing the corroded fl**ges around the A pillar/firewall area and tidying up donor sections to blast and graft in (the bulbous piece in front of hinges, housing the HVAC ducts)

Elder Josh clocked this car in 2008 after it was pulled from a paddock in South Canterbury, love at first sight! One of ...
13/07/2026

Elder Josh clocked this car in 2008 after it was pulled from a paddock in South Canterbury, love at first sight! One of the most sinister looking Nissan-era Datsuns made 🥵

However, we watched it slowly returning back to the earth through various Datsun Club members since, so he jumped at the chance to rip into it and has been tasked with a week of putting some strength back into the Boss’s KH330 Coupe so it can be safely sent away for a sandblast.

Not a time to be shy, started taking big bites and gained some access!
Floor removed to the chassis rail fl**ge, inner and outer sill axed and pieces replicated, temporarily screwed back together working back outward.

No surprise that it uncovered hidden corrosion so those layers were dealt to, allowing finish welding where possible and repairing fl**ged area that allow spot-welding to the new pieces.
The seat mount braces needed a fair few repairs but as they had to come off the floor anyway, they got blasted clean inside first.
One week in and very close to spotting the sills together and we’ll have a fair chunk of passengers side!

Excellent progress has been made on this classic Mini Cooper S, with the replacement panels supplied by Mini Spares and ...
28/06/2026

Excellent progress has been made on this classic Mini Cooper S, with the replacement panels supplied by Mini Spares and Palmside significantly streamlining the repair process. For the investment, it's a great value proposition. Given the extent of the repairs, particularly addressing the hard hit on the passenger-side front, which required pushing the A-pillar forward 15mm to fit the door correctly, we're taking a meticulous approach to ensure it's repaired properly. We used the front and rear subframes during the repair process to ensure everything was aligned and they both bolted in with ease.

We've decided to reskin both doors, which will allow us to perfect the door gaps during that process. Additionally, we'll be fabricating two new sills in-house to suit the vehicle.

We also have another Mini Cooper S in the workshop awaiting tear down and repairs! Keep an eye out for the next mini madness update

Our part on the Big girl has been finished; re-assembled and ready for collection! How cool is that Roberlo textured Und...
27/06/2026

Our part on the Big girl has been finished; re-assembled and ready for collection!

How cool is that Roberlo textured Underseal! Sprays on teal and dries black..you can see exactly where you are at as you go and gain full coverage.

He came back for more! Elder Josh was eager too.After the 58 and 59 Oldsmobiles and some work on a trunk pan for a 60 Ca...
15/06/2026

He came back for more! Elder Josh was eager too.
After the 58 and 59 Oldsmobiles and some work on a trunk pan for a 60 Caddy, this 57 Buick Super Hardtop showed up with a freshly blasted underside.
The most complete of the lot, and with Californian tags from 2023, hopes were high..but not all of cali is hot and dry..

The biggest shock was the upper corners of the Trunk seal gutter. The tinworm had muched through 6 intricately shaped layers, onto the hinge reinforcement brackets, upper trunk floor, inner guards and the wheel tubs!

Became a non-negotiable keeping the glass in so that was carefully removed…good move, plenty of heavy pitting where it hadn’t already lost the fight.
Out came the floor so I had a place to stand and hyperventilate, while working through the mess.

Repaired the floor on the bench and plonked it back in for good, moved down one side’s floor and now doing the same on the opposing side.

The Datsun Ute quarter panel has been completed and returned to its owner for further construction. Fabricated in two se...
14/06/2026

The Datsun Ute quarter panel has been completed and returned to its owner for further construction. Fabricated in two sections, the panel was welded through the centre. Followed by a plamish of welds, a custom die was created for the power hammer to run a swage line through the center, extending end to end, requiring precise control and attention to detail

Progress has also been made on the Ta22 Celica, which, as previously experienced, required significant expansion. The use of aftermarket panels has proven beneficial, providing a good fit with minimal modifications necessary. Additionally, the inner front, rear wheel arch was relocated 25mm rearward to enhance tire clearance during the process. The same level of work will now be replicated on the opposite side, and the flares will be remade using steel!

Small wee job for a friend , the rear quarter on this 1200 ute was munted, we undertook a wide body conversion a while ...
23/05/2026

Small wee job for a friend , the rear quarter on this 1200 ute was munted, we undertook a wide body conversion a while ago by removing the quarters and widening the wheel archs to fit wider wheels , then stretched the original left hand quarter over the arch and welded it all back together, the right side was a bit more work and we had to make a new quaterpanel for it .
It's now clamped in place awaiting final welding .

Address

84 Falsgrave Street
Christchurch
8011

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm

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