Practically Classics Forum

Repair complete & bumper iron re-attached

Peter spent most of Sunday going over the bodyshell with the angle grinder fitted with a polycarbon disc to remove the last traces of paint after stripping Whilst also highlighting many problems Heavy pot marking to the roof skin Rust has eaten through in some odd places - this is just under the rear window apperature

It has become obvious that the car has been the subject of a previous restoration along with some very poor bodged repairs - there is extensive lead loading over previous repairs and all of the doors have suffered from impact / accident damage at some stage The offside front door holds several areas of heavy lead loading over dents & rust repair sections Nearside front door has many previous repairs and rust damage - it will now require the bottom 100 mm of the door skin to be cut out and replaced

Meanwhile back to the structural repairs - the upstand for the boot floor / tool tray had seen patches of braised on metal and was quite thin on the leading edges I cut & folded a new section but then had to replicate the swaging on the panel - so I made a small jig up and with the help of a broom handle and suitable hammer obtained something close to the original swaging

Ready for tacking up / trial fitting With panel trial fitted the tool tray hinged lid was checked for fit

New end tabs were fabricated and welded to the upstand panel prior to final fitting - once the panel repair had been seam welded and cleaned back the panel was fully welded in place - I used spot welds where possible to replicate the factory finish (although none of it is seen when the boot floor is fitted) Upstand panel refitted / cleaned back - new captive nuts were spotwelded in place as required - the captive nuts retain the boot floor which is a plywood panel Tool tray lid fitted without issue to upstand panel and opens / closes nicely

Just a few more areas on the rear of the car now before I can start to cover the structural repairs down the offside of the shell This is where the rear panel meets the rear shroud / wing support and it looks ok Buts its not under the lead is a bodged seam that is rotting from the inside out With the lead burnt off a reveal of the previous restoration where the factory seam has been gas welded together - the metal is weak and pinholes are showing through

Seam cut out New section fabricated in two sections - shrunk to obtain radius and spot welded together off the car (spot welder cannot reach with the repair sections on the car) Ready for welding in

Superb work, an inspiration to us all!

Superb work, an inspiration to us all!

I need the inspiration myself some days with this one - the car initially came to me for a bare metal paint job whilst the rest of the team fitted a rebuilt engine & box and sorted a few of the mechanicals out - none of us (including Peter the owner) anticipated finding the amount of weakness / rust / bodge in the bodyshell - anyway - onwards: Nearside of rear panel completed - I will lead load the area as per the original factory detail Underside of the completed repair