Practically Classics Forum

The front edge of the inspection cover (ply sheet) which is under the rear seat had also been eaten at by the battery acid This was cut back and new angled section made up / welded in

I need to sort the front & rear bumpers for rechoming the cars originals were in a real mess - we had sourced a couple off a spares car - bumpers are one the of things that are really not available new so we had to make the best of what we had This is the front one - some minor dents & knocks so I set about chasing the low spots from the rear through to the front with a hammer & dolly I then lightly used a worn 80's flap disc on the angle grinder - if you are doing this you need to keep the grinder moving at all times in long sweeping actions - stay in one place for half a second and you will start to make a mess of it - I then used P80's production paper with a block to finish off - Keith sand blasted the rear of the bumper before despatching it to the chromers

The rear was in far worse state With a crease and a heavy dent with various other light knocks all over it and a visible bow inwards - I started by removing the bow - trying various methods but eventually trapped one end under the arm of the car lift and used the other end as a lever to force the bow out - then back to the hammer & dolly to dress the crease / dent / minor knocks out - just concentrating on one area at a time until I was happy with it and then moving on to the other damage - it took a good couple of hours to straighten up but was worth it

Turned the car over to tackle the offside centre out rigger / jacking point - this also supports the B post and the front / rear sill sections - the temporary frame which held the B posts in relation to the chassis was still in place so onwards with the chopping out

The front & rear doors were dropped off the B post (both doors share the same hinge brackets) The chassis box section has holes behind the out rigger mounting

Hard to believe that the car had passed both strict Certificate of Fitness tests in New Zealand & Switzerland in the two years prior to the restoration commencing Fortunately new out riggers are available through the Jowett Car Club spares department - Sills and B post are ready for sectioning and cleaning up

Its still in the workshop and still happening but the day job / working away from home / sale of our property etc has kept me away from any progress for several weeks - should be able to get back onto it within the next week or so

Amazing how a week or so turns into several weeks ! - So managed to get bit done over the last few days - B post ready for being sectioned from sills / previous repairs Front sill is in holes at each end so this will be replaced as a complete panel - rear sill will have a small repair section fabricated Here is what was underneath laminated rust

Chassis repair Inner web plate was repaired at the bottom prior to tacking in the outer repair Jacking point / outrigger was trial fitted once the chassis repair was complete

The sill now needs to be fitted prior to the jacking point but the front sections / A post / floor pan / front outrigger to which the sill fastens are all past their best - lots of rust / thin metal / pinholes and very poor previous repairs Note the measurements made prior to cutting - With so many repairs to be made within this area there is nothing left to reference from other than measurements