Bit of grindygrindy today. Originally, I was going to strip the shell and weigh it in but I have time against me, as usual so it's proving quicker to chop the shell up and trailer it to the scrapyard to weigh in that way. I'll keep the front end intact so I can strip components I need off it at leisure as I have almost everything I need off the rest of the car now.
I removed the remaining door, roof and B pillars first. The roof will be used for repairing the beige car. Turns out the repairs to the floor on the orange car was done by cutting the bottom of the front wings off - where the lead flashing is rivetted on - and using that metal.
Removing the driver's side sill was a nightmare. It had been rivetted, welded, fibreglass and bodyfillered on over some of the original sill but not all of it. We managed to get everything but the bit that closes on the A pillar off in one piece, the key part I need is the trailing edge and that came off lovely. We weren't so careful with the other sill but I'll liberate the same trailing edge and may save some of the rest, I do have an unused partial sill that was liberated from the car a fellow forum user tipped me off about so it's not a total loss.
With the sill off and just about all structural integrity now gone, we could make a start cutting through the floor. The exhaust was knackered, as were the brake lines and while the hydragas pipes are okay, they're not perfect. I have managed to save the rear hydragas lines, and the front lines are untouched so it's only the straight centre sections that are scrap. Floor was cut so that the gear selector box didn't have to be split from the car.
Princesses are nose-heavy, as it happens, as demonstrated in this shot.
Ran out of time and discs to do more, but I did get the shell up on its side to inspect underneath and there's rot everywhere you don't want it. The extent of the rust bug is fairly comprehensive, much more so than the beige car, and it demonstrates just where and how they like to rust. The petrol tank has a large rust hole by the sender. The floors had rotted out over both jacking points quite comprehensively, the rear corners which had been plated also had galloping rot that had spread into the inner sill, the old outer sill, the rear arches both inner and outer and was merrily going through the underside of the car as if it were an ADO16. It would have been a lot of work to put this right so I'm really glad I made the decision to break this one rather than the beige car.
Tomorrow I collect welding supplies and more cutting discs so I can get this rear half cut down and weighed in, shouldn't take too long. Everything from the A-pillar back is so light that I can move it on my own so I probably won't get much when I weigh it in. The rest of the coming week is going to be devoted to getting rid of the bits of the orange car I don't need and getting as much work as possible done on the beige one.
. Oh, I really enjoy your Princess exploits and I am looking forward to hearing how the Renault shapes up
oh watch out for the edges they can be a bit sharp...