Here we are, the body has returned from the shot blasters, the paint and filler and mess has been removed to reveal the "real" car beneath, which shows both the good and the bad in all their glory! Once stripped it's been blown over with a coat of primer to protect the bear metal from light surface rust.
Like the engine I'm going to tackle the body in sections. This will help keep the shell as rigid as possible when the rotten elements are cut out (I might need to make a jig to keep everything straight for some jobs too). It will also help my motivation, because, by keeping to manageable small sections of work, I can see the progress being made on a daily basis.
So, the front end is going to be the first job. The front panel and the front wings are much newer than the rest of the car and they can be reused, but in order to replace the inner wings and "A" panels they first need to be carefully removed.
I do this by grinding through the panels that are to be replaced and then once off the shell, I can clean up the details ready for re-fitting.
Once the outer wings are removed the full extent of the rotten inner wings is revealed!
Like the engine I'm going to tackle the body in sections. This will help keep the shell as rigid as possible when the rotten elements are cut out (I might need to make a jig to keep everything straight for some jobs too). It will also help my motivation, because, by keeping to manageable small sections of work, I can see the progress being made on a daily basis.
So, the front end is going to be the first job. The front panel and the front wings are much newer than the rest of the car and they can be reused, but in order to replace the inner wings and "A" panels they first need to be carefully removed.
I do this by grinding through the panels that are to be replaced and then once off the shell, I can clean up the details ready for re-fitting.
Once the outer wings are removed the full extent of the rotten inner wings is revealed!
The cutting and grinding continues, I've tackled the right hand side first, and this reveals the extent of the patchwork that has been added over the years to keep the MOT men guessing! It would appear that nothing has ever been cut from the car, it's simply been patched from the outside and then patched again from the inside, and when the patches have gone rotten it's been patched again! In some places it's 5 layers thick! The weight and shear quantity of metal being removed is quite incredible.
Fortunately the rot is just about restricted to the inner wing panel and these are available complete from "Heritage Ltd". However it has eaten into some of the scuttle, for which there are convenient repair parts available. Plus the front of the door shut is not too great either, again a repair section is available to save having to remove and replace the whole part.
So once all the old rusty parts a re removed there's certainly a big hole!
Fortunately the rot is just about restricted to the inner wing panel and these are available complete from "Heritage Ltd". However it has eaten into some of the scuttle, for which there are convenient repair parts available. Plus the front of the door shut is not too great either, again a repair section is available to save having to remove and replace the whole part.
So once all the old rusty parts a re removed there's certainly a big hole!
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