BSA 3 wheeler rebuild carried over from introduction section

Completed the cope trim to base of the panels on the nearside 



Its retained with countersunk screws but I've applied a bead of seam sealer to the trim prior to fitting 



Then completed the offside 



Then reduced the boot lid catch to achieve a closer fitting 



I have a 25mm deep half round alloy panel trim on order which will sort the aperture gapping appearance and also act as a drip rail if the car is ever caught in wet weather 



I may well have to use a thin alloy strip in order to step the half round panel trip over the rear panels in order to prevent damage to the paintwork around the aperture - If this is the case it should provide the opportunity to place something like a felt seal on the inner face of the trim so that even with vibration the trim / boot lid will not mark the paint on the rear panels 


 
Next on the list is the bonnet side panels - Derek had some pretty extensive repairs undertaken on them but they still need some truing up - especially the louvers some of which have received a battering which has flattened & distorted them 



Much easier with the hinge pins drawn and the panels removed 



With some careful reshaping they were looking better 



The panels also underwent some fettling to the repaired / welded areas in order to neaten them up prior to profiling 



The offside panel has a fractured louvre which had not been welded at the same time of the repairs due to the fact that's is so thin - I'm going to tackle this with a bonded panel repair 



What its says on the tube - this is how modern cars are built - glued together - this is a two part product which is mixed has it travels through the special application nozzle 



Alloy strengthener bonded to the rear of the broken louvre then clamped in place until it cures - None of this will be seen once its all dressed back & profiled - this area of the bonnet side is also masked by the spare wheel which mounts directly in front of the panel  



The nearside panel also required a repair to the top of one of the louvres where it had fractured 



Bonding was also applied to the areas of bridging on the bulkhead 



Along with some drilled holes / apertures that required deletion - The bonding is workable upon curing - its not a cheap product but it certainly does its job  



So with exception of the boot trim that's all the panelwork completed and the car is ready for the next stage of profiling to the panels 



There will now be a break in the progress for a few weeks whilst I attend to some other work that's been in the diary for sometime 

Took me way to long to realise F was fill and not the other more popular F word ;-)

Nice progress though

Bangers and Cash on right now. Just shown a BSA 3 wheeler which will probably be coming up for auction in the show tonight.

It's back. Been looking forward to this one returning for paint. ( It is so small it makes the trailer look a touch overkill )

That's great Chris, glad to see her back in the workshop

That does not look like an easy job!

On that front wing, does the rib itself also require filling to look even all the way?

More progress on the nearside front corner 

Latest progress -I think this is skim number 5 on the nearside front wing at this point 



I have left the door on the car to enable me to form the correct radius to the top of the bulkhead and match it to the profile of the door 



But now formed I can remove the door 



And this can be profiled whilst off the car - However I will be refitting it for a final check before primer / paint 



The nearside bonnet valance panel is now completed with the profiles although these were only minor in the scheme of things 



Larger panels such has wings are much better left bolted to the car whilst working profiles - its very difficult to work such awkwardly shaped panels when they are unattached / loose - I will still have some minor areas to profile once I remove them that I cant currently access whilst the wings are on the car 



But the nearside wing is now well on its way - multi compound curvature panels like this are the most difficult panels to profile  



I still need to work / improve the centre swage line 



And the panel joint between the wing and the wing apron - panel joints are better cleaned as you go - I use a old wood chisel for chasing any minor areas of cured filler out the joint but I undertake this after every skim application - let the joint fill up or loose it underneath the filler and you do nothing but make a lot of work for yourself in correcting it 



Nearside bulkhead is just about there on the profiles - removal of the door allows better access to complete it too 



I have also been progressing the boot lid edge profiles against the beading during skimming curing times 

Nearside front wing profiles are now virtually complete 



I now need to remove the wing to allow access to areas on the lower wing apron 



Sid called in to view the progress but didn't stay long he dislikes the smell of the polyester filler 



Rear nearside side panel profiles are well advanced 



And the nearside door is now completed 



More later