1973 Triumph Spitfire - Done - Collected

Offside floorpan & inner sill is not too much better than the nearside 




 Forward section of the offside floorpan has been replaced - looks like 'Lil' Fairydust' undertook the repair ! (its appalling) 



Sikaflex central - instant magic metal welding system in a tube !!!! 




No better - this is just under the cross member 




Another 'Lil Fairydust' repair 




Dashboard & windscreen protected with a welding blanket 



If you've not done this type of work before you can ruin any glazing in a vehicle with weld or grinding spatter - you can also set fire to a car very quickly if you don't remove all the trim / carpets etc prior to undertaking any welding works 



Further to the above you can make sill replacement something of a nightmare if you go chopping structural sections of a vehicle out without bracing the bodyshell first - it doesn't take long to knock a bracing frame up and bolt it in  



Few bolts - some quick brackets and a length of equal angle is all it takes 



I like to do the bracing so that it still allows the doors to be hung & open / close etc to set the sill aperture gapping 

At this stage I had spoken the client to advise on what I had found and the options for the car - he's owned it for a long time hence wants to retain it and I advised accordingly upon the repair - I could faff and make up repair sections but the floorpans are generally thin / weak - it would be awkard to work the inner sills / and strengthening plates to a usable point (but not impossible) none the less I cant access the rust ingress hidden in the sandwich between the inner sill & strengthening plate - so inner sills, strengthening plates & floorpans are all on order both sides - there's some minor areas that I will make up new repair sections for - the car is sat on a decent chassis and the drive train is good - its worth sorting / saving the car without going to the extent / expense of a full restoration - I'll tidy some of the worst areas of paint up and the car can be returned to road use - the clients younger family are showing interest in the car too - onwards to turn it into something usable then 

Wiring harness runs to the rear of the car across the nearside floor pan and will require removal 




Then through the inner sill (which is getting replaced) - so I disconnected the harness to everything on the rear of the car and threaded it back through towards the front 



Now safely out of the way from getting damaged 



I want to remove the fuel tank - there's little fuel in it and what is in there will be stale beyond any use 



Removed - more critically I want to inspect the tank for rust ingress - something that always happens when cars are stored for long periods - condensation occurs within the tank - then rust develops which ends up down the fuel lines and leads to fuel starvation / blocking carburetor jets and generally being the cause of most fuel problems in recommissioned vehicles 



In general I also like to remove the fuel tank from vehicles that I'm undertaking major welding works upon - its far safer 



Tank removed - contents drained - very little rust or loose debris in the tank - a few tips with fuel tanks though whilst we are on the subject if you have a tank with internal debris / rust ingress you can remove a lot of it with a few handfuls of a small angular type gravel placed into the tank then the tank shaken to agitate the gravel against the debris / rust which in turn removes it - its awkward but it works - I have even strapped a fuel tank to the front of a cement mixer drum before today and left it running with the gravel in it - looks like new after a few hours but obviously needs a good washout afterwards. I would always recommend removing the fuel tank to safe storage outside if at all possible - leaving it in the workshop whilst welding & grinding is nothing but asking for a problem wholesale - and to a great degree a empty fuel tank full of fuel vapour is of a greater danger than a tank filled with fuel 

It will soon get de-escalated - everything is available and on order its nowhere near the complex builds of the Jupiter's / Javelin's that I'm used to - it wont be in the workshop for long 

Thanks for the link - Looking forward to having her back on the road. Had the car since 1998. I think the last time I had the car on the road was 12 years ago. The car is the same age as me and although not running it's still in better condition than me!!

Its certainly in the right place now. Welcome along to BRM , what better way to see the progress!

Initial chopping out of the inner sill & floor pan on the offside 




Then the nearside 



Zero structural strength in any of this 



Hmmm 



Its a good job that no one held any designs on running into the side of this with even a wheelbarrow let alone a car 




Most of the nearside gone - I will leave the final trimming up until the new floor pans arrive 



I have removed the the radius arm from the heel board to allow better access (needed to come off anyway because its having new bushes fitted) 



Front nearside bulkhead return panel will require some welded repairs - its only a smallish panel but Rimmers wanted £90 for a replacement - I can repair it for half of that 



It will also require some strengthening where it abuts / joins the A post on the internal face 



More MPH with over 5 kilos of loose rust / debris removed 




Managed to get the offside dressed back with a flap disc 



Again I'll trim the edge of the floor pan in once the new panels arrive 




Some minor repairs will be required on the offside inner wheel tub 




Nearside lower valance corner removed - I have a new one on order to replace the rust infected original - more tomorrow 

Golly that's a big hole! Its scary how many cars are still out and about in that condition looking ok on top but slowly fizzing away underneath!

Todays progress then 



Clean back & dress all the flange / repair areas on the nearside 




First fabricated / welded repair goes to the inner A post panel on the nearside 



Next one is where the top of sill abuts the bulkhead - this had all be covered up with filler from a previous sill fitment 



Completed / dressed back 



Then the bottom of the same panel which is quite frilly 



Both the floorpan & outer sill attach to this 



Gearbox tunnel removed - this bolts on - the front section of the floorpans forms the support for the tunnel 



I need to remove the floor cross member next in order to fit the floor pan (job for tomorrow)



Works by others had seen the floor areas sprayed with a stone chip covering to mask repairs & weakness of the floors themselves - its awful stuff to clean off - it just clogs flapwheels up instantly - easiest way is a hot air gun and a old but sharp wood chisel to scrape it back 



Tunnel flange edge just runs loose - its not attached to anything 



But I'll need to trim the front edge in - I cant access all the way to the front flange due the the chassis outrigger on the underside 



Floorpans & inner sills have arrived but I'm still awaiting the outer sills plus lots of drive train / service components which hopefully will be here tomorrow 

quote of the day..."quite frilly"!