Post by grumpynorthener on Oct 12, 2021 18:23:17 GMT
I've had the fuel tank modified to allow it to go back into its original position rather than the previous restorers idea of it being housed within the boot space
The filler neck was originally in the far outer corner and then extended up through the nearside rear wing
Supported into position whilst I ensure that I'm happy with the clearances etc
Once in position this will allow me to route the filler pipe neatly up to the repositioned filling neck in the rear nearside quarter panel
Post by grumpynorthener on Oct 13, 2021 20:50:28 GMT
Fuel tank removed and the mounting brackets strengthened up
Then refitted with rubber mounting pads that I cut to pattern
Happy with the fitment
And there's sufficient clearance for the exhaust - the radius in the boot floor is offset and is there to clear the exhaust has it bridges over the top of the axle
Fuel tank removed and the rear upper suspension arm refitted in order to locate / position the rear axle
Repair to the stud on the top nearside shock absorber mounting was successful too
And I managed to locate a pair of top mounting support brackets for the shocks - I'll replace the standard nuts with nyloc when I undertake the final assembly
Now I need to work out why the return flange has been cut back
Appears quite odd has the shock absorber does not foul against the flange
And the flange is an integral part of the panel structure which supports the lower axle link mounting
Post by grumpynorthener on Oct 14, 2021 19:51:10 GMT
Panel flange repaired to correct width & dressed back
Bare metal areas around the rear inner wing received a coat of construction primer
Then on to repair the defective repairs / weak areas around the rear of the chassis rail
Hidden behind this snot of weld is the fact that the vertical face of the chassis is completely unattached to the base of the chassis rail
The previous repairs are has ugly as what they are weak
Its hard to work what's gone on here - the other side has received a good fabricated & neat repair
Then again this mess is sat to the rear of the repair in the image above - the repair is completely detached at the top
Back to the nearside and more detached repairs
I was struggling for space to work in and therefore removed the rear axle from its linkages and set it one side out of the way
First repair section patterned, cut & welded in to the vertical inner face of the rail
Then dressed back
New section to the underside of the rail ready for welding in
Then the reinforcing section being welded up to it
Then dressed back
Looking much better
And much stronger
Next challenge is that they should be a battery shelf welded to the first horizontal cross member - and its completely missing - its part of the integral structure of the bodyshell so I'm not sure what's happened here - fortunately I have another car that I can pattern it from - more tomorrow
Has this been 'repaired' by two different (or more) people? That might explain why some of the work is decent and other....er....snot (sic) so good.
Sort of explains it but not really - there are plenty of good repairs immediately adjacent to some truly awful repairs and in least one case a good repair adjacent to an area which is completely rusted out - doesn't add up but the car has certainly seen work undertaken by several pairs of hands - probably some of them had really poor eye sight
Post by grumpynorthener on Oct 15, 2021 22:12:13 GMT
New battery box in the making
This is all that is left of the original and requires removal
Requires a tidy up and a new section making up to re-join the panel to the chassis rail
I also need to sort the aperture for the access panel to the battery box - this one has had the flange edge messed about with
It should have a rebated flange like on the offside - this accepts a ply panel which closes the area off - it all gets covered with a underfelt sound proofing before the bench seat base fits over the top of it
But it will be next week before I get to revisit it - I have a very busy long weekend elsewhere in front of me
Post by grumpynorthener on Oct 19, 2021 18:03:44 GMT
I repaired the cross member section to allow it to join the chassis rail correctly
Followed by the flange edge rebate for the under seat panel
Then welded in the new battery box
This will require holes drilling for the battery clamp which will also double up has drain holes for any water ingress - I will line the floor and upstand face with a anti slip rubber matting once the car is repainted - prior to fitting the battery
Post by grumpynorthener on Oct 22, 2021 19:11:15 GMT
So whilst on my travels yesterday a new spare wheel carrier was collected for the project from those splendid chaps at Jowett Car Spares - just now need to sort out a replacement hinge bracket and the telescopic screw mechanism for raising & lowering it
Post by grumpynorthener on Oct 25, 2021 19:53:55 GMT
Attention now turns to nearside front inner wing & bulkhead area
Although its received a recent repair to the right of the area - the thinned / perforated area to the left of the repair has been ignored - they have also overthinned a section of the weld on the repaired area
Defective areas removed / cleaned back & primed
Repaired / dressed back / primed
Then on with sorting this mess on the A post / inner wing / bulkhead
Its all structurally deficient with gaping holes directly through into the cockpit which water will ingress through
Initial cutting back
The horizontal panel adjacent to the bonnet hinge is a recent repair by others but its completely unattached to the flange edge / bonnet hinge flange which is paper thin
Removed the previous repair to allow access
Don't know how long the bonnet hinge would remain attached if left fastened to this but we are talking sub 12 months if not less
I took a few measurements & templates before sectioning the worst of the A post / bulkhead intersection out
Gone
First new section in & dressed back
This closes off the base of the windscreen pillar
First part of the A post repair let in
Next was to sort the bonnet hinge mounting on the inner wing
Repair was reinforced with an additional brace welded in to form a double skin has original - then cage nuts added for the bonnet hinge mounting
Now the horizontal section that I removed can be reused
Only this time I can make sure that its not just there to hide the grot below it More tomorrow
Post by grumpynorthener on Oct 26, 2021 19:41:01 GMT
Horizontal rail of the inner wing now attached
Which completes the repair of the upper section
Now on to the rear side of the A post
The repairs undertaken by others appear to be a tack weld then disguise the poor attempts by smothering the area with body filler & seam sealer
Which yields absolutely nil strength
New repair tacked in
Then fully welded & dressed back
Much neater but more importantly much stronger
This front section requires sorting
Paper thin and the cage nuts that secure the front outer wing are missing
New repair tacked in
Then a trial fit of the front wing to ensure that the profiles were matched against the repair
Completed repair with new cage nuts
With cage nuts replaced elsewhere on the inner wing has required
Wing refitted - it requires several alterations to improve the fit
Some of the cage nuts on the wing are out of alignment and require removal / relocating
The bottom swage section does not align with the door and requires remedial works
The gapping around the door handle area will require closing up to match the rest of the door / wing gapping - I will true the bottom of the windscreen pillar up with body solder
And I need to make up & fit new brackets to retain the outer wing to the A post - more tomorrow
Post by grumpynorthener on Oct 27, 2021 18:38:59 GMT
Front wing brackets for the A post fabricated
With the front wing still in place I could position & tack them - then remove the front wing and fully weld the brackets in place
Cage nuts on the front of the wing were repositioned after I had closed he previous locations off
Then refitted the wing to check that everything was aligning correctly
Always good to start to see the results
Correct fastenings used
Unlike the bolts that someone has used on the offside - these would foul the grille if left unchanged
At this stage I had a clean up and applied construction primer to any bare metal has required - its getting to that time of year where the damp air hangs around and bare metal will rust overnight with the slightest of dampness - The workshop is fully insulated but I yet to revert to putting the heating on
Areas around the inner wing were also primed
Along with the A post
Needed to sort the door frame where it was catching the roof gutter when the door was opened or closed
Soon sorted with a little reshaping & dressing back
Some time was spent truing up the aperture gapping's between the wing & door
The profiled swage at the base of the wing has been reworked in order the match the profile of the door
All fastenings for the wing were checked for alignment - I need to order the correct sized washers - checking fastening locations / dry fitting is where a lot of projects are overlooked - in the race to get the car painted the detail is ignored only for it bite back wholesale at a later date
So that's the nearside completed in the respect of remedial structural & panel work
I have loosely refitted the rear wing has its the safest location for it - I'll turn the car around tomorrow
How did you rework the swage at the bottom of the wing to match the door? Before it looked like it was pretty far off.
Bolted the wing firmly to the car then dressed the upper swage down with a broad but blunt chisel before carefully dressing it back with the nose of the power file - the bottom of the swage was added to with strip of steel welded to it & dressed back - this will be improved further when I undertake the deeper areas of profile repairs with body solder
Post by grumpynorthener on Oct 28, 2021 20:51:43 GMT
A few final bits that I spotted just prior to turning the car around was a problem area where the previous repairers had bodged a repair on the door frame then smothered it with filler - just went to strike the MIG up to find that I was out of gas hence a little running around to sort that first
Welded up the the sleeve collars that I had tacked in place on the B post hinge plate & dressed back
Done
Then fully fastened up the rear wing - this makes it so much easier when it comes to working the profiles & preparing for paint
Then turned the car around to start on the offside
Inspection assessment first then I know what I have to work with - bonnet hinge area on the front inner wing is a poor previous repair that yields little strength
Pinholes within the welded repair on the front wheel well by the toe board
Bottom of the B post / hinge plate is a real mess
Has is the hinge to the bottom of the front door
The underside of the jacking point has been cut & shut in an attempt to alter the B post location
Words fail me
And all because the previous repairer couldn't spend a little time bracing the B posts - its just such a simple exercise
Is all it takes
Front door has had the lower part of the door skin replaced along with the door bottom - a fully welded repair too - nice to see
The rear door has also received a skin repair to the bottom of the door
But welded ? - I have seen better attempts with chewing gum - the repair has already pinged off several of its tacks - its something that would last a matter of a few months if it was returned to the road like this - the only thing holding it together is filler !
Better news is the welding undertaken by others on the rear inner wing
Is pretty good
With exception of a few weak areas
The underside of the rear shroud will require some work but its not has bad as the nearside
There's some hidden grot on the inside face adjacent the end of the chassis rail
All sortable
Reinforcement on the leading edge of the rear wing is original but its paper thin and of little retained strength
And the flange edge of the wing which bolts up to the body is a combination of very poor repairs & weak original areas
So the way forward then
Use the front wing vertical rear leading edge has a datum to align the front door to but first I need to secure the bottom hinge plate to the B post - I also need to ensure that its fairly accurate in positioning too - tricky because the measurements taken from the nearside along with another 2 Javelins indicate that the B post is set 5mm out board of where it should be along with being 5mm back from the centre Now 5mm isn't a great deal until you hang a door from the said B post - over the width & height of the door that 5mm can very quickly become 15 - 20mm out of alignment
I'll also need to sort the hinge plates for the doors at the same and ensure that they are correctly positioned
Obviously - currently they are nowhere near correctly positioned - more tomorrow
Post by grumpynorthener on Oct 29, 2021 20:12:38 GMT
First job was to sort the threads on the bottom hinge plate with the correct machine screws
The clean the B post up around the hinge plate area - rather annoying yet more rust perforated metalwork repaired with that universal material that 'All Bodgers Use' - 'Filler'
Then to sort the hinge plates on the rear door because what was fitted was nothing less than scrap
Manged to find what I needed from my own stock
The door has been repaired around the hinge plate mounting area and this required dressing back has the plate was fouling on it
Much better
But the inner plate would not sit flush against the frame due to the previous repairs hence I had to create access to resolve the issue
Which gave a better view of the short cuts taken with the door skin repair by others - that's filler that you can see covering the holes that they have drilled to hold the repair in place temporally
Then sorted the top hinge plate
New bearings fitted to the B post hinge plates
And the rear door lifted on the hinges
Then repeat the hinge plate exercise for the front offside door
Then tightened the hinge pins up and what do you know - gapping between the front door and the wing are nearly close enough
It opens up a little close to the door handle and the upper frame
But that's readily sortable
Front section of the rear door frame steps out
And here's why - the filler bodger at his finest
Centre aperture gapping is fine (always wide on the model from new)
But the door skin apertures around the bottom hinge plate is truly awful
Worse still is the fact that replacement lower section to the door skin is completely out of alignment with the front wing - which means that they have never trail fitted the door whilst undertaking the repair
The rear door profile is wrong the swage should have a radius to it and not sit square - but this is the skin repair that's failed anyway so it has to come apart and be done properly anyway
Some of the critical factors in getting the doors hung has been replacing the hinge bearings & pins along with ensuring that the hinge plates are secured correctly - I will require some repair panels to sort the bottom of the doors out but I have plenty to do in the interim until they arrive
I started by truing up the rear shroud radius so that it matched that of the boot lid profile
At which point more filler fell out from the location where it was hiding a defective welded repair
I straightened the flange on the rear wing for now to allow it to be fastened insitu - and again the gapping is relatively good against the door
On the underside rear of the wing is evidence of several repairs that look slightly dubious to me - I will probably have to investigate them further
And the flange edge will certainly require work
Bottom of the front leading edge of the rear wing indicates all is not well
On the inner edge is an inch of filler
The beige colour is standard cheap filler and the red is fibreglass bridging filler
I'm at a loss to why the idiots couldn't have spent a little time truing this area up rather than just pasting it up with clag !
