Post by grumpynorthener on May 18, 2021 19:55:19 GMT
Toe board repair welded in & dressed back and the edge of the bulkhead panel just going in to provide a fixed datum before I chop the flitch panel out behind it
Damaged flitch panel area removed
Perforated area to the top of the bulkhead that requires attention
But the panels that sit above it are also effected - all of this area is adjacent to the pedal box & master cylinders - it looks like the master cylinders have leaked brake fluid which turn has lifted / removed paint in this area - then with a little water ingress from the bonnet channel - explains why several areas have rusted out
Some careful cutting back of the areas concerned
Repair section to the top of the bulkhead let in - quite fiddly due to the holes / nuts that require re-drilling & welding for accelerator cable ferule & pedal arm stop adjuster
Managed to heat the broken studs and remove them from the various set nuts
Removed the dead trumpet panel from the inner wing
And now on with repairing the smaller sections
I have a factory replacement panel for the inner wing to bulkhead
The remaining areas on the inner wing I will make up from sheet steel
Then should get the flitch repair fitted tomorrow which in turn will allow me to progress the sill panels
If thats a good shell, Would hate to have to do a bad shell
This is a real eye-opener for me... I'd always assumed a B would be a straightforward project - I guess due to production numbers and popularity / spares volumes etc. - clearly far from the case
If thats a good shell, Would hate to have to do a bad shell
Believe me this is a decent shell when you compare it a lot of the restorable ones out there - you can spend a fortune on repair & replacement panels - floorpans / complete sill sections which is 4 separate panels alone / A posts / inner wings and that's before you start with the outer panels - A new bodyshell is £14k + 6 month lead time - and even these need work to get the panel fits correct
You can understand why people ship rot free left hand drive shells from dry USA states for conversion back in the UK - cost is sub £2.5k landed with duties - get it dipped do a right hand conversion on it and you can build the car without the hassle of getting into to several miles of welding
Hi Chris, how do you put the ribs in your repair sections?
Thanks
Sean
Probably easier for me to take some pics in the morning and show you via the images rather than explain with words - if that's ok
I use a folder but you can use a vice with a couple lengths of angle iron if you don't have a folder - the principle & method remains the same
Fold your metal section to 90 degrees
I then use a block of wood and a mallet to return the right angle on the section whilst the metal is still clamped up
Which will give you a shallow flange from the edge of the fold
A quick straighten up with the hammer & dolly
And you have the following profile
For deeper profiles you can clamp a piece of flat or round bar up against the right angle before dressing the upright back down - you can also make a former up from wood or use a swager - but this is a quick & simple method and has always worked for me
Thanks for that Chris, I recognise the two lengths of angle concept, have used it many times to form returns but hadn't spotted the potential to do more with. Learning as I watch :-) Thanks Sean
Post by grumpynorthener on May 20, 2021 21:43:14 GMT
Welding to the flitch repair panel dressed back
And new section let into the bottom to form the flange edge
End of the floor crossmember was the worse for wear so this was removed
And a new section let in & dressed back
Bottom of the rear wheelarch tub was next - the sill panels abut & fasten to this area
Mid way through repair
Completed
Then welded the floor pan edge back to the inner sill from the underside - its already factory spot welded but the additional welds are to add more lateral strength to the area
Castle rail & jacking point support brace can now be trail fitted
Just temporally held with self tapping screws to allow the rest of the panels to be trial fitted
Followed by the centre section sill panel
Then the outer sill
Lower door hinge refitted
Which then allowed the door to be rehung
I need to make some adjustments in the morning in order align the sill & door aperture gapping's
Post by toomanyprojects on May 21, 2021 8:33:09 GMT
Was going to say, talk about motoring on, think that little lot would take me a month of Sundays. Mind you that might say something about my tea drinking habit more than anything else!
Post by grumpynorthener on May 21, 2021 21:00:04 GMT
A further round of panel gapping alignment was pursued today with lots of adjusting on the door hinges
Then the front wing was refitted - several times as I had to keep elongating / adjusting the bolt apertures
Eventually achieving the best fit that I could between the door & sill / door & front wing
Front vertical gapping on the door & wing isn't too bad on the lower section - but you can drive a bus into the upper aperture gapping
And the gapping between the door & rear wing isn't that clever either - but these will get sorted when I come to panel the car up - critical for the current process of fitting the sill panels is that horizontal alignment on the door matches through the swage line and that the horizontal gapping between the door & sill are looking something like true
With that checked the front wing could come back off and the castle rail prepped for welding
Then refitted ready for welding
The castle rail will be plug welded through the floor pan for much of its length - I just want to achieve a slightly tighter fit between the 2 panels before welding but I ran out workshop noisy time - but a few mins in the morning will see me all set to go
Post by grumpynorthener on May 24, 2021 8:20:22 GMT
Castle rail plug welded through the floor pan
Then additional stitch welds added between the rail and the inner sill to add lateral strength
Initial dressing back of the floorpan but access is difficult with the bracing in place - I will go over this again once the bracing is removed and allows better access
Weld through primer added once the jacking point support had been welded in
All ready for the fitting of the centre section sill
Post by grumpynorthener on May 24, 2021 21:50:18 GMT
Centre section sill going in
The plug welds to the flitch panel can only be done once the outer sill is fitted
Humping this thing around is no easy task - its quite heavy and you have to wrestle it into position and hold it there with one hand whilst the other hand operates the jaw clamping at which point the weld cycle starts - only takes a few seconds but after several spot welds it all starts getting rather hot to handle
Then on with the outer sill
Part spot welded / part plug welded
Then dressed back
Lower rear wing repair will be done in conjunction with the door once I have reskinned it
Temporary bracing could now be removed which will allow access to dress the front section of the floor pan / toe board & flitch panel tomorrow
Should also be able to get stuck into the front inner wing repairs tomorrow
Ooh, this takes me back - helped a pal reshell his F reg roadster in his single car council garage. We started looking at the rust all the way round, totted up the panels/time required and he ended up buying one of the first shells that BMH made. Still needed some work, but was a lot quicker!
When I saw the rot in the lower front corner of the door I wondered if you would patch or reskin it Chris. Are you likely to have to realign stuff once the door's reskinned or are the skins good enough that swage lines will align still?
yup, just goes to show what a 'solid' shell of one of these looks like when you get stuck in.
