I finished the outer B pillar repair today.
Repair piece trimmed down and holes punched for when I fit the middle panel:
Clamped in place:
All welded in and welds ground flush:
And finished with a light coat of etch primer. I’m really happy with this repair.
Next up the C pillar, thus far I’ve cut back to fresh metal and started fabbing repair pieces.
Welded in the B pillar repairs today.
And checked against the outer B pillar. I’ll get that welded in tomorrow.
Made a filler piece to raise the inner sill to the same level as the middle sill. Once I finish the B and C pillars I should be able to get the side panel fitted.
More prep on the O/S today.
Cut out the rot on the inside of the B pillar. Most of the rot is isolated to the bulkhead so I shouldn’t have to make too many repair sections (thankfully).
Made the first of a few repair panels I’ll need:
Trimmed down the O/S closing panel and spent a fair while getting the fit right. I joggled the edge on the new panel which gets tucked under the old panel. The panel has the returns like the original either end so I’ll be able to replicate the spot welds joining it to the B pillar.
A bit of a change from all the chassis work I’ve been doing (it’s not finished yet, but I want to get the O/S bits sorted before I turn my attention to the N/S floor and the delights that the sliding door track and middle sill will offer).
Started grinding the paint off the O/S panel. Found an impressive amount of filler, however the metal underneath is solid.
Drew a straight-line across the panel and committed the cut (I didn’t have to cut quite as high as I originally thought which will save some effort). I’ll come back to this panel once I’ve sorted the B and C pillars.
B pillar condition wasn’t too bad, however the front arches are knackered (which I already knew):
Checked the fit of the B pillar repair against the new arch (it fits better than this picture suggests; the clamps fell off):
And cut the B pillar repair down to size. It still needs a bit of fiddling to get a perfect fit. I’ll then use this to aid me in fabricating the inner bits of the B pillar repair.
O/S Middle sill welded in over the weekend. Next up some minor repairs to the rear wheel housing.
It’s taken nearly 6 months since removing the original floor pans which had seen better days, but today finally saw the first floor pan go in.
Step 1: Arse around for 20 minutes getting the thing to fit:
Step 2: Weld that sucker in:
And all finished. Middle sill on that side and rear wheel arch repairs next.
Two coats of epoxy mastic on the chassis tonight. Nice and shiny!
Zinc primed all of the chassis bits I’ve been working on. Epoxy on tomorrow then first floor pan in at the weekend! A long night made easier by fresh pizza at home from Max.
Final repair around the rear torsion beam. Now to paint all the chassis!
Some more chassis fun from over the last few weeks.
I decided to finish off the chassis work before the floor goes in and I’m glad I did. Annoyingly I had to remove the brake cable guide tube I’d welded in as access would’ve been awkward (it only takes a little while to unpick it anyway). So chop chop. You can see the rear of the repair I had to make to the other side, and the welds for the cone section.
I fabbed the easiest bit first.
I then realised the piece I’d made wasn’t following the curve of the chassis rail properly so ended up making this repair piece (made from a few separate pieces for simplicity):
There’s some nice looking welds on it too!
And trail fitted, looking a bit neater.
While the paint dried on this side, I started looking at the N/S chassis rail which also needs some work, but is no-where near as bad as the O/S.
I’ve managed to retain most of the cone section on this side (I replaced it entirely on the side I’ve just done). Left overnight in rust treatment.
I then epoxy’d the inside of the O/S:
And began fabricating the repairs for the N/S. I managed to get away with just two simple sections on this side. A piece here:
With flanges bent into it, and a cover piece to go on top of it.
Everything then got a coat of paint on the inside surface:
And all welded in:
The chassis section around the rear torsion beam is now solid again. I need to weld a small cone section on the N/S, I’ve made the piece so just need to fit it. Bring on the floor!
