Fitted the rear arch and started welding it in. Looking good!
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A nice couple of coats of Epoxy Mastic on the inside of the rear panels. Shiny shiny!
A pretty productive week again this week.
First up I finished up the driver’s side rear wheel tub by making these closing panels from a second outer wheel arch repair panel. The outer wheel arch was trial fitted whilst welding these in to make sure everything would fit correctly.
Rear:
Front:
I’m pretty much ready to weld the rear arch and rear end panels (corners, battery trays, engine skirts and outer valance), however before that I want to get some paint on the inside of bits that I won’t have access to later. I cleaned up the D pillars and chassis legs using Deox gel, which is a rust remover, and left it over night:
Then spent the best part of Sunday cleaning up all the metal work, sanding and degreasing ready for some zinc rich primer (the rear corner took an age to remove the transit primer from!).
Rear end:
D pillar:
Engine skirts and battery trays (the N/S one is the original tray which needed some minor repairs but was in great condition):
Wheel tub:
Full corner for the O/S and the smaller repair panel for the N/S in the background:
I’ll epoxy mastic the lot this week and then crack on with the welding.
I’ve been busy finishing up the faffy D pillar and wheel tub repairs which need to be done before I can fit the outer panels to complete the rear end. It’s amazing how much time all these little bits add up to; I’ve spent 2 weeks or so doing this and still have a little bit to go.
First up some repairs to the top of the D pillar on the drivers side which had rusted out for some reason half way down:
The inside got a clean up and paint before making up a repair in the folder and welding it in. You can just about see some further sections I had to let in right at the top near the roof too:
With the top of the pillar sorted I turned to the bottom which I repaired with a set of schofield repair panels. Inners:
The outer section had rusted higher than the repair panel would cover so I fabricated some extension pieces:
And all welded in:
Next up I turned my attention to the rear wheel tub closing panels. I ended up buying a second outer arch for both sides to make the closing panels from. Even with a bought in panel these repairs take a fair amount of time to trim and fit properly.
Passenger rear closing panel:
Passenger front closing panel:
And while I was in that wheel tub I repaired a small hole in this section too:
Onto the drivers side which got a new rear section to replace the shocking repair someone else had done:
This side is in much better condition than the other with only this section along the lip needing repair.
I just need to weld in the closing panels on this tub and I can then start cleaning up all the metal to get some paint on the insides of the corners and wheel tub.
O/S arch fettled to perfection. I had to persuade it (hammer) to match the curve profile of the middle panel. I couldn’t work out for the life of me why the panel was bulging and popping when pressed near to the arch. I finally tracked it down to the lip not being bent enough, so when I was clamping it to the inner arch the panel bulged out. Quickly fixed with the trusty hammer again to bend the lip round further and no more popping.
Cut out the previous repair to the rear of the inner arch, which consisted of the original rusty piece sandwiched between two sheets of tacked on metal. I should get this repair welded in tomorrow and make a start on repairing the D pillars.
O/S engine skirt repaired and trial fitted.
Making a start on the O/S rear wheel arch. The tub is in amazing condition with only the very ends needing repair. Cavity wax seems to have kept it from rusting out. The outer arch needs a fair bit of fettling to get it to fit properly though, I’m having to rebend it where it joins the middle panel as the curves don’t align.
O/S rear corner trimmed and trial fitted, as it’s a genuine part it didn’t need too much fiddling to get it to fit but still took quite a lot of time:
Pretty happy with the engine lid gaps too:
Trial fit of the battery tray:
And finally making a start on repairing the O/S engine skirt (the whole reason I’ve had to trial fit the corner and battery tray):
Before I fit the engine bay skirt and battery tray I wanted to get the corner repair fitting nicely. It still needs trimming down a little in places but it’s looking good.
I’ve been super busy this week cracking on with the rear end restoration so haven’t got round to uploading any pictures this week until now.
To aid in getting the surrounding panels fitting correctly I’ve fitted a set of new hinges to the old engine lid and got the gaps correct (I have a new lid to fit at some point but need to convert the hinges on that first):
The passenger corner panel needs a new bottom on it, and, as the flange which attaches to the rear hatch seal channel had started to rust out, I ended up cutting fairly high up:
The bottom of the D pillar is completely rusted out, but the rest of it looks to be solid:
The engine bay skirt needs major repair. Only the section which sits on the chassis legs needs repairing though:
With the skirt out of the way the top of the chassis leg also needs replacing:
The driver’s side is in an even worse state and will be getting a complete new corner:
The battery tray had been “repaired” in the past with a delightful plate of sheet metal straight over the rotten tray:
A good day was spent just carefully chopping rot out to get to this stage:
Finally starting to get some fresh metal in. The O/S chassis leg needed a new end making up and welding in:
Both chassis leg tops cut off, and the insides rust treated and then epoxied:
Repairs made up for the tops of the chassis legs and welded in:
And finally the new inner valance welded in.
Onto the Rear inner arch and tub sections. The N/S isn’t that bad with most of the lower lip still intact which makes a welcome change.
I started by getting the rear part of the tub repaired, using a Schofield’s panel and a small infill piece as the rust had extended past the height of the panel:
The rear of the lip had rusted out, by the looks of it from water getting through the rear bung hole which was missing its bung. Rust cut out:
Outer arch trial fitted and then a snug fitting repair for the inner made from a second outer panel:
Repair welded in and welds dressed from this side. I just need to dress the other side and trim the lip down a little.
Max also treated the cubby beneath the driver’s seat with some Deox Gel (amazing stuff for removing rust) and I coated it in some Hydrate 80 to seal the metal:
