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Tag Archives: Bodywork
Getting Ready for Winter
As you might have noticed, I haven’t updated here for a little while. As tends to happen, other plans and projects mean that I just haven’t been able to get down to the car recently. As it’s now starting to get colder and the days are getting shorter, I’ve decided it’s time to pack up for the winter. So over the weekend we went down to the garage, I spent a bit of time welding the wheelarch on (It’s taken me a while to fit properly, the shape and fit of the pressing is awful and needed a lot of beating into shape). Done now though: The only thing remaining is to paint the arch and wing, then that’s it for the winter. I also (A couple of weeks ago) stripped and painted the o/s headlamp recess, that’s ready for final painting now: The car is slowly starting to turn … Read More
Battery Tray & Wing
Not a lot of blogging recently, the weather has been hampering any serious attempts to work! I have managed to get a bit done though. The windscreen frame is slowly taking final shape. I’ve got it nearly there, just a few last small ripples to get out. Work moved on to the battery tray, it was in basically solid shape but needed a good tidy up: So I ground off all the surface rust, acid etched both parts and welded on some new metal after I mangled the bit where it connects to the bulkhead: Then it was time to clean up the engine bay area: A lot of that couldn’t be reached with any power tool in my collection so there was a whole lot of rubbing down done by hand. I’m happy with the end result though. A bit of priming and seam sealing: The seam sealer ended … Read More
Windscreen Frame part 8
After waiting for a day with some decent weather, I got the welding finished off this weekend. Firstly I welded the bulkhead panel in place, then ground down all the excess weld from the top and sides: Then went back over the whole thing and redid a few parts that weren’t up to scratch. Once happy with that, I tapped down a few high spots and got started with the filler. It looks like the filler I’m using is past it’s best, it’s a couple of years old and isn’t as smooth or easy to work with as it used to be. So, time to get some more. I persevered with what I had for today, quite happy with the result so far: I decided to fill the seams for now and have a smooth A post: I can chase some seams back in later if I decide that doesn’t … Read More
Windscreen Frame part 7
Both panels are now in! I tacked the top panel in place and did a bit of measuring to make sure nothing had slipped. It all checked out fine, so time to get going on with the welding. End result: It looks a mess, but a good session with the grinder should sort that out. It’s not as level as I’d hoped for due to some inevitable heat distortion (maybe I was hoping for too much?), but it’s nothing a bit of hammering down and filling won’t fix. Overall, I’m happy enough with the job. There’s a couple of bits to patch on the join between the A posts and the roof panel where I got a little carried away with the grinder (Remember, kids: Measure twice, cut once – don’t let this happen to you!) I’m currently wondering whether to leave the seam there for originality (due to the … Read More
Windscreen Frame part 6
The fitting continues – with everything more or less the way I wanted it, it was time for a final test fit of the screen – this time with the finishers: It fits well enough, so time to carry on with fitting. I got all the holes drilled for the welds: And then tack welded the bottom part of the frame in place. It’s only held on by six welds at the moment, so it can easily come out again if needs be. Then the inner part of the top surround was welded in place: Cleaned up and painted: Yay, I finally have a windscreen lip! The outer part was cleaned and straightened up, painted and prepped for final fitting: I need to get a new tip for the welder before I can carry on, this one keeps jamming and causing wire feed problems. Otherwise, I’d have had the top … Read More
Windscreen Frame part 5
After a bit more tweaking, I’ve finally got the base panel ready to fit. I had to go over the A post bits again as they weren’t quite precise, it’s a nice snug fit now. I also ground back the rest of the welding on the sides and welded some new metal in: It’s not exactly pretty, but then it doesn’t have to be – the wings will cover most of it anyway. what’s important is that they’re now level with the rest of the panel, the old bits were welded on top which would have caused problems with the fitting of the wings. I then primered the bottom part (weld-through primer on the bits being welded, etch primer on the rest): All that remains now is to drill some holes for the spot (plug) welds in the necessary bits, then it’s ready for final fitting. I’m happy with the … Read More
Windscreen Frame part 4
Today I got the top part cut out and tried a test fit: Obviously a lot of cutting, shaping and grinding to be done, but so far so good. Duct tape is as strong as welding, right? A quick test fit of the screen (doubtless the first of many): It’s not a perfect fit, mostly due to the old sealer still on the screen. It’s pretty close though. I admit that was a slightly frivolous exercise, but I did learn a bit. Mainly that the top of the frame, given the chance, will drop down lower than it should, something to watch for when fitting it properly. Tomorrow should see the top panel cut to shape and ready for final test fitting before I get started with the welding.
Windscreen Frame part 3
Work continued on the frame today. I didn’t get as much as I’d hoped done, partly because the brand new angle grinder, bought to replace the old one which packed up, packed up. I was cutting a seam out when it started smoking, got suddenly really hot and then stopped working. So I had to pack up, drive to the other side of town and get it replaced, then drive back and start again. Not happy – I’d bought a cheap one as I didn’t need it to last too much longer, but I was hoping for more than a day’s use out of it! Obviously buying cheap is a false economy, so I paid a bit more (twice as much!) and got the same model I had before, at least I know that should last the distance with no problems. So, back on with the work: With the bits … Read More
Windscreen Frame part 1
No updates for a while, there really hasn’t been much going on. I’ve been busy with other things, and the only thing I’ve really been able to get on with is the filling of the front panel. That’s more or less done now, I’m not totally happy with it – there’s a small ridge at the top, I think the metal might be slightly raised at the edge of the dent. It’s hard to tell, the difference is so small you can’t even see it with a straightedge. It’s an annoying dent to repair, if I pop the dent right out it bulges out above where it should, and if I hammer it down too much it pops back leaving a 2” or so dent to fill. I may end up grinding the filler out and starting again. For now though, I’ve done as much as I’m going to, so … Read More
Finishing The Rear Deck
As mentioned in my last entry, I needed to fill the gaps between the rear wings and the deck. I’d decided that the best way of doing this was lead soldering (or body soldering, or lead loading – whatever you want to call it), so the kit was duly ordered and delivered from Frost. I started yesterday – a small test piece first: That went quite well – despite what I’ve heard it’s not hugely difficult, the key is to keep the temperature right, too much heat and it quickly turns to liquid and all runs away. So, on to the real thing: Probably a bit too much lead on there, but pretty good for a first attempt I think. The gaps are solidly filled now, which is what I was aiming for. As you can probably see, I burnt the paint quite a bit – good job it’s all … Read More