Near-side sills

By now I was feeling a little more confident and the panels that I had amassed and stored in my shed were slowly coming out of their hibernation.

The near side sills were in an awful state and unlike the diver's side it was clear that both the outers and the inners would have to be replaced. So, before starting any work, I welded a couple of bracing struts across the door appeture and from the A-post to the gear box tunnel, to at least try to retain some rigidity. Cutting out the rot left a scary but satisfying sight.

Air

At this stage I had learned a bit about where the structural strength of the car lay, so even though the front floor was crying out for attention I decided to do the sills first, so I could at least align them with the rusty but original lines of the floorpan.

Above: The new inner sill all fitted, together with the closing end plate.

Here you can see the new inner sill in place, welded in and seam-sealed. The black patch repair you can see on the rear chassis rail/ to bulkhead panel isn't one of mine and will be coming off. Note the brand new single-bulge bonnet I aquired for £40.

And the finished article.

Overall, I was pleased with this repair. I used the spot welder to good effect and where I migged things it all went well. Nice, smooth welds on lovely new rust-free metal.

Regarding the chronology of the restoration, we are pretty much up to date now.