Monday 27 May 2013

Rear Wing - Offside - Part 2

Just a quick post today. The rear offside wing on the car is sound, apart from a very small area where it meets the wheel arch. Typically this is a sod to repair.


The problem with this area is that (a) it has multiple curves (b) the metal is very thin and (c) it is very visible from the outside. I did spend a bit of time wondering if a repair panel was available, but in the end I concluded to the negative and decided to make my own.

Using a flat bit of steel, I shaped a repair panel and I am very pleased with it. It took a lot of measuring (me? measuring?) and banging in the vice, but it fitted pretty well. I have not cut the rusty area out yet, so the photos just show the new panel sitting atop the old.


Sunday 26 May 2013

Rear Wing - Offside - Part 1

It has been a period of woes in Northamptonshire. Leicester Tigers 37,  Northampton Saints 17 in the Aviva Premiership Final. Northampton Cobblers beaten 3-1 by Bradford City in the League Two play-off final. Damn. They all ran out of gas.

So I decided this weekend to get a move on with my offside rear wing and avid readers will have seen that I have been working on this whole area, starting with the boot floor repairs and then moving on to  cutting out the rear lower inner and outer sill panels. However they all lead into the rear wing so it came to be that last week I took delivery of a lovely box of bits from Messrs Robsport. Inside it were panels to fix the rear lower sill area, an inner rear wheel arch lip, an outer lip and the panel that repairs the rear wing (front) lower area where it meets the rear wing.

The latter area has to be cut out when replacing the outer sill, so Robsport's panel is a godsend. The area on Bessy is just a big hole where the area had been cut out, but the new panel trial-fitted like a glove, even over the remnants of the old metal.

You can see some panel damage here. What to do?
 
 
What a fit. Makes up for the front inner wheel arch panels!

Next job was to draw a line where the old metal would need to be cut out, and, err, cut it out.

That done, I offered up the new outer wheel arch lip and to my delight found that this fitted wonderfully too, so I did the same and cut the old one off.

Outer arch lip cut away to reveal a not-too-bad inner.

Underneath, I found that the inner wheel arch lip was pretty sound, just needing some localised repairs. The old rusty metal was cut out and sections of a repair panel welded in. I didn't cut the new repair panel as, if I wasn't going to use it, I wanted to be able to re-sell it. Steel is money, after all. The new sections were cut from a repair panel I bought on ebay ages ago and I have no idea which corner of the car it was originally designed to fix, but the profile was about right so I chopped it up and used it.

Sections of arch welded in to the inner arch lip.
Then, in true Northampton Saints/Cobblers form, I ran out of gas, literally. Damn it. Back to BOC on Tuesday.

Sunday 19 May 2013

Boot/Trunk floor - Offside

This job is really a result, and part of, the rear lower sill panel post, but as I got it done in one go I think it deserves its own page. The intention originally was to repair this panel, but sadly it wasn't worth it so it was chopped out. Three or four spots welds to the nearside rear wing and some - what looked like - braze tacks (they were gold in colour - anyone know if the factory welded this way?) were cut out and away it went.


In one of those pleasant moments, I discovered that I had the required repair panel in my spares pile (it came with a job lot of spares I obtained many years ago. The only problem is that I forget what I have bought. I could own 40 bonnets for all I know). It was tried for fit, trimmed and after the paint had been ground off its edges, painted with zinc weld-through primer. Holes were also punched through for spot welding along the flange beneath the car.


Once the panel was clamped in place, it was tacked in and plug welds added to the joint with the rear wing.

This is the view from underneath, although it was taken with the car on its side.
 
 



Next stop is to blend this repair into the offside rear wing repairs, so I will need the:
  • rear lower outer sill panel
  • rear lower inner sill panel
  • rear inner wheel arch lip repair panel
  • rear outer wheel arch lip repair panel
  • rear wing front repair panel
This lot will cost me about £350 from Robsport (which is an "ouch" moment however you look at it) but they really are the specialists and their products and service are excellent. We should not complain at the price when specialists like this bother to provide us with solutions for our restorations.

A spot of primer for now and its off to the pub to enjoy the sunshine.