Horn Mounting Panel

Actually I don't think this panel is actually called the horn mounting panel. It probably has some formal name, like "Inner Sleeve Sounder Stub Flitch Panel (RHD, replaces XKC548C", at least that's what I imagine it might be called in the catalogues. But as it is a panel, and the right-hand horn mounts to it, we'll just call it the horn mounting panel.

Right, now we have that out of the way, I'll tell you a little about it and I don't think it will take very long, to be honest. When the car was stripped down I removed the left hand horn with no problems, but the nuts and bots on the right hand side had rusted solid to the body. Being a sensitive soul I wrenched them off with a mole grip, which ripped open the steel around the mounting holes. Oh dear.

So, getting bored of the longest rear wheel arch repair in history, I decided last weekend to have a go at fixing this cute little panel. Using a thin cutting disc on the grinder, I cut out a rectangle (with a bit of a spike on the end of the shape) to leave a gaping hole, the edges of which were then ground down to make them ready for welding. Unfortunately I don't have any photos of this operation, but I do have some of the repair piece being held in for welding with insulating tape.

 Once a couple of tack welds were made to hold the new metal in place, it was very carefully stitched in, avoiding excessive heat build-up. The welds were then ground down using the grinder, and the Dremmel in the tight spaces.

Once the area was solid again, a paper template of the opposite horn mounting panel was made, with the holes marked on it. To transfer the correct hole geometry to the other side, the template just needed turning upside down and hey presto I had my reference points for the centre punch. A couple of quick taps followed by some work with an 8mm drill and the holes were back where they should be.

All that was then left do was add a thin skim of filler, rub it down and apply a coat of primer.

 

The pic was taken when the primer was still wet, hence the different shades.

Right, now that's done, I'll get back to fixing (sigh)  XKC190. That IS the correct catalogue number...the rear offside wing. By the way, looking at the Rimmer Bros price list these are unavailable now, with the near side listed as £525. Yikes! I'd better put the NOS one I have in cotton wool!