4wheeledstool

Valance now welded, tidied up and zinc primed. With that done, the driver's side rear door came off so I could sort out the gap between the arch repair panel and the new outer sill. I'm gonna finish off the welding on the front part of the wheel arch + top of the sill next, then hopefully get the spit assembled on Monday. I think I may have overestimated the amount of welding gas required - I've used about 15% of it so far!

Didn't think I was gonna get back on this until the weekend, but managed to snaffle a couple of hours on it this evening. Rear valance fettled up, zinc primed on the back, and tacked on. Also plug welded the valance to the lower rear quarters. I'll get it fully welded next time, hunger got the better of me this evening.

Stopped off at the shed on the way home today, and got the lower rear quarter bottom on. Just needs to be checked for pin holes, then I can get the lower rear valance fettled up and on. Little by little Its becoming un-fucked.

Many thanks! Like a good book, once I get stuck in, its difficult to leave it alone! I didn't get down to the shed until midday, but got straight on with trimming + fettling. Let the tacking commence Welds dressed back and pinholes attended to. The rear quarter panel was a little distorted from when the bodge repairs were done, but its ended up pretty reasonable. It does require a little fettling with a hammer and dolly in two small spots though. Hopefully I can get that lower rear valance and rear quarter bottom on this week, then I can finally try out my rollover spit.

Not had any spare time until today, and sadly only a couple of hours were available. (Was hoping to be on it all day!) A bit of metal wrangling to replace the missing inner arch lip took place. (The marker pen shading + lines help me remove metal in the right places) Welding it in. (This is the rear portion) And finally the completed inner arch lip. I'm hoping to get the outer on tomorrow.(unless foiled by other stuff like today)

The weather has been too good of late to spend in a dusty lock up, so I've given it a miss the last couple of days. I gave it a cheeky hour or so on the way home from work today and got a couple more small jobs done. The missing offside inner rear corner I made at the weekend went on first. Then the lower part of the outboard section of the wheel tub was fashioned and welded in before I went home. Next on the list is to get the rear half of the inner arch lip on there - probably be at the weekend now.

Cheers! Structural filler kept it off the bridge - hopefully it'll not need too much of the stuff trowelling back on before it gets painted. Thank you kindly! My arthritis got the better of me today, but still got a little bit done. Went round all the recent welds with a LED torch, and any pinholes were addressed with the sparkly stick. Once that was done, I replaced the bottom of the inner rear quarter - the corner piece to finish the gap left between this and the inner rear valance is under construction and will be stuck in next time.

Got a few hours on this over the last couple of days - progress is progress! The rearmost part of the top of the tub was cobbled together off the car, seen here part way through fabrication. This was then welded into position (awkward!), allowing a second piece to be persuaded into a shape that fits the gap that remains, whilst leaving something in the right sort of area to attach the inner arch lip to. Once whittled down with a flap disc to fit, this was welded in. Once I've finished cleaning back the welds, I'm good to complete the bottom of the back of the wheel tub + get the inner arch lip on there - the most difficult part of this corner is done now.

Not been much time available the last couple of days just enough to clean back to metal both sides of the fuel filler hole, treat with Hydrate 80, then zinc prime it. I'm just weighing up wether to rebuild the missing structure on the car, or make it off the car then weld in when completed - both options have their pros and cons. When I left the unit today leaving the outer panel clamped on, it struck me that although not completed by any stretch of the imagination, that this is the most complete this wheel arch has looked for a fair while.

Cheers! Pretty frilly - Its certainly the frilliest heap I've ever attempted to un-fuck. The design is poor - I hope to come up with a better solution to keep water out of the joint between the inner and outer parts of the fuel filler aperture.

After a bit of time weighing up the job this morning, I came to the conclusion that the fuel filler part of the rear quarter would need repairing before anything else could be done. Started the session looking like this. The rusty metal of the outboard side of the tub above the fuel filler was then cut right back before cracking on with the fuel filler aperture itself. A couple of hours later, I was pleased to be looking at this. I'll clean up and paint both sides of the fuel filler, then I can get on with replacing the rear outboard wheel tub + inner arch lip. Once this arch/tub is completed, the plan is to weld the outer rear valance on before it goes up on the spit. Feels like I'm getting through it now.

Lots of time spent on this today, but not a right lot achieved. Replaced a section of wheel tub + inner arch lip. It took a while, but so far a perfect fit with the outer arch. Next up a load of rusty bits were cut out of the back of the wheel tub, inner rear quarter bottom and outer rear quarter bottom.. The viable metal left behind was kind of flapping in the breeze, so a multitude of small and fiddly repairs were done to the wheel tub/inner rear quarter to tie it all together, and give me something to weld to when it comes to replacing the outboard section of the back of the wheel tub. (Phew!) Zinc rich primer then splashed around before teatime.

Front part of the inner arch lip now in position - was difficult to get it somewhere near the right place on this side due to the lack of any remains of the original one. The front part of the outer arch then went on - seen here after half grinding the welds back so that I can see where any little gaps are that need hitting with the sparkly stick. Finished the session by making a start fettling the rear part of the outer arch to get a good fit. (This one is a worse pressing than the nearside one was. ) Hopefully more tomorrow!

Got a little bit further along with the mess that is the offside rear wheel tub. Only had time to make and weld in the piece that replaces the rotten front part of the tub. Once I've finished cleaning back the welds, the plan is to replace the inner arch lip as far around as I have the time for over the weekend. (My rollover spit was supposed to arrive today, but it'll be next week now. )

A top bloke of the retro rides forum gave me a load of arch repair panels out of his old shop stock. He also supplied me with a pair of rear drums, several sets of rear brake shoes, two sets of front pads, two rear wheel bearings, and a pile of mirror glasses. Should save me a few quid when the time to rebuild comes.