July 2005
| Its to the stage where its not very exciting. Just taking the car apart is rather boring to do and I guess for those that frequent this site it's not earth shattering to read but I did say it's warts and all and it is part of the process. So here we go |
| As I remove the body mount bolts, it is revealed that over its years, its had a few hands making modifications. It looks like the mounting hole needed to be changed a few times. Instead of welding in a patch piece, I just got hold of a thick washer and welded it over the top in the new location. I will be using cheese headed bolts with hex drive so it will blend in OK. It will also have felt and carpet over the top, so it doesn't need to be neat. |
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| Time to weld in the driver's side toe panel. First I do the top, later when I get under the floor I will tack in the panel from there. After that, a coat of primer and seam sealer and primer again. The next pic shows my Telco background. I welded in a pair of mounting bolts made from concave washers. I will then mount a strip of brass bar onto the bolts. This will be used as a ground bus bar. That position is in fact the rear of the battery box. I will run a cable direct from the battery to the bus bar. That will be the perfect ground and a distribution point to the rest of the body. |
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| These pic could have been taken 2 years ago. The body is now ready to be lifted up at the front so I can work under it. |
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| The first obstacle was where to lift the body from. I first thought from the windscreen but I didn't want to risk warping the frame. I then noticed the substantial brackets behind the door hinges so I cut a section of heavy gauge tube steel to slide in between there. Next I slung the cable between the window frame then around the tube. I was confident it was strong enough to hold the weight. Well I had to be sure, as I was planing on working under it. I welded spots in all the required areas and ground back all visible sections. I then primered under the floor as far as the rear seat swab. The rear was already primered from way back. Still, it was fairly cramped working under there. I'm feeling it now a day later. |
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| While the body was up, I tried opening and closing the doors. There appeared to be no flexing in the body, so I took the opportunity to weld the sills at both the A and B pillars. |
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| I don't care what it looks like. I don't like rust so I seam sealed every nook and cranny. Once it dries, I'll give it another coat of primer so it shouldn't look to noticeable. This sealer is called Sikaflex and is a silicon based product. It sticks very well and I found no better way to apply it than with my fingers. The tube applicator just makes it sit on the seam. I wanted it to penetrate and seal properly. The advise I can give is to use surgical gloves when applying it. It is near impossible to remove from your hands. I tried everything from thinners, to bleach and a good soaking and a scrubbing brush. There is still a lot on my hands days later. Next pic is after its been primered again. Looks presentable, not that I'm really concerned. It's just being practical. |
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| This is a pic for the observant. I welded up some more holes, including the original handbrake holes. I also welded up the heater hose holes. The reason why will be shown later on. The next pic is the inside floor sealed. I used a different product here. Not intentionally, its just because I got it cheaper ( well actually for free ). I don't recall the brand, but it works well and is easier to apply and clean up. |
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| This is after it dried and a coat of primer. The rear floor was primered a while back in another brand of primer. I couldn't see any reason to waste new primer on it just to have it all the same colour. After all, who will see it? The next pic is the seat frame after I gave it a squirt of rattle can black. I sat around and pondered what I could do now. All the body sections are all stowed away and ready for top coat. Even the cowl vent, glove box lid, inner guards. I finished off some other small things and realised I have basically done all I can to the body until it gets warmer. So next week I will construct a body dolly and wheel it away. When the time comes for final body prep, it will be easier to see imperfections when its out in natural light. That method worked well for the individual panels. |
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| I constructed a body dolly out of some heavy gauge square tube steel and welded some caster wheels on the legs, then lifted the body onto it. Sounds simple but required a few hands and some thought. The main section of the dolly fits neatly into the transmission tunnel. |
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| Marg snapped this pic as I was taking a breather after pushing the body outside. Next week I tackle the chassis to get a kink out of it that I didn't notice when I was working on it in the early phase. |
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