Hayley has gone out so I am making some noise.

After seeing some stunning works of art at himley last week, I realised it was high time to get my finger out with this bodywork malarky. Got straight on the phone on monday to order the NS inner wing. The inside of the dash is now clean and primed, so the front end is definitely getting somewhere.



Much umming and arring about what to do next. Decided the next big step is boot floor and heel board. The problem in this area is the arches and quarters are also cheese, and the rear end of the floors need repairing. With so much major surgery on the cards, it seemed sensible to attempt to rescue the rear panel as a money saving exercise. Also fancied a challenge. ;) A solid rear panel will also give me something to weld the boot floor to.

First of all, whipped off the rear valance complete with the lip. It was a crust sandwich:



Templating up for a new lip:



And cut out:



Paint stripped the disaster zone to assess the damage:



Luckily, the bad corrosion is contained in the lower couple of inches of the panel. Unluckily, there are compound curves to contend with.
Temporarily bolted the boot lid back on to make sure nothing was getting bent out of shape.



I saw a very helpful video on youtube about how to make a repair like this. Look up SWRNC (South West Rod 'n' Custom). The guy is a genius.



All welded up. Hopefully after a bit of grinding, flapping and filler it will be INVISIBLE!



The plan for tomorrow is to continue the rust repairs in this area, get the lip on, then see about cutting out the boot floor. I don't think I will need to put in any more bracing as the seat-back and parcel shelf etc should hold the rigidity. I hope.