Chilliman Posted March 8, 2012 Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 Hello folks, Had the tub blasted yesterday to see what original metal I had left, fortunately not much rust but clearly a lot of dodgy replacement panel work by a p/o, I think it's going to be quickest and indeed best if I replace a lot of it, question is, given the standard of some of the stuff I've seen, where can I get some decent fitting panels? An initial list will include inner & outer sills, baffle plates, B posts & battery box tray. There was an interesting combo of colours, powder blue followed by a very dark blue followed by a couple of layers of red, some of which had an orange oxide primer and some of the red went straight on bare metal...interesting. Here's a couple of pic's of her in her current semi naked state! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TR Man Posted March 8, 2012 Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 (edited) If this was my car I wouldn't change any of the panels as they look great and there is no rust.Tub looks lovely and straight and has no major dents, and the wings and bonnet also. I got good sills from TR-Bitz and baffle plates from Moss for my 3A and we fixed the B posts by fashioning some steel bought in B & Q. I would give your car a good rust preventive base layer followed by good filling and finishing before a lovely paint job in your favourite colour. It's nice to use your original parts and they are much more solid than the new ones which are over priced big time. Good luck with the job and let us see the final paint job. Regards, Martin Edited March 8, 2012 by TR Man Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pfenlon Posted March 8, 2012 Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 Sills arent too bad if you need them, repro's that is. I cut the rusty parts off my sills leaving all the good stuff and bought "New" sills and cut them to fit the original ones and welded them together, If at all possible as Martin says repair as much as possible of your original bodywork, its very time consuming buy they will fit and look better than very expensive repro ones which dont. The Shell does look good, but remember if it needs floors do one side at a time. I have been to the paint shop to bog up the last wing today after 6 hours and 3 seperate applications of filler its almost all rubbed off well shal I hope finish it tomorrow, and then start again after its first primer coat, its a VERY long job with an even longer learning curve, I just hope its worth it in the end. But you are progresing well!!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted March 8, 2012 Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 (edited) For a start I hope whoever blasted it knows what they are doing otherwise you will have a lot of warped panels. Second get a few good coats of red primer such as Bondarust on all of it PDQ before the flash rust starts regardless of what needs to be replaced/welded. All the repro sills are a bit on the poor side and basically all seem to come off the same moulds regardless of who you buy them from so dont be taken in by anyone's claims of " We fit these ourselves so we know they are good" (Cobblers!) Inner sills are fine. If replacing either part of the "B" posts only unpick one side at a time as the repro fronts arent quite the right angle to fit and do need fettling. Battery box area you are probably better off making your own section up as the repro is not good Splash panels are fine from all the usual suspects. The sill end caps from Moss are currently the best they have ever been. Stuart. Edited March 8, 2012 by stuart Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Chilliman Posted March 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2012 Thanks Gents, The picture is a bit deceptive as it doesn't show the quality of some of the previous work or the heat distorted panels where repair sections have been overlaid. Also the sills have had no end caps on and I can see bad corrosion the length of the inside so there not a lot of choice but to replace with good metal. Having worked so hard to complete the chassis & running gear to a high standard I'm not going to spoil the body by leaving any rot that can manifest itself in a couple of years time, I will certainly retain as much of the original sound metal as possible. Stuart - I chose a soda blast so I don't get the same problems of flash rusting as you do with grit, I'll complete the repairs and then give her a final clean with my own grit blaster to get a good key and then it will be straight on with the primer the same day. cheers John Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted March 9, 2012 Report Share Posted March 9, 2012 Living where you do John I would still red prime ASAP as any bare metal soda blasted or not will still rust Stuart. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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