More prep work

Now I feel ready to get started on the welding, I’ve started hacking the rusty old metal out – So far I’ve got the wheelarch holes cut out, filed down and ready to get started this weekend. I’m starting on the easy stuff, the big (and little) holes in the middle of the panels, I don’t feel ready to tackle those rear sills just yet!

That said, I did go in the garage today and hacked the NSR sill off – it was in a right state, beyond any reasonable hope of saving. At least, after me battering, drilling and grinding it, it’s beyond saving now! I’ll be needing a new panel for that (don’t fancy fabricating a new one – too many odd curves!), but so far, that’s the only one I’ll need, so I can live with that.
Next on the fabrication list is the wheelarch itself, where it meets the sill at the back. Getting the shape right is going to be tricky – how do you make a template from something that dissolved years ago? :-S
Still, I’m not one to shy away from such a challenge, so I’ll work something out, even if it takes me a few goes. Sheet steel is reasonably cheap!

I forgot to take my camera with me today, so no photos of the carnage yet – I’ll hopefully do an update tomorrow.

Also over the weekend, we got started on the suspension components – I say ‘we’, but that job went to my lovely and able assistant Amy, who spent the afternoon ripping out the old rubber bushes. I’d had a go at them before and they weren’t in any hurry to come out, so she went straight to the ‘burn ’em out’ method.

I think she’s having a little *too* much fun with that blowtorch! 🙂

The technique worked though, all eight bushes are now out (and slightly crispy), now the parts just need a good clean up, a bit of grinding down, and then they’re ready for painting – or I might look at prices for powder coating them.

After all that, we deserved a pint, so off we went to the pub (just over the road!), filthy and no doubt stinking of burnt rubber – I hope they don’t mind us coming in like that, I get the feeling we’re going to be a regular weekend fixture!