After a bit more tweaking, I’ve finally got the base panel ready to fit.
I had to go over the A post bits again as they weren’t quite precise, it’s a nice snug fit now.
I also ground back the rest of the welding on the sides and welded some new metal in:
It’s not exactly pretty, but then it doesn’t have to be – the wings will cover most of it anyway. what’s important is that they’re now level with the rest of the panel, the old bits were welded on top which would have caused problems with the fitting of the wings.
I then primered the bottom part (weld-through primer on the bits being welded, etch primer on the rest):
All that remains now is to drill some holes for the spot (plug) welds in the necessary bits, then it’s ready for final fitting. I’m happy with the fit, when I first started it needed hammering and pushing around to sit properly, now it just drops exactly in place. Good job really, with the amount of times I’ve fitted and removed it!
I also did some more work on the top panel, cutting and grinding it to fit:
It’s not quite there, I need to lose about 5mm of metal along the middle, but it’s close. I also need to weld in the inner part along the top, I’ve cut it out and it just needs a bit of shaping before welding.
It’s been a lot more work than I’d anticipated, measuring, cutting, measuring again, then grinding literally millimetres at a time and checking for fit each time. But I feel it’s worth taking the time over to get it right – I’d hate to get the car finished, painted and reassembled only to find the screen didn’t fit properly!