Being out in the Colonies I only just got to see it - I too was amazed they had to drill all those holes, to me that defeats the purpose of the factory galvanizing. And if the car was originally being used in a marine atmosphere those ally panels should have been much worse - alumin(i)um plus iron plus salt makes a fantastic battery........at the expense of the ally, not the iron. Also, I believe ally corrosion can be accelerated when welding steel in close proximity - it was a shame they had to weld in the gearbox support member to that new chassis.
