Update 30 - Bulkhead repair and body fit

In the last couple of weeks we have been keen to get the blue and white car so the body can go back on. The rust on the bottom of the bulkhead was the biggest blocker...

We cut off the bottom sections of the bulkhead back to good metal. Using the off-cuts and some additional measurements we fabricated replacement bulkhead sections and butt welded them on.

The O/S received less damage in the crash and so only needed welding, the N/S needed a dent knocking out. So we started on the O/S and went from there.

Below shows the post weld with undercoat applied.



You can see we made cut-outs where the pedals go as per the original.



On the N/S for the lower section we took the same approach, this time you can see in the raw metal - we welded the corners from the inside to get a tight fit into the chassis.



Next up was a test fit of the body, this was the first time the body had been on the new chassis and the car looking like a whole car again - fingers cross everything was in the correct place!!!





Looks like we were not too bad on the measuring front, all the holes and attachments were in the right place and the body slotted straight on..... few!

This was just a test fit though so all the edges were checked.









With the body clamped in place we marked all the holes which need to be drilled into the chassis to bolt them together. It's surprising that the body is held on as standard by only eight 6mm captive head coach bolts. I for one am pleased that the roll cage and the scuttle roll bar introduce two sets of 8mm bolts with backing plates. The chassis after all is quite thin material - you can put quite a dent in it with just a sprung loaded hand centre-punch.



Anyhow.. after this fleeting moment of visual progress, we split the body from the chassis once again to undertake final preparation. Drilling all the body holes and preparing the waterproof sealant layer.



For the sealant layer, we have chosen to use industrial damp course joint sealant strip - it comes as a roll and looks like a super sticky version of blue tack - it unrolls exactly like you get new sheets of blue tack similar width and thickness - just on a roll as opposed to a sheet. It also does not dry out and go hard so should be very effective for this purpose.





Whilst all this was happening - the bulkhead had the final dent knocked out of it on the N/S and both sides were masked off and given a coat of gloss black. These were left to dry over night.





One final activity which was completed over Christmas - we picked up the damaged passengers door all fixed and ready to go again from Vintage Sheet Metal.

It was nice to see a race +8 awaiting collection.