Still going in the wrong direction!

Finally I managed to get off all the panels. As I mentioned before removing the sealant was a real pain in the r's. In the end the easiest way was to gently use a screwdriver and tap it gently with a hammer to part the panel from the frame. After that I used the sealant remover which worked quite well. 

Once all the sealant was removed I put the panels back on and tapped all the edges with a rubber mallet to get them back into position for riveting later.

All the panels removed, it feels like I'm almost back to square one but it won't be long before things start going back on again.

Now  the scuttle is off I bolted the wiper motor to the inside of the bulkhead. I can adjust how much motor is sticking through the bracket so it can't be seen by the passenger but also doesn't hit on the side of the scuttle.  

 Drilling the holes for the wiper blades and washer comes later.

Started changing the front wishbones. Didn't take long to remove everything. Tomorrow I'll try and borrow a press to push the bushes into the wishbone ends. As the wishbones are longer than the old ones the wheels will be brought out by about 40mm. I'm not sure yet what problems this may introduce but Daves blogg explains how he has done it so I'll be checking on his progress regularly!

All that's left is the steering rack. I don't want to have to spend 3000:- on a new one just because I shortened the threads by 10mm. I should be able to get longer track rod end extensions.

The old track rod end and the new. Will it be long enough?

It should be easier to find a longer extension piece than to buy a whole new steering rack!

Mind you the new extension pieces have a longer thread than the old ones. I could screw a bolt onto the thread before screwing it into the track rod, that would make it a bit longer but would it be long enough and safe enough!

Panels away

After a few modifications to the rear panel I managed to get it off in one piece. I still have some work to do when it comes to fog and reverse lights. Neil gave me an idea to flat surface them so the main part of the body will be behind the panel. I’m just looking around for thin lights that won’t hit the tank.

I had to Dremmel the edge away from the part of the panel that curved around the side rail, the part that went past half the circumference of the bar. Once the rivets under the rear panel were also removed it was just a case of slipping the panel off from the bottom and then hinging it out and up. 

Hopefully the small side panels can be smoothed out and welded to the rear panel so it ends up being one smooth part and then painted. I'm pretty sure everything will go back on afterwards.

I also started re-doing the bonnet catches as they were too loose and had no way of being adjusted. I always had to drive with a piece of wire tied around each catch just in case they came undone and I lost the bonnet!

One of the catches to be replaced. I had to drill out the rivets first and then mark and drill holes for the new ones. Not a problem at all but I was left with holes I didn't need.

I thought about using Cleco's at first but they got in the way so I temporarily riveted them again. If I can't get the old holes filled for powder coating I'll make up oval shaped stainless steel plates that should look nice against the black; the brackets would then bolt throught them.

Got a  great air riveting gun for Christmas from my son Sebastian - my boys are trained well :-) (Fredrik bought me an air angle grider!), makes it so much easier to put in rivets, It's actually fun now!

It's nice to be able to adjust the catches and even lock the bonnet.

Rivets are easy to remove but perhaps I shouldn't have used sealant on all the panels as it's a real bugger to get off! I bought  some sealant remover today so I'll give that a try over the weekend. 

I have to modify my plans a little as the panels need to be replaced before the wishbones are put back on otherwise it's impossible to rivet the front edges of the side panels properly. It's very tempting to get the panels powder coated as soon as I can but I have to be patient and get holes drilled, edges files and sanded etc.