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.