A lot of progress this week so there are lots of pictures to look at.
This is the week the panels really get fitted. Up to now it has been trial fitting, alignment and then tacking to hold them in position. Now we are on to "final fit".
First, at the rear, the fuel filler is fitted. This has to be braised into position rather than traditional welding. This is the same as they do in the factory.
Here is a gallery of some close up details on the rust. Winchfield Engineering have been cleaning out each rust spot back to bare metal ready for preparation.
As mentioned in the previous post for James' SJ, things are starting to go back together. Having bolted down the body it is time to add the doors and tailgate back on to align all the panels and weld them back in place.
After all the filling, sanding and priming, the first step is to ensure all the threads are cleaned out so that the bolts can be run in and out smoothly.
The doors and inner wing threads were cleaned
Just a quick update.
Whilst seemlingly small this is an important milestone. Having painted the doors, tailgate and window frame parts separately. The time has come to join the body back to the chassis.
Early in the build the body was separated from the chassis to facilitate access to the corroded areas, although the previous pictures show the body apparently on the chassis, it was only loosely fitted and some of you may have noticed the apparent "lean" that that generated.
The time has arrived to weld the wings back onto the car and an important part of this is ensuring that the panels all line up, any panel gaps are even and all the shut lines line up.
Therefore the body needs bolting back onto the chassis so the panel alignment can be accurate.
Its time for painting to start!
First there were a couple of small repairs left to door, Earlier you would have seen small perforations that had appeared in the bottom of the door.
These were removed and cleaned out and then filler welds were added to create an all metal finish that was then smoothed back.
