S3 109 Safari project......

Looking good . Same thing happened to me when I flipped mine.. better to catch them now though ..

Yeah, much better getting rid of the rusty holes now as I don’t fancy doing it later when it’s built up. Got some more cleaning to do underneath, so I fully expect to find more holes

Been watching this, gotta ask. Who’s/what XJS and is that a triumph in blue?

Great work BTW

J

Yeah, you spotted correctly! The Xj-S is a 1984 5.3 HE that I restored a couple of years ago. The Triumph is a 1973 2000 in French blue. I restored it around 10 years ago. Both belong to me but have been a bit neglected lately due to the landy wanting some attention.

Coming on nicely soon be building it back up, I’ll be renovating my rear axle in summer, I will be using simple electrolysis to get the rust off , saves a bunch of time with cupbrush and allows you to get on with other jobs as bits derust , I used a cold water tank from the loft and dipped half front axle at a time when I I’d that a few years ago
I remember my dad and his business partner bringing home 2 new Triumph 2000’s in Blue , both M reg with consecutive numbers, I was impressed

Thanks for the feedback. Sounds like a great idea although I will probably struggle to find a tank big enough. My mate also has a soda blaster, so was considering that too. Although, it may be a bit soft for the rust I need to get rid of. I will strip the axles down first and I will get a better look at what needs to be done.
Mine is an M registration too! It was originally owned by an American ex USAF bomber pilot who used to fly Liberators from a base in England during WW2. He was a fantastic character. I have a huge history file with it. Totally original and numbers matching. I love driving it as it is such a comfy car.

Yes I was lucky as had one lying around , but some thing knocked together like 2 scaffold boards on floor lined with polythene would work too , which I may need to do as rear axle longer

Got a bit more derusting and cleaning back of the chassis done today. As I thought, I’ve managed to find some more holes! I think this outrigger was fitted pretty poorly in the past, but it is still solid. Just got this hole to sort before I can paint the rest of the area...

I also saw this area where the bulkhead support bracket bolts to the chassis needs new metal. It looks like the bracket has trapped water and dirt on that edge. Although the metal is not corroded through it has lost some material from its thickness. As this is a stress point, I will definitely cut this out and put some fresh steel in.

I did manage to get a good bit more cleaning and priming done today. It really is a big area to paint so I managed to get my daughter to give me a hand!

Got my new bases cushions from John Craddock through and they don’t look bad at all. They make the backrest cushions look tatty now!

Nice to get the kids involved. She did a lovely job and stayed very clean!

Yes, she was a great help and very keen too. Was a bit of a miracle that she wasn’t covered from head to toe in primer though.

Thought I would tackle the o/s/f chassis leg today. It started a bit tatty looking....

After cutting off the rusty remains of the bumpstop I cleaned it back with the angry grinder with the wire wheel. Not looking good. This looks like there is water getting trapped in between the two surfaces and is trying to rot it’s way out. I think cutting it out is the best option here...

After trying on the new bumpstops there is an issue! They appear to have been manufactured with a taller step on the which is not helpful..

So I only have two options - flatten out and reform the fold and reduce the height. Second, alter the height of the supports. I go for the latter as the inner one is looking a bit ropey and needs replaced anyway.
First, I needed to cut out the rot. Thankfully the metal was like new underneath and a quick vacuum out and we were ready to put some fresh steel in..

Weld in a square of 2mm flat plate...

Just needs a tidy up then fit the support section at the correct height to suit the new bump stop.

Then did a larger replacement on the inner support