Steve's unexpected Series 3 rebuild.

I don't know what can have happened to this next part in it's previous life. The metal is solid yet it's really badly dented and was full of filler. I think there are pictures of this earlier in the thread. Anyway it's got to go.


I was quite pleased with that cut on the left. I managed to leave the spot welds in place so everything stays together but have enough room for the new metal to be welded to both the surface and the strengthener underneath. The rough bit to the right with the holes in is more of the old door pillar.

Could be worse.

First time offering up the pillar. Not bad at the bottom but the top needs some work.

 

I knew the door pillars would need a bit of fettling. I had even considered getting rid of the ones I bought ages ago and trying to get some that are more like the originals. In the end I stuck with what I had and altered them to fit. I'm glad I did really as i'm sure that whichever ones I bought they would need something chopping off or welding on.

First thing is this profile.


Then there's the lip that's missing completely. This is the bit that spot welds to the rest of the bulkhead and that the door seal attaches to. I have decided to go for push on type door seals rather than rivet on as they seem better, easier to fit, cheaper and the originality ship has sailed on this poor old motor.

 

It needed one of those returns on both sides and you can maybe see where I had to narrow in the top. It was a case of offer it up, see where it catches, sort it and repeat.


One thing is for sure. It's much nicer to be welding all new steel. When I get to attaching it to the old stuff no matter how clean I try to make it there is always a little popping,sparking and farting. And that's just me before I start welding. It might be nerves.

 

I had the same bridge to cross on mine, I also have gone with push on seals instead of the original rivet on jobbers and had to grind the lip off all the rest of the way around the door frame. Made a right bloody mess when I did the tub and the truck cab

 

I bought a meter of the door seal from Paddocks to experiment with and i'm now a bit worried as it's way too skinny to do the job. Do you reckon the all in one seal they do will be better?

 

When I thought I was getting it all about right I tried the door back on.



That's probably about the best I can hope for. Now got to get that all welded without any of it shifting.

 

Looks pretty good to me

 

Thanks. It amazing what you can't see in the photos.

 

Time to make some of this a bit more permanent. I started by treating the bit that was going to end up inaccessible with the Bilt Hamber rust eater.

There's a big temptation to hurl a load of paint in there but it will only catch fire when i'm welding so whatever goes in will have to poured or sprayed after its all done.
Time to make the holes for plug welding. It is a bit annoying to take your lovely new parts and drill a load of holes in them but I haven't got access to a spot welder. Don't know if i've over done it with the holes. When they are marked out as little pencil dots they don't look bad but by the time the holes are drilled it looks a bit drastic. It's only about the same number of welds as was on it originally.



I did use some weld through primer as well. I sprayed everything with it then removed it from the areas where i could see it through the holes leaving it where it would be hidden between the panels. Even it caught fire though.

I even put the door back on again to line it up for the umpteenth time before doing the first few welds. Then once it was held I took it all off to go and finish the rest of the plugs in more comfort on the bench.

 

From what I remember the foot doesn't actually need that many welds to secure it to the bulkhead

 

Sounds about right for me. If there's a right way of doing it I usually over do it.

 

Top next.

Plug welds ground back. Not been too fussy with these as there's still another layer to go over the top yet. All these layers to trap moisture. They really were designed to rust.


Whether it's right or not that's now where it lives.

 

When I did some new metal to old I drilled a smaller hole in the panel behind to start the plug in so I knew I'd got good penetration if that makes sense

 

That's good thinking. Luckily with these i've been able to get a look at the back of them after and make sure it penetrated properly.

 

I had a couple that didn't and I ended up blowing holes more than sticking together The joys of old bulkheads

 

I was surprised by how thin the steel is. It's a good combination. 1970's British Leyland build quality, cheap, thin steel and a design that traps water in about 300 places. It's a wonder any of them survived.

 

Mine was a teenager before they started making yours

 

One last bit to fill in now.

I had bought a replacement panel but I still made a cardboard template to make sure I had an idea where I was going to cut it.


It seems a shame to cut such a small piece out of the panel and waste the rest.

Here's the whole thing but the bit I need is this.

You can already see that the bend in the panel is not right but that won't matter in my case.


The big crosses are where I wanted the centers of the spot welds and the other marks are what needs cutting out to correct the holes for the captive nuts.

I tried to make the top of the repair panel tuck under the edge of the bulk head to give more to weld to.





With a thin skim of filler over that and I think it should look good. I offered up the wing to make sure the lower join wouldn't be visible.

It's really good to see the old girl with her clothes back on.

 

Wow you've been busy!

Benefits of lockdown I guess.

After all that work may I suggest a bit of Dinitrol after you've painted? (Don't do it before it will cause endless paint adhesion trouble)

 

Hi. Good to hear from you.
Good thinking about some extra protection. I quite fancy injecting the protection with it upside down so it runs to the top the with it standing on either end so it gloops all around the inside. So many water traps in there it's crazy.