Page Twenty-Six - How to Make British Car Parts

 

A wee how-to pictorial:

Step 1 – Draw and cut out a paper template.  My paper of choice is manilla file folders, sturdy and cheap.  How I like my women… (I hope you like that joke cause it's gonna cost me.)

I had to tape together two file folders.

BTW, you'll need a gob of these to get the curves right.

Step 2 – Transfer the template outline to a shiny piece of Lowes sheet metal, 22 gauge in this case.  This is the passenger side, so I won’t bother with reproducing the hand brake mounting holes.  By the way, the little rare earth magnets are great for maneuvering the sheet metal about.

First fit, not so great.

Step 3 – Fitting!  Quite time consuming, fit, mark, file, fit, mark, file, fit mark, file…  I surprised myself by how well I got the piece to fit.

Better, but not there yet.

Step 4 – Apply the MIG.  In a few places I had to add some coat hanger to fill gaps where I screwed up and left some gaps.

Decent job of MIG'in.

Step 5 – Grind, grind baby!  You’ll need a gaggle of gadgets to hone shonky welds.

I took the guard off the grinder, I know,
but I couldn't reach tight spots with it on.

Step 6 – Clean it all up with some self-etching primer.  Done!

Primer makes me a better welder.

Another shot, a little wider angle.

I'll probably use some JB Weld to fill in some of the weld pits and bumps to smooth things a bit.  It'll all be under carpet, just for a proper look. 

MORE STUFF!

Since I posted this page, I quickly re-habbed a e-brake lever (probably not the one I'll use, it has some rust through) to check my captured-nut placement.  ("Captured-Nut," either a solid punk band name, or an ailment...)

Driver's side welded in.  I may dress the welds a bit more - not sure why...

Re-habbed e-brake lever in place.

To clarify, I marked the holes for the e-brake lever on a file folder template from the holes in the Organ Donor's driver's side, interior rocker panel.  After marking and rechecking several times, I drilled the holes in the new sheet metal.  I welded (captured) nuts to the back of the panel for the e-brake lever and the e-brake cable guide that mounts just behind the lever.

Even though the new sheet metal patch is welded all around, I bent some right-angle tabs that I welded to the back of the panel to help prevent the panel from flexing when the e-brake lever is yanked.  I also 

This is the template I used to locate the e-brake lever holes.

Page Twenty-Five - Bits and Baubles

 

Lest you think that Alphie’s management team is a bunch of loaf abouts, here are some shutter nutters to prove we’re all aces here!  (Warning/Apologies - gratuitous Britishisms in the previous sentence.)

Closing holes in the wing (fender) wells:

Before - Gaping hole beneath the radiator support (under the C clamp).  This is passenger side, but there's a similar hole on the driver's side

Patched sized and VG'd (Vise Gripped) - passenger side

Passenger side - view from the undercarriage, welded and ground.  I'll smooth it out a bit more later.

A view from inside the engine bay.  The welds need a tidy.

Driver's side - partially welded in.  I need to weld the inner wing well to the patch and tidy everything up.

Driver's side - view from the undercarriage, welded and ground

Seam Sealing:

Passenger side, front floorboard - seams sealed but needs a little tidy.

Driver's side, front floorboard - seams sealed and welds ground.

Driver's side from inside - I ran out of sealant, but you can see how it works. (Same pic as the mast head of this page.)

Other Bits:

Brake and Clutch Master Cylinders - before but after disassembly.

Brake and Clutch Master Cylinders - after bead blasting, TIDY indeed!

Incidentally, if it fits in my blast cabinet, I'll bloody blast it!  (It has glass beads; in case you were wondering.)  I have a second set of master cylinders from the other car, which may be in better shape than these.  I'll use the best mix of the two sets.  This brake fluid reservoir has some rust pinholes, but not bad for 30 plus years of rotting.