Offside C Pillar & Upper Rear Wheel Arch

a) C Pillar 

Outwardly monstrously complex once all the rotten steel had been cut away, the C pillar proved to be a straight-forward repair. It's surprising how small steps of progress, forming and welding in clean steel quickly change one's perspective on the task in-hand. Initial thoughts of horror and despair increasingly turn to satisfaction and comfort in realising that it's not so tricky after all. 

Being easily shaped sections, all the work was done using plate steel apart from the lower outer leg. It's a complex and precise section, far easier to buy than to make. 

Below are a selection of photos of the build in chronological order. 

(i) removing old metal

(ii) Work on the sill and rear channel section

(iii) Welding in the lower leg base-plate

(iv) Repairing the upper inner pillar

(v) Final finish and spray. 

b) Upper Wheel Arch

The upper wheel arch was far more difficult and probably the hardest section to rebuild apart from the front wings (of which, more later). The upper arch had completely corroded and purely from its location, I'm guessing that water/condensation gathers each side of the rear parcel shelf in the seat-belt indent and the section rots from the top down. Either way, a large quantity of metal was cut out in complex layers (see first photo taken from under the wheel arch, looking up). 

I decided to recreate the layered structure as a stand-alone fabrication outside the car to enable me to index each layer to the next to ensure proper final fitment. By building the structure remotely, I was able to mark matching blue index lines on both the car and the fabrications, allowing me to then fit and weld them individually without losing alignment. I don't own an English Wheel, relying only on a leather sand-bag, a hefty vice, some hefty angle-iron and a selection of hammers and dollies and these complex curves took some ingenuity to make.  

The finished structure was very satisfying. 

The finished repair looking up from below the wheel arch. Things could only get simpler from here on. 

 Mid and Front Offside Floor

This may look a tricky section to fabricate but in essence, it was as easy as the rear floor section in having simple folds. 

Again, it was formed from 1.0mm steel to provide strength and plug weld holes were pre-drilled with a 6mm diameter. 

The panel was seam welded on the end sections with simple butt welds and plug welded to the under-floor plates and vertical inner sill plate. 

Rear Offside Sill

This was a relatively simple piece to fabricate and sits at the very bottom of the photos above. The outer sill had been pre-drilled to allow plug welds on the outer edge of the fabrication. 

I used 1.0 mm rather than 0.8mm steel sheet a) because of the ease of form and b) to add additional strength. 

The panel was then stich-welded  to form a continuous weld  to the vertical inner sill plate and floor and then plug welded to the outer sill plate. By using strategically placed damp cloths and short section stich welds, the work was completed without any panel distortion. 

O/S Sill & Floor - Mid

 

The first real fabrication challenge .....

I guess this was the time that the size of the project started to sink home. In choosing to work around the car, bit by small bit, I had had no real appreciation of the extent of rust in the car as a whole up to this point. Uncovering this gaping rusty hole in what was a complex part of the chassis was probably my first wake-up call.   

One thing you realise quickly on such a project is that once started, it cannot easily be stopped. A car on axle-stands and in pieces is a 'project' and a 'project' with large holes is pretty much worthless. So, you wrap yourself in the warm blanket of belief that it can't get much worse and soldier on, eating the elephant a little at a time. In truth, I realised that I enjoyed bending and forming metal and with time not being much of an issue, uncovering each new section and solving the puzzle became something I began to look forward to. The project has never become a drag, a drudge, something I must finish.         

.... and so I began, cutting back to good metal and always in a shape that eased fabrication; straight lines, easy folds and with an eye to future welding. The outline of each piece of metal removed was transferred to card, joggling over-laps added where needed together with crease lines. The card sections were then 'assembled' with masking tape to form the finished assembly and checked as a unit for fitness. Minor adjustments made, the cards were then unfolded and each individual piece cut out of sheet metal. I used 0.8mm sheet where strength wasn't so much an issue but 1.0mm for sections that would clearly take load. The thicker section was much easier to weld with the distinct downside of being harder to fold. It was a judgement I made as I went along but not a worry in that the original steel was invariably 0.8mm or less. 

I used a jigsaw to cut the sections and after bending, joddling and edge cleaning, I assembled them using drilled holes and Skin Pins. These are common in aircraft assembly and were given to me as an 'aid' by a kindly neighbour who happened to work on RAF Jaguars. They were invaluable and you'll see them used extensively throughout the project.  

The above photos show the assembled sections secured in place for welding. 

The assembly was then tack-welded at various points to secure it for stitch welding. I probably used too many tacks in the early days but it was important to keep the butt edges true and distortion to a minimum. I ran my stitches no more than 3 cm, moved from area to area to allow intermittent cooling, used a damp cloth abutting the weld on occasion, took my time and had very few issues with distortion.  

All seams were fully welded (throughout the project) and once completed, I applied a thin skim of filler to remove any imperfections and applied a coat of Brown Hammerite.  

O/S Jack Support

 

In need of support ......

O/S Front Sill

What Lies Beneath ...

Strip Down

 Mon dieu !