The Car Part 1

The first picture shows the car just after I purchased it. It looked quite reasonable considering it had not been touched for 20 plus years. As will be seen later looks are deceiving as all restorer's have found to their cost. Having said this though I was surprised to find water still in the radiator and no leaks apparent. The bonnet and radiator were removed and placed into storage for attention later.

My first job was to access what work was required. Unfortunately I only had a single garage and the drive was on a slope. I therefore checked if any of the brakes worked, they didn't. I therefore placed ramps on the drive and pushed the car onto them making the car level. The first job then was to ease the handbrake on both sides until it worked. Now the panels could be removed and all parts bagged and marked. The nuts and bolts surprisingly undone with the aid of "Plus-Gas". Those that didn't were angle ground off. The running boards were so rotten at the fixing points a good hammer and chisel was all that was required. The front wings were next and apart from some minor rot at the running board joint they were in good condition. The rear wings were not as good and the nearside had had an argument with a post and lost. My welding & panelling skills would be tested on these.

The interior was complete but rather tatty. The seats were removed first and then the wooden floor. These were also stored away. The drivers door had already been removed for transportation but now the other three doors were now also removed. All were in good condition with minimal surface rust on all.

Lastly the complete body was unbolted and removed. This initially was to be a storage problem but with the aid of four joist hangers and two lengths of 4x2 the body was stored 3 feet off the ground allowing the chassis to be rolled under it. The chassis was in good condition considering. Two small sections required cutting out, one at the outer strengthening near the master cylinder and the other at the start of the bend over the rear wheel. Both these were on the offside but I have since learnt from other owners that this is quite common. The chassis was then angle ground and machine wire brushed back to bare metal. Internal sections were cleaned as far as possible with a small drill operated rotary brush. The chassis was then treated with Ku Rust before finally being coated with 2 coats of Finnigans black hammered finish Hammerite. The rear petrol tank was removed cleaned internally and only then the bottom was treated with flow solder to ensure any minor surface rust had not penetrated through. The tank was then tested for leaks and the sender unit overhauled and tested. All the tank was then treated to primercoat and then 2 coats of black gloss coat applied.