Monday 12 November 2012

New Channel In

I had a bit of time off work so dedicated it to trying to make some progress. Here's how I did...

First I bolted a heater channel closing panel in place. This panel is being used as a dummy for the purpose of getting things together. I'm not over keen on the quality so will likely buy better before final welding.



Next the rear cross member was bolted in. At this stage I'm not sure whether the channel closing panel should sit on top of, or underneath the cross member but will find out before I get to the point where I can't change it.



Here I have the first of the genuine heater channels. The spot welds holding the heater pipe were drilled and the pipe removed as I have a plan that I would like to try if I am able (more as and when I get to that point). I'm not running any heating anyway so I don't cause a problem for myself in doing this at this point. It also gives me a slight weight loss advantage.



With the channel in place I found a conflict at the rear where the earlier quarter panel repairs had been done. This area was cut away to enable the rear quarter to sit on the channel properly.



Here is the channel in place. Note the rear cross member and front bulkhead panels located to ensure correct alignment of the heater channel.



Next task was to secure the heater channel to the closing panel and so install some of the missing rigidity. This was first done by drilling both panels and using cleco pins set every six inches.



Most of the pins were then replaced with 4mm set screws as I wanted to ensure the arrangement was as rigid as possible whilst carrying out the rest of the body panel repairs. The rear quarter was then tack welded in a couple of places to stop the body falling off.



The door gap was roughly set and the A pillar tacked into position. As repairs will be carried out on both A pillar and Rear quarter, fine adjustments will be made then.