Taking some measurements for the tail light before removing the rest of the rear corner... Rear corner and battery tray removed After a lot of sandblasting and stripping paint and surface rust. Forgot to take more photos during this process... Primed and looking fresh. I have only done the right half at this stage. I will come back to the left hand side when I repair the left rear corner.
Long side vertical supports repaired and inner sill clamped in for trial fit. Also front section of wheel arch cut out and repair section clamped in place... Front right side outrigger prepared and welded in... The right rear outrigger prep'd and welded in... Front of wheel arch welded in and ground back. Also inner sill welded in place. Forgot to take more pics of this...
Now on to the B pillar. Got the rusted out section cut out and cut this KF panel to suit. Very nice fit. Welded in after a quick alignment check with the long side.. Welds ground back and ready to repair the bulkhead edge... Bulkhead repair. Still more grinding to be done (welds on outrigger etc.) but getting there...
Painted behind the rear corner in areas which will be difficult to spray once it is install. Weld through primer inside the pillar for protection. With the long panel trial fitted and clamped on, it was time to weld the rear corner on. The rear edge of the long panel was clamped to ensure correct fitment... OG taillight section was used to trace on before cutting the new hole. Used all of the dimensions that I took before cutting off the rear corner. Welds ground back and ready for a quick spray of primer...
Side window repairs, long side inner support repaired (no pics of it welded in) and right side jacking points...
Engine hatch trial fit and setting the location... Stripping paint and getting some primer on the right side inner... Fixing up a hole which was hacked above the fuel tank... Finishing off the details on the ribs to make them look the part... Still some finishing to do but basically have it buttoned up, just the hinge carriers to dress up and weld on... Damaged section cut out and repaired...
What is the hatch out of? T3? You are going to be bored shitless when you are finished. Nah - guess you will be cruising around with a bloody great smile on your face Great work
Your work is high quality... if you were closer and we all weren't in lock-down I would be tapping on your door
G'day Rusty, mate this build is insane. If my math is correct you were 14 when you bought it? And at 15 you were reshaping the tail lights to meet your standards... my kind of guy. Really appreciate the seriously detailed updates you're posting!
I appreciate the positive comments all, I will have another update this weekend. squalo, you maths is correct, I was lucky enough to pick this bus up when I was quite young. At 23 now I’m very happy to be sinking my teeth into this project
More trial fitting for the long side panel. Unfortunately this panel was around 4-5mm too long and was hitting on the door and over hanging the B pillar. This required a slice cut out to bring it back in line with the B pillar.... While the long side was clamped and screwed in place, I took the opportunity to fit and finish of the B pillar close out... The next step will be to removed and prepare the long side for final fitment...
had to do the same cut and reweld with my long side panel on my 62. Must be the pressings faulty. Mine was a Autocraft panel if your wondering, cheers
Long side is now installed. These pics show the install and the finished and cured panel. Roughed the metal and then taped up the areas where the panel adhesive will be put on..primed and then painted... Painted the sections that will be behind the panel and wont be able to be painted down the track... Caulking and spreading the 3M panel adhesive... Once the glue was dry I got all of the welding completed... Just need to sand off the excess glue and I will be getting this panel in primer.
