3 February 2008 - Starting to weld

With all the paint stripped off the tub, it has got a little depressing! The tub, as well as being a saloon tub with the convertible top grafted on, it has a lot of rust and holes everywhere.

The panels arrived from Rimmers and to be honest are petty good. Not that I have got a comparison, but I didn't have too much trouble lining up the sill once I had cut the old one off. I always make sure that I have either measured where the new panel needs to go, or I leave enough metal around it to line it up easy. In this case all went well and the panel went in quite well. It is quite satisfying to see the new panel welded in and it makes such an instant difference.

I am going to do one side at a time and the drivers side is first, with the sill now sorted, I will move onto the rear wing. I have cut away some of the panel, as you can see, and hopefully the new panel should fit as well! I read on a triumph forum that the new 1/4 panel (in front of the rear wheel) does not come up to the swage line so I have been careful to leave enough metal around so I don't end up with a catastrophe!

The rear boot floor side seems well made and offers up well, so I am hoping that will be a simple replacement. It is the wind that I am worried about as it needs replacing as the arch is rotten but welding in wheel arches is a bit of an art to avoid too much distortion. Never mind, I'll give it a go in the next few days!

I am going to order a Body Soldering kit from Frost as I am going to have a go at lead filling some of the welded areas around the top. Lead is much stronger than body filler, and it is not porous so should last a lot longer. Now I haven't ever done lead filling, but I am quite looking forward to giving it a go!