Team Idris

Yep, 3/8 puddle holes and I advise pushing the lower sheet up, so the weld pool is easy for the arc to reach. I caused too much heat distortion by fighting it

Top gun metal bashing

Here we go again This time the same blank seems to fit okay? I could measure the seat box to find out why, but I think I will pass 😛 Welding tip; bigger puddle holes let the tig tip arc reach down to the lower sheet.

I looked at the yellow bit of steel and decided I couldn’t live with it? I’m in this deep, so I guess I am rebuilding this side of the seat box as well Quicker anyway, because no locker panels to tie in.

I think we all know where this is going but not until next year when the race truck is sold/parted-put so I have some room to work.

The heater vent and pto lever came out really well I glued 3mm rubber to the underside of the floor plate and bolted through it.

Sweet

“Keeping it flat” jig over a bit of stainless. (Less heat transfer) I ought to try an ickle disk of ally for support next. Rather than rod build up.

Thanks Steve The comments on social media are keeping me going on it. It is at least small enough to fight on the bench now. And today’s argument is: replace LH floor sheet, build up the corroded holes or slip in a ‘d’ shaped repair piece. new panel; drilling and cutting is okay, but the old one is spot welded in building the holes back up; is hard in corroded ally, you need it clamped down hard and it takes a lot of gas and rod. Cut out a D shape; and weld fresh back in is the only option if the corroded hole is really really bad. Weld it in short half inch runs, move around and clamp as you go. Flip it and weld the other side, then grind off half the weld. Give it a good hard annealing with the flame torch. Clamp it flat and grind the remaining weld away. After doing all three I would say it comes down to what is left of the old panel? You would need to look hard to see I had been blasting away at it with the tig. I need the practice for the back body anyway, so I am glad to try all methods

Poke prod cut weld fight drill poke hammer file paint wax oil outrigger has a new back in it, an exhaust tab and the bulkhead has a 3mm mount plate. The cab heater is in and runs. The gearbox works as well !(all this started with a noisy gearbox)

The photo I forgot to take I added a screw clip to the tunnel cover so that the RH floor is removable. (The floor is also a new part) I think I indented it very well. You would have to know series ones very well to know it wasn’t factory.

I’m deleting the master cylinder holes. The cross-shaft holes aren’t there so thees are extra pointless

Thanks. Good question, mostly time. It Rotted through when the galvanising wore out on the sill. The seat box was all such a mess from age and being cut through. Fixing it while I was in there sorting the gearbox seemed the right thing to do. The seat box bottom edge has looked really bad for 25 years. I’ve had TIG for 3 years and I didn’t dare tackle the aluminium without being able to stick it back together I see the outrigger and bulkhead pillar are rusted out. (Was on it this evening) All this from a noisy gearbox

Note: Front corner of the seat box where it meets the sill . Series one 88” For many a year I designed sheet metalwork for heat exchangers and I’m sure the side is off (or the front panel) The sill has a relief pressed into it to take the bottom edge of the front panel. Looking at the complete seat box assembly the front edge that screws to the floor needs to be lower than the side edge that bolts to the galvanised sill. I don’t see as I am as far off as I have seen today? I used the old part as a template? Conclusion is that a new side needs to be a few mm shorter than the original. I fixed it the same they would have in the factory, I hit it with a hammer and a block

The original doubler was sawn through and flattened, so that they could bolt the two halves back together. I considered replacing the whole doubler, but that’s a lot of distortion, so I made an over-plate part. I can’t escape the fact that their butchery for easy gearbox access was very nearly a good idea? Removing the drivers side gets you no where because of the fuel tank. It can stay separate.