Project Mum

[runoutofrigos]

OK, as promised, and just to keep the picture lovers happy, here is an update of the the last few nights work.




As you can quite clearly see, it's an Escort, and it has the usual complement of rot. I restored this car about 8 or 9 years ago, and since then it has been used as a daily car averaging about 12,000 miles a year, so all in all, I'm quite happy with the "minimal" work that is needed. Anyway, on with the pics....


Here we are with the area all cut out ready to tackle. The bonnet hinge bracket has also been removed due to the rot spreading into the joint where the bulkhead, inner wing and scuttle are joined. Removing the bracket also makes the job of repairing the drip rail much easier.


This is the same area shown from a different angle so you can see the extent of the corrosion. I dare say more will come out as we replace the 32 year old metal...


Starting to fill the hole now. Notice the use of galvanised sheet, this should increase the life span of the repair somewhat, although welding it is not recommended. Make sure you are in a well ventilated area, the fumes are heavy with Sulphur.




The splash panel is all closed up, and looking as good as Henry designed. Now for the inner wing and drip rail....


The new wing mounting band (Drip Rail) has been welded into position. You can see from the photo that the join has been made where the old rail rolls over. This was cut and the new rail scribed to form a butt joint, which was then welded from the outside. This has the nice effect of not leaving a bead of weld along the join which is visible from the engine bay. This should prove to be an invisible repair once the engine bay is painted again.


The worst job with drip rail replacement is the area at the back where the scuttle and rail are joined. Luckily, having repaired this area so often on so many Escorts, the original detail is easy to create. The new drip rails are designed to be welded on "as is", but their shape is not ideal for this purpose, so a cut is made, and the panel bent out to form a lip which can then be joined to the top of the splash panel. The whole area can then be treated with some brushable seam sealer on the engine bay side to give that original look.

More to follow....

[Dave]

Good stuff mate Keep the pics coming.
The Hadrian drip rails curl under at the end at the bulkhead (the bit you bent out) I had some cheapo ones off ebay without that curl. I found them much easier to fit.

[mk1matt]

Looking good keep us posted
And when you make it look as easy as that i wonder why i'm thinking of bodging mine

[tezscort]

Nice work there mate, is that what the boot carpets going in?

[runoutofrigos]

Hi Tez!

No, I doubt it. This one already has a decent dress for the boot. Your carpet will be going into my cossie powered MK1...

Simon

[runoutofrigos]

OK, finally got the scuttle and drip rail finished on the O/S.


The bonnet hinge bracket has been replaced and the area seam sealed ready for a coat of etch primer. Now to tackle the suspension top cup, which doesn't look so bad in this picture, but after removing the suspension strut revealed a rather large amount of it missing. The top plate is in great condition, strangely...


Looks like the whole of the turret cupt will be removed to make life easier. Ho hum.....

Simon

[trig]

Dont want to shit on all your hard work but shouldent you etch prime the bare metel then sealer it after?

[runoutofrigos]

Erm, I suppose technically you should, yes

This newly repaired area is made from galvanised sheet, so it should be OK

[DarthVader]

You get etch primer for galvanised items - increases paint adhesion as gal is quite smooth

[dances-with-pies]

This is excellent work. I'm definately getting more motivated to tackle mine.

[runoutofrigos]

That's the general idea, I'm also trying to motivate myself here too

Simon

[runoutofrigos]

OK, well it's been a few days since I did any work (slap me!), so I decided tonight I'd do a bit. Isn't it just sods law that whenever you have a head on for tackling a job, you are let down by something? In my case it was panels, or lack of. So not to be preturbed, I carried on regardless, as you shall see....


So after finding the small amount of rot on the suspension top cup, I decided it had to go. And after looking at the state of it after I got it out, it wasn't such a bad idea....


Here you can see the state of the old one compared to a new one. Admittedly this was after some serious butchering to get it out. The Suspension top plate itself was absolutely mint, while the cup underneath must have been keeping the other 10 old top plates company

Now, the lack of a new cup was not going to put me off, and in true British Engineering style, found some metal.....

Now, normally I would have bought one (before anyone says I'm tight ) but I wanted to finish this particular job tonight, so the process of creation started....


The steel plate that was used was thicker than the original material (which is also a bonus) and should lead to a longer lasting repair. As I have a new top cup in stock (well, for my YB powered MK1) it made a good template. The new cup was marked around on the new (galvanised) plate ready for the cutting to start....


Making the cuts into the plate on the rounded corners makes it much easier to bend, especially with thick steel such as this.


Here you can see that the corners and sides have been bent up in order to form the basic shape, this will then go back in the band-saw to be finish cut, and allow the folds to be butt-welded.


Here the form has been welded, and is waiting to be finished, but we'll let it cool down a bit first though, eh?


"Can you guess what it is yet?"


With the serious fabrication work out of the way, the work of actually fitting the cup can be begin. The turret pillars were also rotten at the tops after some investigation, hence why more of the new cup is visible than expected.


And the finished article is stronger than original, due to the same 2 millimeter thick plate being used to rebuild the top of the turrets, and also ensuring that sufficient current was used to penetrate the plate. This saves the inconvenience and time of welding both sides. Yet another top job ready for some preparation and sealing. Not bad for 3 hours considering that included actually making the suspension cup too


Rather than looking at the whole job as one big challenge, I have been setting myself small "Job and Knock's" lately in order to try and build up the productivity. This helps tremendously, especially when you consider a days work has already been done, and trying to find enthusiasm to go to the workshop and do another shift is put back by the pub calling. So, in light of this, here is the task for tommorrow night.....

Stay tuned :P

[JimmyJames]

Well done for making the suspension cup, seems like your storming ahead.
Good luck with the project, keep the pics coming.

James

[mk1matt]

Lovely bit of work
Keep us updatedpopcorn:

[PIG]

great bit of fabrication there m8,top job as you say. keep it up m8

[Mk2Matt]

Wow, nice one mate

All you need to do now is work out how to fabricate Mk1 flared arches like that and you'll be onto a winner!

[runoutofrigos]

Maybe something to work on if I'm still alive by the time I get any spare hours

[Mk2Matt]

Positive thinking, that's what I like to hear!

[mike105e]

impressive stuff with that top cup. keep up the good work

[Retromotorsport]

Top stuff

[runoutofrigos]

Coming from you Gary, that's encouraging

Simon

[Stevie]

looking good there

[runoutofrigos]

Finally managed to find the time to get up to the workshop and investigate the rotten NS chassis leg....



...and here is the result. Cut out all the shit, so now just need to refabricate the bottom skin of the chassis rail, the inner strengthening plate, and the inner wing

So much to do and so little time

Simon

[Dave]

Brings back many memories

Good stuff mate

[runoutofrigos]

OK, managed to get to the workshop tonight, and finished off the drivers side (hurrah!)



Started by reconstructing the bottom of the chassis rail....



..then added the strength back to the chassis section around the rollbar mounting by completeing the plate which takes the load of the rollbar brackets. This was welded to the new chassis bottom before finishing off the box section.



And finally the box section is complete with a skin of galvanised steel over the top to replace the rotten inner wing panel. The whole chassis rail has had half a "Shutz" can down it, so hopefully it'll last a reasonable time.

Next, clean up and paint the NS inner wing, then the fun begins on the OS

Simon
Simon

[Stevie]

some nice work there m8

[markb]

impressive

[runoutofrigos]

Thanks for the comments guys. I'm not sure if my old mum is going to want it back (especially after driving a Rover 200 with electrc everything).

So the idea is to make the best job of the repairs, and take photos so that the next potenial buyer can see what they are buying

[Dave]

Looking good
Are you painting the new metal as you go?

[runoutofrigos]

Well now that the N/S inner wing is finished, I shall give it a protection coat of etch primer in readyness for the final work once the other side is complete.

But in answer to your question, no!

Simon

[runoutofrigos]

The last bit to do to finish the passenger side was some rot on the end of the slam panel. I didn't have my camera with me when I cut the rot out, but suffice to say the inner wing underneath the slam panel was rotten too, so once that was replaced, the end of the slam panel was recreated in good old galvanised plate....



Clean up the welds and thats one side done...



What an "Ernie Wise (You cant see the join)"

Today, I will be mainly tearing into the drivers side...



It looks so clean in this photo, what a shame. The rot to the wing mounting strip and the drip rail is disasterous though...

[runoutofrigos]

Posted the following in the wrong thread (that'll teach me to post after a few beers ) so for completeness I've posted the pictures again here where they should be...


Anyway, got carried away tonight, and filled the hole in the floor...


And having welded it with sufficient power to burn through, it left a nice finish underneath, allbeit a bit spattery inside.


So the next job was to sort out the usual mess...


So the bottom of the A pillar was removed and refabricated. I didn't get as far as replacing the front of the sill before the pub started calling


Just the sill and the small hole in the inner floor to sort out and that's the NS finished (apart from the rear arch, and the sill end box, and the inner arch etc )

[RChambers]

Looks like a nice neat repair there

[runoutofrigos]

OK, finally got around to doing a bit more, and boxed in the rot on the front of the sill. The sill face has already beed replaced and the underside is waiting for a quick clean up...


There is some light at the end of the tunnel at last....


After a marathon cleaning session to remove the old underseal, I was pleasantly surprised how much of the original metal was still there..


And just when I thought I'd nearly finished, I ended up with this...


Oh dear!, at least this hole is a bit more challenging. Who likes square holes anyway?


Looking at the drivers side, I'm now wondering what gribblys lie in this lot....



Bloody leaking heater matrix!

Simon

[Dave]

Good work there mate
If the floor is as bad as it looks I'd go for a new floor panel. Easy enough to do and it's a good opportunity to poke around (and paint) inside the chassis.

[runoutofrigos]

The chassis will be getting the "Shutz the f*ck up" treatment

Simon

[Dave]

I found that by removing the floor panel and sticking a Hoover pipe up the chassis I can reduce the weight of an Escort by approximately 15 lbs.
Whether this raises the centre of gravity or not I'm not sure.

[runoutofrigos]

That 15lbs could come in handy with all the extra metal being strategically inserted

Simon

[Ali]

I found that by removing the floor panel and sticking a Hoover pipe up the chassis I can reduce the weight of an Escort by approximately 15 lbs.

I wonderd where that was

[PIG]

top work m8,coming on a treat bud