An old thread that I thought would be useful in here
Often the strut tops have been plated over in the past, usually straight over the top of rot and without any paint
This is the top plate on Fred's car before I tackled it. Looks very good, and it was, but from underneath you could see the rot.
Ground out the welds and took the repair panel off. Here you can see what was underneath. Typical really, plate straight over the old rot and no paint or treatment whatsoever.
A chunk of the top skin carefully ground out to see the strut top cup, which is usually rotten too.
Once some of the top is cut out you can see how much to take out, lining up the replacement panel as a guide. The replacement panel can be seen in the pic above, a Hadrian panel.
You can see the cup is removed as well, along with the top of the uprights. The replacement cup normally comes with the uprights too. In this case I decided the uprights were still useable. I don't like cutting out the original stuff if it's still OK. I have done the whole uprights before though.
These bigger repair panels tuck just under the bulkhead lip and meet up with the top of a swage at the front end. They can be made to fit very neatly.
Top plate tacked in place. Take lots of measurements before taking anything off, to give you an idea where it has to go back. I find that the replacement panels tell you where it has to go.
New cup in place
Plug welds holding strut top and cup together.
Fully welded in and all primer removed.
Etch primed
With a little bit of skilful grinding and a smear of filler it can be made to look original. Don't forget a good coating of paint and underseal underneath. Zinc primer between panels before welding. All helps prevent having to do it again.
Hope some of this helps someone attempting this, it is a daunting task if you've never done it before. My biggest worry was how I was going to get the new one in the right place. To be honest as long as you compare the new panel to the old before cutting anything it all becomes obvious as you go. I don't claim to be a pro at the job by any means, but that's how I did mine and I'm happy with it
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