Yesterday, my trusty, rusty Benz's odometer rolled over to 00000...
In order to mark this auspicious occasion, I decided to rip the car apart! I have an MOT looming and I wanted to sort out a few bits of welding on the chassis.
^ Hmmm, bit crusty. Time for a closer look...
^ ARGH! Oh dear. Worse than I thought...
^ OH HAI 2 U MR FLOOR!
Ar$ebiscuits. The sound deadening on the bulkhead has acted like a poultice, soaking up water and rotting the steel away behind it. The bitumen on the floor is cracked and held moisture, rotting the floor. There was a lovely bit of steel stuck over the hole with sealer. Horrid.
But it does not end there, oh no no no...
^ Time to take off the wing, so I start stripping her down...
^ Now the dog can see the rabbit. Although...
^ The wing is further gone than I thought! I like the rusty patina it's gained but behind the scenes has turned into a grot-fest. Still gonna try to save it I think...
^ Sill end has gone too. This is an easy one though (famous last words...)
^ Holy Bulkhead, Batman! Time to get all that underseal off and reveal the extent of the damage...
^ My weapon of chice. Chomps through all that rubbery bullet-proof MB underseal in no time!
^ Ugh. Horrific! But, the inner wing to bulkhead seam is fairly rust-free. This is good as these cars like to rot there.
^ But what's this? Hmm, looks a bit scabby... well, might as well take the whole inner wing down to the metal and do a nice job...
^ Noooo! In the name of Madame Palm and her five lovely daughters, when is this going to end?!
^ Yeh. Whatever. Bring it on.
So... tomorrow I will be making patterns and panels, cutting the sh!t out and welding in new steel, providing the weather holds. I reckon I've uncovered all the grot from this area now, so hopefully there will be no nasty surprises. The chassis rails are alright, so that's something at least.
I hate old cars.
In order to mark this auspicious occasion, I decided to rip the car apart! I have an MOT looming and I wanted to sort out a few bits of welding on the chassis.
^ Hmmm, bit crusty. Time for a closer look...
^ ARGH! Oh dear. Worse than I thought...
^ OH HAI 2 U MR FLOOR!
Ar$ebiscuits. The sound deadening on the bulkhead has acted like a poultice, soaking up water and rotting the steel away behind it. The bitumen on the floor is cracked and held moisture, rotting the floor. There was a lovely bit of steel stuck over the hole with sealer. Horrid.
But it does not end there, oh no no no...
^ Time to take off the wing, so I start stripping her down...
^ Now the dog can see the rabbit. Although...
^ The wing is further gone than I thought! I like the rusty patina it's gained but behind the scenes has turned into a grot-fest. Still gonna try to save it I think...
^ Sill end has gone too. This is an easy one though (famous last words...)
^ Holy Bulkhead, Batman! Time to get all that underseal off and reveal the extent of the damage...
^ My weapon of chice. Chomps through all that rubbery bullet-proof MB underseal in no time!
^ Ugh. Horrific! But, the inner wing to bulkhead seam is fairly rust-free. This is good as these cars like to rot there.
^ But what's this? Hmm, looks a bit scabby... well, might as well take the whole inner wing down to the metal and do a nice job...
^ Noooo! In the name of Madame Palm and her five lovely daughters, when is this going to end?!
^ Yeh. Whatever. Bring it on.
So... tomorrow I will be making patterns and panels, cutting the sh!t out and welding in new steel, providing the weather holds. I reckon I've uncovered all the grot from this area now, so hopefully there will be no nasty surprises. The chassis rails are alright, so that's something at least.
I hate old cars.