Right. Tub update.
As we've established it's in a bit of a state. After a lot of cleaning, scraping and fettling it's a bit better.
The inside is still rough.
The plan is that I make a bit of aluminium to fit over both sides then bond, rivet and bolt it together in a big sandwich to get some strength back in.
This is the gobbo I decided to use. As usual because it was the cheapest.
This is what I've ended up with.
Now my fuss arse, perfectionist streak is not too happy with this but my more practical side is winning. In an ideal world I would liked to have removed all the manky bits completely but it just wasn't sensible to go to such lengths. The chemical metal seems great. It grabbed the plates so hard when I offered them up that i'm confident with it's grip. It does set very hard though so I don't know if it would stand up to much flexing before it cracked. I used rivets with big heads to spread the load. Ideally I wanted all rivet heads facing the same way so the arse ends all faced into the wheel arch but I couldn't get the rivet gun in so I've got them going both ways.
The other side needed the same treatment but wasn't quite so badly corroded.
Next were the 'top hats' along the length of the floor. When the big floor strengtheners came off I was expecting a disaster but for once it wasn't as bad as I had imagined. There were 3 places where the corrosion was to bad to ignore. This is the worst one.
Again my solution is not the perfectionist's preference but I think it will be up to the job. I made a repair section and riveted it in place. It'll be better than the gaping hole.
Then it was time to give the front end of the floor a good old scrub. We've gone from this
To this
So now it's just going to be more of the same. Scraping, cleaning, wire brushing etc.
I have found that white vinegar works really well on the white powdery aluminium corrosion so i'll try to get rid of as much as possible. Even though it's just the underside I will put some of the filler in the pitted areas. Then i'll do the wheel arches. I've got some seam sealer as well. The stuff that's in there now is really brittle so will all have to come out.
As far as painting goes i'm going to take a chance on some hammerite stuff that claims it can be painted straight onto aluminium or galv steel without primer or anything. There's a little voice in my ear shouting 'don't be so daft it'll be crap' but as always it's the cheapest so i'll give it a crack. What could possibly go wrong?
The whole back end of the tub is a project in itself. The w section cross piece and both rear quarters have got to be replaced so i'll show you that another time.
Lastly my young assistant has started helping me again recently. I think the milder weather suits him better.
He brought some pals down for a ride on the chassis and then thought he'd have a go at shifting it himself. You've got to have eyes in the back of your head when he's around though because he wants a go with every tool in the garage. This weekend it was the air sander that took his fancy. There was muck and dust everywhere.