On Friday I took the panel to Nottingham to be dipped, a nice drive and a good step in the overall process.  Today I started welding the car up fully.  I know I don't need to totally seem weld it but I can't help myself.

I think it will take some time to get the whole car welded up judging by the time it took today, perhaps I'll skip the full seem welding soon.

In preparation for the next task which is to paint the inner bodywork I have been researching various paint options.  The good news is I have found out how to paint the stainless steel chassis, something that has troubled me for a very long time.  Frost, the UK based supplier of parts and consumables for the classic car has a lot of tutorial videos and one of them was on how to paint stainless steel chassis, rather handy.  Essentially, I get the lot clean with a degreaser, then use a lotion which has phosphoric acid in and then an etch primer before the final top coat.  I just need to decide on what paint I am going to use.  I had originally intended to use POR15 but in a recent communication with the company that makes it I discovered that I can only use a top coat if it is applied when the POR15 is still tacky.  There is no way I can do that so that means I need a new route and at the moment it looks like etch primer is the way forward with a stone chip on the underside and possibly in some areas of the inside such as the boot and the footwells.  It has been interesting surfing for solutions.  I had to smile when I saw the list of 10 tools everyone needs for a restoration on the frost website as it included two very low cost tools that would have made life easier for me, oh well.

Had a lot of time in the garage this week, it being half term and all.  On Monday the welder came round and took care of my shrouds.  He was very patient with me and very meticulous with his work. I am delighted with the outcome.  I have a fair amount of grinding to do now but all of the issues with the shrouds are done.  The boot lid is joined with its frame as well which is cool.

Since then I have spent a few hours on various bits and pieces.  The bonnet is fully welded and fits well.  I am a little surprised how well that has gone.

In preparation for having the wings dipped I mounted them again to fit the headlamp bowls and check for any last minute welding required.  They all needed a little TLC but are ready for the trip to Nottingham tomorrow.  It actually feels like I am nearing the end of this phase.  Once the wings are dipped I will store them away and get on with welding the chassis structure up as everything has been tack welded to date.  That should be fun.  Then I will paint the inner body and start to think about fitting the engine and mechanicals.  Cant wait.

I spent some hours yesterday removing the wings that are not needed for positioning for the welding and storing them in the shed.  Today I had a proper look at the steel bonnet.

You can see two of the holes in the bonnet.  I was a tad worried about the panel warping during welding but it didn't seem to which was a relief.  I removed the remnants of the bracket that had broken away ready for a new hinge.

I then got the new bracket welded on for trial fitting

I couldn't get the bonnet to fit so lost patience with the original bracket and replaced it.  Naturally the gaps are not to my liking but it is in and doesn't look too bad.

Looking forward to getting the shrouds welded tomorrow.

Well I realise that I am pretty indecisive on some things.  I have booked the welding professional to come and do the welding.  He is coming in 8 days time and I am somewhat relieved.  I am also going to take the wings to be dipped that week as well.

In preparation for these events I got down to checking the shrouds for cracks and holes so that I could  mark them and ensure that I don't miss any on the day.  Whilst doing that I saw the boot lid hanging from the rafters and got it down to see if it needed any work.  The frame was located in the boot lid but not welded in so it just fell out when provoked.  So, yes it also needs welding.  I then looked at the front bonnet and realised that it is really awful so I took a trip to the store cupboard that is my In-Laws and brought my spare steel one back.  Fortunately it is in much better condition although it does have some holes in the main skin near the front corners which may have been used for straps, anyway, they are going.  I also need to do some work on the brackets that bolt to the hinges, one side is completely missing.  I have a vague memory of buying some of those from John so I will have to have a look.

I spent a few hours working on the boot lid and made some progress but still need a little more.

Had a lovely day in the garage today which considering it is a miserable January day makes it all the better.

I started but bolting on the rear off side wing which went pretty easily.  I had to modify the position of the bottom of the wing to the rear of the wheel arch as it was too high.  I then proceeded to look at the front wing.  Miraculously I found the 4 pieces of steel that form the captive nuts for the bolts that hold the wing support trim which I cleaned up and painted before slotting them back into the wing.  What was a pain was finding a set of bolts to fit into them.  I have no idea what thread they are and it took about 20 minutes routing around all the bolts I have before I had found a suitable pair.

Before putting the wing on I had a detailed look at the welding on the rear edge of the wing that I had done recently having previously ground the wing back to make the door gap work.  I think this will come back to haunt me at some point.  Anyway I decided that it wasn't good enough so had another go at it with the MIG welder.  Lost of welding and grinding later I bolted the wing on.

I also noticed that there is  a bit of research needed for the A post.

I had never looked at the return checking device.  When I did it was obvious something was wrong (apart from the fact that I am holding it the wrong way round that is).  Having looked up the brochures on the Ahead 4 Healey's web site I realise I have the wrong one.  Damn.  Especially as it will be another £90 to get it rectified.  I'm tempted to have a go at making a plate myself. Something to ponder over.

I am thinking of the next steps now.  I have decided to buy the gas welding equipment from Tinmantech rather than go for a cheap TIG or pay a professional to do it.  I am essentially troubled by the prospect of a professional charging me a lot of money and then finding another fault that requires welding.  Also, I think I must be able to learn how to do it myself, it might be fun even.  My wife is going to Miami in 5 weeks which means she can collect it and bring it back to avoid me paying the import duties.  Working out what I need to order at the moment.

I am also thinking of getting the wings dipped, I realise I have been here before but it seems the safest option.  I think I could take them to be dipped in my next holiday in 5 weeks.  They are basically ready but I need to get them fully bolted on first.  I mean that I have been using just a few of the bolts to put them in place rather than every single bolt hole.  I am a bit troubled that when I bolt them up properly that some of the holes won't line up.  I think this would be good thing to get done before I take the wings to be treated.

Once done I can then weld up the chassis.  This will be fun.  Then I will have a choice, do I start to fit up the drive train or do I do all the filler work on the wings?  I know the filler work will make a lot of mess so I am thinking that this should be done first.  Against that though is the problem of what I would do with the wings whilst I do the mechanics.  After all, I wouldn't want them getting scratched or knocked if they are ready for paint.  Decisions, decisions.

Christmas is a good time for garage time and I got a few days in the garage this week.  I put the wing back on and got a sensible door gap, all good.   I did need to reshape the lower front edge of the wing and was happy with how it turned out.

Feeling quite happy with that I took the car out of the garage to get some photos: