The previous weekend I went over to the workshop to be informed on the progress of the DHC’s body repairs. I have to admit I was well pleased with the work done so far. But also with the quality of the work! A few detail pictures of some of the repaired areas.
To start with the front of the right hand sill. As can be seen in the picture at the top of this post the inner sill hardly needed any work. Which was a good thing. If that had needed more extensive repairs, it would have been necessary to remove the body from the rotisserie. This would have been the only way to ensure the weakened body would be supported enough. Luckily the simple brace shown in the photo above was sufficient.
But there was a slight issue. The bottom lip of the strengthening panel at the front of sill (Picture #1) was hardly long enough, resulting in the original spot welds sitting right at the lower edge of the panel. Not good for spreading the loads properly. So the lower lip was rectified a little in that area to give some extra strength.
For the repairs at the front of the sill (Picture #2) it was decided not to weld it in position yet. This way there is a little more movement for
the trial fitting and positioning of the RH inner wing of the front wing. But while working in this area it turned out that the body had sagged a little when part of the inner sill was removed (with the outer sill completely removed already). It was only 3 mm, but an extra temporary brace was fitted to rectify the measurements. Some cross measurements afterwards showed that everything was well within the factory tolerances again.
Pictures #3 and #4 show the rear area of the right hand outer sill. This part of the job turned out to be pretty straightforward. But again the inside strengthener needed some rectification to get a proper fit, and enough material to spread the load properly. Though not as much as the one at the front. Picture #5 shows trial fitting of the replacement RH inner rear lower sill.
Final area to inspect were the repairs on top of the right hand rear chassis leg. The original closing panel was so thin in places that it was decided to replace it with a solid one from the donor body. And the rusty lower part if the RH rear inner wing was replaced with a piece of sheet steel and CAD (Cardboard Aided Design). Sounds straight forward, but it wasn’t! Working space was rather limited making it a pretty time consuming job. And grinding down the welding was even more of a challenge. Luckily that doesn’t affect its strength and it will be hidden from view ones the car is finished. To be continued.
