Dan,
Congrats on maintaining ownership of Giles. It's great to hear your renewed
enthusiasm and best of luck in getting the tub completed and back on the
frame! FYI, I did not fiberglass the footwells in my current Spitfire. I
welded up the pinholes, ground the welds flat and then used steel-reinforced
putty to build up some of the low spots that were left when the surface rust
had been sandblasted away. I did however, fiberglass patch the footwells in
the car I sold a year ago, and although it was meant to be a temporary fix,
the patch held up very nicely for the two years that I had that car.
Best wishes,
Jeff
----- Original Message -----
From: Dan Canaan
To: spitfires@autox.team.net
Sent: Saturday, May 10, 2003 12:05 PM
Subject: RE: spot weld removal
Well, my search for a home for Giles, my 68 Mk III has come to an end...
with me! I have found storage for her in my brother's garage next to his
66 Chevy II. Good company. Woohoo!
But before I move her to that new location, it would be fairly nice to have
the body actually attached to the completed chassis so it's time to fix up
the small spots of rust on the body tub while it's still on the stands. A
body kit is cheap enough for the bolts and pads so that's easy. Those rust
spots though...
Luckily Giles has only really one bit of rust. The floor pans are mostly
solid, though I have seen a pin hole in one side after brushing them
clean. I'm not too worried about that. I can easily repair that with
fibreglass aka Jeff McNeal's method. The other rust is of a more serious
nature. Giles appears to have been hit in the right rear (starboard) wing
right ahead of the wheel well. The lower rocker panel had a bit of rust
and when I started probing further I found body filler and rust underneath
that. Well hmph. That's not good. Rust all the way down the rocker panel
to the body seam. I'd say I've got a good six inch hole horizontal by a
four inch vertical in an "L" shape. Now I think I could probably take out
the body filler (of course!) and patch in metal, but there are repair
panels meant for just this purpose.
I haven't tried a patch panel before. I can see removing the old welds
won't be really an issue and the seams are accessable. The point where the
patch panel meets the old fender across the top might be tricky though.
Time's awasting and I got to get busy! I move in less than a month and a
half so I gotta get Giles back on his wheels!
-Vegaman Dan
-Giles, 68 MK III
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