Sunday
I finished off the last bit of welding on the driver's side bracket and added a cap.
I then had a slight mishap on the passenger side when I dropped the cap
inside the box section.
In the end I was able to fish it out using a BBQ skewer and some masking tape.
Then it was welded into place.
There was one odd job I needed to do before I went any further.
The bracket that holds the rear radius arm to the frame had a loose bolt.
This was how it had been fitted to my donor car, so I finally got around to welding the bolt into position.
Then I unbolted the driver's side of the frame from the chassis, so I could add the driver's floor.
Part of me was hoping I could weld it in place without removing the whole frame.
But deep down I knew it all had to come off again and my wife helped me lift it clear.
This allowed me to mark up where any of the edges needed to be trimmed.
I also cleaned up all the edges ready for welding.
As before, the corresponding edges of the frame work also needed to be done too.
Just before I started the welding I cleaned up the "join" brackets and got some etch primer on them.
Then I used the pop rivets to locate the driver's side floor so I could start clamping and welding.
I also "squashed" the floor a bit where the frame's cross member didn't sit flush.
After the first round of welding the floor looked like this.
And the whole rear framework now looks like this.
There is no way I can lift this back frame onto the chassis by myself anymore.
( Partly because I used to stand
inside the floor framework to balance the weight. )
But the good news is that I am very slowly inching towards the point where it will be permanently bolted to the chassis.
Until next time, take care, Paul.
