Getting There...
Slowly, but surely, the bulkhead is returning to solid metal, one repair panel at a time.
I started with the lower edge at the rear of the bulkhead.
Then I removed the edges and some of the worst rust / rot.
( Some of the small holes were welded over. )
Before I used a repair panel to completely join the two sections together, I clamped them up.
Then ran some weld along the edge of join first (not a great photo).
Then the repair panel went in and this covered both the cut out sections and the "factory" hole.
Capping the edge of the box section at the rear of the bulkhead was straight forward.
Then I tackled the front corner section on the lowest edge of the bulkhead.
At this point the entire lower edge of the passenger side of the bulkhead was complete.
There was a little run of weld required at the back of the bulkhead.
At this point I gave the newly welded in panels a coat of Kurust & re-did the surrounding area while I was at it.
The last repair of the day was to the front corner where the external support arm ends.
Obviously the first thing I needed to do was make it worse!
However, this allowed me to weld the edge of the internal panel to the box section.
Not a great photo, as the light was fading fast, but you can see I also capped the end of the box section while I was at it.
Then the repair panel was welded along the edge of the box section as a flat piece of metal.
Before being hammered around the corner and welded along the remaining edges.
By now it was too dark / cold / misty to continue, but still pretty good progress for the day.
The remaining passenger side welding jobs are:
- Finish off this corner
- Patch two small rust holes
( Well they are small now, but I have still to challenge them with the "screwdriver of truth"! )
- All the edges that overlap/meet the external repair panels on the
inside of the bulkhead.
The remaining bulkhead welding jobs are:
- Inside edges of the bulkhead where the gearbox cover fits
- Support structures for the heater and dashboard
So still a bit to do, but the work can finally be counted in days, rather than weeks / months.
Until next time, take care, Paul.
