Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

Operation Two Triumphs continues.

The GT6's right hand floorpan turned out to be fairly rusty under all the dirt. Apparently California cars do rust. In this case I think the aerial hole in the front scuttle let the water in, and the carpet held it in the front footwell and under the passenger's seat. That'll be the driver's seat when it's revived in RHD form, so I decided to replace the floorpan. It doesn't look too bad in the photo, but the remainder was too thin to weld patches to. One panel, 100 pounds. Postage, about 40. Not having my backside dragging on the road? Priceless!

Not that I've ordered a new panel from Canleys yet, as Customs haven't released my welder. In the meantime I'll get on with restoring a pair of ex-Sprint HS6 carbs and de-rusting the seat frames.


Meanwhile, back in Christchurch the Herald V8's body has been removed for sandblasting, and the certifier has asked that the custom lower wishbones be reinforced. A friend snuck in and snapped a photo of the V8 in its ultimate weight-saving guise. The V8 really does look as though it's supposed to be there, doesn't it?

POR-15

After the chassis came back from the sandblasters it got several coats of POR-15, the hardest paint I've found. It flows well off the brush - well enough in fact that I've painted the fuel tank with it as well, achieving a glassy smooth finish. POR-15 doesn't come off hands though, you have to wait until the skin sheds!

Gloss black doesn't photograph well, but I'm happy with the result.

The next step is removing the dirt, paint and rust from the wheel arches and underside, and painting that in POR-15 as well. The car never had underseal, which makes the job far easier, though far from pleasant. Below is the result of two hours with an angle grinder and wire brush.

The only rust so far is light surface rust behind the rear axle. I'll clean the rest of the right side, paint it and turn the body the other way to tackle the left side. A friend suggested leaving the body and bonnet off the chassis until they're painted, avoiding the possibility of overspray on the chassis and suspension. However it would make the body harder to move and more prone to damage after painting. Pros and cons.

I won't fit the body until I know the gearbox fits without chassis modifications. And I've rebuilt the suspension. And chosen some wheels...