Lil Red - SJ restoration - Patching completed
Work is really progressing this week over at Winchfield Engineering. The welding patching to the bodywork is complete. The welds have been ground back smooth and now a protective coat of epoxy and Cobra (for the undersides) is put on in the paint shop to protect the bare metal until the full painting starts.
The next stage should see the wings being re-fitted.
On the left is the rear passenger side floor panel. This has been cut out and a new panel fabricated to fit.
On the right , the fuel filler area has been cleaned up and the rust removed.
In the front footwells, the bung holes which were rusted out have been plated over. This was a debate as to whether they should stay (ie. original) or go. As they are are rust trap it was decided they should go. The SJ will be preserved and garaged so it will never off-road to the extent that the bungs would be needed. It has been pointed out that the soft-top can leak water in but as the bungs would normally be in place, this would not drain away anyway and would simply sit there and rust, therefore there is no reason for us to keep them.
With the epoxy coat in place it is difficult to even see where the repairs have been made.
The bung holes have been covered and the holes in the floor behind the accelerator pedal have been patched.
The outer side of the footwell repairs
Around the body mounts behind the driver seat, you will recall from our previous post - https://www.bigjimny.com/index.php/bigjimny-blog/general/entry/1310-lil-red-sj-restoration-welding-has-started that the panel was completely cut away to access and repair the rusty interior
This has now been patched up and the cut away panel replaced.
A nice neat job replacing the panel that was cut away,
Protective coat of Cobra under the wheel arches, this will be painted over red in the final coating.
