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Looking great Scott. Something to look back on and enjoy. Nice to see some realistic time frames for home baked repairs too.

So been chipping away so though I'd do a little update.
Decided to do a bit of a clean up on the transmission tunnel. So got some sheet metal from Bunnings and started laying into it with a rubber mallet on my forming bag . Hard work. really appreaciate the cold rolled 0.8mm sheet that I used on the A-pillar. Several checks and then cut out the centre and this is the result. Was pretty happy till I got the gear lever out for a test fit. My cut out is too big, The holes that the boot is meant to mount trough are clearly visable. Also came to the realisation that the fit of the boot is going to have to be done with the gearbox in so threw the metal in the corner and left this for now.

So Next. Passenger floor.
Doesn't look too bad in the pictures and toyed with welding up the holes. But already had the floor. So marked on the worst bits of the floor and started cutting and drilling out spot welds. Not rust! This car has spent some time on dirt roads. In all my time with the car (24 years) it has never touched dirt like this. Really hard to work out how it got in here.
Quick powerfile just to make sure its not rust. Unfortunately joy was short lived. Cross member that attaches to inner sill is full of the both dirt and my old friend rust. Scientific analysis shows that this car may have spent some time on or near a cattle farm.

So can't fix the floor till I fix the cross member. Don't think I can fix the cross member (easily) without removing the sub frame.
So off it comes. Helps if you remember to undo all the bolts So got a bit of rust to deal with here. Both on the subframe 'wings' and the firewall. It has been repaired (badly) in the past. Bit of a band aid approach that has trapped the rust and allowed it to spread. Only one thing for it. There are 3 layers of metal where I cut near the bonnet hinge mounts. This won't be fun!

So before I fix the fire wall I have to fix this. Well actually worse than just the bit at the back. Yet another dodgy repair. Off it comes. Bit of a patchwork. Grabbed a bit of off-cut from the new floot and attacked it with my shiny new ball peen hammer over my sand bag. Going to have a popeye arm by the end of this - it weighs 900 grams. 2 hours of hammering, grinding and swearing and ended the day with this. And yes I know I need to put the drain in!

Mate that's great work and realistically the only way it should be done.

Regards Greg

Great work Scott. They are really tricky repairs to do and you are very talented to get them done to the high standard you are achieving. I've been to those same places but have mostly used donor cuts. What you are crafting is so much more difficult. Thanks for sharing.

Bringing back memories. All mine had rust behind subframes skirt and no 1 body member to varying degrees. Most do, so taking off the subframe is inevitable.

Great work on the plenum. You're reminding me to pour some fisholene in the cowl but when it is driving so I can slosh it around.

FB ute driver, EK van project

great work mate, cut your way in , weld your way out

Thanks all for the kind words. That plenum would have been a different, and way more difficult story, if there was no rust in the firewall. Really need to cut that part of the firewall out to have any chance at a simple repair.
Before I marked and cut the plenum I grabbed the mig torch and mocked where I could weld. No point cutting where I can't easily weld it back together.

We are lucky on this side of the island, very rarely see rust in plenums over here, guessing the drier climate has something to do with that

Never got around to posting the rest of this job.
First drain hole. The old sidchrome sockets save the day again

Used the ‘original’ bit of tube off the rusty offcut.
Welded on.

Test fit


And much welding and grinding later


Scott

When I’m bored/frustrated and uninspired, I scrape paint off those hard to get at places
Passenger door done and rust free


Scott

Very thorough job Scott.

FB ute driver, EK van project

nice work mate