Admiralty, Enemy, Rival, Fallen & Angel..............

All follow or proceed ARCH(ES) .......................( OK the last one stretched it a bit )

Before we go further........I passed all my exams................Yippee !!

So Arches, or arch to be precise. I've finally finished the patchwork quilt of welding the lip of the arch inner - outer section. It was a swine. The main problem being the wheel hub right in the most awkward place imaginable. Your head needs to be there to see what you are doing and get out of the way of all the falling crud ( and grinding sparks and welding sparks). Its very difficult to get a head covered with welding mask in there and weld. It was managed albeit with some bird poo type welding in parts, lots and lots of stray sparks behind the mask ( it makes you leap around a bit) head wedged and stuck in position, mouths full of 32 year old crud and sparks falling onto your arms and chest. Yes they hurt too.

As proof see the photos below, labelled looking out from the ( left rear) arch.

Bear in mind the camera was easy to position as its small. My head+welding mask is not.
I,m rather proud of this and the composite layout ( done in paint) .
You will see in the centre the view of the tailgate section. Yes it still is a shed/tool storage space since I've long since run out of storage locations.
However, most of it will be spirited away somewhere whilst I work on the floors inside.
Bodywork wise its just about done. There is one 50p piece hole in the top RH corner of the tailgate gutter ??? and a pencil sized hole just under the rear screen rubber at the 5 o'clock position with a little more underlying rust ,so the rear windscreen is coming out soon. The rubber surround is awful anyway, very brittle and scabby. The chrome trim will be cut out, polished up and re-used.
Methinks that with a respray its imperative to have new front/rear rubbers ( fitted after respray, obviously)

AND, to continue the good news a small windfall from the tax man has allowed me some cash for the next stage. What shall be the next stage ?. I guess I must attach the fuel tank, fuel line and work on getting the engine turning over at least. This part worries me as I see it as a potentially frustrating part. Auto electrics, carb balancing, mixture adjustment all will play a part in the life of one happyish student Radiographer over summer.
Since the money is there and not needed for the above work I guess I may buy Poly bushes for the front suspension, and give each side a overhaul and refurb. I have a pair of lower springs bought on e-bay last year (£ 5/pair, if i remember correctly).

So, I must fit for now, the accelerator pedal and cable, but first wire brush the floors and red lead them.

Soon, with a little luck I may be able to drive it under its own power..............oh joy oh joy.

Bad news is wifeys on D.I.Y overdrive with the cash windfall. So far I've painted the bathroom ( twice) and toilet. She's offered to paint the kitchen. This is a sneaky feminine tactic. She's terrible at painting but denies it. However she knows I will offer to do it after making a bo****ks of her first attempt. In fact she visited B&Q.....!! EVERY DAY!! this week for one thing or another ( matchpots x 30,0000, bathmat, wallpaper [ not purchased, painted existing instead, twice] paving [n/p], look at bathroom suites, brushes.........I eventually refused to visit the last time, instead feigning a headache from all the paint fumes........two can play that game !!!!!!!