Body - preparation and painting
The body tub was renovated by Keith Roach - who repaired the aluminium panels - cutting out the rot and welding in new sections as needed. About 80% of the original remains. The steel floor and inner rear wings were replaced with new. One door skin was replaced, ash frames renovated. At the time Keith was building the body for the unique replica Auto Union A-type 1934 German Grand Prix winning car, so Bluebell was in good company.
On its return from the New Forest, the body was re-united with the chassis after a liberal treatment with Wax-Oyl corrosion prevention.
A set of reproduction wings from Vintage wings were fettled to the body tub and progress halted for three years with pressure from a new job. Finally Mac Bonar rescued Michael and the project (not for the first time...)
The mock-up assembled body to test panel fit - held together with mole grips
Mac completed the wing fettling, stripping of the body tub's remaining paint and prepared it for painting. This was a labour of love with as many as 35 redundant holes to be filled in the dash panel alone. Mac organised re-chroming of all the right bits, replacement of the cracked windscreen glass, restored the hood frame including the cracked rear rail where the car had been damaged in a roll in the late 60s.
Some of the many redundant holes visible in the un-restored dash panel
The finished dash panel with original instruments and optional extra Jaeger clock - note original choke wire!
Mac disguised as an Iraqi terrorist working hard on the body preparation using aluminium based filler
An example of detailed attention was the headlamp bowls. Fatigue cracks around the mounting bracket hole had left one of the bowls complete, but in pieces. After bead blasting, a retired skilled brass worker soft soldered the bits together as new..
|
|
|
| Some of the brass items awaiting painting black - the solder repaired bowl is on the left | The interior prepared prior to entering the paint shop - satin Hammerite |
The paintwork is being done by Queen Elizabeth Foundation for the Disabled in Leatherhead. Dave Carr is the head of their residential paint spraying school - teaching enthusiastic mature students top skills - with extremely high standards. See below...
Prior to spraying, further detailed preparation was made to remove all hollows:
The proud QE2 students having masked up ready to prime
Primed...
the first top coat (look at that finish!) However, I made a mistake with the colour - so we did it again...
"That's do nicely, thanks Dave" -
Bluebell leaving QE2 Leatherhead in 2003
All the panels got the same detailed preparation - here are the NEW wings
being prepared:
 |
 |
| Careful bare metal sanding | Filled and prepared to remove hollows |
Restoration re-commenced in 2007 with fitting the radiator, doors, wings, screen and wiring (see other section). Mac joined Michael for a day to help with fitting the wings and windscreen glass:
 |
 |
| Matchsticks either side hold the glass in place whilst the silicon sets | The willing apprentice works under Mac's watchful eye... |
 |
 |
| New number plate bracket and hand painted plates fitted - great care taken to protect plate with fibre washers, quite a challenge to get the radiator drain tap in the centre of its hole! | Switch panel, Oil gauge and patent plate, awaiting clock from restorer |
Finally Bluebell returns to Mac for the completion of trimming in November 2007...
 |
 |
| Wheeling into the workshop... | |
 |
 |
| Polished side step protector with Austin logo insert | Door hinge detail |
 |
 |
| Almost ready.... | Waxoil spraying under body and wings |
 |
| Finished! Sept 2008 |
