Ford Prefect V8 Hot Rod Project - Bodywork

I hate body work. People that are good at it are possessed by something evil. It takes far too long, it's far too difficult,  it's not always obvious how to go about something. I don't have a good eye for it either, I can never really see how to achieve the desired result, I have been dreading it but I can't put it off any longer. I bought a load of kit to do it, long sanding thingies with different grades of stuff to go on the thingy, an electric random action sander, various discs, you get the idea.

I had already taken the doors, boot lid and spare wheel door off, rubbed them down, filled and primered, that had taken way longer than hoped for, mainly due to the cold weather and lack of heating in the workshop. They are all now nearly ready to go back on except I need to weld on some supports for the front doors for the electric window mechanisms.

I cheated with the roof panel, for some reason Ford made it's cars with gaping holes in the roofs back in the 1950's, I don't know if it was for lightness or cheapness, maybe a bit of both. Fortunately somebody makes a big old fibre glass panel to fill that hole. It's a fair bit of cash at just over 200 quid with postage but my good mate Paulo at Alliance Transport had a van in the area so the cost came down 60 quid minus beer. It's superb quality, quite thick with a textured finish that looks just like vinyl, it is self coloured in black, very happy with it. It came with a rubber surround, rivets, instructions and polyurethane adhesive so there is all you need to get the job done. Fitting is a 2 person job so it will have to wait until another body becomes available. I have checked it for fit, it will be spot on.

I have spent several days filling, sanding, hammering etc and progress has definitely been made but I still look at the job sometimes and wonder what the hell I got myself in to, The panel work near where the bonnet meets to has been particularly difficult and challenging, It is getting there though, the bonnet itself is going to be a huge task. It will all be worth it in the end though.

I have made a huge cock up with the aerial for the stereo, I drilled a hole in the roof but just under where it fits is a metal brace, I can not access the fixing nut. I thought I would be able to get my fingers in there but after numerous attempts I have to give in, fill the hole and drill another at the back of the roof. Fortunately the cables are plenty long enough but it's an unwanted distraction. I guess you just have to put up with this sort of thing when taking on such a huge project.

On the plus side I talked myself in to doing the bits at the bottom of the a pillars, they had been partly cut away by a previous owner and what was left was rusty and nasty so that had to go too. That left me with two very awkwardly shaped holes to fill, it took quite a bit of thinking about before I summoned up the courage to tackle it. I don't have much in the way of tools for sheet metal bashing so I concluded the easiest way to make it was in two pieces welded together, it actually worked out quite well. Now it is done on one side it should be a lot easier to do the other side and for the first time I can see how to rebuild the fibre glass bonnet so it all fits neatly. I am leaving the bottom of the panel open, it seems like a real rust trap with it closed in, water will just sit there. I doubt the car will ever go out in the wet but I think it's best anyway.

So I got the first side done and immediately saw how I could have done it much more easily so I changed things around a bit for the second side, which I am glad to say took half as long for a slightly better result. While I was finishing that I came up with a better idea for where the flip front meets the side panels. It occurred to me that if I had done it the way I intended the paint would get scraped every time I opened and closed the bonnet. I am now going to do it so there is a gap between the bonnet and the side panels and a ledge will be made for the bonnet to rest on, no chance of scraping the paint then, a couple of dzus fasteners will keep things tight to stop the bonnet moving about when closed. Talking of the bonnet I am going to add a lot of steel reinforcement to it, it's very wobbly at the moment, it offends me.