My Delta HF turbo ie Restoration

[Rob]

I made two repair sections from nice thick mild steel then welded them into place.

[Rob]

This picture shows the old roof panel after I'd removed it from the shell. Not only had it gone on the back edge, it had also rusted through around the sunroof opening which would have been very difficult to repair if it was still attached to the car.

[Rob]

Here's a couple of pics of the Delta with the roof panel removed.

[Rob]

This is the roof section that I cut from Steve Watts Delta that he was breaking.

[Rob]

I then separated the roof panel from the box section by drilling out the spot welds.

[Rob]

Unfortunately the tail end of the replacement roof panel had also started to rust through so I bought a handmade panel from John Whaley.

[Rob]

After many, many, many hours I finally got all 4 sections to fit nicely & ready for welding at last  .

[Rob]

Whilst I was welding the roof panel into place, some rags that were in the back of the Delta caught fire! I panicked & grabbed the rags & threw them outside & stamped the fire out. Unfortunately I burnt my hand quite badly & I couldn't do any welding for 2 weeks. When I eventually started welding again I felt so nervous my hand was shaking! I made sure there were no flammable items nearby, I also had a bucket of water close at hand.

[DavidLaver]

Oooch.   

A "blood sweat and tears" project to be sure.

I put a bit of metal welded metal down "quick" the other day wearing the thin "tig gloves" not the hefty "mig gauntlets".  The white leather is now quite brown but my skin was ok.  For one nasty moment I thought it had stuck to the glove.

[Rob]

Yes it was very nearly tears! I find welding with the heavy duty gauntlets difficult but on this occasion it would have been a lot less painful  .

[Parisien]

Sorry to hear that Rob, when using the red wrench dismantling the Aurelia, my mechanic made sure his fire extinguisher was close to hand, the felt type material on the inside smouldered away for 20/30 mins even after we'd blasted it 3/4 times!

P

[Rob]

I should have been more careful but this is what happens when you start rushing. I just wanted to get on with the welding & didn't want to 'waste' time by clearing all the crap out of the boot area which in hindsight was a big mistake. Thankfully there was no damage to the Delta, just me!

[simonandjuliet]

Ouch - we've all done something similar - glad you are on the mend

[DavidLaver]

A lesson - FOR US ALL. 

[Rob]

Thanks for your messages guys  . Here's some photos of the roof panel after all the welding was completed, cleaned up & with a fresh coat of zinc primer.