Inner and outer sills being replaced

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The decision to attack the rest of the body once the engine had been removed was not taken lightly, but in the end I decided it had to be done. The paintwork definitely fitted in the 'good from far, but far from good' category - large sections on the boot and bonnet starting to resemble crazy-paving as the three separate layers of paint (that I later found below the top coat) had slowly reacted with each other over the years. All it took was about 10 L of Tergostrip, a high tolerance for the pain inflicted when you get this evil stuff on your skin, and in the short space of two years I had the whole body stripped back to bare metal inside and out - easy as! Nasty discoveries on the way included mega rust in all the lower panels, except the front valances, which luckily were dented instead. But that was OK... because then they matched the RH rear wing. Fortunately Mr MasterCard came to the rescue and provided new front valances, a new rear wing, two new sills, half a new boot floor and a new front floor pan.....he is good like that.

Currently the car is in at the sprayers being painted - in preparation for the big bolt-together. Hopefully this is going to occur sometime in the next few months. In the interests of saving money I decided against a two-pack finish, but did opt for a phosphoric acid anti-rust treatment for the body, and smooth red Hammerite for the chassis. All ancillary components in the engine bay have either been reconditioned or have been replaced new (mainly from Cardinal Triumph in the UK). These are all currently sitting in boxes at various locations throughout Christchurch. Having shifted house four times since the whole restoration process began my biggest fear now is that when I go to put the spittie back together I am going to find half the bits missing!

After 3-4 years off the road that first drive is going to taste so sweet though....

New front floor pan section

71 SPIT as last seen...updates to follow

Down to bare metal, prior to rustproofing