Folded the edges and then recessed the ends to slip under and level with the existing panel.

Should come up OK.

Finally got a few more pieces back together. Battery shelf patch welded in and filler added. Replacement pieces added to the side footwells. I first added small tags to help align them and give something to weld to and drilled some holes to plug weld.

These went in quite well. My photo is a bit dull though.

In the meantime Chris dissassembled his many windscreens until he had enough good condition frames, glass and various screws and brackets to put two good windscreens together.

Oops! Second photo above not correct.

I also got the reinforcing panel around the handbrake added in. There was a dent in the hump I couldn't get out. By placing the panel in position and bolting the handbrake down it pulled the dent up and held it in place while I plug welded the drilled holes. A bit of clamping and tipping th body side to side to get a better welding position.

While I had the body lifted on my gantry I took the opportunity to install new shackle bushes in the front. It took every bit of pressure I could wring out of this G clamp to get them to push in.
After that it was time to wipe a bit more filler around and tidy up some of the welds and other imperfections.

I got all the filler rubbed back before I took off for Corowa for the week. I gave the body a thorough going over with fishoil and sealed all the seams with butyl mastic. The week in Corowa gave it a chance to dry out so it was ready to paint when I got home.

First a coat of body deadener underneath and on the floor and other areas to help hide a few minor imperfections.

I bolted a piece of scrap to the bumper brackets and to where the tow bar attaches, (which has also been fitted). By hoisting it on a chain at the back and using the block and tackle at the front I fashion a temporary rotiserie for painting.

The firewall panel and dash panel and pedals have gone for sand blasting. The pedal pivot bolts and bushes are all flogged out so I got some bushes from a bearing supplier that will fit and bought some bolts which I turned down on the lathe to suit.

Now that the body is painted the previously rebuilt axles, springs, dampers and steering gear can go straight on. The front torsion bar was really hard to align and required the use of a porta power to push the axle mount forward and the chainblock to pull the axle up. To stop the whole front end lifting I had to put a piece of timber under my gantry cross beam to work against the chainblock.

My gantry spans the width of my shed and travels on rollers the full length of the shed. It is made from railway line and other scrap. It enables me to pick up anything and move it to anywhere in the shed. The railway line is supported on steel posts which also double as the support posts of the shelving when I built the shed. Makes life very easy.

Chris has got the roofs painted while I repaired a second set of seat bases. We had one complete set and the other only had the bottom parts. They are only made from 1" angle iron so it was pretty straight forward to cut and drill and rivet the top section.

I've digressed a bit to have a look at the fuel tanks I have to work with. This is a Tilly tank. Filler on top and about 150 mm longer than a car tank.

The Tilly tank has a big hole in the bottom and I suspect a very untidy interior. They share the same stamped end and flanges for filler necks and guages. So I opened up the car tank and removed one end and baffle. Looking at the end I am contemplating getting some steel plates lazar cut and pressing some new end pieces in the same pattern. However before I try that I sweated that one end apart. It looks solid and might be able to be cleaned up and re-zinced. If I can recover all four ends and the baffles and recondition them I will just have to fold up the body of the tank and solder all the parts back together.

Both ends and baffles have been removed and they will clean up quite well. There is no rust to worry about so I melted off all the solder and removed the drain plug fitting, and the fuel line pick up and fuel gauge float. The flanges for them were sweated off and cleaned up. I will get a piece of galvanized iron and shape up for the replacement body and solder it back together. If needed maybe some POR 15 fuel tank sealer to cover the ends.

I got some galvanized iron cut to the exact size required and dressed both ends to form a lap joint for the main body of the tank. Another job for my hi-tech folding equipment.

The tanks are 865mm long and I had to work out a way of folding the curves in to follow the seams in the end flanges. A bit of scrap steel and pipe and the old G clamps into action again. I used a piece of 100 mm heavy steel channel and a piece of 50mm pipe and welded some scrap in the inside of the channel to centre the pipe. The four locking pliers help centre the sheet where I want it to be without moving until there is some load on the sheet.

The first fold with that pipe came out a little too tight so I opened it up a little and pressed it again with a larger pipe. Instead of altering the press I slid the larger pipe over the thinner one. This came out exactly as I needed.

I checked each fold in the end flange as I went. It was a little bit of guesswork as to exactly where the next fold was to be positioned but I managed to get it pretty close. Once the four folds were done the lap joint was closed up. To keep the joint nice and tight I forced a couple of pieces of timber inside.

My late father was a plumber and used to make a lot of galvanized iron tanks when I was young. I remember being about six years old when I began helping him by holding the rivet dolly on the inside while he hammered the tin rivets from the outside. As the tanks got higher I had to work off a ladder with each hit almost knocking me off the ladder. Anyway, I still have his old tools which haven't seen any use for many years. Who'd a thought. I supported a piece of railway line in my vice as the anvil for swedging the lap joint.

Once this seam was finished I lowered my press to its bottom and placed a plate at each end of the tank. It pressed in perfectly. I need to now attach all the external flanges and baffles before permanently attaching the end flanges.

I got the end flanges, baffles and most fittings off the car tank but I only had one filler inlet flange and that being on the complete Tilly tank. The car being different.
This Tilly I knew had a foreign tank fitted.

I removed this tank and found it had been modified by blanking off the original filler neck and then fitting an original Tilly neck. Once removed I have a complete set of correct bits for each tank.

solder
 

The tilly project(s) are looking excellent. When it comes time to solder the gal. iron petrol tank, I think they use a flux called 'killed spirits' its a mix of diluted hydrochloric acid and pure zinc. Some people make their own, buy the acid from a hardware store and a lump of zinc. There was a tank sealant called RED KOTE or similar , you mixed it with acetone , it might be available still. Mike

I remember Dad using 'spirits of salts' which he used to brush on with an old 'Clag' paste brush. I just use Bakers soldering solution. I have never done any soldering much apart from small wiring jobs so I'm relying on my 6 year old apprenticeship. I've got the old mans soldering irons and a quantity of older. Seen the price of that stuff these days!!!

more flux
 

This may be of use

http://chestofbooks.com/crafts/metal...al-Joints.html

A suggestion . Gal. iron flux can be straight diluted Hyd. acid , because the gal. already has a rich zinc content.

Seriously a good job Jack, Now that is really old school fabrication. :thup2: :thup2: :thup2:

Thanks Colin. It is good fun finding a solution when one has to improvise. Another example of
'Why can't I live closer to Colin Jones'!

I popped the ends off the body of the tank and firstly riveted and soldered the bottom drain plug flange. Next the fuel line filter and pickup. This has a nut on the inside to tighten up the brass fitting and then soldered on the outside. The baffles were then soldered in and then the fuel filler inlet flange and fuel gauge flange were riveted on and soldered. Lastly the ends were pressed back on and crimped tight and all the seams soldered. Not the neatest of soldering but I am very happy with the end product. Pity it will be slung underneath never to be seen.