The Dark Wob

You'll get there! You can buy a special drill bit for removing spot welds. Really useful thing.

The Reverend Bluejeans wrote: ↑Tue Jun 18, 2019 11:44 pm This was a thread I watched with great interest on AS - please keep it up.

If you fancy to be much closer to the action, you are welcome to buy it off me cheap and finish it off!

CLINT wrote: ↑Wed Jun 19, 2019 9:17 am You'll get there! You can buy a special drill bit for removing spot welds. Really useful thing.

I keep thinking about buying a set but baulk at the price. Then decide I'll buy it when I need it. Which doesn't work as when I tend to need it, I need it right there and then without waiting.

Click of support from me here....Nice to see one of these going on the Highway From Oblivion.

Got on with making some new brackets today.

Started out by making rough templates of the original. Then transferred them to metal and cut them out.


I forgot to take pictures of the intermediate steps, but it's me basically cutting the bits out and then using my work bench top as a metal working dolly.

After an hour or so of faff I ended up with this lot. Still need to fettle them into a final shape and weld them together.


This is the sort of thing that I need a proper metal folder. Something like the Machine Mart metal working machines would have helped allow me make a much better job of this job. As it stands, I have a pair of brackets that are proper amateur hour.

Also you may notice that I have two identical brackets. What I will tell you is that I did them identical as one was a practice. It wasn't at all that I realised I should have done a mirror copy of one as I took that photo...

I'll just try bending the one that isn't as accurate the other way instead. Ideal for making those corners nice and hard from the work hardening of the metal!

Got these brackets finished tonight.

Cut a new top piece out to fix my mistake and made a mirror version of the bracket this time. The other side I chose the one that came out better.


Then got on with welding it together. Haven't picked the torch up for a good few months now and it shows.


Also burnt my cheapy workbench. Did it straight on there at first and the inevitable happened. Then put a fire blanket down and worked off that. The fire blanket fused itself to the back and also burnt. So ended up having the corners I working on off the end of the bench...

Pre grind


Post grind. One came out better than the other.


Also note that one hole is slightly on the piss. Oops. Hopefully shouldn't be a problem and if it is, I'll just die grind it as a slit. It's how the factory one is anyway...


At least I got reasonable penetration through though


I give myself a 4/10 for these pieces. Functional, but not terribly accurate or pretty. It's on the bottom of the car, so not a massive deal. I just need to up my game when I need to finish the top side body work bits like the arch repair panels and bits of the door skin.

Or do as best as I can, then plaster on the magic filler to cover the warped panels and messy welds ...

Fixed up the final bit on the mount area today

Cleaned up with the grinder


Made a piece to fit




Welded in and painted


Poured too much paint, so ended up finding more things to paint


Needed holes putting in the new piece so the subframe can be bolted on.


I drilled a hole with the expectation of using my die grinder to finish off. Unfortunately the die grinder bit was wearing out quicker than it was cutting through.

Instead I used my finger sander and quite a few belts to cut through. Worked much better than I expected. Backup plan if this didn't work was to whack the welder power up and blow holes around the metal.


Debating whether to put welds around the holes or just throw paint down and be done with it. Still need to put a patch back in where I cut an access hole anyway.

By this point it was around 1pm and 30c outside. It was getting a bit too much to be fully PPE'd up and working under a car. So packed up for the day.

Tomorrow I plan to bolt the rear mounts to the subframe and then try to line it all up. Hopefully it'll be roughly in the right place. If so, I'll then weld the rear mounts on. I don't think it will work if I weld the mounts on first as pretty sure I'll struggle to get it in the right position. Also need to make sure it's straight. Get this wrong and I'll have a wonky mounted subframe ... and end up crabbing along the road.

Bye bye little 1100


You've left a 1100 shaped rusty mark in my heart/drive


Big thanks to worldofceri for the delivery service.

I still need to do a full write up on the final bits that I did, which I'll do some point soon. It's now off to its new owner who will finish off the remaining bits and get her back on the road!

Who is its next victim?

sharley on AS. This guy: https://autoshite.com/topic/33481-sharl ... ct-thread/

He was the guy that catsinthewelder bought it off. As he has been collecting/fixing up/etc ado16s for a while, he has a good parts stash. This is exactly what the car needs as there is a whole bunch of stuff needing to be obtaining & sorted - e.g. displacer rehose, brakes+clutch masters replacing, brake overhaul, interior trim bits, etc. As he's got most of the bits, he can finish it a lot easier and quicker than I ever could.

I'm just hoping he isn't going to strip it for parts and cube the rest - he has got a reputation for doing that occasionally. However, like many who have owned it, he has an emotional attachment to the ugly fucker and is keen to get it back on the road. His intention is to get it finished, do Lands End to John O'Groats and then flog it back on. I have first refusal - which I will likely take him up upon. He is one of the few people that I trust to actually finish it and not either let it rust away in a corner or strip it for parts. If I stuck it on eBay, that pretty much is what would have happened.

I've already agreed to buy its replacement! Pickup hopefully on Wednesday, to add another 70s money pit to my personal collection...

Seems like a happy ending all round then.