Rot removal
Ihad hoped to report on the tribulations of using my red Triumph Toledo, after several years off the road. However, a backlog at the DVLA meant that neither a fresh, zero-rate tax disc, nor an updated V5C, has hit my doormat. The upshot is, after spending time, money and effort to get the car road legal, a bureaucratic barrier prevented me supporting Drive It Day.
Instead, I diverted resources into my Dolomite 1500 restoration project, to ensure that I shall have some chance of achieving my goal, of completing all rust repairs by the end of the year. Yet, it has been several years since I sliced deeply into a classic’s rusty carcass, and I shall freely admit to enjoying spending much of my recent spare time being showered with sparks, rust and filler dust.
Concentrating on the driver’s side rear, the outer wing, door and sill had all been nibbled at by corrosion, prior to being stuffed full of plastic body filler by the previous owner, in a feeble attempt to disguise the creeping rot. After using a wire brush, to remove the filler and paint, only localised rust was found on the otherwise sound panels. Therefore, repair, instead of replacement, was the most cost and time effective option.
Ironically, during the early stages, I wished that the outer wing had been rustier, because the metal would have been easier to part from the inner wheel arch, thus saving me from having to unpick the original seam welds. Once removed, I trimmed an outer arch repair panel and welded it into place, allowing each tack to cool, to minimise the risk of the whole outer wing distorting with the heat. By the time I had finished, the individual welds had been linked together, making the join appear continuous.
Home made, sheet steel repair sections sufficed for the inner wheelarch section; because water has permeated through the rust holes and into the sill cavities, corrosion had also
I used a good quality plastic filler to blend in the welded joints
nibbled at the inner and outer sill, including the jacking point. Repair sections were made up, using cardboard templates first, the corrosion cut away and the new metal seam welded to the original panels. As shaping the outer curvature of the outer sill from flat steel is beyond my basic metalworking skills, an aftermarket cover sill was trimmed and the section was seam-welded in place.
I debated whether or not to scrap the rear door. Not only was the skin rusty, but it also bore several nasty scrapes that had been caused by the original, elderly owner, as well as a nasty dent resulting from my Volvo 480 being reversed into it last winter… I figured that any used door would need a degree of rectification work anyway and, because original door skins are obsolete, I decided to repair the original panel, by knocking out the imperfections as best as I could. The rust was removed from the base, with the lower portion of the skin being cut away and replaced with a bespoke repair panel, which cost me £21.99 via the Triumph Dolomite Club – far cheaper than most replacement doors.
For both cost and ease-of-use reasons, I decided to use a good quality plastic filler to blend in the welded joints and level the knocked-out dents, instead of lead. Throughout both the welding and dent knocking processes, I aimed to keep the required depth of filler to a minimum. As the repairs have been widespread, it looks as though much of the side is made from filler, but at least the skims are thin. Yet, with a dented driver’s door to attend to next, I can only hope that my Toledo’s tax disc arrives very soon, to ensure that I take a break.