So... 6 weeks later and today was the first decent chance I've had to get out in the garage and crack on. Since my last post in this thread, I've basically had to work stupidly long hours (first couple of weeks were 100+ hours) due to an IT related disaster. Been a complete nightmare and I nearly quit several times but stuck it out in the end - mainly because they would force me to work my 3 months notice even if i left! The joys of working in IT Infrastructure.....
Anyway, enough of that. Scoob progress below
Bumper off to start the front end tear down.
Not much rust hiding elsewhere thankfully, just filthy dirty.
Front crash bar removed.
Need to work out the best option to replace this - its where the external air temp sensor goes and is rusted to feck. Its spot welded to the lower radiator support panel which is being replaced, but the new panel didn't come with one. Might be able to fabricate something but I've never really worked with sheet metal before. Either that or just cable tie the temp sensor up somewhere afterwards!
Front U frame removed, surprised how easily all the bolts came off. I was dreading one of them snapping but all good
Not sure whether to get this blasted and power coated or just try and find a replacement. It'll clean up alright but there is some internal rust that the blaster won't get too. Nothing bad but still....
Front subframe cleaned, few rust spots treated and then painted to keep the moisture out.
And then the fun started... drilling out all of the spot welds to remove the old rusty section!
Hmmmm... never done this before
New section held in place with a couple of clamps and ready for welding.
And a photo of the junk that came out!
Hopefully once all welded up and painted, I can start putting things back together. What started as just an engine swap has morphed into a bigger project than expected...