Weather was a bearable 29c in the garage today. Too hot for welding but cool enough for some simpler jobs.
First was looking at the door lock. The passenger side works fine but the drivers side only locks, not unlocks. I stripped out the mechanism and had a look. Couldn't see anything obviously wrong.
Putting it back in to have a better look showed that turning the key doesn't give a full throw on the actuator movement. This is going from a unlock to lock to unlock by turning the key on the other side. You can see that it only goes out about half way. Not enough to unlock the door again.
Pushing the actuator arm inside the door showed it could do full movement. Just that the lock is so worn that it can't. So basically a new lock barrel is needed.
Then took the door off. Interestingly this produced shims. These look like something decently made with a slight angle on them. Possibly factory? No idea if they did that in the factory.
Possibly not as this door was held on by bolts rather than screws like it should be.
I might try without these shims as the door sticks out very crooked.
Next up was to look at the rear wing. I decided to do this before the rear panel as even though it's in poor shape, that rear panel is strong enough to stay in place to provide a reference point for this wing.
I'll probably have to put a brace across the boot opening when I do the rear panel to keep things aligned.
Anyway this looks like a repeat of the other side, because it is. More poor welds that were mostly removed with a twist of a screwdriver.
Started with slicing the top of the panel. These welds actually mostly held. Just not welded all the way along and I didn't want to damage the upper panel.
Arch required a few slight cuts.
I had hope to save that outer panel. But like the other side, it's going to be quicker and easier to just replace it. Except apart from the bottom wing area, it is in quite good condition. Possibly keep it for something else that may have poorer panel support.
Not quite sure what happened when they welded this bit. Looks like they shut their eye every time they struck an arc. Ironically these actually are the stronger welds. That's not saying much though...
Which was mostly ripped off by hand. Zero attempts at welds at the top of this either.
Like the other side, this piece here is completely wrong. I smashed it out with a hammer on the backside and then cut a tiny bit that was actually welded.
This mess was what remained. It'll need a clean up with a wire wheel next. I might have to invest in a new wheel, I've nearly worn mine out! I do have the abrasive foam type discs which work well but wear much quicker. The wire wheels are a similar price but last far longer. More vibration though and my hands are telling me they are getting annoyed with all the vibrations.
So it looks like I need to order some more panels again tonight. Side panel, arch repair and rear panel are the ones I think I need. Debating whether to just order replacement A-pillar panels while I'm at it. They look okay on this side but there is a lot of filler that could be hiding a right mess. I.e. once attacked with a wire wheel, I'm sure it'll make holes.
Bottom sill needs a much bigger repair this side. However it's on the back of the sill under the b-pillar and not on the curved bit. So I think I can get away with just a patch. Really don't want to go down the route of cutting the sill off as on a convertible it can easily make things bend where you don't want them to.
Someone on a Spridget Facebook group I'm on pointed out that flat bit on the rear valance (above the exhaust) is completely wrong for a Spridget. Way too wide and the curve is in the wrong place. No wonder they sculpted the back end in filler. A new rear panel should give me something to work with under the lights too.
Hey ho, off to spend more money I go.
Still seriously thinking of stripping it completely and getting it media blasted.