Aston Martin Rust Oration

Superb!

http://thereifixedit.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/white-trash-repairs-natural-emissions.jpg

Four days just whizzed by, but it really makes a difference taking an extra couple of days either side of a week-end. I could really get on and get one job almost completely done.

The snow on the farm looked lovely – but it was actually warmer inside the refrigerator than it was in the workshop!

Minus 14 degrees on the farm!

The Subaru is just a visitor – but two new additions to the barn are a very pretty Renault 5 that Malcolm and Phil are going to drive across Morocco in a few weeks time.

Ready for the desert - tested in the snow!

The other new addition will sadly not be staying, as Phil has plans to rebuild and sell on this great little Figaro.

Minus the clockwork bit

Phil’s already removed the clockwork mechanism and I helped him take the top end off, with much swearing and heaving and sheering of bolts – it will need quite a bit of TLC to bring it back to it’s former mechanical glory – the body and interior are still very tidy.

The importance of planning

Following my last visit to the farm I had mapped out exactly what I needed to do to get the sunroof sorted. This included fabricating a few parts and modifying others. And it paid off.

wind deflector with fabricated brackets

I stripped, primed and rebuilt the wind deflector – rivetting the new brackets to with cloth tape sandwiched between the aluminuim  and steel.

Before I could rivet the side brackets on I had to fit the roof panel and make sure that the sunroof openings matched up before marking up where the brackets should be drilled and fitted.

Marking up where to drill for the brackets

Sizing up the apertures

As all Aston owners know Aluminium and Steel feel most uncomfortable in close proximity to each other – so I used a fabric tape to sandwich between the body and chassis where the two metals would otherwise touch;

A tape sandwich will prevent galvanic corrosion

Next came attaching the  frame rails and mechanism.

The roof opening mechanism

And the job for next visit is to put together the sunroof hatch – There is a vital piece missing which I’ll have to fabricate, and I have no idea what it llooks like, which should be fun. It’s a bracket that fits on the end of the big cork-screwy-thingy, and makes the hatch click up into place.

It slides up and down between these two springs

…and engages with these two lugs..

I can picture what I need to make – it’s just how to make it that’ts the problem.

It’s the parliamentary recess, so guess where I am…?

No, not a skiing holiday (not having one this year for a number of reasons).

I’m on the farm making brackets for the sunroof.

These are my welded nuts…..