Run out of rust luck

Extracting the rear screen from the GT revealed more than a few holes in the gutter where the seal fits – looks like water has been getting underneath the seal for god knows how long and has turned the lip holding the screen into a brown mush around its base (as well as a hole on one of the corners on the roof).

Luckily, the car has finally entered the batcave after a few months sat outside looking forlorn, in preparation for some much needed attention from weld-o-man. Apart from the repairs to the rear screen area (which I am told, by weld-o-man, won’t require cutting out and replacing the panel) inspection to the dodgy nearside wheelarch area revealed the need for the following:

• Nearside outer sill
• Nearside middle sill
• Nearside inner arch
• Nearside outer arch
• Nearside rear jacking point
• Nearside repair panels 3 and 4
• Front wing lower repair panel

Ouch! Luckily Classic Alfa sorted me out with the appropriate panels next-day all in for just over 400 notes.

Meanwhile, I have decided that the only way to ensure a top-notch paint job will be to remove all the paint from the inside and outside of the whole shell. Seeing as there is still some suspension, er, suspended from the car, and all the brake lines and wiring loom are present and correct, shot blasting or acid dipping is not an attractive option.

Once again, weld-o-man (aka Capt Slow) came to my rescue, having seen a company called Sodablast at the recent Classic Cars show at the NEC. They use baking soda as a blast material (believe it or not!) and can take a shell back to body-in-white without damaging attached lines, wiring or even headlining! Any residue just washes away with cold water. Sounds like an ideal solution to remove the paint, plus its cheaper than dipping.

Ideal – the car should be making its way over to Sodablast in Birmingham in January. Now, where to get it painted..?