Bodywork

1. STEEL

Perhaps when restoring a car, tackling the mechanics first, then the bodywork, is not the right sequence of events! However as it took a while to not only find somebody to whom I could entrust the bodywork to, but actually get them to start, I ended up doing the mechanics first! When looking for somebody to tackle the bodywork, which had always let the car down, it was critical that they would have the skill and expertise to correct the previous repairs, the quality of which was not ideal (At the time I was short of funds, and needed the car every day, so it could not be off the road for more than a couple of days). I found reference to Southside Classic & Custom on the Chester Vintage Enthusiasts Club website. In September 2013 I sent them an enquiry through their website www.southsideclassicandcustom.co.uk. I saw that they had just completed a restoration of a GT6 Mk3. Steve Young, the owner, commented as follows "This is one that's now at the trimmers, the welding and fabrication on this mk3 was immense. There are not that many cars left that we have not restored". I visited their workshop in Ledsham on the Wirral shortly afterwards and Steve impressed me with his attention to detail and high standards. They were working on a VW Campervan at the time, and although it all looked good to me, he wasn't satisifed with the paint job, which was to be done again.

Steve, and his colleague Justin eventually visited me to see my car on the 22nd April 2016. I was very impressed by their knowledge of these Triumphs and they gave me confidence that the work could not be in better hands. As they are always busy (itself a good sign) I was told that they would not be able to do the work until September/October of this year. In fact the car was transported to his workshop on October 3rd, 2016 and it took until February 15th, 2017 to complete the work. I was very pleased, the door gaps were now good, all the rusty bits had been repaired, and everything was now covered in shiny 2-Pack Triumph White. To see the sequence of events during this work, please see my 'Bodywork Blog'.

First, the panels which were replaced. Nearly all were original 'Stanpart' or 'Heritage' i.e. made using original presses. Total expenditure £1,094 :

Body Panel	Part Number	Image	Cost
Inner w/arch panel assy LH (Genuine Stanpart)	715088		£104
Rear Wings (Genuine Stanpart)	576408/9		£120
Front Lower Panel - Valance (Genuine Stanpart)	811676		£41
Rear seat pan assy (from scrapped Spitfire)	613317		£60
Inner sills LH&RH (Heritage TS18L&R)	806638		£54
Full outer sills LH&RH (Heritage TS16L&R)	903097		£157
B posts outer LH&RH (Heritage TS46L&R)	813365/6		£150
A post corners LH&RH (Heritage TS10L&R)	706288/9		£57
Front lower valance securing brackets LH&RH	612829/30		£8
Rear inner arch outer section LH&RH	JPR648L&R		£145
Sill end plates LH&RH	706422/3		£17
Inner sill reinforcements LH&RH (Heritage TS17L)	806634/5		£18
Doorskin LH&RH (Heritage TS11AL&R)	JPR644L&R		£163

Second, the parts of the car requiring attention in the form of before and after photographs:

Area	Before	After
The rear deck by the LH chassis mounting point (replaced)
The rear LH inner wheel arch (replaced)
The rear LH shock absorber mounting (replaced)
The rear lower RH wing (replaced)
The lower RH front scuttle at the back of the RH front wheel (repaired)
The inner A post (repaired)
The edges of the tailgate opening (repaired)

2. WINDOWS & SEALS

During the respray, all the windows and seals were removed.

These included the rear quarterlights, rear screen (heated), and front windscreen.

The rear quarterlight seals were shot, and replacements are now unobtainable! The part numbers are 810017 (LH) and 810018 (RH) but Rimmer Brothers do a replacement under number RX3007: