With the major welding complete to No2 end....its time to tackle what we always knew was there...no 1 end...

 

 

Dave the welder makes his first cuts into No1 end (he was reminded to put his goggles on after this photo was taken!) We see the rather optimistic hatched area we drew last week of metal we expected to cut.... the side panel itself doesn't look too bad at first glance....but...inspections at the base of the window show significant corrosion....

 

 

As cab be seen at the base.....again...the scabby steel at the bottom is the original skin... the later skin just plonked over the top...

 

The panel new removed....with a token gesture of some insulation.....this will be removed...

 

 

 

The panel and drivers side window now removed showing the extent of the corrosion, again you can see the original skin underneath the newer blue one.

 

More exploratory cuts were made to find out how bad things really were....pretty much as expected...they were bad...

 

 

At this point we were having far too much fun to stop cutting....so we didnt stop... (yes i know the top isnt straight....we will sort that out later!

 

 

Cutting carried on to the opposite corner to find...a lack of crib-plate and an interesting repair....

 

At which point we cut the other side off as well, this picture shows after the left hand pillar has been removed....

 

 

So on the drivers side we see a sort of intact crib plate with extensive corrosion to the steel work and the cable ducting....this will all need to be replaced...

 

 

Ick...the centre gangway doors with fibreglass matting for draft proofing....which holds lots of water and causes lots of rust.....lets get rid of that...

 

 

on second thoughts....lets put it back!!!

 

 

As before the step remains but the side supports are long gone!!!

 

 

moving to the secondmans side whats lefts of the crib plate meets.....well bodge!

 

 

and then the corner where....well they just couldnt be bothered....

 

 

and then to the side where....it doesn't get much better... and again you can see the original skin...the side window will also be removed as well!

 

 

In this view the corrosion is starting to be cut away the centre step has been plasma cut out and will be deleted and replaced with a solid steel plate

 

 

the area now cleaned up dramatically...

 

 

 

New steel fabricated for the upright and a new cribplate trial fitted to the left

 

 

the crib plate primed and ready for top coat black prior to installation

 

 

the remants of the old platework and corrosion all gone and ground flat and primed ready for new steel.

 

 

the new side plate (made to the original drawings) ready to be installed down the side of the cab.

 

More steel waits to be cut above the windscreens but this work will be completed first.