Oscar of Markoz

"On todays episode of Australian Cortina ...." Just a few more pics of the brake lines. I bought some grommets for the holes in the bay, neatens it up. This is the LHS brake line which runs under the firewall lip. Brake hoses also went on. I had to bend the neck alittle just to line up with the caliper. Then finished off the rear brake line. Just a few bends and some cushion clamps and it was done. It just needs to the hose that attachs to the diff lines later on, but I'll get that done once I shorten the diff etc. Next up, put the wiper system back in, and see if I can reverse mount the wiper motor to tuck it away.

"On todays episode of Australian Cortina .... " Finally getting a handle on finishing these brake lines. What a nightmare its been. I rebent the lines as I wanted a very neat look and to tuck them as close to the master and booster as possible so they aren't in the way. I cut the flared ends off so I could get some new nuts on the lines. Sadly my flaring kit was shit and couldn't keep, so I had to get the flares done at Burt Bros in Fairfield. I gave them by old lines and had some of my old factory lines and some of the new stuff that was made back in the day, which is now also old. The old stuff turned out to be stainless and they were unable to get a good flare on it. So I ended up having to buy new lines and rebend them to get flared. I cut new holes in the inner guards nice and close to the firewall. I tucked the lines under the lip of the firewall so they aren't seen. I mounted the lines with rubber lined mounts and used brass joiners to join the lines together. I've run the rear line which goes down and hugs the trans tunnel and then runs along the inside of the chassis rail. Next up, finish the rear brake line that goes to the diff and start putting the wiper motor and arms back in.

"On todays episode of Australian Cortina ...... " I previous had a shortened booster bracket made, but I wasn't happy with the angle that the booster and master sat at. It was pointing too high in the air, so I decided to modify it and while I was at it, shorten it even further. I need as much room as I can get as the turbo manifold, dump pipe, external gate and airbox, etc will all be on that side of the bay. Iam running a Gemini Booster with an XB Falcon 1" Master. It sits fairly neatly, with just a sheet of paper being able to fit under the booster and bay. I'll give it alittle bit of a bash with the hammer and dolly once it comes time to prepare the bay for paint just to make sure clearance is at around 5mm. After cutting and shutting, slotting the holes till it was all perfect, its now done. I'll finish it up neatly later when it comes time to pull the bay down and paint all the components etc. I'll adjust the pedal length later on to a distant Iam happy with. Next up, I'll start making up the brake lines and then onto either a different rear disc setup or just shortening of the diff.

"On todays episode of Australian Cortina ..." I pulled apart the Steering Column to check if the bearings needed to be replaced. The bottom one is a plastic bush bearing type thing and was fine, although I did manage to snap alittle of the lip off trying to remove it. No harm done really, I glued them back on with Loctite. The upper one is a normal bearing and after checking with a few bearing places found that it was an Ford American Racing bearing and was not able to be located here. So I just degreases it all, and then repacked it with grease. Good as new. I greases up all the bits that needed it and put the column back together. The coupling that connects to the steering rack has a uni joint which was in really good condition, so I just wirewheeled the whole lot to get it ready for paint, gave it a coat of Etch Primer and then some Satin Black, which wasn't quite satin enough, so I think once Iam done dummying up everything in the bay, I'll give it another coat after adding more flattener to the paint. There'll be a heap of bits getting painted in Satin Black so its all good. The bracket that connects to the steering column I painted in Cold Gal/Silver. Suits the Zinc plated bolts better. I lined up the wheels as best I could and realigned the tie-rod ends, then put the coupling together with the rack and steering column and now it steers, woohoo. Next up, I'll be measuring up to see if I can hide the brake booster behind the firewall and just have the master cylinder sitting on the bay side of the firewall.

"On todays episode of Australian Cortina ..." Its been ages since my last update as I've been flat chat with house reno's, projects with the kids and bits and peices for mates etc, including alittle break from the car. It was never meant to take this long but whatever. I have paint stripped all the hanging panels and what a job that was. Stripping back 6 layers of material to finally get to bare metal. Paint stripping the frames of bonnet and boot way just killer and took around a day per side. Using paint stripper, wire wheels and stripper disc's, I finally got it all. Then I would deoxdine the panel before laying on the 2k Epoxy Etch Primer to seal it all up. Absolute bitch of a job. This is how it sits at the moment. Iam going to check out the steering column next and see if there is anyway to reco it, knuckles etc and then see if it needs a coat of paint to finish it off and re-install into the car so I can have it turning at least as it'll make it easy to move around in the garage.

"On todays episode of Australian Cortina ...." I removed the old bushes from the diff and rear arms. The arms had been boxed in previously with 3mm plate, so I just cleaned up the welds to make them look nice and smooth and painted them all up in 2k Satin Black. Then pressed in the new Super Pro bushes. To fit the upper arms though, I had to make access hole in the floor so I could get the bolts in from the side I wanted to, as the nuts are so fat and just wouldn't quite fit the little area I had to place them onto the bolts. I'll place rubber grommets over the hole later and it'll neaten up the area. I painted the springs also, which I had bought off ebay some time back. They are King Springs Super Lows. Restored the rubbers that sit on top of the springs and got some better plastic insulators for the bottoms from Stumper. I also, cut down the bump stops to half size and painted them up. All the bolts are also Zinz Plated. You can see the clearance between the diff and tank is very good and how much space I have to shorten the diff also to add more tyre and dish. Its awesome having the car back on its wheels again and off the Rota. The rear stockies where alittle rusty and so I gave them a wirewheeling and repainted them in Cold Gal spray. Next up I'll start mucking about with some of the panels, striping them and epoxy coating them. Ready to start hanging back up.

"On todays episode of Australian Cortina ...." I pulled out the power-steering system out of the shed ready for a clean. After checking it over and picking it up a few times, I thought, geez this thing weighs a ton. Then add the power-steering pump and the lines and the bracket, fluid etc etc. I just couldn't bring myself to add that much weight over the front of the crossmember. I compared it to the manual rack with all its bits, it had to have been about 1/3 of the weight. So I took the manual rack to be looked over by my suspension guy at Mainalign in Smithfield. He looked it over and said, its perfect. After some further questions it turns out he was the one that reco'd it years ago when he worked at his other work place. So after getting new Super Pro bushes, tie rod ends and boots. It was ready to go. I stripped it down with some wirewheels and gave it a few coats of Satin Black 2pac.

"On todays episode of Australian Cortina ...." I wirewheeled the brake rotors as they had plenty of surface rust on them. Then prepped them for paint. At 1st I hit them with flat black, but they didn't look right so I did them with Spray Galvanise, which is a nice flat silver type colour. I just painted the outside edge, the back centre and the front face which isn't the pad face or the mounting face. Gave the calipers a quick wirewheeling also, and then a hand polish with metal polish just to further clean them. They came out really nice. The pads were not even bedding in I reckon, they had such little use. But when trying to fit the calipers on, they were a really tight fit, yes I made sure the piston were driven in all the way. I measured them with my verniers and they were 0.05mm too small in distance. So I gave the discs a skim and now they are fine. By the way, this is a Hoppers Stoppers brake kit which I bought many years ago. It consists of AU calipers and AU series 3 XR8 twin piston calipers. Next up, paint the rear suspension and diff arms and fit the new bushes in for them. Nearly time to get off the Rota.

"On todays episode of Australian Cortina ... " Ok, so I ended up getting the rivnuts and Rivnut gun. The 1st one broke, so there was quite a delay in getting a new one. Anyway, all the self tappers were replaced with M4 rivnuts and M4 bolts, with little pressure washers. So the fuel lines are nice and secure now. Got all the correct rubber hose clamps and put them on also so the fuel system is finished upto the firewall. Looks really neat and should do the job perfectly. Everything was bought off ebay. Got a bucket worth of bolts zinc plated in silver. I had to clean them, so wirewheel on the grinder, put the grinder on the vice and away I went. About 8 hours later, all the bolts were clean. I then filed all the rounded heads, and fixed as much of the threads as possible. Then deoxidined them all to etch them. I also did all the door catchers etc. I presoled them to remove all the wax and grease before hand. Alot of work. But they turned out awesome. This was done at Elite Plating in Smithfield. They did a great job and did the lot for me in 1 day. As you saw before, I had been painting all the suspension arms for the front end etc. I also painted the balljoint backs so they don't surface rust. Along with the brake discs on the outside edge and rear centre, the hubs and the springs. The springs were a ***** to paint, but ended up great. All in Satin Black 2pac. I bought all new bushes from Super Pro also. I tryed to press them in myself, but was unable to do it no matter what I tryed. So for the 1st time in the build, needed a workshop to do something for me. So I took them to my mate at Mainalign and he pressed them. Previous to this, we had been speaking about what could be done that wasn't crazy but could give me better suspension handling and geometry. So I slotted the top A arm bolt holes by 3mm in opposite directions. This should give me further Castor if needed. Its nothing major, but it'll be good if we can get some use out of it. So then came the time to fit up all the front suspension parts that were ready to bolt up. So with all the arms bolted up now, all I have left to put onto the front are the swaybar (which might need to be a custom job) and the shocks. The Koni's being quite expensive will have to wait awhile before I buy them. We worked out that the closest spring height that I would need are 4 cyl Lows from King Springs. Because of all the added weight from the intercooler, turbo, turbo manifold, injection, etc etc. So next up is to prep and paint the rear diff arms, and install new bushed in them etc, drop the car off the Rota and get it sitting back on its wheels. Exciting times ahead!

"On this episode of Australian cortina ..." Pottsie came round and we bent up the new fuel lines which I bought from Rocket Industries. They are 3/8 aluminium. I bought some pipe benders on ebay for $20 and they were pretty easy to do. Worked a treat. Also bought a pipe flaring kit, which does single and double flares. So I double flared the pipe ends nearest the fuel tank to mount the rubber fuel lines too. I also bought some cushion mount clamps which are big enough to run both lines, plus the charcoal canister line which I made from the old plastic fuel line. Cleaned it up and it looks great. The screws that are used for the cushion clamps will be changed as I want to run some nut serts. So I'll replace them later. I started cleaning up all the bolts I need to get zinc coated also. So I wirewheeled them for now, but I'll deoxidine them all later and get them done. But for now, this is what they'll look like basically. Here is also a close up of the straps for the tank where they needed to be modified to suit the cortina mounting system. I had to cut more out of the filler neck hole for the boot floor as they breather pipes didn't quite have the clearance I wanted. So I cut it out and touched up all the paint. I cleaned up some vacuum hoses to use for the vapour seperator pipes and got some neat little clamps for them. I ran the overflow pipe also and clamped that up also. Looks really nice I reckon. Although I'll be making a cover for this area to keep any chance of fuel vapour and smell out of the boot area. And last but not least, this is the fuel tank mounted into its place. The straps run the commodore rubbers to mount it onto the tank. I also searched the wreckers and found a Diahatsu Charade fuel filter mount was the best for my situation. I bent one of the legs on it at a 45 degree angle and mounted it onto the edge of the boot floor and diff hump area. I need better screws for this, as they are still too loose. I'll use more nut serts here. But you get the idea. So thats the tank in place, and the rubber fuel hose to the filter and the return line run. Which still need one more cushion clamp to mount it to the diff hump top. Looks really nice though, like it was meant to be for a cortina. I bought new clamps for the fuel lines but the system used to choose the right size is way off in my books. They are at their max thread and still too loose for my liking. So new clamps have to go on there. So next up I'll be sorting the bolts and sending them away to get zinc plated. Along with putting together my front suspension. WOOHOO!

"On todays episode of Australian Cortina ..." Since Iam going to run a dual exhaust system out the back, I thought I'd make up some extra exhaust hanger mounting points. Just in case its best to brach the exhaust out early down the chassis. I duplicated the bracket for the middle section mount which goes through the floor and mounts to a cross brace in the rear floor. The other one mounts onto the rear chassis rail. It has a plate that is welded from inside the chassis rail with 2 nuts welded onto it. I duplicated this one also. I also started stripping down the front suspension arms to get the car ready to take off the rota. I paint stripped them 1st, then wirewheeled them and finally hit them with deoxidine. I then hit them with 2pac Epoxy Etch Primer and then Satin Black 2pac. They turned out too glossy on the 1st attempt. VG Auto had not put enough flattener in the paint. So I had to scotchbrite them all again and hit them again. After 20% more flattener, it turned out how I wanted. I've now ordered new springs, balljoints and bushes. More on that later though. I also managed to finish the fuel tank which was abit of a headache. Since it was a VN 5L tank I had to change the filler neck location and plate off the old location. Aswell as changing the location of the overflow and fuel vapour pipes. These were the fun part. These small pipes are originally silver soldered onto the top of the fuel tank, I wasn't going to be able to do that, so I drilled a small hole on the top of the tank, held the pipes up with broomstick, while I tanked them to the top of the tank with the mig. It worked. I also had to make a trench type of layout for the pipes onto the top of the tank so that they would sit flatish on the top and also point towards the filler neck. This was migged up also. But the most fun part was that the solder around all the pipes had cracked. I tryed silver soldering it, I was hopeless at it. Luckily, I was able to weld the back the back of the pipes before having the weld the trench in 1st. So then I hit the outside also and it worked. Nice weld all around the edge of the pipes. While I had one of the top plates off, I checked the surge cup and the return line was loose, so I took it off, gave it a clean and tightened up the clamps really well. I had Marc tig on a bung at the bottom that I bought from Rocket Industries so I can empty the tank easily if ever I need to, along with some of the top plates. I then pressure tested the tank, it had a few pin hole leaks here and there, I welded them up and its perfectly sealed now. Paint stripped it, wirewheel, deoxdine, epoxy etch and satin black. It looks a awesome, and should draw no attention. I also modified the standard VN Fuel Pump mount by cutting the feed pipe shorter, flaring it to be able to fit the Walbro GSS342 Pump that I bought. Its supposed to be able to feed 550hp engine or there abouts, so it should be alright. I made up a new base mount for it which Marc tigged on also. This allowed the pump to sit in the right spot for the pickup. I bought that through Tuff Car Parts. I bought the foam protector for it on ebay. I soldered the correct electrical terminals onto the wires and it was all done. Next up is to mount the arms, the tank and run the new fuel lines, along with the charcoal canister and fuel filter.

"On todays episode of Australian cortina" I seam sealed all the seams along the undercarriage and also the bottom of the engine bay area. After this it was time to hit it with the 2K Satin Black. Let me tell you .... I love the Satin Black. What a beautiful finish. I got a few runs in it here and there, but I knew I was going to cover it up with the Body Deadener. 1L did 2 coats for anyone thats interested. Then I layed on the Body Deadener. I masked up the chassis rails and all the areas where things need to bolt up to the floor so that they stayed in the Satin Black. I layed it on pretty thickish. Its not over thick but thicker than just one pass with it. 2 tall cans of Body Deadener did the whole undercarriage. I tell you what, Iam so happy with the result. I can't stop looking at it. Next up its time to get the fuel system into the car ....

"On todays episode of Australian Cortina ..." Well, the POR15 which I painted on the undercarriage took a small hit when I was dummy fitting the fuel tank. So my surprise, it chipped quite easily. I thought I'd check out the area where it chipped and so grabbed a section of the paint which was lifting and pulled ..... It started to come off in sheets! I kept going and going till there was none left to take off. I did it all with a razor blade. Some sections had grabbed half decently, like on the seam sealer, haha. What a joke. That took 3 days to clean up back to being ready to paint again. This time, the POR15 was going straight in the bin. It was the Chassis Black version, not the original POR15 just so you know. The interior has the original stuff and seems to be on there quite well. So far the only thing that removes it is paint stripper. So I went out, bought a gun and some gear and 2k Epoxied the undercarriage. I tell you what, its tricky painting little sections with multiple bends and little hard to get areas. Then I finally managed to chase down the guys from Aztec Sodablasting. They came out and sodablasted the top and bottom of the engine bay, so basically everything forward of the firewall, including the firewall itself. They did a great job, but boy does that stuff make a mess of the place. I got it done in the garage and its just like talcum powder being blown everywhere. It got into everything, and I mean everything. What a clean up job. 3 days later, everything was kinda back to normal. For anyone thinking of doing this, I suggest you tow the car to their location and get it done there. Much less mess. They charged $600 for anyone thats interested. Anyway, after removing all the paint (it doesn't remove rust sadly and doesn't remove bog), it revealed some numbers that seem to have been textored onto the shell before being painted at the factory. One says number 13 and the other says GL99. Does anyone know that they could be? After this, I needed to deoxidine the bay areas thoroughly and then prepsol it all to get it ready for painting. Then gave it 2 coats of 2k Epoxy Etch Primer. Not before finding alittle rust in the front apron bottom. So quickly cut that out and repaired it. Now finally the whole shell has epoxy on it. So next time, its time for Satin Black onto the undercarriage, then seam sealer and finally some sound deadener. Then it'll be time to put the fuel system in, but more on that later.

"On todays episode of Australian Cortina" I did paint strip the whole shell with paint stripper and a wirewheel. I'll never do that again. Next time, it'll be straight to the blasters and they can do the lot. Deoxdined the shell and then seam welded the rear panels that join the rear quarters and the rear window panel. I had to slice the rhs section as it was sticking up too far and not lining up with the rest of the quarter panel at all. So sliced it, lowered it about 1-2mm and rewelded it. All nice now. I also welded the seams on the rear beaver panel, that joins the beaver to the quarter panel. After that, it was time to 2K epoxy the whole shell except the bay. So called my spray painter and he popped round and hit it was 2 coats of epoxy. So its all started to come together now. Iam so happy. Anyone interested in getting any spray painting done, please let me know and I'll pass on my contact who does lots of jobs on the sides. All booth work etc.

"On todays episode of Australian Cortina ...." After cutting out way too much of the front panel, many many years ago only to find out that the intercooler didn't quite fit anyway, it was time to get a new panel section and weld it back in. Got ****ed around by some guy saying he had a TF he was wrecking and 2 months later he still didn't have time to meet me at the cars location. Went and saw Brian at Small Ford Classic Spares and he gave me a full front for $280 plus a RHS Mirror after his EFTPOS machine gave me grief. I cut out the section I needed to replace and then welded it into place very carefully. Its straightened out the front apron a fair bit. It was bowed out quite dramatically. Grinded it all back and its as good as new. Made a new cardboard intercooler and checked for fitment. Fits perfectly now, so once I sell this one, I'll buy the new cooler. Also made the front chassis bend braces and welded them in awhile back, but I hadn't taken any pics of them. Next up its time to file back the drip rails alittle more to get more shape into them and then call in the soda blaster to blast the whole front end, ready for Epoxy 2pac.

"On todays episode of Australian Cortina ..... " Was looking over the dash and the centre speaker grille looked out of place. So I decided to create a 3rd vent for the demister. When its all hooked up, it should work alot better too I reckon. But it was mainly for looks and to create a mod that I haven't seen done before. Probably for obvious reasons, haha! Now to try and find an electric demister unit that works well enough for me to be happy. Next on the list, replace the front panel where I cut out too much for the intercooler. Once thats done, the blaster will be by to blast all the bay and front end, ready for Epoxy etch primer.

"On todays episode of Australian Cortina ..... " I have welded some of the seams in the engine bay. The inner guards to the firewall. On the top and at the very back. I also removed the lip at the top of the box type area of the bay, welded the seam and smoothed it over. Looks heaps nicer. I also plated over the scuttle grille. Just to keep things looking smooth. I deoxidined in there 1st and then painted 2 coats of the POR15. This should make the bonnet area keep flowing to the rear and give the car a slightly longer profile when looking at it from the front corner area.

"On todays episode of Australian Cortina ..." I made up little plates to cover up any holes that I wanted to delete in the engine bay and welded them in. Along with any other tiny holes which I just welded up. Geez, there were alot of holes! I also got rid of the tabs that the factory use to hold things like wiring and brake lines. Those these are ugly as and also only take a few uses before that snap clean off. So Iam going to use something else for the wiring and that when I come to it. Also got rid of the hole for the brake lines that go through the bay as I'll more than likely be using different locations for them also. I then removed the paint and tar from the front chassis rails and stitch welded them up. I also welded up the chassis section on the inside of the bay that connects to the chassis rail and also alittle of the spring holder. I'll make up the plate to weld onto the S bend of the rails to help support them and weld them in next. Next up, its time to remove all tar and paint from the bay and under it. Its going to be a hell of a job I reckon.

"On todays episode of Australian Cortina ...." Moving onto the front of the car, I spun it round in the garage so the front was facing the rear of the house, closest to the tools. I started to disassemble the rest of the engine bay and also the dash area. Only to discover more rust, DOOOOOOHHHHHH! Behind the wiper motor there was rust on the firewall section that allows drainage from the front scuttle area and also supports the wiper motor to the firewall. So I cut it out and and made a replacement peice to weld in. I also removed the battery tray as the battery will have to go in the boot and what did I find under it, more rust of course!!! So I cut it out and replaced it also. It was only pitted, but was pretty bad in one area. Also replaced the radiator support while I was at it cause I bent it really bad when I was removing the engine. So I unstitched it and rewelded the new one in place. Turned out pretty good.

"On todays episode of Australian Cortina ... " The drip rails are pretty much done. Just need to round file them now so they aren't so bumpy in sections. Its hard work, trying to get the shape right with a round burr on the die-grinder. Man, that took me ages. Just have to do the RHS now and we are done with them, enough to move on at least. Next up, have to fix a small section near the bottom of the rear windscreen which isn't lined up properly from factory and then onto the engine bay and firewall area. That should be fun. Although I might get my mate to hit the jams with 2k Etch to at least protect that area from surface rust.

"On todays episode of Australian Cortina ...." Gee its been awhile. Been doing the whole festive season and school holidays thing, so Iam finally back into it. I was concentrating on the door jam area and so I seam welded the seams. This will add some strength to the chassis as well but was mainly done to smooth off the seams and not have to use seam sealer in that area as it looks ugly IMO. These photos are just of the LHS, but I'll have the RHS done by tomorrow. I've got alot more time now during the days cause my son started kindy, so its just me and the car. The same thing was happening as with the C pillar seam welds, the seam sealer thats inbetween the panels was oozing out under heat from the welder. So it took a couple of passes, weld, grind, weld, grind etc, till it was all ok. You might be able to see on the last phot, which is of the A pillar jam area. This shows how the rod now looks after its been welded completely. It doesn't stick out as far as the drip rails used to, but its not far off. A skim of body filler on these area when the time comes will smoothen everything off before paint The drip rails are also almost finished, so I'll have some pictures up of them real soon too.

"On todays episode of Australian Cortina ....." I fully welded the drip rail seam and C Pillar to door jam seam. This took quite a long time as you have to go slowly. Dressed all the welds with my new friend, the body file. Man I love that thing. Once I had it all straight and both sides looked the same, profile wise, I started with continuing the turret profile or body line, down the C pillar edge nearest the door jam. This will continue the profile and also create alittle something so fill the void where the plastic vent used to be. Otherwise it looked way too plain. So I cut some thin 2mm strips of sheet metal and welded them in place. Once that was done, I shaped up some 5mm round bar and welded that along the bottom most edge where the drip rail used to exist. This will then be fully welded and have the welds dressed also. It'll work as a drip rail but mainly be for looks, once again so that edge is not so plain. Here are some pics Next on the list, is to finish this area and seam weld the door jams, which I've nearly completed.

"On todays episode of Australian Cortina ....." I have finished welding and dressing the A Pillar plate that I made up. It was abit of a pain to line up 100%, but I got there in the end. My brother-in-law was over while I was finishing off the A pillar section and I got him to finish off the RHS welding of the drip rails and C pillar plates. The LHS had already been done and so this was a massive help for me having him there to turn this bit around in quick time. The welder started to play up, so we pulled it right down and gave it a good clean out, works like new again now. Thanks again Marky. C pillar sections all done. I left the metal structure underneath the plate and just trimmed the plate up to sit flush in the cavity that was left after the plastic molds were removed. The driprails were sadly already started by the con artist that previously touched my car. He cut them off, alittle too much in some areas and then left it. The turret wasn't attached to anything. Somehow it never opened up like a sardine can. But basically they were all cut off in one hit flush. This is not the way to do this. Best off cutting 2 inches off and then spot welding them or fully welding that section. Cut, weld, cut, weld, etc. Here is the LHS drip rail, welded and flushed again. Its solid now. The bottom still needs further dressing to make them flush with the jams. Here is the RHS, not dressed yet. This area needs alot more work. I will be adding 5mm roundbar to the whole area where the driprail used to be at the very bottom side edge, so C pillar bottom, to half way down the A pillar. This will give the driprail more character and also work as a form of driprail. It'll also add a small amount of strength. It will be smoothed and blended with the turret and the pillars. Also, the swage that runs along the roof area, I'd like to replicate to flow down the edge of the C pillar edge also. Just to add more character to the area after the deletion of the C pillar mold and driprails. But more on that later. The bottoms of the door jams had been "treated" with a rust preventative. I remember seeing a sticky on the window of the car when I bought it. What good this did, I don't know because the sill panel and pillar still rusted out! To treat the area, instead of removing the scuff plates and spraying into the access holes, they instead drilled holes into the door jam. Nice! So I plugged them up with some tiny plates and smoothed them off. I wonder if this company still exists. I doubt it, but it would be interesting Anyway, next time, more dressing of the driprails and C pillars and finishing off of the swage lines and round bar edging.

"On todays of Australian Corty....." Rust! Yes, more rust. How unusual for a Cortina! I found some rust at the very bottom of the A pillar on the LHS. Luckily it was only the LHS and not the RHS also. This is caused by a large gap which was never seam sealed and along with the hole at the rear wheel well which led into the sill panel. Hence why all the rust has been on the LHS so far. Anyway, here is a photo of the rusted section To remake this peice took me about 2 days of work. Not an easy peice at all. Here is the new next to the old. I have since tacked the peice on and made new plug welds on it. It sits perfectly and Iam really happy with the end result. I will dress it up and take some more photos once its done. Also, I have finished full welding the drip rails after being shaved and the also full welding the C pillar plates to shave the c pillars and make them smooth. Theres still alot of work to be done in this area as I have a few mods that I want to complete here before moving on. But more on these areas with photos soon.

"On todays episode of Australian Cortina ...." I rubbed back all the spray putty and all metal with 120grit to let the POR15 have a nice bond. Prepsoled everything, seam sealed all the seams and proceeded to paint. You can't tell what is seam sealer and what is weld anymore, it all looks like seam sealer. Gee, that was a pain to lay on nicely. I painted it with Chassis Coat which is another POR15 product but is a semi-gloss instead of a gloss. It turned out great, its got a few slight runs in it here and there but nothing to worry about. The condition of the body along with the paint makes it look very factory. I was surprised myself how little you can tell of my work. I love it. Next, till to do some of the body work, might even do the bottom of the bay and front cross member area.