A slow start to the week, wet and very cold and other tasks were diverting me but I managed to fit the new piece of half-round beading and drill and fix the remaining screws in the top waistrail beading. I then added another 1m long piece to the flat lower waistrail beading. Next job was to mark out and drill and fit the half-round beading that trims the bottom edge of the O/S panels between the front and rear wheelarches. A shrt section remains, which can’t be cut to size until the wheelarch beading is on. A first attempt at curving the beading for the O/S front wheel arch around a brake drum was promising at first, then failed dismally. Annealing the piece solved the problem and I was able to get the curve almost correct before temporary fitting, which was virtually complete before the end of play on Saturday. Just the end that wraps around the front remains to be fixed. Some damage to the edge of the beading will need attention before final intallation, but overall a useful week.
All posts by Nigel
9/2/2025
Started the week on beading for the O/S again, but noted an error in the half-round short section which I corrected the following day. Next, I drilled and countersunk the flat beading for the lower waistrail and partially attached it to the body side, drilling reference holes to support it. The next day was fine and warm, so I finished spraying the remaining three wheels and a set of rings. Just the remaining rings to do now. Not much else this week, the last thing I did was to trim the half-round beading of the upper eaistrail so I can fit a slightly longer piece up to the emergency door as I had cut it short, the same error as happened at the cab door. A lot of time was spent setting up and practicing with the new Mig/Tig welder. The final job of the week was to cut a short section of half-round beading to complete the O/S upper waistrail.
2/2/2025
First job this week was to finish countersinking the O/S half-round waist beading. Then I temporarily fitted the longest piece to align it and drilled enough fixing holes so that I could fit it myself. Noted some rust appearing on the non-opening window frame behind the cab. It sanded off easily, though. Next job was to prime the rear of the prepared beading, in lieu of using sealant which creates too much mess. I then decided the misaligned beading at the emergency door was not acceptable so moved the corner beading down by at least an eighth of an inch. This took a long time and was very difficult to achieve a good job. I shall tackle the emergency door next. An improvement in the weather meant I was able to finish painting four of the wheels and part finish the remaining three. I have run out of paint now so the three will have to wait but they are at least partially sealed. The following day was dry and sunny so I wire-brushed another set of wheel rings and primed them with red oxide, applying a second coat the following day. I fitted the long half-round beading on the offside but ran into a problem by breaking a small pilot drill with the end stuck in the hole, removal of which is a job for later. I next gave the primed wheel rings a coat of black enamel, then fitted the short piece of beading to finish of the O/S waistrail half-round beading. I needed to drill two extra holes in the beading due to the coincidence of holes with mounting screws for the panel work underneath. This means I have to fill the two unused holes, first job for next week!
Typical state of wheels before blasting and painting. This one will probably be the spare.
Wheels after painting with black cellulose.