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Head & shoulders shampoo. Put on undiluted and let it sit for a while. Then wash away.
As for car carpet thinners will remove the remaining oil, then let it air for a bit.
I was a car valeter for many years. And we used thinners as a dry cleaner.

Thanks, having a decent welder certainly helps. I started out with a B&Q special. Except it wasn’t very special.

Today’s goal was to sort out the multilayered mess at the front of the inner sill.
So a little bit more cutting and flap wheel action resulted in this.



All ready for the first patch to go in.



First one all welded up, but this area has two layers. So next bit prepared.



Followed by more welding and grinding and burning skin. And we end up with this.



Next step is to rejoin the new panel to the wheel arch.



I cut out a suitable piece of metal, and then carefully hammered a lip down one side. Then formed a curve by hand in my vice.



More welding grinding and thankfully no skin burning,we finally have a solid front inner sill.



All that was left to do was give it a quick coat of zinc to protect it.





I purposely left the bottom of the new panels longer so I can trim them down once the new outer sill is in place.
Tomorrow’s mission is to sort out the rear end of the inner sill. And hope my new outer sill arrives before the weekend.
It would be nice to have this side of the Austin sorted before I go back to work next week.
Then all the big structural body work would be completed. And the rest would be good for doing at weekends.

So went in to work today only to find out I didn’t need to be there until next week.
Better get back to the garage then. Nothing to special to report just lots of grinding and drilling trying to remove the remaining bits of sill.
Whoever was operating the spot welder on the production line, must of loved their job. There’s so many you can’t tell what’s a weld and what’s just a ripple in the seams. But got most of it removed, so time to have a look at this invisible repair.



Just how many times have they botched this up in the past for MOT’s .
After cutting away some of the patches and rust I’m left with this little job.



It’s not to bad i suppose. Tomorrow I will try to repair this are ready for the new sill.
Funny to think that a few weeks ago, if I had found that lot I would probably curled up in the corner of the garage rocking.
Where as now it’s no big deal, just get on and sort it.

The scrap pile is steadily growing.

Only had an hour or two this afternoon to have a play with the Austin. Spent the morning cycling with the better half.
Managed 23 miles around the back roads, enjoying the scenery.
Tomorrow it’s time to go back to work so will be limited to Friday afternoons & Saturdays.
So I thought I would start by having a look this beautiful piece of body work.



There is three layers of metal in some places, no wonder my grinder was a bit slow cutting through that lot.



And a quick wire wheeling leaves this.



So I decided I might as well have a look at the rest of the inner sill to see what I have to work with.



On the hole not to bad really. There’s less work to do than there was on the drivers side.
There’s a step hole to repair at the front.



And of course the section at the back and inner wheel arch.
Then just to make sure I won’t get bored, I found this.



That’s it until the end of the week.

My dads first car was an blue A30. I can just about remember it, I was very young at the time it would of been the late 1970s.
His apparently had a 1275 MG Midget engine in it and would surprise a few people at the traffic lights.
They are becoming more popular now, especially for racing as they have their own race series.

Making the most of the remaining days I have left before returning to work. I thought I would have a look at the passenger front floor pan.
It looked a bit scabby and had holes in it. But after a good going over with a wire brush on the angel grinder, it was actually more solid than I thought.



Which is good news, as it was a hell of a job removing the floor on the other side.
So I cut out the worst area.



I then took the ill fitting floor pan that I brought years ago and chopped it up.



And then took my time slowly tacking it in until it was fully welded in.
I had a struggle with one section that kicks up to where the seat mounts. It looked good and sold, but every time I zapped it with the welder it was blowing holes. In the end I had to cut that bit out and replace it with new metal.
Once the old piece was removed it was clear that it wasn’t as solid as it looked from inside the car.



Next bit to do is a small hole in the rear floor pan, and then it’s on to the sill and wheel arches.

Well today’s task seemed simple enough. Push the car outside and turn it around.
But both front brakes were well and truly stuck on. I tackled the drivers side first and after about an hour of tapping and pulling.
It let go.



Actually once removed it didn’t take much to clean up the drum and shoes. And was fine to be used again
These brakes had only done about thousand miles before the car came off the road. And are a upgrade to 8 inc drums.
The next job was to gain access to the passenger side. Luckily the striped shell is so light,I can pick up the front and move it over.
I then spent most of the day trying to remove the drum. I hit it, levered it, heated it, but nothing seemed to work.
After a lunch break and a chance to try and come up with a solution. I went all Incredible Hulk and just used brute force.



At last success. It was in a right state compared to the other side. The shoes had rusted to the drums and the lining had separated.
Rust had formed under the linings and separating them from the backings.
Then it was a case of putting the wheel back on and give it a push.



That’s a first time it’s been out in the sunshine for a long time. The a quick three point turn and back in the garage.



So now I had a chance to look at what work was going to be needed on this side.
There’s this lovely sculpted bit of metal work done by someone long before I got the car.



Plus there’s some matching repairs in the wheel arch. There’s also a small hole next to the blanking plate,where the handbrake would be on a left hand drive version.



And some frilly looking bits in the front floor pan. Which I will give a good going over with a wire wheel. I might be lucky and not have to replace the hole panel.



Then finally the sculptor has been busy again at the front of the car.



So that lot should keep me occupied for a while. Only thing is I am back at work as of next week. So progress will be a lot slower now.
But I am definitely more determined now to get this car back on the road.

The last piece of the jigsaw, for the drivers side anyway.
I had this small section to fill in to complete the sill replacement.



So I chopped off a bit of metal from original replacement floor pan that didn’t fit. And after some cutting grinding and bending.
We end up with this.



I had to do the repair in two parts so some more cutting resulted in this.



Half way through that lot my angel grinding died. I had been given it by a good friend as a birthday present 20 years ago.
So I had to borrow one. Hopefully my new one should arrive tomorrow from Amazon. Treated myself to a Makita, so we will see what it’s like compared to the old one.
Anyway after some very awkward welding up inside the wheel arch we have this.



Not my best effort but it was just so awkward to get into a comfortable position and see what I was doing.
A quick blast of zinc primer and we are done.



Whilst I was at it I ground down all the welds around the sill and gave it some zinc. So tomorrow’s plan is to free off the front brakes.
Then turn it around and have a look at the other side.