1960 STANDARD ENSIGN - Continued... (Part 12)

Light at the end of the tunnel

For regular readers of the blogs on our Ensign, you'll be well aware that the repairing and renovating of the body shell/chassis has been a huge and difficult task for the volunteers. After all the rust and corrosion was removed and the previous poor repairs dealt with, we were left with a shell that many thought was beyond repair.

Where do we start? - was probably the first collective thought, as we were only able to source two prefabricated bottom sills. Everything else, and there was an awful lot of that, we'd have to make, shape and fabricate ourselves. Then, with our initial, very basic welding skills we were faced with the task of welding it all together in the best chronological order to ensure strength and safety.

These photos illustrate the reconstruction work that has taken place on the underside with new forward box sections supporting the engine beams. The nearside sill has still to be welded on.

The prefabricated nearside sill is almost ready for fixing, whilst the offside sill is now in place.

The engine bay has now been transformed, whilst the area around the A post and rear of the front wheel arch (on both sides) is a clear illustration of the extent of some of the repairs required.

There's still a long way to go on this project, but there's now definite light at the end of what many thought a very long tunnel. What has become clear is that amongst the volunteers there is a vast knowledge and love of classic cars, as well as many new found skills in fabricating and welding.

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This latest blog coincides with National Volunteers Week (1 - 7 June), where up and down the country, organisations will celebrate and recognise the work of their volunteer helpers. The Heritage Motor Centre will be playing their part with comments on their Twitter and Facebook pages, as well as treating their volunteers each day to an afternoon cream tea.

Monday's volunteers, together with HMC Workshop Team Leader Paul and Volunteer Co-ordinator Sonja enjoy their "thank you" from the Heritage Motor Centre.

 

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