Rear Valance and Vitesse Ally Stuff...

[Incony]

Due to what can best be described as lack of concentration, i managed to reverse my Herald into
the towbar of another car.... :)

The rear valance was patched and repaired already, showing its age, so the tow bar really took it apart at at any weak spots, mainly the hidden part, where the steel gets thin under the vitesse ally bumper overiders it has, The fractures were everywhere, The whole centre section just folded in.

The Ally was well bent, in two directions - the bend from the the towbar inwards toward the spare wheel, and as consequence - loosing its horizontal plane, so it bent up as well as backwards.

Having ability with a mig and - some steel, i took off the Rear Valance, it unbolts/ unscrews, and fortunately having had the chrome bumpers off in the last year, i took those off too, it requires freeing the fuel tank, since access to the fuel side chrome bumper is better with the fuel tank out of place.

The Rear Valance was in a sorry state, its whole centre section about the size of an A4 paper was just rust held together by rust.. and the whole underneath, of the ally overider hidden part, was split, along the tight compound curve.. end to end.

Canley can provide new.. about £80 plus, and certainly one can find second hand rear valances

But the ally overider? i couldnt see a source for a new one, but i know they are available second hand.

So  i only had today free, ... and by cuttting out the rusty old and replacing with new steel, using lengths of steel pipe to put the curves in where needed, by clamping and tapping to shape, i got the rear valance back into reasonable, condition, at least now there is steel where there was rust before.

The Ally overider strip, took ages to get straight again.. its not an easy piece of material to work with, alluminium stretches easily, and does not like to be recompressed to shape.

Its taken me 12 hours today to effect an incomplete but serviceable solution, from 9 oclock this morning
till after 9 pm when i still havent finished, - all the dings and imperfections to fill, and yet to repaint.

So.. the reason i made this post, is a warning, one moments lack of ability, led to over twelve hours of repair.. ok i saved £80 for the valance, and straightened the vitesse ally, that saved some money too.

but i wish i had not lost today doing it..:) and its still not finished, but at least i can drive the car tomorrow not looking like the learner.. i am.

[Zendervision]

Nice work. Repairing something to any standard feels better than replacing anyway.

My rear valance is a rotfest too. There's no metal left behind the bumper, unless you count the chicken wire. I'd have no problem buying a new one, but my overriders are also lovingly crafted from Isopon & Hammerite and I can't justify replacing the whole lot.

[Casper]

Quote:

and fortunately having had the chrome bumpers off in the last year, i took those off too, it requires freeing the fuel tank, since access to the fuel side chrome bumper is better with the fuel tank out of place.

Fit a stud into the overrider and you should be able to get a nut on behind the fuel tank, so you can get it off next time (if there is one) without removing the tank.
C.

[Incony]

Yes, i replaced what was there before - maybe a year ago - with easily available 17mm nut - metric studding, and the whole thing smeared in vaseline, so one can remove the nut with a spanner , fuel tank in place, but its just easier to get ones hand in without the tank end so close..

If i was going to keep this Herald, i would have bought a new valance and sourced a second hand ally overider, but, i`m not, when the V8 Herald is built , then it will be sold. Still it must be in reasonable condition and not rust bitten to sell, even if it could do with a respray, its solid steel, not filler, holding it together.

Right now i am looking into how to shorten the Rover rear axle, not by cutting and shutting, but by cutting and remachining it. Ive not looked yet to see if its a splined end shaft, i need to shorten, but if it is, one must find someone with the correct spline cutter, its a dedicated tool.

But today i took the rattly old herald out in the sunshine ( rattles i think are from a dying oil pump )
and its still puts a permanent grin on my face... so i cant wait for the V8 to be done.. decent rear brakes,
great 5 speed manual gearbox, and 230 bhp... ooooooooooohhhhhh...:)