RESTORATION
of AC's post-war 2 Litre Saloon (page 4)
Full rebuild (dismantling)
A full rebuild is a daunting project, but not impossible, even if you only have a single garage to work in. At this stage, my AC's bodyshell has yet to be refitted to the wooden frame. So, while it is the only way to do a full and proper restoration, removal of the shell is done at your own risk. Once detached from the wood frame, it is very fragile and easily damaged. I believe it should be annealed in those areas that have to be unfolded/refolded to avoid cracking, and this is something I still need to get organised. One thing I perhaps should have done before removal of the shell, was to strip the paint off, in readiness for any annealing.
Before making a decision on bodyshell removal, the condition of the wood frame needs to be assessed. Mine was structurally sound in the majority of areas so that there was no risk of breakage while carrying out work. This also means it is relatively easy to retain original shapes and dimensions when repairing and renewing wood pieces. If your wood frame is so bad that large sections have vanished altogether, and other areas are in danger of collapse, then more preparation work will be needed before the bodyshell can be removed. Otherwise you may end up with a pile of bits and limited data to help reconstruct it! I have not tackled an AC in very poor condition, but I can see that a plan needs to be drawn up so that the shape of the body is not lost at any stage. Perhaps an internal temporary framework could be built to support what body frame still survives? This is similar to my own standard practice of building jigs, but taken to a more extensive level. Think of how an old building would be supported with scaffolding during work, and you get the general idea. It might even be best to renew some of the wood frame with the bodyshell still in place? It is a case of assessing the best way to approach the particular car you have and the condition it is in.
For storing the removed bodyshell, I suspended mine above the rest of the car in my garage. The shell was taken into the garage tail end first, and the rest of the car was rolled in nose first. With a garage 7ft 6 in (229cm) tall inside, there was just sufficient room.
Dismantling is a major task. The precautions mentioned on page 1 should be heeded (full record of photos and dimensions). Interior trim is secured by a huge number of tacks, nails and screws. Steel screws may need to be drilled out. Cloth and carpet trim should be carefully saved to use as patterns for replacements. The main bodyshell is secured to the wood frame by panel pins. You will need a fairly sharp, but broad (at least 0.75"/20mm) tool to lever up the edges of the panelling. This will either pull out panel pins with it, or else leave them behind, to be extracted with pliers later.
Certain edges of the bodyshell need to be unfolded before it will come away. Remember that this shell was partially welded up in situ during manufacture, so it was not designed to be removed later. The rear side window edges, the rear window edges, the rear halves of the wheel-arches, plus the screen pillars, all need unfolding to some extent. When the sides of the door-step have been freed, great care should be taken to avoid damage if the car is moved at any time.
The main bodyshell can be easily lifted by two people. Once removed, I used a pair of wheels to support its tail end, and a home-made wooden frame to suspend the front above the rest of the car.
Dismantling the front bodywork is fairly straight-forward, although many rusted screws and bolts will have to be hack-sawed through. The steering column and aluminium bulkhead will also need to come off. The doors should be re-fitted so that the surrounding framework can be aligned with them. If the hinges are badly worn, then these should be attended to first.
