Electrolysis

The plan all along was to separate each & every panel at the factory spot welds. As such, electrolysis seemed like something we should at least try.

Lot's of information regarding this method of rust removal is available online. A few things to keep in mind:
- It's slow... To really get the optimum results you need to leave any panel cooking for around 3 days, it will be visibly rust free after 2 days, but cutting in will still show the odd trace. Larger panels, remove & clean every 48 hrs and cook for 4-5 days.
- Single skins ONLY! This is paramount. You can not have seams or double skin panels as anywhere steel skins join will corrode after the process. I did some experimenting with different corrosion prevention methods (oiling, high pressure air-brush application, dipping, etc), but was not happy with the results.
So that is why you will see the panels separated into individual skins. Above is the rear window section (inner) in etch primer following the electrolysis treatment.
Below is the rear vent section from the oval. The hinge mounts were from the '58; the bare metalling of these mounts included using a small drill bit that had the tip broken off (I save all broken drill bits), this enabled me to mill the hard to reach spots very effectively.

Scaramouche

We now have a name for the car:

The things you find in old glove boxes.

Introducing the swamp rat!

State of affairs...

If anyone has seen the montage video (if not, don't fear as this montage video contains neither training nor dance) you would have noticed the roof of the early oval being cut across the centre. This was due to the fact that the car was so badly rusted that the two ends had come apart at the bottom (where the heater channels used to tie the A & B pillars to one another), this meant the roof was deformed right throughout the centre from the twisting loads being applied over many years.
The two interesting things about this whole situation (of which the roof was just a measurable indicator) are; 1. I didn't feel guilty cutting the roof section in two. And; 2. We not only did not have to undo any body bolts to remove the rear half of the car (if you look at the video you can see the 1/4 panels sitting on the ground after the roof was cut), but when the rear section was moved the 1/4 panels started coming away from the roof/rear window and no cutting was required to separate the roof section from the rest of the body.

home at last...

Time to take stock of what we've gathered.

Video

Here is a short video montage of all the photos we took whilst removing the ovals from the paddock and preparing for transport.

Take note of the back of the grey shell dropping off the floorpan. We didn't undo ANY body bolts, it's simply rotted free from the chassis. The front half only needed the two vertical bolts into the beam to be undone before coming free.

In the beginning