First job, was to strip down and rebuild this leaking fuel pump in the boot - successfully done with a fibre tap washer.

Checking the rear ride height as the springs look "odd"

ride height looks ok at about 1inch of the tyre being under the wheelarch

but the springs show the leafs flat and the lower leaf appears upside down?

same on then other side - perhaps to give a softer ride?

all wheels are 1961 originals, which apparently was a bad year for wheels cracking! will have to decide to whether to replace these, even though they have done 92k over 46 years without any outward signs of problems.

looking at the only rot found so far in the usual front corner - to be tackled later this week.

rot chopped, new steel welded in, seam sealed, primed.

then blasted with waxoyl as I was doing the underside anyway

pressure testing the rad. It held the hosepipe pressure up to the new cap opening at 4psi, so deemed ok.

Speedo stripped and trip-counter gears cleaned and oiled to cure the wavering speedo.

All done and back together thanks to the Guild Technical Tips book. Now installed and works perfectly.

fuel tank removed before the welding/grinding sparks start to fly. Took about 2 hours to remove, and in good nick. Assume it was a replacement item fitted in the 1991 overhaul by a previous owner.

Rotten inner wheelarch in the boot, beginning to dissolve away

Decided to do in sections, cutting out all rot and replacing with 2mm steel (too thick really, but it'll last longer than the 46 years the original 1.5mm lasted - and its all i had to hand...)

cut and patch, cut and patch...

compound curves are tricky! patchwork continues.

Welding complete, seam sealer and zinc primer applied

black topcoat and then some clear wax applied. Petrol filler assembly back in place

that petrol filler elbow hose was a pain to replace, buts its done now

tank was all sealed up and repainted/waxed when out. Gasket to petrol takeoff pipes was replaced as leaking originally

This is the waxoyl heater I made from a scrap wallpaper steamer - cut the top off, replaced the rotten base, and added a mesh shelf. Fill with water, and the electric element heats the waxoyl tins (once opened of course) to thin the contents before spraying.

waxoyled underside of the P4.

Leaking brake master cylinder (can see drip of fluid on bottom of mounting bracket on the right of pic)

master cylinder removed for rebuild

large socket (38mm) required to remove end cap

stripped and cleaned ready for new rubber seals to be fitted

reassembled and a coat of primer applied

bit of topcoat to delay the rusting

investigating where the buckle mounts will go for the front belts (and fixing the seat base adjuster cables whilst i was in there)

checking the mounting position for the inertia reel and the lower belt mount.

this is the bracket mount within the central door pillar which will hold the upper seatbelt mount - once I've made some...