This may be a first: I spent a weekend working on the TI and didn’t discover anything that needed yet more work. And I got a fair amount done, too. Most of what remains will cost more in money than time, which is of course both good and bad. Anyway, the summary of accomplishments reads as follows:

1. reinstalled heater
2. reassembled and reinstalled dash and gauge cluster
3. reattached trunk lid
4. applied Bondo all over the place
5. swapped out speedo cable

Here's the dash and not really visible heater, reinstalled. In addition to making the car *look* more carlike, having functioning gauges also makes it nearly driveable. Just add seat.

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I spent a few hours yesterday and today on the so-called ‘final’ body issues with the TI. Of the things I need to do before sending the car off for interior and exterior finishing work, I’m down to just three or four, namely:

1. getting some bondo on the exterior pieces that I’ve replaced
2. sanding and prepping the body as much as I can stand
3. re-installing the dash and gauge cluster
4. re-installing a driver seat so I can actually get the car to the various shops.

That should be a day’s work but I suspect it’ll take two or three.

Yesterday I addressed the front valence of the car, and the radiator support (again). The valence had already been ‘repaired’ at least once, and the bondo was 1/2 inch thick in some places. Bleh. I decided to cut out a bunch more of the old metal (and aforementioned bondo) in order to do a better repair and have a more regular shape to work with.

Valence, metal removed. Note fat layer of bondo, and mediocre repair (mine) of radiator support member at right.

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In this case, R&R means remove and replace. Or ratty and rusty. Rock and roll? Retch and regurgitation?

Anyway, after a 2-day bout of food poisoning courtesy of some shrimp zafrani of questionable origin, I found some time and energy today to get some work done on the TI. At last check, there were two remaining areas that needed patch panels and not just a quick and dirty application of fiberglass and bondo. The one, up front, is a simple enough job that will barely show anyway so I don’t need to worry too much about perfection. The other, today’s , was a less simple job in a spot that shows more (though still not a lot). This meant doing a more ‘correct’ job as far as conforming to the original shapes and contours of the body panel, and also remembering to err on the side of recess — in other words, make sure the repair is flush with or sufficiently below the surrounding (original) panels that the layer of bondo will cover any irregularities. That’s how it’s supposed to be done. I was mostly successful.

Here’s a couple pics of the area after I cut out the bad metal.

Here's the TI fender with the (majority of the) bad metal removed. I probably should have taken more off the rear section but I am nervous when it comes to compound cuves. Note repairs (mostly filled holes) already executed on the inner panel. Big clamp is the ground for the welder.

And the back of the rear wheel arch:

More fun in the orange and rust section of the crayola box. As in the previous photo, I'd already done some repair welds to the inner panel. If it shines, it's new.

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Progress has been slow but consistent.

I decided to take a stab at doing some repair to the trunk of the TI. The tank had a leak at the seam, and the lip in the tank well was hanging on by prayers and nostalgia for the days before the Great Rains. The trunk lid was eaten through at the left rear panel, and had crustiness all along the bottom edge.

Here’s the trunk while I was fixing up the inner lip that keeps the tank from dropping out and skipping across the road in ball of 91 octane flames.

I replaced about 18 inches along the inner edge - the cleanish metal you see in this pic.

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