Humber sceptre weld-a-thon

This Humber is set to be something of a hot rod / dragster when it is finished.

Before it gets to that stage however it first needs to be made solid. That’s where the KJClassics workshop comes in. There is lots of metal work involved here so I will try to keep it breaf.

Starting at the top. The C post leading into the roof on the driver side clearly had rot issues.

Cutting out the top skin revealed the two inner skins where also rotten. They to were cut out and repair panels were made and welded in. The inner panels were primed with copper primer at the points where they will be welded together and red oxide primed everywhere else.

The top skin is welded on, the welds are ground flat and the area is red oxide primed.

The passenger C post at first glance looked to be in slightly better shape but still in need of attention.

First the lead loading is burned out with a blowtorch so I can safely grind out the rot without breathing in lead particles. The top skin of the C post and roof is cut away to reveal the full extent of the rust.

Repair sections are made from 18 guage steel using the shrinker and stretcher to make the shape. Again the closed in panels are copper primed to prevent rust forming during the welding process.

The roof section is then made using the bead roller to form the rear trim flange. The flange is then punched with holes that will be plug welded to bottom section completing this repair.

Next the rear window aperture has obvious rot issues that must be dealt with. Clearly this has been a problem in the past as some one has patched it up with lots of welded sections of flat steel. Fortunately I have the tools and the knowledge to make this curved section from one piece of steel rather than lots of flat bits welded together. This makes for a much tidier job.

The rear inner wheel arch had a lot in common Swiss cheese. After cutting the arch off a new one was made and welded in its place.

Along with the wheel arch a new boot floor quarter is made and welded in. As always the whole repair is primed once finished.

One of only a few panels for the car that was available to buy was the rear valence. The old one was rotten and also had been shunted from behind. I had hoped that I could weld the new panel strait on but once the valence was removed it became clear that the inner panel also needed significant repair work.

Older repairs were cut away along with what was left of the original panel. A complete bottom half was made to replace the rotten section along with new rear bumper brackets.

Working around to the driver side, this time the arch is solid enough to be repaired in the areas that are needed. As before the boot floor quarter is replaced with the addition of a very rotten section of chassis at the rear.

Primed ready for the outer wing to be fitted.

The rear door aperture is the next section to be repaired. This was a very complex shape to make and had to be made from 3 sections.

The outer rear wing was treated to a new wheel arch section along with a new rear quarter. The trim holes were also filled in with weld as they are not going to be used.

Inner and outer sills are the next panels to be fitted. These are among the only new panels available to buy for this car.

looking underneath the car it’s apparent that someone has had a go at making the car solid by the amount of welds that are everywhere. Most or this will be chopped out and replaced with a neater job.

The under side was extensively repaired using sheet metal as well as thicker box section to make up the chassis rails.

The bottoms of the front wings were repaired at the same time as the outer sills.

The wings were found to be full of filler.

A repair section is made to replace the old filler repair.

Custom fabricated repair panel made in house here and fitted before rust proof coating

Next the floor are repaired by using a bead roller to for the ladder shape of the floor pan.

the welds are then seam sealed and primed.

Humber underside restored and undersealed

The under side is coated in oil based Schultz

Rotten metal removed from the Humber

Finally a look at the amount of rotten metal removed from the car. Quite a lot or work hear I think you will agree.

The car was not yet finished ready for the road here at KJClassics but it is now a solid basis to start building into the customers dream hot rod .

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