Rebuilding the rear section

Once the boot pan was ready I was able to rebuild the whole rear section. As mentioned before I acted like a surgeon and cut out the complete panel starting right behind the rear shock-absorber domes.

To fight the tinworm this was surely the right thing to do - but in terms of rebuilding it was a nightmare because when you weld new parts in you need reference points to make sure that the body is straight and looks like it used to look when it left the factory.

Before you have a closer look on the pictures some words on sandblasting:

Sandblasting is an ideal way to fight the rust, but the whole procedure is abrasive which means that the thickness and surface tension of the material is reduced.

Therefore sandblasting should not be used to de-rust thin outer panels like wings, door-skins or hoods. This is especially the case with the front hood and some door-skins of the Junior Zagato since they are made of Aluminum.

Before I sandblasted my car I stripped the complete outer skin. I took the doors out and disassembled the front- and rear- wings as well as the front- and rear-panels. The doorsills were cut out in order to access the cavities behind them. I was careful not to sandblast the roof.

Sandblasting can seriously harm you: The sand and dust can irritate your skin, eyes and lung - make sure to wear body-, eye- and breathe-protection. If you want to sandblast a whole body make sure you have a car-lift available to reach the platform from underneath. Make sure to have a confined area in your garage because sandblasting generates an unbelievable mass of dust and dirt.

After sandblasting the surface of the steel is extremely prone to rust. I decided to sandblast in wintertime at a very cold day in high pressure climate because air-humidity is then very low.   

I also prepared the coating which was applied directly after sandblasting and cleaning the body. After sandblasting I touched the car only with rubber gloves on in order to avoid sweat on the surface.

I decided to spray the complete body with zinc primer, a very good rust prevention. It looks grey on the pictures below.

After sandblasting the rear consisted of more holes than steel and was also heavily damaged due to an accident.
	Surgery completed: The boot pan starting right behind the rear shock-absorber domes was cut out. On top of my car you see a second roof - the only way to store this big part.
Because there was nothing left in the rear except two very flexible sidewalls I came to the idea to see my carpenter again...
	I could put my hands on some surplus wood to build a wooden frame which fitted perfectly in the passenger compartment. With the frame installed I was able to determine the cars centerline and measure out all the necessary reference points to make sure that the boot pan and the rear panel were correctly centered.
The new boot pan already fits but minor readjustments are necessary. Previously the rear wings were welded into their position.
	Boot pan and rear panel are already welded together with the body. To build up the structure behind the rear bumper the fuel tank was screwed underneath the boot pan.
Half of the lower structure welded into place.
	Rear section rebuild completed.
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