Driver's Door

October 2003:

As found - 25 years in an open-sided shed on the edge of a wood in a remote valley

The door and door capping will need attention but they will be one of the last things to be tackled.

May 2004:

However the drivers door window occasionally stuck part-way up.  This was found to be due to corrosion of the window support channel which was fouling the insides of the door.

So the door cover was removed to reveal a very simple mechanism and the door in very good order apart from a broken window balance spring

The door cover was made of thin ply and was in good condition apart from the worm holes - these were given two applications of Rentokil

work in progress ...

June 2004:

Close-up of the window frame --- most of the leathercloth has rotted off so metal surrounds have been painted with Hammerite Burgundy paint (colour no longer available).

and the completed door; original nails and screws have been replaced by raised head screws and cup washers.

September 2005:

The drivers door didn't fit too well in the frame so it was necessary to space the top hinge out with a metal spacer.

It was a bit of a fiddle as the nuts could only be slackened and not removed in the confined space.

The original window support channel was too far gone so a new one was rivetted to the original sliding channel.  The window glass was fixed in the channel by thin rubber strips and pressure gently applied by the sash cramp.

The opportunity was taken to replace the broken door retaining strap - these are under extreme pressure and care needs to be taken when opening doors in the wind!

As the door cover had to come off after the failure of the window winder, it was found that the door and door cover were rather weak so an additional thin ply stiffener was added - screwed and glued (more screws added later).

This stiffener also helped support the new door strap.