Our customer contacted us here asking if we could pop over and take a look at his RS 2000 which he purchased when he was a lot younger, on arriving we found the car under a cover looking like it had lived there for a long time. Anyway we shipped it back to Tiger stuck it on one of the ramps and took a good look around the car.
The engine was not in the car it had been stored in a dry garage which was sort of ok compared to the body sitting outside for years in the damp, underside had really suffered inner and outer sills completely rotten, sections of the floor very bad, door pillars even these were rotten in places , front of the bonnet with holes – doors suspect – guess you now get the picture we have a big job on our hands here!
We started by welding diagonal stays into the door apertures because with the pillars very week the sills with no strength doors removed we could be in trouble later welding a lot of panels into place.
We also found the heater bowl rotten, sections of boot rotten.
We welded new sills inner and outer some floor sections – sections into bonnet – boot – heater. Doors and various other small sections of body.
Paul in paint then started working on prep. reshaping the damaged panels ready for heavy two pack primer over the main body – bonnet boot and doors are worked on separately on stands.
After the first heavy primers are sanded small imperfections are stoppered and another two pack primer is applied and worked on ready for colour, all panels off the body are worked exactly the same ready for colour.
The main body is first for the lovely top coat black with eventually five coats of colour, this is left for two days before being removed from the Dalby booth , the remaining panels doors boot and bonnet are put on stands upright and painted.
Polishing is carried out by a very light wet flat with soap using 2000 grade wet/dry paper.
This RS2000 was probably the worst condition one we had seen and we have had a few here, well actually quite a few classic Fords !! anyway we invited the owners over to see the finished car ( they had only seen it with most of the rusty sections cut out looking sad) it it really did bring a big happy smile.
