We had been promising ourselves that we would complete Bertha's restoration: she's looking great after the last round of work but she's still not right.
Having had the front and rear wings replaced (in the case of the front wings) and rebuilt (in the case of the rear wings) the doors and all the bodywork which
hasn't been resprayed really screams in contrast!
As well as the paint mismatch there is still quite a bit of rust to be repaired. The front and rear screens need to come out to have the
considerable amounts of rust around them sorted and new seals fitted, the sunroof needs to come out to have the silicone with which it has been sealed
removed and new correct seals installed, the bootlid seal needs replacing and the headlining needs to be sorted out as it has suffered water damage in the past
and now hangs down in the front on the driver's side.
As it turns out, there is more rust than could be seen from the outside, the sunroof frame has partially rotted away and will need to be rebuilt and the headlining is no
longer available so will have to be remanufactured using material imported from America!
Just to add to all the issues that we found, the UK went into lockdown as a result of the Coronavirus about three weeks into the work. Fortunately, Silchester
were able to keep working and, although slowed a little, work on Bertha progressed.
Screens out, sunroof open for the first time in goodness knows how many years - we've never seen it open! - and the extent of the damage around the screens is revealed!
Having removed the screens and repaired the rust it's time for some further prep...
...ready for the respray!
One of the few things that was alwys rather disappointing in Bertha was the sound. The radio is very crackly and the speakers don't sound very good.
The aerial has been replaced - yippee! I always hated that bent aerial! - and some new speakers were fitted. A couple of small things that add a lot to
the overall package! Much better...
Now it's time for some reassembly...
Finally, one of the first things we bought for Bertha (glad we did - it seems that they have doubled in price since, and they weren't cheap then) -
new side window rubbers that go across the whole of the aperature - are fitted. This was apparently not
one of the easier jobs as they go down some way into the bodywork... One puzzle that was finally resolved was where to put the last couple of window rubbers - the
ones that fit on the rear side windows to seal the gap between the front and rear windows. Much easier to see where they go when the rear windows are up, it seems!
She's looking great and despite the difficulties presented by external factors work has been donw at a good pace. She's nearly ready to come home!!!
Final Restoration 2