Another day at Perkins Automotive today, and some progress to report!
For me, personally, not a massively productive session though. I decided to have another go at fitting the tilt/slide sunroof, this time following the guide in the Audi Coupe Haynes manual I borrowed from big_burt last weekend.
The Haynes method is much easier. Instead of building it off the car then slotting it into the roof, you fit the guide rails with the trim panel, hinge and drip tray in place then bolt the metal panel to them. I spent another two hours getting it all in, and it tilts properly but won't slide. Unfortunately while trying to get it to work last week I managed to bend all of the cables out of shape and as soon as it sticks the whole lot just jams.
Enough is enough. I'm sick of it. I don't want to end up with a sunroof jammed open, and ordering another set of cables will delay the already delayed bodywork restoration so I've stripped it all out. If someone fancies buying it off me, it'll be going cheap and includes a retrimmed trim panel (in the proper black and grey headlining) but you'll need to either change the cables or bend the existing ones back into shape. PM me if you're interested.
So, after three hours I'd put the original sliding roof back in, albeit without the panel itself. That's being prepped for paint.
Today hasn't been a write-off though, Adam's started on the rest of the bodywork. Beginning with removing the arch liners, which uncovered stash of mud and sand behind the driver's side wing big enough to fill a plant pot!
Adam then started attacking the rust with a sander...
Back to solid metal.
This uncovered what should have been a plate welded into the wing aerial hole. Turns out it was filled with a conker-sized blob of fibreglass. Nice.
More grinding on the tailgate, sorting one of the badge holes and the metal around the number plate lights. You can see my car's latest stablemate in the background, another forced induction hot hatch from about 20 years ago. It's got quite a bit more rot than mine, I'm amazed it's still in one piece! I haven't seen one in the metal for ages!
The a pillar is now rust free too. The one halfway up the pillar turned out to be worse than the one in the corner, it has two pin-sized rust holes to fix.
Work is continuing through the week, Adam's going to weld up the wing aerial hole tomorrow and block the dents in the swage line. The boot is being sorted soon too, then it'll go into primer early next week. I can't get back until early next week, but I'll be getting updates via picture message so I'll post the latest photos on here when I get them.