So you thought all the rust had been banished from 80 Class 69? Think again. Recently, we took a look at what will hopefully be the last remaining horror story on this 80 class power car: the headlamp housing.
It’s probably fair to say this hasn’t seen the light of day since it was assembled in Derby in 1978, and the tin orms have been busy, with half the housing innards eaten away by rust.
We sort of knew it wasn’t in great condition, but it had been put on the long finger while the rest of the bodywork was tackled. Now that stage is drawing to a close, we could put it off no longer. After a chat with our new welder, Harrison, we decided the best course of action was to remove it and either rebuild it or have a new one fabricated by a friendly metal spinner. Thankfully, the cowling itself seems to have fared much better, with just two small areas of corrosion at the corners, which we can sort out in a jiffy, while the innards have been vacuumed out and treated with aquasteel to kill rust growth.
In the meantime, the lamp cover has been taken back to Robert’s house, where he’s shot-blasted it to bare metal and got it ready for repainting.
Fancy volunteering on a restoration project like this? We’d love to hear from you, visit our volunteering page for contact details.
Another way to support this project is by donating to our 80 class appeal – all donations large or small are gratefully received.
