Time for that nose job

I have decided to continue sorting out some of the bodywork on my MkI 2000 and I am part way through a fairly major job, replacing the front nose cone panel. In 2006 the previous owner hit a deer during the CT RBRR, resulting in this.



but when it arrived, the car looked something like this



so I wanged in some metal from a Dolomite door skin to get it roadworthy.



Fortunately when I bought the car, it came with a spares front end, which has already donated parts of it's wings to this car and now has donated the complete nose cone panel



After much deliberation and wielding of the angle grinder, the old nose cane was removed, you can see from the pic below the blue of the old Dolomite door.



After a few hours spent cleaning off both the replacement panel and the car, it was ready for tacking on after a coat of zinc rich primer where I would not be able to paint after welding



And this is where we are tonight, blending in the new panel, removing dents and preparing for paint, which I hope to have done by the weekend

Some shed time

With the MOT out of the way again I set about a few tidying up jobs on the 2000. Around the rear wheel arches, the old underseal has been knocked/peeled off, next job is to get it in primer before giving it a coat of stone chip and a top coat of red to match. The original paint is in surprisingly good condition, but is quite thin.



While waiting for that paint to cure, work has re-started on the front passenger wing. I pulled some dents out and removed some rotten metal from the arches a couple of years ago, but never got round to giving it a top coat.





Up in the wheel arch I could see a bit of rust bubling up



Which cleaned up to look a bit like this



So there's going to be a bit more cutting before some fresh metal goes in.
After the new metal went in it was finished with seam sealant and a few coats of paint, yes I know it is not the right colour, but it is under the carpet.