The first pillar done.

Today just welded the patch. Grinded the seams and painted the setup. Everything fits and I feel satisfied with the result. Of course there's much to do just next to the pillar but this was one of the worst.

 After the first layer of paint.

The last patch for A-pillar

It was a nice weather this weekend and continued with Falcon. I started making the top layer patch of the pillar.

 

Just bending and joining smaller pieces, and a lot of fitting and re-fitting. Welding, grinding and fitting again.

And at last I got something.

And then some spot welding holes. I almost kept the original irregular pattern.

At this point I applied a zinc coating to the pillar before I weld this patch over it.

Welding again

Just a short post this time. The diagnosis was correct and the welding machine was repaired just by replacing the control power transformer. Welded few patches and prepared the rest of the top of the A-pillar. Also started to grind the square holes for the hinge bolt alignment.

The weather have been like typical Finnish summer, I guess I have to look for a proper garage space for a dry place.

Assembling the puzzle

The A-pillar lower construction is somewhat complicated. I've used few days making suitable parts for the puzzle. Lot of fitting, trials and errors and sheet bending. Here's a good example.

What it comes to bending. I have to thank Johan for the workshop tools. Like this bending brake, 1/16" is nothing for this one.

Or like this bead roller.

Piece by piece, started put the parts back together. Here the most upper part is already welded to it's place.

And then the next part.

This was the point I faced the next challenge. My Esab MIG/MAG welding machine broke down and car repair turned to welding machine repair. Fortunately I found the full schematics manual from the Internet and ended up with the conclusion that the control power transformer on the circuit board was the one which failed. Double checked the test and I'm pretty sure that this is the one which faulted.

New transformer should be available from the local shop for 4.59€ each. Oh, how I wish the Falcon parts availability and pricing would be like this.

More A-pillar work

I got a sandblaster to use for few days. I had never used one before but it wasn't difficult. Cleaned the A-pillar area and some more. It was a warm sunny day and I sweated liters in a protective clothing.

I also removed the heater which had been always disconnected from the coolant system. Opening the cover revealed the core had obviously leaked at some point.

I found interesting sticker from the core. The Smith Bros Radiator Specialists had already worked with the core in June 1976. The Falcon have been three years old then.

Back to the pillar. After the sandblasting the whole damaged area is revealed. Easier to work with after the cleaning.

I made some support rods to hold the pillar in place during the operation. Then started to remove the layers one by one.

Drilled out the weld spots and pried the layer off.

The layers at the upper hinge attach area are all rusted through.

Cutting the last layer.

Cleaned the pillar inside while I got the top open and an opportunity to do so.

And at last sandblasted the hinge support brackets. These were in good condition.

I have to admit the progress is painfully slow. I'm working outside with a limited set of tools and able to work only few hours now and then. I'm also trying to do the repair as it should be done, no matter if there could be an easier and faster way to get the same effective result.