Austin A40 Somerset
This is my Austin Somerset I bought this in June 2012 for a repair and restoration project after it had been left for 10 years or so & it was in a sorry state.
Got it back to my workshop & managed to get it running sounded lovely the only problem was that the car was beyond economical restoration due to body rust, trim, brakes etc, although the chassis was sound.
I decided i would restore it as a pick up for use in my restoration business rather than break it.
It was in a sorry state after years of neglect, I started the rebuild by removing the rear body & building the cab back..
I ended up using a Rover P6 roof panel which with a bit of a trim gave me the curve I wanted. Then I fitted 6 inches of the rear doors & boxed them in, the rear edge has been curved to match the shape of the door to door glass.
After many hours of filling & rubbing down I had the shape I was looking for.
Just removed the small amount of rust in the door step. Now try & put it back together. After many hours i was nearly there.
Time to start building the pick up back. Started with the bed, used some box section I had lying around. Then added some angle to make the frame.
Now to add some sheet steel. After more welding, filling & rubbing down managed to get some primer on.
Next to try & save the front wings. Made up a new section for the rear of the wing, by this time I had had enough of rust & was lucky to find a pair of s/h fiberglass wings.
Wings now fitted, n/s door has had the bottom 5 inches of the skin & frame replaced. There was nothing left that could be saved on the rear doors & wings, have had a look at making some spats for the rear arches, i might do that at a later date.
After many more hours of prep I decided to paint it in Austin clipper blue.
The finished pick up, have had a look at making some spats for the rear arches, I might do that at a later date.
