This is part five of a series of posts on the restoration of this 1931 American Austin. Part One describes the history of the Austin and presents photos of the car before any restoration work. Part Two shows the condition of the Austin after return from media blasting and describes the donor chassis. Part Three covers the restoration of the chassis and mechanical parts. Part Four begins covering the metal work part of the restoration and talks about starting the new floor construction. Part Five follows on the floor rebuild and presents photos of the tunnel damage and restoration. Part Six describes the finishing of the right-hand floor rebuild and restoration.
This post will follow on the floor rebuild and present photos of the tunnel damage and restoration. The tunnel below has already been cut away from the rest of the Austin body, but it’s basically part of the floor that runs along the center of the car. The end you are looking at in the photo directly below would be the view from the front of the car facing the seats. As you can see the tunnal was quite mangled.
Photos of restoration work
The first step was to cleanly cut away the most badly damaged piece. The second photo below shows a fresh piece of metal that has been shaped to the tunnel profile, welded to the original piece. Then you can see the weld being cleaned up, and finally the whole tunnel being metal finished. A lot of work for a piece that sits inside the car!
This is part five of a series of posts on the restoration of this 1931 American Austin. Part One describes the history of the Austin and presents photos of the car before any restoration work. Part Two shows the condition of the Austin after return from media blasting and describes the donor chassis. Part Three covers the restoration of the chassis and mechanical parts. Part Four begins covering the metal work part of the restoration and talks about starting the new floor construction. Part Five follows on the floor rebuild and presents photos of the tunnel damage and restoration. Part Six describes the finishing of the right-hand floor rebuild and restoration.
For more information check out the automotive restoration services we provide at our workshop in Denver.