Week 1 - So Much Rust

I know, I know, should I have expected anything different in the back verses the front?

For those not familiar with XK120s, there is supposed to be a bottom shelf for spare tire storage.  Its gone, well, it was almost gone.  This picture is after I removed the remnants.

From what I can tell, at least 2" (50mm) are missing from the bottom

I'm beginning to feel about body filler like Indiana Jones felt about snakes.  Body filler, why does it have to be body filler?  At least most of the metal is there.

Here is the door shut area or at least what's left of it.  This may be the worst area of the car.  Fortunately, I have an OTS rear end to use as a model.

And the other door shut 

And from the top looking down.  Left side right behind the door shut pillar.

I didn't take pictures of the wheel wells but will when I start doing the repair. 

Similar to the front, so much of the structural support is rusted, I don't want to do much until I can stabilize the body.  FedEx says the parts are on their way so soon.

In the meantime, I did some rust repair on the spare tire support rim so after putting the body back on the frame, I can weld in the spare tire shelf.  Which came with the car but not installed.

Before

After

I cut out the rust on each side and replaced with fresh metal.  I kept all the pieces I removed so I can ensure holes are drilled in the correct location.  Next, I test fit the spare tire shelf and discovered it was incomplete.  It doesn't have either of the support pieces underneath.  Good news is I have drawings with dimensions.  Apparently, the previous owner provided sheet metal for MGs and Jaguars and I ended up with a lot of his engineering sketches.  It would have been even better if they were labeled so I knew where they went.  Maybe as I progress, I figure out where they go.

This is one of the best labeled sketches

The measurements seem to be accurate.  Here is my test piece

Nothing welded in but everything seems to line up.  I don't want to weld anything in until its back on the frame.  Now the amount of missing material can be seen on the left side.

Since I'm avoiding any structural repair, I still want to make progress.  This is the inner fender.  Left, rusted, right repaired.  It will look much better when everything is blasted and clean.

Hopefully, next update will include new structural sheet metal and something that resembles an automobile instead of a bunch of car parts.