As I’ve got all of the rear suspension off, it makes sense to take a good look at the state of the chassis rails whilst I’ve got relatively good access. Underneath a layer of flaky rust they’re basically sound, but both sides will need a section chopping out and replacing at some point, where they’re flaking a little too much around the top drain hole 
It’s not too bad, but I’m loathe to do any remedial work at the moment as I’d then want to drop the tank out before welding, at which point I’d also want to be patching up the boot floor and replacing the rear valance at a minimum. From there, I could easily see things escalating and the car magically appearing stripped and on a jig – and I don’t have enough skills to do everything properly yet, so for the moment, it’ll get Kurust, Hammerite, Waxoyl and a regular checkup to make sure nothing’s falling apart 
To brighten the mood though, I bolted a shiny bit back on 
I’m still resisting the urge to remove and clean up the axle … keep saying “baby steps” in my head 
The alternative steering rack bushes arrived today from Superflex, and it’s immediately obvious from looking at the two different types that they’re a more traditional design, pre-moulded to shape and then cut to go round the rack – rather than Deflex’s bend it yourself and watch it go ping design.
Here you can see part of the problem with the Deflex/Floflex bushes – even with no rack in the way, they don’t really fit into the brackets
Whereas the Superflex ones do…
Hey, you live and learn Rest of the bushes I’ve had from Deflex/Floflex seem fine, though.