Leaky sump (oil pan). How to remove it without removing the engine

This is the other job: I stuffed up putting this gasket on properly when rebuilding the engine about four or five years ago (I'm a bad parent).
I hate tying all the crap out of the way, disconnecting the transmission and all the heartache associated with the inevitable screwing something else up in the very long, laborious process.
So, how does one replace the sump gasket without removing the engine?
Not that easy: You will need a black and tackle or engine lifter.

0. Drain the oil and remove the filter.
1. Remove the bonnet.
2. Drain the radiator and remove both top and bottom hoses.
3. Remove anything else that will stretch, break or get in the way if you raise the engine about six inches. I removed the distributor cap and rotor (so they don't get in the way or broken), air cleaner, coil wires, sender wires (oil and temperature).
4. Remove the idler arm from the car body end and a tie rod end (remove the ball joint, don't unscrew the other end so the steering arm can be swung out of the way.
5. Jack up the car so you can get underneath, and put axle stands under, remove jack.
6. Remove the nut at the bottom of the engine mounting on the driver side and the whole engine mounting on the passenger side. Also remove the transmission splash plate.
7. Attach rope to engine, then lift it with your lifter.
8. Remove bolts from the sump, swing the steering arm out of the way and remove it.

Ta-da! That's the hard bit. Clean the sump and put the new gaskets on. Mine were really bad at staying on, even with some gasket stuff (which isn't required for sealing, purely to stop the cork ones from moving). I had to put the cork ones on after the sump was in place under the engine. Just be careful. Try not to knock the rubber ones: The long rubber dimples are very good at holding it in place but I still managed to knock two of these out at the back.

Putting it back in requires a bit of fiddling. If you do well, put the cork bits on, get a couple of bolts in to hold it then the rest of them.

Do everything else in reverse order now, making sure everything is tight, except the sump bolts, which I tightened up with a socket using my hands instead of the ratchet. I'm not that strong so I could make it as tight as my hands would allow and I reckon it's just about right. How do I know? For the first time in five years, the car doesn't leak oil!

Oh, and cork tends to compress, so schedule a re-tighten using the same method in a week or two.
If you use a ratchet to tighten the bolts, you will break the cork and the oil will leak again. I remember this well from the first time I ever did this!

Rust repairs

I'm simply not up to some repairs and cutting out rusty bits and welding mean I had to leave it to the professionals.
Black Edge in Bayswater, like all body shops, aren't cheap, but I've found that they're very thorough. The Val had a lot more rust than initial inspection suggested so it was a lot of money and two weeks without the car, but she's as solid as new now.
Three areas were attended to:
1. Left rear panel (inner and outer)
2. Right rear panel (inner and outer)
3. Plenum/firewall.

#3 is really really common, and I think that living at Torquay for nearly four years made all of these much worse than they should have been.

The rear panels can be bought from a place in Queensland for $125 a piece. The guys told me it was much cheaper buying these than getting them to make them.

This was a few weeks ago. Yes I've been neglecting maintenance issues, mainly due to financial constraints. The weekend just gone I did another job that's been hanging about for a few years.