Humble Beginnings...........

Yep that was exactly my thinking mate, plus when it's painted either the primer or top coat should also help to cover up any exposed metal. I'll also put some seam sealer in the holes before fixing the arches on to make sure no water creeps in, probably sounds a little OTT but I'm keen to protect everything as much as I can, even though the car will hopefully not see too much rain or any roads covered in snow / ice / gritting salt!

I'm also a little unsure whether to put some sealant under the arches to help bond them to the car, the original trims I took off did have a little under them but I don't like the idea of putting sealant on top of my new paint!?!?
What has everyone else done who have arches fitted!?

Spidermonkey84 said

I'm also a little unsure whether to put some sealant under the arches to help bond them to the car, the original trims I took off did have a little under them but I don't like the idea of putting sealant on top of my new paint!?!?
What has everyone else done who have arches fitted!?

Excellent work so far mate, the car is looking great

I was wondering the same about whether to put anything under the arch spats, I was thinking maybe some wax under there.

Cheers mate, when I trial fitted the arches they did look pretty tight up against the bodywork however I really don't want any water to find its way underneath them (as much as possible anyway), when you say about using a wax, what type of wax do you mean?

I assume its something that doesn't set hard but just forms a sort of barrier underneath the spats / arches and you would wipe the excess off easily enough!?

Ok so the car didn't go to the body shop last week as planned as the guy had some finished work waiting to be picked up and so his spray booth was full so I said I'l hang on to the car until he could house it. Anyway by the end of last week all the other stuff had been picked up and now mine is next to go in. It's now going Tuesday and so the low loader was re-booked and it's ready to go.
Spent Saturday tidying it all up and undersealed the edges of the sills to ensure that when I go to fully underseal the underside of the car there's no chance I'll get any on the new paint (paranoid or what!? lol) as I'll be nowhere near it. Also made a list of things that need to be finished and of course what colour I want it painted.





The wheels I originally thought were BBS aren't I don't think, these:



They came with the car when I bought it but pretty sure they're not standard wheels for the car. From the markings on the front face they appear to be KN Diamonds which I think were originally found on a Reliant Scimitar.

So now that I've done all the bodywork on the car that I can do my attention is now turning back to everything else, to begin with the engine and so I spent a couple of hours tidying up the bike carb manifold, here's a couple of pics after some time on it with the flap disc on the grinder and wire wheel on the drill, not looking too shabby if I say so myself:





I was planning on getting them powder coated but I like shiny things so they will be polished to within an inch of their life! lol. Once I've finished with the manifold then I will look to clean the block up and decide what colour to paint it, I'm thinking either blue, black or silver………………………..

Nice work on the manifold  

Excellent work, she's getting there  
Regarding the under-arch discussion, I think over time wax would just wash out??, why not consider painting on some epoxy mastic, after all your never going to see it again and that should keep any crud out.

Hairyarse said

Nice work on the manifold  

Cheers mate, yeah that was just a couple of hours spent tidying it all up, want to get a decent shine to it once I've done some more with the wire wheel then I'll get buffing! lol

Cero said

Excellent work, she's getting there  Regarding the under-arch discussion, I think over time wax would just wash out??, why not consider painting on some epoxy mastic, after all your never going to see it again and that should keep any crud out.

Yeah I think it was mastic that was used when I took the original arches off, just don't want to ruin my nice new shiny paint work! lol. But then like you said it's not going to be seen again……………………hmmmmm decisions decision!?!?

So anyway today was the day she went off to the paint shop, here's a pic of her waiting to be picked up….


An here's when she was getting ready to roll………………..


Said to the bloke I only want to pop in when she's in primer before she goes into the booth for the top coat but I know I'll end up going back in there before then! lol
I should be getting her back in about 5 or so weeks………………….that's gonna drag badly but I'll have a nice shiny new car at the end of it!!! 

Will be worth the wait  

So she's away to be painted, very exciting    have you decided on a colour?

Matt

Hairyarse said

Will be worth the wait 

Definitely, it’s only been 10/11 years to get to this point, what’s another 5 or so weeks!?!? lol

pazwaa said

So she's away to be painted, very exciting    have you decided on a colour?

Matt

Yes mate, finally decided on Mars red (L31B) the redder of the two Mars reds which is what I think the previous owner had it painted in before me 

Spidermonkey84 said

Hairyarse said

Will be worth the wait 

Definitely, it’s only been 10/11 years to get to this point, what’s another 5 or so weeks!?!? lol

I don't feel so bad now with mine at 5-6 years!  

Well I've owned the car for like 10/11 years, have only really spent the last 2/3 years properly  working on it but yeah it's still quite a long time! lol

So the cars at the body shop and have spent most of today tidying up the garage and sorting what bits and pieces I’ve got, good news is that I managed to unearth the seats and no little mice have made their home in them, will just need to get the rear bench reupholstered to match whatever front seats I decide (can afford! Lol) to put in it. Also came across the cylinder head I had skimmed and pressure tested absolutely ages ago and also had a quick go at finishing stripping the block down to paint it although one dam bolt just won’t budge! Applied some force as well as plenty of WD-40 although the little monkey just didn’t want to move soooo I’ve left it to soak for the time being, if it still won’t move then I’ll have to drill it out and re-thread a new thread into the block.

I had done quite a lot to clean the block already so once everything is removed shouldn’t take too much to finish it off then paint it. Also found the cheap second hand tyre I’d bought off evil-bay to put on the alloys I won to check and see whether they fit on the car, seeing as they’re 9” wide I’m doubtful they will but I will see. I’m going to try some 215 40 16 tyres on the alloys and if they don’t fit then they will be sold to make way for some that will as there’s no way I’m going to run stretched tyres on the car, anyway a few pics……………






The little monkey that wouldn’t budge!




The sign of things to come! 

I’ve now also managed to get the bike carbs back at mine so will try and spend as much time as I can cleaning them up in between decorating the house and other jobs I get “volunteered” to do! lol

Are you attaching the carbs with silicone hose and jubilee clips?

What about the wiring and fuel hoses, hidden or factory?

Yep gonna use silicon hoses and jubilee clips to attach the carbs to the manifold, depending on how stable they are I might also fabricate some sort of a bracket from the carbs to the engine or somewhere to help keep them from rocking about when driving, errrr, enthusiastically shall we say! lol

I did think about trying to hide the wires and hoses but then I decided that would be too much hassle so it's going to be factory but as tidy as I can make them. After getting the shell painted the wiring is the next big hurdle tbh, going to strip it all back and hopefully splice in the correct wires that I need and then tape them all back up. 

Yeah, I was wondering if the carbs would need a proper bracket, silicone hose seems a bit light in the support department, anyone else with carbs have any thoughts??

Wiring is stressing me out, no clue at all about wiring, please take loads of photos of yours, your thread is rapidly becoming my guide 

Oh god the pressures on then! lol

Wiring isn't my strongest point either tbh but I'll do my best to get it right and be as detailed as possible! 

No pressure mate, just happens that you're doing everything I'm going to do, just a damn sight faster   

Great thread. Good luck with the paint job - I bet you cant wait to get it back!

if it was me i would bust off the plastic breather and get mole grips on that bolt, way easier than drilling and tapping. those breathers all over the scrappy in mk3s these days

pazwaa said

No pressure mate, just happens that you're doing everything I'm going to do, just a damn sight faster  

Haha ah right, well the progress may slow down a little whilst I spend time cleaning parts up but my aim is to get her running by next year………

9double9 said

Great thread. Good luck with the paint job - I bet you cant wait to get it back!

Cheers mate, yeah I am a little excited, will be visiting the body shop this Thursday to sort a couple of details out so will try and get some pics of any progress that has been made since she went in

rubjonny said

if it was me i would bust off the plastic breather and get mole grips on that bolt, way easier than drilling and tapping. those breathers all over the scrappy in mk3s these days

Hmm yeah that is a good idea…….I’ve put some more WD-40 on it today to let it soak well in and will also try a little heat on it when next I get a chance to work on the block but may well try your method. As you say there should be plenty kicking about in a scrap yard or on evil-bay! Lol

Next on the list will be cleaning the bike carbs up a little in between some painting I’ve been “volunteered” to do around the house…………..