Three days later it was done.

I was a little worried that my bodywork skills may be a little sub par, but the paint bloke had very little to do other than paint it.

13 hours ago, sleag40 said:

I was a little worried that my bodywork skills may be a little sub par, but the paint bloke had very little to do other than paint it.

 

HA! the amount of time and effort you have put into that the paint bloke must have been very happy!

Absolutely stunning😎 putting that back together is going to be a please

Bit of catching up to do!

Today (August 7th) was mostly spent elsewhere, but I managed to get down the farm for a couple of hours.
I bare metalled the bumper brackets in preparation for a bit of paint, then cleaned up the plastic front end parts that will be going over to the paint bloke on Monday.

Just looking over the front end of the shell before I left,  it seemed a shame that none of this will be seen once the car is back together.

I also remembered the state of the thing once the bodge repairs were removed nearly 3 years ago.

Pottering about in the shed today (August 8th) weighing up how much cavity and underbody wax I need to buy. Several other items required for the rebuild have been put on a list to facilitate procurement. 

The parts bare metalled yesterday got treated with Hydrate 80, and were subsequently primed ready for some satin black paint.

Whilst having a rummage through the boxes of parts, I came across the VIN plate, this was duly riveted back on.

I had a quick comparison of the old and new paint before all the old stuff is gone.

Its reasonably close, most of the difference probably due to UV damage over the last 30 odd years.

Not had chance to get down the shed until today, (August 13th) so first thing on the to do list was to collect the finished doors and wings. After knocking in the door pins on the offside rear door, I remembered that that I had a hospital appointment to go to. 

 

Got a decent amount of time on this today. (August 14th)First up, I finished off tidying up a few bits and pieces - bonnet furniture.

And bonnet prop.

The rest of the hinge pins were knocked in, then the check straps were fitted, then the door switches were screwed in after the wiring was fed through the a and b pillars.

Next up, the wiring for the central locking and electric mirrors was pulled through the pillars and fed into the doors.

The headlining was glued back into the door shuts so that the body to door seals could be fitted, then the catches were fitted to the doors. Once I'd dug out the strikers, all the doors were adjusted to sit nicely as well as open and close nicely - fortunately everything appears to have landed where it all was before it came apart.

 

Not sure when I'll get back on it again, but all the rest of the door stuff will be going on next. 

Managed a couple of hours in the shed this evening. (August 16th) First up, the fixed glass aft of the c-pillar went in, closely followed by the rear door glass.

Next up, all the lock related rods, window regulators + central locking solenoids went in. I can't fit the exterior handles yet, as I need to paint them first.

Should hopefully get those handles painted and move on to the front doors later this week.

Up to date now! Grabbed another couple of hours in the shed this evening - fitted all the front door gubbins apart from locks and handles.

As is my routine, the first side takes far longer than the second one while you work out how it all goes back together (it's been a while since it came to bits!)

The door handles were attacked with some 80 grit sandpaper this evening. The flaky original paint and oxidised aluminium was cleaned back to bright shiny alloy.

Once sanded and thoroughly cleaned, they were given a coat of etch primer.

I'll sand and prime them again next time, but before I left, I though I'd plonk the wings on for a look - I'd not tried them on yet, and thought it would be rude not to.

 

I'll probably not bother fitting them properly until the engine is in to avoid the risk of damaging them.

After the door handles were rubbed and primed again, the gutter trims went back on.

I then went over and collected the rest of the painted pieces next.

 

Once they were all stashed away safely, I drove over to the Tyre Bloke's shop to get some tyres put on the shiny black wheels.

Hopefully I'll get the tailgate on and fitted up next. 

Didn't get a shot at this until late in the day, nevertheless I got a few jobs done. 

There was only one body about on the farm, and he was roped in to help me get the tailgate in position. 

Once the wiring and washer hose were threaded through (massive faff) then the wiper mech, washer jet, lock catch and central locking solenoid went in, I stopped for a look.

Next up, the spoiler went on - I should have fitted this first, as it was a little awkward to do with the wiper motor in position. 

I need to paint the lock handle/surround before I can fit it, then fit the glass before I can call the tailgate done - hopefully I'll get those jobs done in the week. 

Other stuff has been taking up most of the time in the shed recently, but the tailgate lock and handle were reunited after a bit of paint was applied yesterday. 

It was then clipped into place, meaning I can open the lid without poking a finger in the mechanism.

 

In among a mountain of chores, I got a little bit done on the car the other day.  All three wiper arms were stripped back to the metal and primed, then the door handles and locks went back in.

I didn't think I was gonna get another go at this until next weekend,  but opportunity presented itself, so I grabbed it. 

I finished up the wiper arms first.

Then gave the bulkhead cover a decent clean.

After I'd located the bag of relevant clips and fittings, it was reinstated.

This means that I can put the servo and rack back in at some point, hopefully next week. 

More time theft occurred - I gave the tail lights a bit of a spruce up.

Thought I may as well throw them on.

Then thought I may as well chuck the reg plate on too.

Should get a decent amount of time on this on the next session.   

Much fettling of small parts occupied me for most of the day today, but I did get to put the rack and brake servo back where they belong.

That paint is a superb colour, projects finally coming together

A few more bits and pieces done recently, the wiper mechanism got a good clean up and went back in.

All traces of the old sealant were removed from the hatch window.

Which allowed the glass to go back where it belongs.

Apart from the badges, the tailgate is complete.  

In between helping with a house clearance and a lot of chores, I managed to get a little more done today. The inner wings were masked up in preparation for a bit of underbody wax. 

After two liberal applications, they're ready for action.

 

More wax based goodness to follow at some point.  

Not had a pop at this for a few days, but got a few odds and sods done this yesterday.

After finding the fan warning sticker last week, I cleaned it up and reinstated it on the slam panel. I thought I'd lost this, so was most pleased to happen upon it in a box of parts.

When I put the wiper mechanism back on the other week, I'd completely forgotten about the plastic scuttle drain thing.

Miraculously after all this time, the flimsy plastic drain thing is still in good condition, and after a quick rub up was put back where its supposed to be.

Just before I had to leave, the Griffin badge and water deflector were clipped back into the grill.

I'm hoping to get the body off the dolly and up on axle stands at the weekend. Once thats done, I'll do the rest of the underside waxing and the cavity waxing so that the reassembly can continue.  

The time came for the body to part company with the dolly this afternoon. 

This left it on axle stands, but in the wrong places to be able to wax the underside. 

The front two were on the front cross member,  the rear two were on the spring seats with a piece of oak spanning the two. After a fair bit of a faff, the axle stands are now in the correct places (back where they were before it was sat on the dolly) to facilitate an underbody wax fest. 

The tape comes off easily in big sheets, as expected.   

The underside tape pretty much came off in one piece, so a bit of wax application was due.

I did the front footwell/lower bulkhead parts first.

The rear inner arches were done next, preparing me for the misery of lying on my back getting showered in wax mist.

I called it a day before doing the underside proper - I'm planning on using some old throwaway clothes when the time comes as I'll be wearing a fair amount of the wax by the time it's all covered.  

Another one of those less than pleasant jobs done this afternoon - the underside is now sporting a decent layer of wax.

I masked up the lower bodywork first to avoid having to clean any overspray off it.

A couple of hours was then spent unloading the cans of Dynax UB onto to the entire underside. 

 

 

 

 

I'll leave it to harden up a bit, then I can start putting the brake and fuel lines, tank  etc. back in.