Woke up somewhat early to start tidying the garage and making space for the rolling shell to be delivered later in the day. Btw – Brian (the guy I’m buying the car off, and will be annoying over the coming months) is even delivering the car to me, and is going to be such a godsend over the coming months as Steve and I work on the project…
So anyway, about halfway through clearing the garage, Bri calls to say he has the trailer for the car, and I should pop over. So I jump in my FD and tootle on over to Bri’s to help whack it on the trailer (my FD that is sulking and choosing to destroy the gearbox just as I’m starting a new proj. Selfish bitch… *sigh*). We roll it onto the trailer, and mooch on over to Guildford where the car will never leave in the state it is now…
So the first task is to find out what it is that Steve and I have got to play with… This involves stripping the interior and exterior, and seeing what we need to do to get a shell that is clean, tidy and a good basis for the work ahead. So today was spent cleaning and stripping the interior first… Starting at the back of the car, the boot trim has been removed, the boot panels are out, rear seats (REAR SEATS??? WTF?) are out, the rear carpets are out, seats are out, and all is looking good…
The car is incredibly tidy for its age and treatment. All that seems to need doing so far is the front of the rear arches and the front sills need welding, and there are areas of the body that need to be treated for tinworm...
BUT as a project, this is fabulous – it is such a clean car, and the basics are in terrific condition… This is going to be cool. Am worried about the engine, electrics and stuff, but I’m sure this will all come together in a fabulous car that we’ll be proud to own…
Yesterday was stripping the interior. Today is taking the exterior apart…
So the Spoiler is gone, the old exhaust is off, the side trim is gone, and all is looking good… As part of the spoiler removal, the mounting holes have been filled, sanded and primer’d. Although the filler is not in a final-coat quality, it had to be primer’d to protect the bare metal exposed as part of the sanding and filling that went on. And I am dead chuffed with the result. Doing the bodywork is one of the things I’m most worried about – I simply may not have the patience to do a good job. But all things going well, I’ll learn as time goes on, and we’ll end up with a good quality finish on the car, and it won’t look ‘fungal’!! *grin*
Brilliant surprise today – the side trim is simply STUCK ON! No holes to fill, no bodywork bent, just simple sanding and painting. RESULT! As part of the work, the windows have been cleaned properly, and along with most of the car, they are in amazing condition…. If we don’t find any other body issues to deal with, we have been so lucky with the car… Am still excited about the proj… now a week at work not able to play with it. Sucks…