VIN 4566 Restoration

[Nick H]

That looks superb Dan.

[Dan Willis]

[quote pid='48011' dateline='1506118959']
You can't powder coat an e-coat.  You have to paint it.
[/quote]

Interesting; didn't know that. I've decided to hand paint it in POR-15 anyway; it's another level of protection (it doesn't really need) and will be close enough to the original colour. It also drys more like the epoxy finish too. Should be sufficient.

[Dan Willis]

Hi all; long time, no update.. 

10 weeks ago my wife and I welcomed our first daughter (and only, I might add). With the run up to that being costly, and my wife being off work, I had to reallocate funds from the car, to food/mortgage/electricity. Such is life!

In any case, work stalled as it was (literally) the bottom of the priority pile. It still is, unsurprisingly.

That said, it hasn't been entirely stalled.

Firstly, I've been collating parts and working out what I can use. Or not. I'm still unconvinced the engine is worth saving, but for now it's in storage whilst I work out what to do with it.
I bought various running parts; brakes, suspension, etc - but some of that will be returned or sold off as I intend to uprate them.
The frame has been painted as well. It was already e-coated, as you know, but I've added a couple of coats of rustoleum. I did a fair bit of research and the colour is pretty close (or as close as paint can be to 40 year old epoxy).

Here are a couple of pictures:







They look a little blue in pictures, but not in person (the final pic is closer and far more grey).

And the engine, awaiting a fate or three:


At the moment I'm researching ideas; the car, given her state, is a blank canvas and much of what I could fit, I don't want to - age and general fatigue put me off. So, well... more on that when I'm sure of my path.

[Chris Williams]

First, congratulations........things will never be the same again!
Frame looks great, at least you have a solid start now for however you go.
Chris

[Dan Willis]

Thanks Claire; they're already changed forever! It's amazing how much free time I have, but I don't, because Baby.

Yep; lots to think about. Lots of research going on too on engines, gearboxes, hoses, pipes.. you name it.

[Rissy]

Yeah, nice one Claire. :-p

Dan. Good job as always. Jealous you're getting on with such a great job. At least i now have mine with me, and my own garage. Time to piecemeal through some niggles which have been in place for 3yrs. Then on to some continued improvement, and maybe down the road i'll be following your progress in a similar fashion. Unless baby. :-D

[Chris Williams]

Quote:Yeah, nice one Claire. :-p

Told you before, only at the weekend, lol
Chris

[Guinney1971]

Congrats on the new arrival Dan, hopefully she'll be a complete petrol head like my 2 girls have become

Chassis looks great, hopefully I'll have #2292 looking as good as that whenever we get the time/money to
start on it.

[Dan Willis]

After getting a sudden update on Claire's car, and realising I'd forgetten this forum still existed, I figured "hey, I'll do an update!".

In reality the following two years has been:

1. A new arrival, Ava. She's 2 now, nearly 2 and a half. Who knew I'd rather spend time with my daughter than working on a car?
2. 15 months of a sewage pipe getting overwhelmed everytime it rained, and that long for the water company to find and fix the issue, meaning my garage flooded regularly. Nothing got damaged, but it meant very little garage time for me.
3. An undiagnosed back problem, and a potentially trapped nerve in my neck, and that requires no further description

And that's that really. The car was way down the list of priorities, but, things are changing. 

First up, work did happen, just not worth reporting on. I cleaned up various parts, cataloged some I knew I could refurbish, whilst worrying about parts I wouldn't trust.

So the frame looks a bit like:

Frame and suspension by Dan Willis, on Flickr

Parts laid out, fittings tested and things like the rear strut are now painted black and cleaned up. 

The suspension for the most has been replaced, from:

Frame and suspension by Dan Willis, on Flickr
Frame and suspension by Dan Willis, on Flickr

To:

20200715_170252 by Dan Willis, on Flickr
20200715_170321 by Dan Willis, on Flickr

And the nicest part, and most expensive:

20200715_170007 by Dan Willis, on Flickr

My next big job is to get this all fitted, alongside the new steering rack, coils and whatnot, even if just hand tight to get the chassis rolling. Then on to new water pipes, getting the fuel lines cleaned and back on the frame and then deciding what to tackle next. See you in a bit... hopefully not two years!

[Chris Williams]

Quote:And the nicest part, and most expensive:

20200715_170007 

Ouchh, now they are expensive, do you mind if I ask why you went down this route rather than refurb your existing arms? Do it once do it right kinda thing?

[Dan Willis]

A little of A, a little of B. The original design has always bothered me and I've the opportunity to fix things as I rebuild. This is an obvious win, and my old ones were knackered!

[Chris Williams]

Quote:This is an obvious win, and my old ones were knackered

Fair enough, I know John C bought the ones from DPI and he's pleased with them. Do you mind if I ask did you trade your old ones in? or are you interested in selling them?
Chris

[Dan Willis]

They went is as core exchange; I think I sent them at the beginning of the year, then the world ended, so my update is particularly late as DGo was completely at the mercy of shipping and lockdown.

[Dan Willis]

A tiny update for you; I took up an offer to get some work done on the car. I've spent more time and money than I'd care to mention on my back problems, so spannering has been firmly off the table.

The chassis is now rebuilt, and so is the original engine. I will upload pics when it's mated back up and running (which could be in the next couple of weeks, weather allowing). There's quite a story here, and "by god", I've spent money, but as the saying goes "in for a penny". Long story short, the engine block is original. Um... yeah. That's about it.

Unfortunately it won't progress beyond that for some time; it'll be MOT ready if it had bumpers, lights or an interior, but I cannot afford to continue until I've paid off this "bit", but it's basically brand new under the scabby skin (and if anyone wants to see the costs, I am happy to share when complete).

[Guinney1971]

Great to see this progressing, and I can sympathise on the back, I've got osteoarthritis from my neck
to my feet, and everything hurts, creaks, or feels like its about to let go at any moment.