Tims' Sud

[Kegsti66]

Excellent work Kev.
I love a freshly painted shell.

[KevJTD]

Cheers guys, another one of those small steps timewise that looks like a huge step forward

[LooLooSud33Spider]

Tims coming over to collect the tailgate Later today Kev

[KevJTD]

Shell got flatted, mopped and polished today. Hard work but necessary. Is kind of an odd thing to do, scuff up nice fresh paint but although the shine doesn't increase hugely the feel of the paint does, smooth as a babies bum

Also cleaned out the rear arches and given them a coating of the black protection, likewise the underfloor repairs. No point in doing them before now or they'd get over spray on them, easier to do now..... just be careful not to blast it on the fresh paint!

[Kegsti66]

Nice one !!
So will she be getting orange stripes like the green ones on the Sprint Tim?

[alfadave]

Its like Corrie.
You'll have to wait a couple of days for the next episode!

[rsfruitbat]

Awesome

Rsfruitbat

[Veesix75]

A big thank you to Lou for helping me out with a tailgate to go on the sud

[KevJTD]

This morning I met up with Tims Dad who had brought over the hatch over, well to be more accurate I got there 15 mins after he did, never was good at time keeping!
Good news was the tailgate kindly donated by Lou was indeed as described, pretty much perfect. Has had a bash around the badge again, what's happening with suds getting rear ended?, but the filler is there for dents, not rust so no drama. Inside clean as a whistle. Bit of butchery gone on on the inside face where an attempt to knock out the dents was down I guess but that's easily sorted.

With that done and the inspection passed by Tim senior (not great at remembering names either...) it was time to fit the suspension and get the car back on the ground.
It's always amazing how you get used to a car being at a certain height for so long then when back on its wheels it appears to have sagged to the ground, made more pronounced by the race springs in this case..

Outside the colour seemed to change, looked more creamy in the unit but in the sunlight it seemed to take on another lustre, looked great if I say so myself!

Before storing it in the big unit whilst I tackle the other panels I for the little compressor out and blasted a litre or more of waxoyl into the sill cavities. I'd left the can in the blazing sunshine for a couple of hours to warm up so it was like water, great for spraying in via the schuttz gun as my preferred method, blasts it in a good distance whilst creating a great fog, you can see it steaming out further along as it's applied. Great to see puddles coming out of the drain holes so I know it's travelled along nicely. Whilst in the big unit too it'll be sat there getting warm so it'll trickle to all corners, really should be a good few years before they need looking at, as long as it's repeated every 2 or 3 years there's no reason why they won't last another 30 years.

[KevJTD]

This afternoon I spent a couple hours getting the workshop back in order, how does it get so messy with just me working there? Guess that's down to me being a messy worker!
With space again it's time to assess how much more needs painting, as ever there's always more than you seem to think, but nothing we can't handle.

First job to assess the hatch, as I said earlier it appeared very good and aside from the aforementioned dent damage there was very little rust in sight, just a little along the bottom window edge on the inside. Just needed a clean up and treatment, not bad enough to start chopping up. With the rust treatment and being sat upside down so red oxide primer drizzled into the seam it should be fine for years to come.

Started to have a look at the bonnet later on tonight, was in primer but had some rusty sections bleeding through.
Front edge corners as usual, anywhere that can trap moisture in tight areas.

Bit of digging with the usual tools soon made a hole, it had been filled before but I decided to weld rather than fill.

[KevJTD]

The coffin shaped hole was left after grit blasting and grinding.

This needed a coffin shaped patch to be made, but in this case just to sit in the hole rather than a flush fit so the weld could be made to fill the hole.

Then just steadily fill the hole with weld, looks messy and sooty as it was burning off filler and sealant from underneath as it was tacked in.

Yes, it does look a mess but you can't make an omelette without breaking an egg they say, well you can't weld a hole without making a mess.
But you can use a grinder and sander to make it disappear

[KevJTD]

Another area of concern was around the vent near the scoop mount, very pitted and of course the take no prisoners knotted wheel took great delight in making some holes.

Very thin metal there so just plugging the holes with weld wouldn't be very successful, and being single skinned it needed to be a flush fit repair piece.

First job before you cut a big hole is to make a template then a repair patch, especially given the need for the mounting hole in the correct place and the edge of the vent needing to look correct.
Then a couple holes drilled in the corners and an air powered hacksaw to cut the bonnet..

With a patch made and held in place with the magnet it was take your time and weld it in with small plugs, again looks worse with the welds but all new metal. Note the oblong hole waiting to be drilled, easier to do that when welded to the bonnet than trying to hold a small patch down.

Of course it's important to drill said hole before grinding the welds down or you'll lose your markings!

As before a grinder or two with a sander soon make things look better

A good start to things, overall quite pleased with things so far....

[KevJTD]

Short corrie episode tonight.
Today was a day for loads of little, uninteresting repairs. The doors, hatch and bonnet I've started to prep ready for priming so nothing major just loads of sanding and grinding then cleaning, treating filling etc. Very monotonous.
About the only bit of interest I can muster was the rear hatch that had been chiselled open on the inside near the latch fitting. A few weeks ago when clearing out at home I came across a roached hatch which I think was from Harvey's car, but about the only rust free section was the piece I needed, luckily the scrap man hadn't been round to home yet, not that the Mrs sees it that way!
I cut a big section out so I could cut it down at the unit, thankfully it was more than enough to cover the gouge.

Just a case of cutting it down to suit how much of the hatch needed removing, being as careful as possible to keep in mind welding and then grinding it up again.

Once welded and cleaned a coat of red oxide will be OK until painting, although things have gone OK today so I might be priming sooner than I thought. Can't see it being tomorrow but maybe Saturday.

I've made the decision to split up the remaining things to paint into two groups so I have space to do them safely. Bonnet and hatch need painting inside and out, a pair of doors and wings take up a surprising amount of space to be able to get around them safely without fear of brushing against something wet.
The roll cage I'll do afterwards as not only is it quite bulky and being tubular it'll be a fiddle to paint but it also has 5 other beams and connector clamps to paint.
The rear side window frames I hope to be able to find space to paint them with the doors and wings. We'll see..

[alfadave]

Gail says,
its an awful lorra werk, for such a likkle car.

[KevJTD]

Gail says,
its an awful lorra werk, for such a likkle car.

Gail would be right

[KevJTD]

Last few bits primed this afternoon, Monday will be flat them and hopefully in white.
That'll just leave the cage unless I remember something else..
A handful of bits to be done in satin black but looking like the end is in sight..

[Andrew Fitton]

One of my other hobbies is collecting contemporary art from the St Ives and Newlyn schools - Jesus it’s like an artists studio there. I’ve been putting my motor back in today and I’m ashamed of my working environment in comparison.

[LooLooSud33Spider]

I like the tailgate best Btw I’ve got a spare Glass front wing if Tim wants it I should of given it to him last week but I forgot.

[Veesix75]

Kev is creating a masterpiece ..... a retro modernist take on the art of rust removal and paint application.

We’re going to hang a wing in the Tate gallery.

[rsfruitbat]

What about doing the cage the same colour as the stripes are going to be?

Brilliant work as always Kev

What's the plans for when the shell is done?

Rsfruitbat

[Andrew Fitton]

Kev is creating a masterpiece ..... a retro modernist take on the art of rust removal and paint application.

We’re going to hang a wing in the Tate gallery.

It’s a lot more relevant to my life than Emin. It’s also probably a lot better than Alfa managed first time round.

[Veesix75]

It might have to be sold Ade, I’ve got somewhere to put it for now, but I’m running out of space

[Veesix75]

Shame I can’t find suckers who bought / buy emins crap, and that other d!ck head so called artist whose name escapes me, bald obnoxious bloke, to pay ridiculous sums of money for kevs art. Main difference is kevs is quality and emins and the nob I’m referring to is junk.

[Andrew Fitton]

Shame I can’t find suckers who bought / buy emins crap, and that other d!ck head so called artist whose name escapes me, bald obnoxious bloke, to pay ridiculous sums of money for kevs art. Main difference is kevs is quality and emins and the nob I’m referring to is junk.

Damien Hirst.

The late Dame Barbara Hepworth is pretty good. In fact it was Barbara Hepworth’s studio which is now a museum I was thinking of when I saw the picture of the workshop. She did however die in a studio fire caused by a combination of gin and fags.

I should add they’ve since restored the studio!

[Veesix75]

That’s him, he must laugh himself to sleep every night.....

[rsfruitbat]

If I had the space and the money you would have a buyer....

Rsfruitbat

[KevJTD]

Nice warm day so perfect to get the panels done.
Flatted and cleaned the primer this morning then later on this afternoon the white went on.
Like walking around a maze to paint everything, making sure not only to make sure you didn't brush against a wet part but to make sure the airline behaved itself, not flicking up something or getting snagged.

The bonnet needed painting underneath as well as on top so a bit of thought needed to enable it to be done.
Answer was to string up the front edge via the hinges and use the bonnet catch pin to perch the back end on. A jack handle welded to a very sturdy lorry axle stand provided a stable pole to fit the pin into, which itself was extended by fitting an airline coupling on to it.

[KevJTD]

Now, the usual washing line for small parts to be held up for painting, only 4 to be done in white... Guesses as to what they are? Quite easy so expect it to be an easy quiz

Tomorrow ill move the parts that are safe to move, probably just have to sheet the bonnet over and leave where it is.
The roll cage with its assorted bars is next on the list plus a few bits that need to be in satin black.
Coming together nicely now

[Veesix75]

Looks super shiny in there Kev, I’m genuinely grateful for the effort you go to. That bonnet pic makes it look very curved at the front.

[KevJTD]

I could joke and say it's curved from where I dropped it Tim, but that'd be tempting fate