137 replies to this topic

[Mito]

This weekends jobs were painting the inside of the panels, which I haven't taken any photos of yet.

 

Then got onto putting the seam strips on, applying a bit of sealant to the tops of them, and then on went a good few coats of base and clear 

 

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It needs a flat and polish but I'll leave that until the car is mostly assembled, in case it gets scratched during assembly.

 

Just the outside of the panels and the roof to do now.

[KTS]

nice work !

[Mito]

Today I built a trolley for the car and put it on it so that I can move it to one side while the panels are painted, etc.

 

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It has four wheels again!

 

I also made a start on the re-assembling it.

 

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It may not be much but it's a start!

[Mito]

I made a little bit more progress today painting some of the panels.

 

I started by giving the inside of the two doors another coat as I got some heavy runs at the bottom of them last time.

 

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Then it was time to put some base and clear on the boot and bonnet.

 

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I also put a good coat of base and clear on the door hinges and the boot hinges, so that I can start putting the panels back on as soon as they are painting (once they've dried of course).

 

I'm fairly happy with the results but didn't quite get everything done, as I wanted to get the doors finished as well. Oh well, they'll have to wait until next weekend.

 

On the plus side, the missus has suggested going to York the weekend after next to pick up the new rear subframe :) It will involve Christmas shopping but I think I can live with that.

[Mito]

Today, I finished off painting the doors.

 

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Close up

 

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Everything that should be red is now red. The next job will be putting the doors back on the car and painting the roof pearlescent white.

 

Then it will be inventory time to see what parts I need for the rebuild!

[Mito]

This weekends job was putting the doors back on and giving the garage a good tidy.

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It's starting to look like a car again

[Mito]

This weekend I picked up the majority of the components required to rebuild the subframes and brakes, plus a few other parts.

 

Steering rack loosely fitted.

 

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Boot lid seal fitted, just a slight trim required to finish off.

 

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[Mito]

We finished painting the shell yesterday by painting the roof in fiat 500 pearlescent white.

 

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There is just the bonnet that requires painting now, but this is going to wait until spring.

 

[Mito]

All of the suspension components, barring the rear trumpets, rear hubs (need a puller), and front upper arms have now been fully stripped ready for shot blasting and powder coating

 

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I decided that it would also be prudent to split the brake callipers and  refurbish them properly. I've come this far, no point stopping now.

 

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Definitely going to require some new backplates.

 

The front bearings, are also going to be changed. So I've removed these from both stub axles. I did however note that on one side, the circlip was missing. Not sure what the end result of this could be, but I'd rather not find out.

 

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Stripping down the front stub axle with an air impact wrench was a revelation. I had one or two bolts that were stuck, but hammering on an impact socket and using the impact wrench on them again was pretty much a doddle compared to what I've had to do before to remove stubborn/rounded bolts..

 

The rear trumpets have the remnants of the metal insert from the donut stuck to them and I'm struggling to remove the shock absorber pin from the front upper arms. I'll have to wait until after christmas to sort these as I'm not allowed to use my new blow torch, christmas present, until after then.

 

After being off the road since 2017, and starting this restore, I think I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Still a way to go, but at least now I'm not far off the point whereby I'm just bolting parts on the car, which I'm much more familiar with!

Edited by Mito, 21 December 2021 - 04:57 PM.

[Mito]

With the help of a blow torch, some wd-40, an air impact wrench, ALOT of hammering, and whacking the side of my knuckle, I managed to remove the shock absorber bolt from one of the front upper suspension arms.

 

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I've stripped two drive shafts ready to be sent off for powder coating but so far I've been unable to fully strip the original driveshaft. I'll have another go at it next week but the pot joint side is proving to be a real pita to remove.

 

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The next pin to try and remove the other upper suspension arm.

 

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I've left the upper suspension arm and the drive shaft with some wd-40 penetration oil on them in the hopes that it will make it easier to remove them next weekend. Once these are disassembled, they'll be off to the powder coaters.

[colinf1]

No amount of heat, wd40 or a even a 50ton hydraulic press would budge one of my top arm bolts, so I drilled a small pilot hole then increased it up but don't go as big as the actual bolt, maybe 1mm or 2mm smaller, then use a punch to drift it out. Your allowing the bolt to deform inwards rather than forcing it all through the hole.

Edited by colinf1, 10 January 2022 - 09:48 PM.

[Mito]

No amount of heat, wd40 or a even a 50ton hydraulic press would budge one of my top arm bolts, so I drilled a small pilot hole then increased it up but don't go as big as the actual bolt, maybe 1mm or 2mm smaller, then use a punch to drift it out. Your allowing the bolt to deform inwards rather than forcing it all through the hole.

I think I might end up having to take this route but without a pillar drill I'm worried I might not keep it Central and will drill into the upper arm

[colinf1]

I done it with a cordless drill, you just have to try to keep it as straight as possible.

 

The bolt is 3/8" (9.5mm) so even a 8mm drill will give you 0.75mm clearance. I think the punch I used was almost the same size as the stuck bolt, plus you have to make sure its firmly held in vise, to get the maximum impact from the punch.

[Mito]

I done it with a cordless drill, you just have to try to keep it as straight as possible.

The bolt is 3/8" (9.5mm) so even a 8mm drill will give you 0.75mm clearance. I think the punch I used was almost the same size as the stuck bolt, plus you have to make sure its firmly held in vise, to get the maximum impact from the punch.

so, I gave it a go and managed to drill the bolt out. The only thing is, I didn't get it as Central as I thought I had and now have an oval shaped hole through the upper arm.

I'll put a picture up later but does this effectively mean it's now scrap?

Edited by Mito, 16 January 2022 - 01:58 PM.

[colinf1]

A picture would be good with a new pin/bolt in it to see how oval it is.

If you think of what that pin does, the shock absorber can pivot on the outer side of the pin and more than likely the inner side is fastened tight and doesn't rotate at all.

The only other option is to drill it oversized and press in a sleeve but this would need to be done on a pillar drill with it centered and held firmly.