390 replies to this topic

[Retro_10s]

Just caught up on this one, those metro door handles look great! Enjoying seeing all the little touches and fettling you're doing to get them working.

[stuart bowes]

ta very much :) the doors are one of those things I'm sort of regretting starting now because of how much work is involved but I'm getting near the end of it now and I still like the subtle difference it will give, nice little mod but not overstated (IMO)

 

the main thing is I really don't like chrome fittings and the original handles just give it a really dated look for me, the earlier ones fine but this is an 80's car

[stuart bowes]

next job picked pretty much at random, sort out the blower unit

 

looked a bit sorry for itself sitting in the shed

 

 

 

tested motor and switch, both good

 

pulled it apart and checked the heater matrix, that actually flushed out clean straight away so I'm guessing was replaced not long before being SORN'd

 

 

gave it all a good wash and wirebrushing, hammerited the insides to try and prevent any future rusting (or limit it, anyway)

 

 

Reassembly - used sealant around the inside edge of the side panels before fitting, just trying to minimise air leakage where it shouldn't be escaping

 

 

same on the other side as well, cleaned that up where it squelched out of the join with rag and some white spirit

 

some new foam added as well, forgot to take a picture of that, but anyway here it is reassembled, looking 10 times better already, masked up ready to paint outside

 

 

Sprayed outside and put some new grommets on for the wires

 

 

 

 

found a new stick on label for the front on ebay, and 3d printed a little handle, designed it to be sort of reminiscent of the earlier up/down style lever.  little white squares for nice easy visibility

 

also some larger open grommets fitted over the pipe connections nicely, just thought it looked at bit nicer than seeing the edges of the holes 

 

 

 

and that's done, stored with all the other refurbed parts ready for later 

 

that pile is getting quite large now, at least when it comes to putting everything back together though it's all quick and easy (at least that's the idea)

Edited by stuart bowes, 17 July 2024 - 05:18 PM.

[colinf1]

Another part ticked off the list! Looks great, just missing the smiths black and green sticker on the side of it...

I done the same with the sealant, and new foam on the flapper, but it doesn't really direct air anywhere!

[Retro_10s]

Great work on the heater, I did the same job with the new foam etc on mine last year. Considering a new matrix possibly.

Love the little doofer you made for the lever!

[stuart bowes]

quickly sorting out the A panel to wing reinforcement before cleaning up and stonechipping, all fairly basic stuff

 

fold a piece and expand one edge to get the curve

 

 

confirm fit

 

 

 

paint inner sides to give some sort of corrosion prevention (even though some will obviously burn away)

 

 

 

clamp in, clean out the plug positions with a little screwdriver, weld in

 

 

clean up paint around outside, temporary primer just for now to see how it looks

 

 

 

yep. that'll do

 

now I can get the big angry wire brush grinder attachment out and clean out the whole inner wing

Edited by stuart bowes, 24 July 2024 - 08:32 PM.

[stuart bowes]

wirebrushed to metal front inner wing, nothing more than surface rust in a few places but kurusted anyway just in case

 

 

etch prime (that light patch under the radiator grille is actually a beam of sunlight, it's all primed)

 

 

then seam sealer and stone chip both arches this side, plus outer sill

 

 

using this stuff

 

 

which I put on with a brush fairly liberally, goes on a bit like PVA glue, took a few coats, best part of a 1ltr bottle to do one side (fortunately had ordered 2)

 

bit of a tidy up around the edges and will actually see the first application of body coloured paint soon!

 

then I have to turn it over and do all the same again on the other side

 

then engine bay, pipes and battery cable, get back down and fit subframes, definitely feels like progress now

Edited by stuart bowes, 27 July 2024 - 08:26 PM.

[Retro_10s]

I've been hoping someone would try gravitex with a brush so that I can see if it's possible. Looks absolutely fine to me!!!

[stuart bowes]

Yeah it's totally possible, it's a bit gloopy and as it settles if you go over the same patch again it kinda drags away. So you have to sort of stipple it on a bit sometimes. And it'll take a few coats before you get a really good coverage

Use a mask though it absolutely stinks and has the hazardous to health chip logo on it

Takes a good 24hrs to really harden but in the current weather I could get onto the next coat within 5-6 hours or so

Edited by stuart bowes, 28 July 2024 - 03:13 PM.

[stuart bowes]

Starting to run out of parts to refurb now.. took a look at the starter motor

 

definitely not in the freshest of conditions but nothing actually damaged as such, teeth all good, no looseness in the shaft

 

 

armature, stator, commutator, all fine really just needed a good clean out with electrical contact cleaner.. most of the muck just came out under the force of the spray but a clean cloth and some elbow grease finished that off easily

 

 

the bushes were fine just needed a careful filing of the edges, springs all fine as well

 

 

cleaned all the parts, reassembled and tested, motor spins nicely and solenoid acts as it should

 

disassembled again and sprayed parts, buffed up the bare metal as best I could without being too anal-retentive, reassembled with a dab of grease in the end bearings, cleaned all the terminals

 

 

it's not a perfect paint job but it's about 300% better than when I started, that will do nicely

Edited by stuart bowes, 19 August 2024 - 11:15 AM.

[Designer]

Hi Stuart,

 

I would say that was perfect considering its original state, well done, I wish ours looked as good as that.

 

Paddy

[stuart bowes]

been on holiday and then ill for a few days so had to try and do something to make a bit of progress this weekend

 

dragged out the carbs just for something to do, a reminder of how they looked when they arrived in the box

 

 

ordered the kit and started the strip down and clean up

 

 

cleaned up the linkages and spacers as well

 

 

 

all clean and mostly reassembled

 

 

just trying to fettle them and centre jets so the pistons drop nicely every time, it's a bit back and forth

 

the carb rebuild kit is a bit minimal isn't it, you'd think they would at least chuck in new springs and small fixings so you don't have to spend hours wire brushing miniature parts.  but anyway

 

the spindle shafts were a bit worn so I've ordered new ones of those as well, I found ones with pre-fitted O rings which promise a better seal and hopefully avoid the need to have the bores drilled / resleeved / reamed, lets see if that actually works or not.  to be honest the bores seem ok it does look like mostly the shafts that took the beating

 

not sure about using that inlet manifold at present, far as I can tell it came off a Sprite ?  if anyone can confirm clearance for fitting in a mini engine bay that would be nice.  I cleaned it up anyway for now because I was there and had all the tools out

 

my dad also recently bought a sonic cleaning tank so that was part of the reason I thought I'd give all this a go, nice to know it should all be nice and clean inside and out

 

the heat shield needed a good clean up as well

 

 

I finished that off, tidied that little weld, plastered the whole thing with kurust and and sprayed with 600deg stove paint in matt silver.  didn't bother getting a perfect finish or anything just made the best of it.  new ones are shockingly expensive! I did consider making a new one but couldn't be bothered to be honest, it'll do the job perfectly well

Edited by stuart bowes, 27 August 2024 - 09:43 AM.

[stuart bowes]

minor update really just to show off the shiny bits

 

carbs finished:

 

 

 

both pistons drop and 'clunk' nicely at what seems to be the same rate, lift with what seems to be the same amount of effort, chokes move nice and freely, and linkages seem to be correctly aligned for equal movement at each side but obviously can be tweaked later anyway

 

new O-ring type spindles were a very snug fit, actually I think just new spindles themselves would have been fine, but there we are, once in and turned a couple of times they seemed to seat nicely and turn freely with absolutely zero play 

 

needles are the ones that came with them which I think are for a 1098 (I have the right crank for that and it's the most likely option at this point) but I also have a pair of needles for a 998 if we keep it original.. and obviously others can be obtained 

 

the piston springs will more than likely be swapped out (for reds, I think? but will look into that properly later when it comes to it)

 

for now they're just safely in storage with the spare parts cable tied to them as you can see

 

I might do a finer grade of wet'n'dry on those dash pots and another buffing to get rid of the horizontal marks but that's just tinkering for later, this is never going to be concourse anyway

 

total cost, £50 for the pair on ebay and £150 in rebuilt kit and parts, £200 all in.  compared to buying a refurbed pair which seem to sell for anything from £400-700 depending where you look

Edited by stuart bowes, 03 September 2024 - 07:56 PM.

[Designer]

Impressive

[stuart bowes]

lol cheers 

 

it was more time consuming than anything else really, just a bit of attention to detail and then a little puzzle to work out where all the bits went especially the little levers on the side

 

the choke spring nearest the body was the only bit where some creative swearing was required 

Edited by stuart bowes, 03 September 2024 - 04:30 PM.