Next Steps

Whilst the body is away its time to start planning the refurbishment of the interior and suspension.

Interior

The rear seats are in pretty good condition and should't need too much doing to the. The front passenger seat is pretty good too but as always the drivers seat has taken a beating over the years. The leather is worn, the bolsters are flat and the fabric is torn. Im hoping to find an interior genius to bring this back to life.

Suspension

The front and rear suspension has been removed as whole assemblies so time to do some research into the best way for refurbishing these units - IM guessing there's a supplier out there that specialises in this and it might simply be a case of sending it away, maybe even service exchange, but time will tell.

I plan to fully refurb or replace all main suspension components with subtle upgrades that will improve handling without detracting from the originality of the car too much.

Final Strip

Build Day 7

Today we completed the strip down. The original plan was to acid dip or sandblast the body but this seems excessive given the generally good condition of the body, with the exception of the repairs required to the O/S rear quarter only necessary due to a poor previous repair. With this in mind we decided not to fully remove the dash nor the headlining as these are notoriously difficult to refit.

So the last little bits of trim, door latches and the like were removed and the engine bay stripped back as far as possible without fully removing the loom. Once the car has been sprayed, the loom will be tested for continuity (it worked when we started the strip down so should still work) and then the outer conduit will all be replaced making it look like new - well thats the plan!)

We did a bit of rubbing down and fortunately most of the rust spots found were surface rust only. There is a little bit in the boot that will require a small repair which will be done when the rear quarter is attended to.

Hoping to get the tub over to Stuart at Carsmetic early in September for him to start work on the bodywork.

Ready to be sent to the body shop for repairs and paint

Further Strip Down

Build Day 6 (continued)

Today was a good day and a lot of progress was made. With the front suspension out much easier than anticipated we decided to crack on with removing some other bits and pieces.

1. Front wiper motor assembly 

Front wiper motor assembly

Front wiper motor assembly removed

2. Fuel Tank

Electrical connections disconnected

Fuel Tank removed

3. Brake Servo and Master Cylinder

Brake servo and master cylinder removed

4. Heater Matrix Hoses and Connections

5. Rear Wiper Motor Assembly

6. Gear Shift and Linkage

So at the end of build day 6, the engine bay looks like this...

End build day 6

And the interior looks like this...

Interior at end build day 6

Front Suspension Removal

Build Day 7

Having had the engine assessment back, it seems like a good idea to fully remove the front suspension and replace/refurbish as necessary.

The first step is to disconnect the gear selector mechanism which attached to the cross member.

Gear shift selector connection

With this detached the column has to be disconnected from the steering rack.

Steering column/rack connection

The font suspension is fixed to the body via four mounting bolts. Two at the front and two at the rear. While supporting the suspension with a Jack these bolts are undone and the whole assembly is then lowered and removed.

Fornt suspension is held in place with four mounting bolts

The whole assembly is removed in one piece

Engine Removal (4)

Build Day 6

My friend Chris Morgan came over in June to help get the engine out and to take it to his workshop for stripping and inspecting. Unfortunately I forgot to bring my camera with me so I don't have any photos of the engine being removed.

Chris has now stripped down the engine and apart from the crack in the block it isn't in bad nick. The crack is repairable as it hasn't gone all the way through which is encouraging and has helped me make the decision that the car the car will be restored as modified concours (or reasonably close to that aim - costs, availability of part and ability will dictate how close we get) now rather than as a track car with a new lump.

Below are some of the images of the stripped engine.

Valves

Piston Bores

Camshaft

Block stripped

Piston and Crankshaft

Waiting for Chris to come back with a re-build plan and cost now - in the meantime its back to stripping down the rest of the car.

Next Steps

The local glass repairers came on Friday to remove the front and rear screens. The rear is in fine condition as is the front seal so these will be kept for re-fitting. The front screen is beyond repair so will be replaced.

With the strip down all but complete (just the engine to be removed on Tuesday) I thought it would be sensible to make a list of the next steps/considerations that will determine how the re-build will take shape.

Next Steps:-

1. Remove engine and await engineer's report on condition and rebuild viability.

I am hoping that the engine is salvageable - it has a cracked block but hopefully this can be repaired. Assuming it can be repaired, I intend to go for a rebuild to include as many performance enhancements as possible without losing the original 'look and feel' as my plan is for a completed car that can be described as 'modified concours'. 

If the engine is FUBAR (f**ked up beyond all repair) then the rebuild will take a different path. It will then become a track car of some description. At this stage, Im still thinking to go for a full body restore but fully stripped back interior with roll cage etc.

2. Fully assess body for damage and identify welding requirements. 

The car has had a poor previous repair to the right rear quarter panel. This has been replaced badly and has caused some rusting where it joins to the sill and under the rear window. It may be better to replace this with a new panel.

The front seat support bar will also need some repairs.

Other than that the body doesn't look too bad on first inspection. Hopefully nothing significant will transpire but either way nothing will be done until we know the fate of the engine.

3.  Depending upon the results of points 1 and 2 the seats will need to be assessed for their repairability.

The drivers seats is a mess with worn side supports and badly ripped fabric. The others don't look too bad so it will be interesting what the experts can do with them - I will be going to see the Graham at Intertrim in Telford (the guy who build my Cobra Seats) for his opinion. Finding a set of good condition second hand seats will be like finding fairy dust!!!

4. Body Preparation for Painting

Will need to make a decision on what to do in terms of body prep - sand blast, acid dip or manually rub down. Again this will depend on what can be done with the engine and also the seats. If both of those issues can be resolved then I want a really good quality re-spray which will mean some kind of bare metal prep.

Rear Suspension Removal

Build Day 5

The last major task in the strip down is the removal of the rear suspension assembly. This should be a relatively straightforward exercise as it should all come away as a single unit once the brake hoses and various supporting brackets are removed. The difficultly was likely to be that the nuts and bolts wouldn't budge.

For once though lady luck was on our side and everything came away without too much bother.

Rear Suspension assembly in-situ

The picture below shows a close up of the near side rear shock absorber and how it fits into the rear suspension assembly. We're not going to take this out as it will come away with the whole assembly.

N/S Shock Absorber fitted to suspension assembly

The whole rear suspension assembly is removed which will be refurbish/replaced later.

Rear Suspension assembly removed as a single unit

 And here are a couple of photos of the underside of the car with the suspension assembly removed.

Rear Suspension assembly - gone!

Rear Suspension assembly - gone!

A job left over from last time was to remove the front side windows and associated trim and winder mechanisms. This was a bit fiddly but managed to get it all out in the end. The local glass replacement guys are coming in the week to remove the front and rear screens and my mate Chris is coming on Tuesday with his engine hoist so that too will be out and away for assessment and re-build.

Door glass and winder mechanisms removed

Something that amused us when stripping the exterior body trim off was the little note a previous repairer had left behind - the photo below says it all...

'I Waz Ere 6-6' Shame the year has rubbed off but whoever it was did a pretty shabby job - look at that paintwork!

Interior Strip

Build Day 4

Having done as much as possible on stripping the engine bay ready for the engine to be removed (waiting for my mate Chris to bring his hoist round) it was time to turn our attentions to the interior.

We had already removed the front seats a week or two ago so there was a little bit of space to start working with. At this point we weren't sure whether or not we would be taking the dash and loom out so the focus was on rear seats, safety belts, glass, trim panels and the like.

Front seats removed

Rear seats about to be removed

Rear Seats removed - backrests and safety belts next

With the seats out next up was the boot area. So, boot carpet, side trims, rear wash/wipe, latches, etc

Inertia Reel Mounting Point

Near Side Rear Interior

Off Side Rear Interior (wash/wipe already removed - see hoses)

With the seats and lower dash removed, we were horrified to see how the front seat support bar had been badly repaired by a previous owner using a piece of wood!! This will need a proper repair doing when the rest of the welding is sorted.

Note the previous owners attempt at repairing the damage seat support bracket with wood!!

The only items still to be removed from the interior now are the dash, the windscreen, rear screen and front side glass. Will have a look at the side glass next time as it might take a while and probably getting our local glass replacement guy in to remove front and rear screens. The front will need replacing but the seal looks to be in good condition so don't want to damage it doing it ourselves. The rear screen is fine and can be reused.

Interior Stripped

With a little bit of time remaining, we set about removing the rear brake callipers and having a look at what would be involved in taking out the rear suspension.

Rear brake calliper removed

Work in Progress - end of build day 4

Engine Removal (3)

Build Day 3

Had a few free hours after work this evening so decided to crack on with removing the engine. The plan being to have everything that needed removing removed so that the engine could come out as soon as the hoist (that I am borrowing) becomes available.

Decided to remove the alternator and fuel filter and associated electrics first.

Alternator

Main Engine Loom

The road wheels needed removing next to get to the suspension struts and drive shafts which need to be disconnected. The N/S wheel came off fine but the O/S wheel has a rusty locking wheel nut on there which wouldn't budge and I don't have a key for it - will need to have a look at this next time. Once the N/S wheel was off the drive shaft was disconnected.

Front Suspension and Driveshaft

As the O/S wheel was proving to be a pain, I thought I would take the front bumper off next as this should be straightforward but... you guessed it - this was corroded on too and will need cutting off. At least I was able to remove the horn, the front fogs and the front valance.

Front Fog Lamp - will need to be replaced

With the valance off, I then removed the remaining body side mouldings before calling it a night.

Bodyside trim removed

End of Build Day 3

End of Build Day 3

Engine Removal (2)

Build Day 2

The plan is to get the engine out and have it assessed before doing anything else.

So, day 2 of dismantling was all about removing the inlet and exhaust manifolds and a few other anciliary bits and bobs such as the distributor, fuel and cooling system hoses and associated electrical connections.

I am taking lots and lots of photographs in the hope that the re-build process will be greatly simplified using these as templates.

The radiator was removed previously, but I hadn't had a good look at it until tonight. As you can see form the photograph it is totally knackered and will need replacing.

Radiator Removed - How did this car even run?

Earth straps are fitted to both suspension struts

 The previous owner has obviously undertaken some work to the car previously and has marked on the distributor body the rough timing position. This again will be useful on reassembly.

 Timing marks on Distributor Body

Plug lead carrier

Hose Between Fuel Rail and Filter Canister 

The exhaust manifold was removed, which required the one bolt securing it to the front section of the exhaust to be cut off with the Dremel. Soemthing else that will need replacing as there is a huge crack running around the whole of the one branch - its that bad I'm surprised it didn't fall in two when it was removed.

Cracked Exhaust Manifold

Gear Linkage

Well a second evening has passed and a bit more progress has been made and overall Im pretty pleased with the work so far. The picture blow shows the engine bay with the Inlet and Exhaust manifold removed along with various other ancillary bits and pieces.

Inlet and Exhaust Manifolds and Various Associated Parts Removed

Even though I was adamant I wouldn't get sidetracked in taking out the engine, I couldn't resist removing the damaged trim section on the off side rear...

Couldn't resist removing a bit of broken trim!

Bizzarrly, when I got back home my TiVo box had recorded an old episode of Wheeler Dealers. Guess what they were restoring in that particular episode... yep a 205GTi - spooky!!!