Mk1b restoration... its alive..and painted!!

[jon_st205]

Just check it's not something daft like the king lead having partially come out either the dizzy cap or coil - sometimes they are not fully inserted and the spark just arcs out. The clip-style leads of the later 3S's are much better in this regard.

Cheers,
Jon

[boondougal]

well i got spark but #4 was virtually non existent and tbh the leads have seen better days.

The other 3 were sparking but i'm not convinced it was "strong"

I fitted a new rotor arm but the contacts in the cap look very worn so i think i am going to replace the cap and leads

missed the local factors around here for early sat closing so it will have to wait until monday...

Very frustrating.

[Lauren]

If you've got stock leads, I'd hold back on replacing them. Try dizzy cap and rotor arm as it's unlikely to be an issue with the leads.

[boondougal]

guess what i started today!

Definitely a Dizzy / HT lead issue...

[boondougal]

well i got the car timed up today and left it running for about an hour while i tidied the garage..

Sad to say the car is smoking a fair bit again, not like before but its not good.

I have decided to get the car preped for paint and worry about this once it starts to come back together and i can get the engine ran in.

[Lauren]

Sort of good news.

Pity about the smoking though as it shouldn't be doing that.

[elbon50]

Sort of good news.

Pity about the smoking though as it shouldn't be doing that.

that engine isn't old enough to smoke yet

Tut tut

[boondougal]

well i have been doing bits and pieces but as work is picking up a little i have had less time to work on her..

I have started stripping it back down for paint and while taking the engine cover off i noticed a little bit of rust below the rear window...

well after a little prodding i decided to remove the glass and this is what i found



Glad i found it now!

i think the coming week will see first pass high build primer going onto some bodywork!

[PW@Woodsport]

Keep plugging away at it Sam

[pk_090]

Glad it's now sorted Sam! How does it run off idle?
Alex

[pk_090]

Glad it's now sorted Sam! How does it run off idle?
Alex

[boondougal]

Glad it's now sorted Sam! How does it run off idle?
Alex

All seems fine at the moment, still smoking a lot though but am hoping this will clear itself.

[pk_090]

mine stopped smoking after about 20 miles of driving. Also there was a bung in my inlet manifold which was not blocked, which Lessened the smoke.
Alex

[boondougal]

i'm going to go over everything again once i have put down the paint, plus when i was trying to get it started i put alot of easy start into the manifold so it could just be that burning off.

The best thing will be trying to get it through an MOT then getting some miles on it to get the engine properly bedded in.

All panels are off: Bonnet, wings, nose, Style auto front bumper all 95% prep'd for primer:

Doors, rear bumper, light covers, boot, engine lid all 70% done

Rest of the shell needs quite a few hours..

Still probably a good 10 hours before i get the paint gun out.

[elbon50]

i'm going to go over everything again once i have put down the paint, plus when i was trying to get it started i put alot of easy start into the manifold so it could just be that burning off.

The best thing will be trying to get it through an MOT then getting some miles on it to get the engine properly bedded in.

All panels are off: Bonnet, wings, nose, Style auto front bumper all 95% prep'd for primer:

Doors, rear bumper, light covers, boot, engine lid all 70% done

Rest of the shell needs quite a few hours..

Still probably a good 10 hours before i get the paint gun out.

Keep going at it Sam

You're making amazing progress

Will you be painting it Cadbury purple

[boondougal]

Will you be painting it Cadbury purple

.... looks great.... but not for me i'm afraid.

As you can tell from my build i'm a purist so will be keeping it mica blue... hehe

Nothing to do with that being the colour it was before and therefore easier to do.... I would have done the micra red if i had been inclined to do a full colour swap. Love that colour

[boondougal]

Nothing drastic to show, just plenty of hours filling and sanding, main body of the car is ready for the first primer coat, plus this lot.



I have work left on the front and rear bumpers then I'll be breaking out the gun!

I even started getting insurance quotes today!!!!!!

[boondougal]

Got the extraction sorted today!!



Mazda 6 fan

[boondougal]

Painting started!



First time I have ever used a spray gun... Defo not as easy as it looks!!

[boondougal]

No pic but I spent the majority of the afternoon masking up the body of the car... Took ages!

I then tried to get a coat of primer in... Hahaha it was awful, I tried to rush it as it was 7:30 tonight, restricted space meant I kept getting too close and laying down too much paint.. Needless to say there are a few runs that I need to smooth off tomorrow!!!