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

[boondougal]

Hi all,

I have been a member on the site quite a while but not really done anything to my 89 t-bar untill the last few weeks (its been in the garage for 3 years)
So here are a few photos of what i have been up too recently just incase it helps anyone else wanting to have a go at fixing there own car up.





And here is the work done at the moment








Ran out of welding wire so will have to pick some up today and hopefully get the arch looking good over the weekend, i have a fair bit of work to do to the inner before i turn her round an start on the other side!

[Charged]

Looking good so far, well done..

How is the rsut looking around the front ARB mount areas? They really suffer there..

[boondougal]

cheers Ollie,

This side looks ok but the other needs a bit of work



I will get to have a real proper look when i get it up at the ramp at my friends body shop..just before i paint it!

[Polypedates]

Wow, good stuff!

How did you make that A pillar base repair section? Mine has gone too and I will need to sort something when I eventually get to it.

Thanks

[Kooga]

Practical Performance car have been running a couple of articles recently about forming your own repair panels using limited equipment...mainly just hammering metal up against shaped stuff...might be worth a read if you wanna have a go?

[lastoneout]

How have you been getting up its been a while since your last post.

[boondougal]

well thanks to an exceptionally helpful moderator after many years of not remembering my log in details for imoc i am back on line...

More importantly i have been back working on the car!

Here are some pics of my recent activities, hopefully following on from where i left off last time..









If the seats are comfy enough for watson then they will be fine for me!

A ton of wires stripped out all from an old alrm

stripping the engine getting ready to drop it out

Event he wife has helped.... well she wanted to be in a picture that looked like she was helping

Engine out

mandatory photo

Up on the stand

Head off


Rear passenger suspension removed, i have alot of work still to do on the inner arch so it just makes like easier

inner arch

I wanted to get the drive shaft out of the hub but after much brute force all i managed to do was bend a quite substantial bar!

Very troublesome rear sub frame bolt... was almost crumbleing in my hands... i have order a set of easy out sockets so hopefully they will do the trick

I was hopeing to get Paul Woods to refurbish the engine competely for me but a few concerns about projects we have at work have made me nervous about commiting that kind of money so instead i have found a local engineering specialist who are happy to do a few bits at a time, so the head is going in on sat morning to be fully refurbished and rebuilt, the plan with the block is to hopefully have one thats decked and over bored by .5mm, then i have the task of rebuilding it all!

I have a big pile of spares that i have been gathering over the past few years, every gasket and o ring avaialable, pumps, belts, bolts, Mk2 calipers and discs, ball joints track rod ends, struts, lowering springs, a jimi bracket..(well i have a memory of buying one but i can't think where it actually is) thermostat, new clutch a replacement gear box, mx 5 alloys and 4 new tyres 2 brand new wings.. and probably a whole load of other stuff that i have forgot about....

So watch this space as i have really enjoyed getting back working on my toy motor over the last few weeks so i am hoping to get some good progress made this year!

[Polypedates]

The only thing that got my hub nut off was an impact wrench.

Fortunately, I've got my own compressor now so shouldn't have any more problems.


Nice to see these cars getting restored. This is my restoration thread:

http://www.mr2mk1club.com/showthread.ph ... -Bar-Resto

[stenky]

How are you guys doing the chasis restoration?

What welding method? CO is pretty common but creates micro in-weld rust. Do you use inert gas?

How about the primary coat? I am undecided whether to use boat-hull grade epoxy base, zinc/phosphate saturated epoxy, cold zinc plating, phosphate bath or a combination of any two above mentioned. I would like to have rustproof body for at least 15 years!

[Boddney]

I would like to have rustproof body for at least 15 years!

HEHE, funny bloke

[elbon50]

Well he can wish free of charge eh

Peter

[Polypedates]

Just plain ol' MIG welding for me (Argon/CO2 gas). I am applying 3 coats of POR-15 followed by two coats of bush on underseal and then a couple of coats of Schutz to finished areas. All box sections and cavities are getting a good coating of Dinitrol Corromax inside too.

Car will be a summer toy once done so that ought to see it last a few years

[stenky]

I would like to have rustproof body for at least 15 years!

HEHE, funny bloke

considering what did rust do in 23years to a car that didnt have much protection, another 15 years after an extensive and proper (and i mean proper, not spot jobs) restoration shouldnt be a problem for a summer only car. or am i wrong?

i have been prepared to let go approx 4-4.5k pounds for a proper body&paint job and have it done once and for all. but there is still a bug in my head of cheating on it because the more it costs and the better its done, the sooner the car gets dented....

[Boddney]

I really do hope you are 15 years rust free dude. I spent quite a lot on mine doing the ust and had some done profesionaly and thought that that was it. I got under it the other day to replace a drive shaft seal and noticed a peice of split underseal. I pulled it back just to find more rust. It is only surface rust but none the less it was still rust. I'm afraid you will still be chasing it for decades to come. Thats just the way these great little cars are but that is all part of the charm.

[boondougal]

[quote=i have been prepared to let go approx 4-4.5k pounds for a proper body&paint job quote]

i think your budget for the body work is more than for my entire project, i don't really anticipate getting more than 4-5 years out of my car... its a voyage of discovery for me and i'm doing it more for the hobby than anything else. I am going to put some money into the engine through as i do think one day i might transplant it into a kit car when the Mr2 finally goes to the rusty place in the sky.

my rust proofing consists of bottles of fertan and tins of por 15.. and liberal dosages of wax oil!

[boondougal]

No real progress to report I'm afraid. Head has gone to the machine shop to be overhauled, overbored and decked block sourced from a certain mr Woods, pistons and associated bearings etc on order from the states. Rear mk2 calipers sourced locally for a brake upgrade to go with the st185 fronts. Hoping to finish all the welding on the arches over the next 2 weeks.

I have a list as long as my arm of jobs to do and things to get but it's all progress.

[boondougal]

Had a few hours to work on the car today... welded some plates into the passanger inner wing and also did a first filer pass, unfortunatly as i had the grinder on the arch i noticed a bit og filler under the paint... by the time i had finished exploring the wholr rear quarter had been taken back to metal. There as a previous repair to a dint, not an issue, just something else that i will need to make good.

I also started fettling some of the engine with a view to polishing up all the aluminium parts.. The cam covers were partinularly satisfying to clean up...



everyting has just been wire brushed to remove the crud, will be poslishing / painting in the future.

I also striped the bottom end and pistons out of the block..






slow but steady progress being made.

[elbon50]

In what sort of condition are the cyls, bearings, crank journals etc, boondougal?

Do you know what mileage the engine has done ?

Peter

[boondougal]

Well to me they look as smooth as a babies Bum, the car had done just over 120k when i took it off the road about 6-7 years ago, always ran real smooth with Plenty of power. there is a fair bit of cokeing up around the pistons and the cylinder head but nothing i would look at and say bad.

I would like to point out this is the first time i have ever stripped an Engine so tbh i'm not really sure what i am looking for but all the journals and bearing look shiney and new, no wear spots to note (i assume it would create a mark or change in colour)

The crank will be going to the machine shop (who currently have my head) to be checked over, i have all new pistons, bearings etc that arrived fromt he states a few weeks ago... not to mention the oil pump that arrived last week shortly after a complete bottom end and head end set of gaskets.

I have procured (from Mr Woods) a decked and overbored block so as soon as i pick it up then i will be in good shape tp start building her up again.

Oh, apart from we have just accepted an offer on our house.... fingers crossed we can find somewhere with a Double garage... that would be sweet!!! But in the mean time i can only imagine its going to delay my eforts on the old girl

[MRPETTER]

good work: )