My nightmare... errr restoration thread.

[Brap_Brap]

Today I finally got started on getting the body off of my wedge.
My end goal is for a chassis resto this year, interior resto next year
and paint the following year. I'm not rich enough to do it in one shot.
I just want to get the car drivable then worry about the rest later.
A wedge on the road is worth two in the garage.



Day 1... Engine bay
Bonnet off.
L&R side wiring harnesses (loom?) disconnected.
Clutch/Brake lines disconnected
Oil cooler hoses and rad/heater hoses disconnected,
Ground straps and wires to starter disconnected.
Intake (flapper/filter/hose to pelnum) disconnected.
Fuel lines disconnected.
Speedo cable & reverse light switch disconnected.

Remaining: Steering u-joint.


Up in the air and ready to receive some loving.


O/S loom tied back, copper hard lines tied to block. Nothing left on O/S from body to frame.


N/S loom tied back, all hoses removed or tied back. No connections left.

After getting everyting out of the way and having a better view, the damage I have to fix is
even worse than I first thought.


looking down, N/S, there's a big crack in the upper wishbone mount and it's twisted too.

Things are no better down below...


N/S looking aft, a massive crack and you can see the twist to the member.


N/S looking forward, cracks on this side too... 1 in square tube, 1 in round brace.


I have a feeling getting the body off and back on is going to be the easy part of getting
my blue beast roadworthy again.

Edited by Brap_Brap on Thursday 21st May 05:46

[rev-erend]

Nigel

Good luck - looks like it's going to be a tough one...

[tempus]

You have the technology,sadly you appear to be $6,000,000 short.Tempus

[GV]

At least you appear to have somewhere decent to work. Take your time and get it right first time unlike me where I've to wait for the sun to shine to do any meaningful work - some of which had to be done twice over.

[TVRleigh_BBWR]

GV said:

At least you appear to have somewhere decent to work. Take your time and get it right first time unlike me where I've to wait for the sun to shine to do any meaningful work - some of which had to be done twice over.

Wish I had that much room,

Did my body off and full re-build in a small single garage, at least with the body off you can stand inside the chassis.

[grahamw48]

Aye...luxury.

We used to dream about avin a garage....well, when I say a 'garage'...

[V8TVR1978]

Mike: Do you know about that damage when you talked me into driving your car????? Not nice if you did unless my missus had a bigger insurance policy on me and you knew. Let me know when you are working on the car as I'm in the "HOOD" lots but don't admit that I am.

Wayne/Sherry Leppard.

PS: By the way with this economy I am now semi retarded no retired....

[Brap_Brap]

V8TVR1978 said:

Mike: Do you know about that damage when you talked me into driving your car????? Not nice if you did unless my missus had a bigger insurance policy on me and you knew. Let me know when you are working on the car as I'm in the "HOOD" lots but don't admit that I am.

Wayne/Sherry Leppard.

PS: By the way with this economy I am now semi retarded no retired....

Of course I didn't know about that damage Wayne. As soon as I figured out something went majorly
wrong with the car I took it off the road. I doubt those cracks were more than microscopic when you
drove it. But unlike most cracks that develop slowly over time, I'm sure these flourished overnight
due to the location and stressors of turning and especially braking. There's no bloody way in hell I'd
willingly drive around like that making the end result even worse.

Hood? Geez, why don't you tell everyone I live in the ghetto? (I do)

Insurance policy? You really think highly of yourself if you think I'd write-off my wedge just to kill you.

Edited by Brap_Brap on Friday 22 May 05:59

[Brap_Brap]

Got some more done today and I'm pleased with my efforts.

Things I accomplished today include:
All in-cockpit related stuff, ie: floorpan bolts, sill plate bolts, gearshift, e-brake, bolts from frame to seatbelt etc.
Dropped my petrol tanks from the body... 2 tank straps turned to dust in my hands, the 2 closest to the wheels.
Disconnected o/s petrol tank from filler neck.
Disconnected fuel pump wires
Removed the body to chassis bolts near the boot and near the radiator.

In all I only broke two bolts. The rest were rusty for the most part, but patience, wd-40 and grunting
got the job done.


Remaining: Steering... forgot my darned allen keys at home.

As far as I can tell by squirming around under the car with a light, I think I'm ready for the lift. I can't
see any more connections from chassis to body... just steering left AFAIK.


n/s sill, nice and solid, outriggers on this side are just as good


o/s sill, some surface rust, nothing major... it was solid enough that I couldn't punch holes into it with a center punch and hammer.


Jacked up a little higher in anticipation of blocking up the body and lowering the chassis... more jacking to go


I hated doing this, but I guess to make an omlette you have to break eggs.

Edited by Brap_Brap on Friday 22 May 06:45

[rev-erend]

We should start running a bookies..

How many bits will brap brap have left over when this is all finished..

[Waynester]

Big project!

Take lots of photo's & label everything. Should make putting it back together..easier.

Good luck.

[Brap_Brap]

rev-erend said:

We should start running a bookies..

How many bits will brap brap have left over when this is all finished..

O' Ye of little faith! My name isn't Pilo-Wedgebits.

[Brap_Brap]

Waynester said:

Big project!

Take lots of photo's & label everything. Should make putting it back together..easier.

Good luck.

Wherever possible the bolt goes back into the hole, or the nut on the stud. Cuts down on writing so many labels.

[V8TVR1978]

Brap_Brap said:

V8TVR1978 said:

Mike: Do you know about that damage when you talked me into driving your car????? Not nice if you did unless my missus had a bigger insurance policy on me and you knew. Let me know when you are working on the car as I'm in the "HOOD" lots but don't admit that I am.

Wayne/Sherry Leppard.

PS: By the way with this economy I am now semi retarded no retired....

Of course I didn't know about that damage Wayne. As soon as I figured out something went majorly
wrong with the car I took it off the road. I doubt those cracks were more than microscopic when you
drove it. But unlike most cracks that develop slowly over time, I'm sure these flourished overnight
due to the location and stressors of turning and especially braking. There's no bloody way in hell I'd
willingly drive around like that making the end result even worse.

Hood? Geez, why don't you tell everyone I live in the ghetto? (I do)

Insurance policy? You really think highly of yourself if you think I'd write-off my wedge just to kill you.

Edited by Brap_Brap on Friday 22 May 05:59

Mike: Loosen those shorts some..Was just yanking on your chain some. Didn't say you lived in the ghetto but did say the hood. (Were you said you were borrowing the garage for the work and I was offering an extra set of hands for lifting etc.)The insurance gag is an ongoing joke between Spousal Unit and myself about making sure she has enough money to continue her life after she does me in. ( Remember I spend lots of time with this economy at home under her feet and just maybe in her way. ) I can also understand some of what you are going through right now as I have all 3 of my cars partly dismantled.(Collecting lots of spare bolts/nuts and screws right now to leave near where my cars were at Todd's shop to see how he explains what they are for after he is finished getting things back together.) So when I come to were you are doing your car it might be wise to get me to empty my pockets outside just incase I get tempted. Now to the serious stuff. It is good that you are finding all those extra little things that need addressing now as it would be a shame to have to pull the body a second time for a minor thing that needs repair. From the pics it looks like you are coming along pretty good and that you are tackling things as you come up to them. It is going to be a long process but will be worth it in the long run for the GRIN factor. Good luck and will talk later.

Wayne/Sherry Leppard.

[Brap_Brap]

I was only joking Wayne.

[Pilo-Wedgebits]

Brap Brap what are you implying? At least my pile of bits is shrinking as I bolt them on - I'm just hoping I'm bolting them on in the right place!! Good luck with the restoration it looks quite a challenge.

Cheers Shaun

[rev-erend]

Now your in the wedge dog house .. best not show your face at BBWF .. in case pile'o'wedge bits is lookin for ya

[Brap_Brap]

rev-erend said:

Now your in the wedge dog house .. best not show your face at BBWF .. in case pile'o'wedge bits is lookin for ya

ROFL!

@Pilo... implying nothing... I was just being funny... or trying to be... considering what rev-erend said about my left over "wedge bits" when the job's done.

[Pilo-Wedgebits]

No offence taken here my friend. Maybe we should have a three way competition with Blaine to see who has the most parts left at the end of our respective rebuilds
Unfortunately I wont be at BBWF as I'll be at Silverstone watching the F1 boys, next year hopefully

[Brap_Brap]

The progress continues...


[b]I got the car clear of the frame ready for a quick lift.
I blocked the body off of the frame to make sure all was clear,
and that there were no hang-ups, and also for less lifting.
Tomorrow I will lower the frame to mere inches above the floor so
that those helping me with the lift wont have to lift very high.[/b]


[b]Unfortunately jacking the body up was not without consequence.
As you can see the body took some GRP damage in the corner of the
footwell. This is because the upper dimensions of my chassis are
now larger than the body that slipped over it.[/b]


[b]This is the top frame rail, n/s, looking aft, at the upper wishbone mount.
You can easily see where the weld SHOULD be, in relation to the tubular
steel. This spreading of the upper frame rail dimensions is what caused the damage
in the picture above. There was just no way of getting around it.[/b]

All in all it was a productive day. I'm ready for a lift and confident I wont be wasting
any volunteer's time. The car is quite ready for it.

Edited by Brap_Brap on Saturday 23 May 09:06