Repair and Rebuild Begins

Repair and Rebuild Begins

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mk1fan

Original Poster:

10,517 posts

225 months

Sunday 9th November 2014
quotequote all
Got fed up waiting to hear back from the Police and my insurers.

So have decided to set to with fixing things.

So this was the starting point;







mk1fan

Original Poster:

10,517 posts

225 months

Sunday 9th November 2014
quotequote all
Bonnet off and basically the rad mount and hinges all need replacement.




mk1fan

Original Poster:

10,517 posts

225 months

Sunday 9th November 2014
quotequote all
Sorry looking radiator. Too much damage to be economically repaired.



Tamora alloy one looks like a good fit.



Fitted the Elise seats too. Passenger seat went in at an angle so that people can sit with their legs out straight rather than having one leg twisted or slightly bent.





Sprayed a load of bolts in the engine bay with plusgas ahead of next Saturday's jobs. Alternator, decat pipes and manifolds coming out.

Fixed the air filter directlyish to the throttle body. 150mm long, 60mm dia silicone hoses. Oil breather going to be rerouted to a catch tank.

Horns being moved.

A ShaunS3c swirlpot and expansion tank going in.

Tuck her up when the light went.




mk1fan

Original Poster:

10,517 posts

225 months

Sunday 9th November 2014
quotequote all
A bonus find, lower coolant pipe from the radiator is already stainless steel. Had bought a stainless top pipe from ACT and (mistakenly) a mild steel one from the classifieds.

Door mirrors are being replaced with something with integrated indicators. Headlamps are going to be 'different'.

Finally, the fresh air 'anacondas' are gone.

mk1fan

Original Poster:

10,517 posts

225 months

Monday 10th November 2014
quotequote all
I've had a bit of a gander and it looks like all the damage was absorbed by the rad and bonnet hinge frames.

When a few more bits are off - the brake servo and master cylinder are going to be swapped out too for a Ford KA set up - I'll get it up in the air and get a straight edge on the main rails.

Next available day is this Saturday (after the Sausage Meet). Hopefully have the remaining cooling system parts off, the alternator off, exhaust manifolds off and the carbon canister pipework identified.

mk1fan

Original Poster:

10,517 posts

225 months

Saturday 15th November 2014
quotequote all
Had a good afternoon working on Samy.

Photobucket not giving me access to the photos I took. I'll post them when the technology catches up.

Alternator and mount is off. De-cat pipes off. Exhaust manifolds off. One bolt needed some heat and gentle persuasion. No breakages though, so a tap and clean and the heads are ready for the refit.

Expansion tank also removed. Plenty of access once the altenator and tank are removed!

Had a deeper look and the main chassis and all appears well.

Manifolds, pipes and altenator bracket off for ceramic coating along with a spare set of manifolds for Tamy.

Got some bits to collect this week.

Next weekend I'm aiming to get the remaining cooling bits out. Mark up the bits that need cutting out. Strip down the doors. Mirrors off. Identify the carbon canister pipework and wires ready for striping out. Measuring up for moving the battery to the boot. Exposing the fuse board and relays for modding / rationalisation.

The weekend after I'll look at whipping off the rocker covers, checking the tapets and then spraying the covers.

mk1fan

Original Poster:

10,517 posts

225 months

Sunday 16th November 2014
quotequote all
Tube like bits removed;





These bits off to the ceramic coaters;


mk1fan

Original Poster:

10,517 posts

225 months

Sunday 16th November 2014
quotequote all
Does anyone know if there is a reason for this hose to be routed like this. Does seem unnecessary for it to be so long and bend up to the upper hoses.


mk1fan

Original Poster:

10,517 posts

225 months

Sunday 16th November 2014
quotequote all
Tucked up for another week;


mk1fan

Original Poster:

10,517 posts

225 months

Sunday 16th November 2014
quotequote all
tvrgit said:
It's routed like that to clear the fan belt. Straight hose would do, but you would have to disconnect the coolant hose to change the belt. Not necessarily difficult but maybe a PITA if the belt breaks unexpectedly.
D'oh. Should have realised that!

mk1fan

Original Poster:

10,517 posts

225 months

Monday 17th November 2014
quotequote all
New stainless steel exhaust 'hockey sticks' ordered from ML Performance this afternoon.

mk1fan

Original Poster:

10,517 posts

225 months

Monday 17th November 2014
quotequote all
Rad has a bleed valve.

Hockey sticks are for an S3C. Need to drop the rest of the exhaust too, as the various drivetrain bushes need replacing as well.

mk1fan

Original Poster:

10,517 posts

225 months

Tuesday 18th November 2014
quotequote all
Welcome back Damien.

There are four options I'm considering for the front end. Need to get the parts in front of me before making the decision. Had a chat with Glenn about it at Oulton.

List of jobs keeps growing. Going to check the fuel tank and frame too.

mk1fan

Original Poster:

10,517 posts

225 months

Saturday 22nd November 2014
quotequote all
Despite my efforts to keep time for doing some work on Samy the only thing I found time to do was a very rough trial fit of a replacement bonnet.


mk1fan

Original Poster:

10,517 posts

225 months

Saturday 22nd November 2014
quotequote all
They're on order.

mk1fan

Original Poster:

10,517 posts

225 months

Sunday 23rd November 2014
quotequote all
Samy had the wrong bonnet when I bought her.

mk1fan

Original Poster:

10,517 posts

225 months

Sunday 23rd November 2014
quotequote all
Covers are cheaper than the indicators smile

Got a whole load of works to get done before New Years so looks like I'm going to struggle to find the time to do any more work until the New Year frown

mk1fan

Original Poster:

10,517 posts

225 months

Sunday 23rd November 2014
quotequote all
Depends how you fit them.

I used the Lotus sub frames and they need to be spaced slightly so the curved base clears the floor pan. They are lower than standard but not by as much as you'd expect.

Phazed fitted them to his Chim, which he tracks regularly, and he's 6'7". Unfortunately, you'll have to try them to find out.

mk1fan

Original Poster:

10,517 posts

225 months

Tuesday 2nd December 2014
quotequote all
Copious ibuprofen, a lot of snoozing and I am now awake. Still feeling rough though.

Anyway, although not able to do any work on the car I have sparked a response from the insurers. They have agreed for the car to go to a bodyshop of my choice and have waived the associated excess they normally apply.

I've also picked up a spare set of rocker covers that I'll paint and fit when I check the tapets.

I've got two body shops to speak to and send photos of the damage to, which I'll do tomorrow.

Hopefully, the chassis will be fix relatively quickly leaving me with just bolting it all back together and then sorting the bonnet - still not settled on what I want to do.

mk1fan

Original Poster:

10,517 posts

225 months

Tuesday 16th December 2014
quotequote all
Time is whooshing by at the moment.

I'm awaiting quotes for the chassis repairs - magpies I'll need some measurements off you for the 'wide open' steelwork at some point to hand to the bodyshop.

The lens covers of the Tuscan bonnet will be with me in January.

The new hockeysticks (stainless of course) will be with me this week (I'm told).

I've ordered some bits from Fibreon that should be with me in January.

Will be speaking to Zirotec after posting this about coating the manifolds (for both Tamy and Samy). Not sure whether to get the decat pipes done (on Samy) as well. Seems a shame to cover up the golden syrop colouring.

Away from Samy, the storage garage is almost ready now just need to box up the stuff to go in it. The toolshed is almost done, which means the switch room can be cleared and then the office can be re-furbed ready for the out-laws coming in mid-January.