Restoration starts again....!
Discussion
It's been a while since I've posted anything of significance but the S has finally gone to paint this week and on target to be at the trimmers for 13th July. Which means I could be going to the Eurotour later this year in a car I actually own.. (Don't think Mike has got a spare this year to be honest).! I've spent a few hours stripping out all the gubbins and left a bare shell and bonnet for the sprayer to do his work. Can't wait to get it back and it's only been gone a few days.. I think I've resolved all the oil leak issues and the engine runs well but I think the ignition timing is out of sinc, possibly due to removing the dizzy to replace the small o-ring seal.
Is there a known restorer for the dash instruments? Mine aren't too bad but wondered if anyone has had theirs refurbished.
The last photo shows a tiny leak which I've got from the filler neck joint on the stainless swirl pot. I only bought it last year and it's not done any work. Anyone else had this issue?
Cheers, Terry
Is there a known restorer for the dash instruments? Mine aren't too bad but wondered if anyone has had theirs refurbished.
The last photo shows a tiny leak which I've got from the filler neck joint on the stainless swirl pot. I only bought it last year and it's not done any work. Anyone else had this issue?
Cheers, Terry
Balls...!!
S won't be ready for Eurotour..
Body-shell and doors have taken longer to sort than expected so the car is still in primer. Was going to be trimmed next week but had to postpone - again! I want the paint done right so I told him not to rush. Could be my fault I suppose... 
Now, what shall I bring then?? Andy has a rather nice wedge that goes pretty well, we'll have to wait and see..
S won't be ready for Eurotour..
Body-shell and doors have taken longer to sort than expected so the car is still in primer. Was going to be trimmed next week but had to postpone - again! I want the paint done right so I told him not to rush. Could be my fault I suppose... Now, what shall I bring then?? Andy has a rather nice wedge that goes pretty well, we'll have to wait and see..
Marc C said:
tel595 said:
It's out Marc, the old one had de-laminated around the edges quite badly so I've got a new one to be fitted after the trim has been done..
I don't suppose you could take a piccy of the reveal/recess the screens sit in could you, next time you've got your camera out please ?Are you putting the original CX mirrors back on or something fancy ?
Pics of the screen recess, sorry about the quality of some of them.
Marc C said:
Thanks for the piccys
Just the 2 badges, taking it easy to start with...!! tel595 said:
Most productive day on the S today.. Bonnet and rear badges fitted and working...!!!!! 
Does that mean it took you a whole day just to fit two badges! or a whole day to fit two badges AND a bonnet glenrobbo said:
What do they do Tel? Do they light up in the dark, spin round rapidly, or hinge upwards to reveal the machine gun muzzles? 
What has Andy done to the Aceca? Nothing terrible I hope.
Maybe see you at the fete. Or in the pub about noon?
The AC has lost all oil pressure after Andy changed the filter. He's tried everything to sort it but to no avail. It's possibly broken the oil pump shaft... He's understandably reluctant to let me thrash it around Silverstone without oil pressure.. !!
Hopefully see you Saturday..
Edited by tel595 on Tuesday 28th July 23:23
I bought the chrome trim ages ago but I'll probably have the invoice somewhere.. I'll measure it up and let you know Geoffrey. All I know is it's not that easy to fit and make it look like the original.!The D profile is not so deep on the stuff I bought, and making it stick to the body in a straight-ish line while keeping the depth correct is a difficult process.. I ended up using a mixture of doubled-up double-sided tape, silicon sealant and masking tape... 
Also... Has anyone changed/replaced the window seal on the door tops of an S.? They're the ones that are a sort of T shape profile with one side glued to the top edge of the door... I tried removing mine carefully but wasn't careful enough and they began to mishape and tear. I need to get some new and wondered if anybody has bought some recently? Cheers. 
A little more progress... Rebuilt the CX mirrors with new mounts and mirror lenses. Fitted, tested and all working ok, even the heat-up function!
Also fitted a new gaitor for the gear lever. Couldn't believe my brother had an old Ford Sierra estate sitting in his back garden awaiting engine removal. Removed the gaitor from it just in time.....
Also fitted a new gaitor for the gear lever. Couldn't believe my brother had an old Ford Sierra estate sitting in his back garden awaiting engine removal. Removed the gaitor from it just in time.....
Fabricated some modified bonnet hinges today, and got them fitted and working. The difference they make is brilliant, I can almost walk through the engine bay now...
Angle of bonnet with original hinges....
And with the new ones...
My attempt of hinge manufacture..
Angle of bonnet with original hinges....
And with the new ones...
My attempt of hinge manufacture..
Edited by tel595 on Sunday 18th October 00:18
glenrobbo said:
That's a very neat solution Tel, I like it a lot!
Do you have any dimensions / drawings of your handiwork to share?
Do you fancy doing a batch of those angle brackets?
And where did you source the struts?
Can't take all the credit Glen, I simply used a bit of everyone else's ideas off this forum.. Mike (Philpot) helped me source the struts and gave me the correct lengths and pressure, they work a treat. The brackets I simply used what I had to hand, I'd already bought the rose joints to replace the original hinges but decided they could be used with the mods. The original bonnet plates, I ground off the small tube, re-drilled and welded a 12mm bolt through. These are then re-positioned back on the bonnet woodwork which is then drilled and bolted in place with a couple of 10mm bolts. For the main brackets I simply found a few bits of 1/4" bar I had in the unit and took my welder to it. I used a piece of 1/2" steel water pipe and welded a M12 nut on the end to mount the rose joint, this can give front-back adjustment but it won't be easy as it will need to be disconnected from the bonnet pivot to adjust, but once it's done it's done. The job is also made a lot easier as I have the use of the ramp which helps so much with access. I didn't have to take the bonnet off the car at all..Do you have any dimensions / drawings of your handiwork to share?
Do you fancy doing a batch of those angle brackets?
And where did you source the struts?
There's no problem making a few up for people but I would imagine the angle of the front hinge mounts vary car to car. That said, I'm sure there'd be enough 'play' in the bolt mounts to get the extension rod in the correct place.. I was also very lucky in that the plywood inner panels on my bonnet are in really good shape, as they'd need to be re-drilled quite close to the original holes, (not easy and I had to use a right angled drill attachment). I'll do a fag packet sketch of the dimensions when I'm next working on the car - tomorrow hopefully..
Edited by tel595 on Sunday 18th October 11:32
magpies said:
That is probably the simplest and easiest 'wide open' solution I've seen = certainly better than mine
The only ? is whether the original slotted section is strong enough for the extra torque being applied - easy enough to keep an eye on though.
I did think that too Mike. There's a bit of distance from the original box section (which is paper thin) to the end pivot now. I've tried to keep the bracket as strong as possible around the chassis mount, and I did a load test by hanging me off the end of the it while the car was in the air on the ramp - didn't move (surprisingly - I know)... It's all bolted up tight and there's no real flex noticed to be fair. We'll see what vibration and heavy loads will do in the future I guess... The only ? is whether the original slotted section is strong enough for the extra torque being applied - easy enough to keep an eye on though.
Been a busy boy this weekend.. Finished a few more jobs, most time consuming being the filling in of the inner front splash guards. Thought this would be a good idea as the bonnet is now hinged in a different location. Also finished off the battery relocation to the boot, fitted a new boot strut and polished the ally bracket. Fitted the relocated fuel filler in the boot and connected back to the fuel tank (Philpot rip-off I know). What else? Put new rubber o-rings on the door mirrors (big job)..
Edited by tel595 on Monday 26th October 02:02
Edited by tel595 on Monday 26th October 02:03
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