Paint and more

So, since the last post, what has been going on? My plan had been to paint the car by hand, using flag silver paint from tools direct. I began by prepping the chassis, which took ages, mainly because of the large amount of light surface rust that had accumulated over the years. In some places, the only thing to do was to apply Jenolite as it was impossible to get into some of the angles with sandpaper. I began painting the engine bay and quickly discovered that the finish using the silver paint I had bought was disappointing to say the least. After a lot of angst, I eventually reverted to rattle cans to spray the chassis. I used the Wickes equivalent of Smoothrite and initially I was really pleased with the results. However, after a while, I noticed that when I touched the chassis, I was finding a silver residue on my fingers. Whether this was a result of the temperature whilst I sprayed, I don't know. Fortunately I had an old can of clear lacquer in the garage. First tests were not encouraging, but I eventually found that if I applied it in very light coats, the results were good. However, by this time, I had run out of lacquer......

Like Buses

So, no updates for months, then 2 in a day! I wanted to break the blog down into subject areas to make it easier to read, rather than 1 enormous post. Thats my excuse and I'm sticking to it!! Once I had made the front brake hose brackets, I then turned my attention to the raft of the small jobs that needed fixing. I started at the front and worked backwards attaching various brackets, the catches for the fuel tank cover and the tubes for the brake cables where they travel through the rear bulkhead. I then stripped the chassis entirely and raised it to a good working height in the garage.

With a fresh gas cylinder from Easi Weld, I then moved from front to back completing any tacked joints and grinding out and re-welding some that I wasn't happy with. There are still a few that could be better, but it is impossible to remove the old welds so I shall have to leave these in as a demonstration of how my welding has improved..... At this point, seasonal festivities took over and there was a break of a few weeks. Once I got back though, it was down to the onerous task of removing the inevitable surface rust and preparing for paint. I had some 'Baufix' paint from Aldi that I planned to use - it advertised itself as straight to metal. When I bought it I thought it was silver, but in fact it was silver-grey, so I planned to use it for the floor and bulkheads only. The floor had previously been primed and painted and the Baufix paint went on well, leaving a nice finish.

However, on the unpainted bulkhead, it was a pig! Too little and it didn't cover properly, a little heavier and it ran!! The end result probably won't be too visible but I may yet sand it back and start again!

This caused me to rethink my plan to brush paint the entire chassis - my feeling had been that spray cans would be too wasteful. However, a trip to Wickes led me to the purchase of some cans of their smooth rite equivalent at a bargain £8 a can! First efforts with it are encouraging - photos to follow!

Upright Citizen

So, months have passed once more between posts. However, aside from the inevitable break over christians, for once it is not due to a lack of activity, merely inattentiveness on my part. Note to self, must try harder. Following the progress made on the rear of the car, I wanted to finish the bracketry at the front, particularly the bracket for the flexible brake pipes. The pipes themselves were another bargain, this time courtesy of a fellow Locostbuilder, and were brand new (supplied by Russ Bosst of Furore Cars originally). I had assembled the driver side upright, hub and caliper many months previously but had never got around to the passenger side. The components were supplied by a company called Ellistons, who have long since disappeared, and were fully reconditioned. The problem arose when I came to fit the caliber to the upright - it wouldn't! It was impossible to get the caliper mounts onto the lugs as the pad holders fouled on the disk.

At first, it seemed that the calipers themselves might be at fault as when I compared the two, they looked different. However, they were bagged, sealed with a QC label and I couldn't work out how they could be 'incorrect'. I had an offer of buying some other callipers, again from a fellow locostbuilder, but before parting with cash, I decided to check everything. I took some photos of the uprights and compared them to technical drawings from the web using 'onion skinning' - overlaying the photos. I then took 'accurate' measurements from my upright and my suspicions were confirmed. The spindle on the drivers side upright had an inclination of 0.3 degrees. The opposite one was 1.1 degree - not a lot but enough to make the caliper not fit.

I began the search for a replacement. Some of the prices were outrageous!! On the way, I spoke to Stuart Mills of MEV who, as well as suggesting I heat it whereupon it would relax back to shape, said that he had heard that Stock Car drivers bent some uprights to get better cornering. I also spoke to Anthony from Autotune, who said that he had had a batch where one side was bent also. Mystery solved!! Anyway, I eventually sourced a new upright via a cortina enthusiasts website. I was feeling rather forlorn as my 'bent' one was beautifully powder coated, and I was left with this:

However, nothing that a little elbow grease, straight to rust primer and metal paint wouldn't cure! (Photo to follow)