At the back of my mind I’ve always wanted to pull the thing apart, see how rusty it is, and from there “do it properly”. Even though many have advised against this course of action, the benefit is that you can do it once and do it right. In theory at least. I’ve learnt from bitter experience just how long this process can take if you try and do everything yourself. So the plan is to outsource, where money allows, the work requiring the most skill and appropriate equipment, or jobs which are horribly unpleasant in the home workshop.
Fifteen or so years ago things weren’t looking too bad, but looks can be deceptive. The freshly washed paint hides bubbling paint and repair lines along the doors, sills and boot lid. The list goes on. Hugely annoying as I had paid for some these repairs, but they had not stood the test of time. Time for a quick paint job?
After stripping the car of chrome and external body parts. I realised that a quick paint job was not what I was looking for. Next stop was a lock-up while we had a ponder.
More than a few years later … oh dear
We had just begun renovating a new home which came compete with a seperate garage workshop, so time to make a start! At least I gave the old girl a bit of a wipe down and managed to get her started up. We even went for a few spins around the lock-ups just for fun.
Out with the Engine
I wanted to make a start. The first step was to get ready for removing the engine and gearbox, I spend a bit of time removing the exhaust, driveshaft, radiator and carburettors. Essentially following the steps in my grease stained Haynes manual.
I some research and was pretty keen on lowering the engine out of the bottom of the car. My friend Doug, pictured here, convinced me that “up through the engine bay” was a lot less mucking about, and therefore the way to go. So, with a bit of help of the guy renting the next lock-up, that’s what we did. The combined length of the engine and gearbox meant that things got a bit tricky towards the end. We were grateful for the extra pair of hands.
Arriving at the new home for the real work to begin
Overall condition
The following pictures show some of the issues mentioned earlier. These were the most superficial issues, many more would surface later.
