MadaboutKitcars

Tuesday

Well I got another half-days work done today.
I got the car out and put it up on my ramp as I had two jobs to do underneath it.

The last time I was under the car I noticed that the bridge that supports the gearbox rear end had two nut lose on one side and no bolts or nuts on the other.
Considering the car came to me with a years Mot, it makes you wonder......

So I sorted that out, and then made two metal panels to box in either side of the rear tail end, which I had been meaning to do for ages.

(When I bolted the body onto the car at the rear, I had left a 1 foot long gap at either side)

I did that, and now the complete underside, from one front wheel, right the way round the rear end of the car to the other front wheel is finished and watertight.

The only thing I have left to do at the front end is to make some sort of inner wheel arch to keep the water out of the battery box, right Mr Towed?

I have plans for this, and will get round to it.

When this is done, that is all the work to the under side finished, wow!



Here are pics of today's stuff.

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Wednesday

Today, I prepared and painted the boot lid, in its Connaught green topcoat.

I wanted: a: to see what Connaught green looked like on my car.

and b: had I done enough rubbing down and prep work?

Well I was very pleased with the colour, which is black with a touch of green,
just exactly what I want.

Was I pleased with the job? NO, I had not done enough prep, and I will have to rub in down a LOT more to get it perfect.

Well at least I know now what I have to do, which is as usual, a LOT more work!

The boot lid will be kind of hidden under the rear luggage rack, but the paint job has to be better than I've got it even so. It has to be Jaguar standard
at least, which right now its not.

Two pictures which don't really show the colour too well.

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Mr Towed, IanA and Paul, thank you for the support, I will try what you suggest, but the pics make the paint look better than it is believe me!
I will give it a try though, and post results!

Thursday

Mr Towed and IanA, the advice you both gave was spot-on.

I remember some years back, a chap had a blue E Type, which he entered into a concours event and won it. He was complemented on the exemplary paint on the car, the judges were surprised to hear he had done in himself, but were blown away when he said he had used dozens of rattle cans, to put the paint on thickly, and mopped it back to perfection.

BUT, what was not apparent in the pictures of my boot lid , and I have to be brutally honest, were the ripples, dents, hollows, and also where I had to pull on a giant insect, (which had decided to go paddling) off the paintwork.

This morning on inspection all these things were easier to see, and really not acceptable, so with a heavy heart, back to the drawing board, BUT it is still better than it was, so I am closer to it!

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Later Thursday

Gary its that thought of the shiny bits against the darker colour that keeps me going!

WCA, to be honest, I thought of those pics you've posted, (I saw them when you were doing it) and I kind of knew then that my boot-lid did not look like a Leopard, as your car did, and it should have.

Like you say, the work is worthwhile, and your cars paint work is excellent
because of it.

I have started ripping the boot lid back with 240 grit, and already the Leopard is appearing! Also, by the look of it now, I really skimped on the sanding back the first time round.

Well, at least I know what I need to do to the WHOLE car now!!!!

Also I know I will paint the car myself, and as Towed and IanA said:

Smother it in lots of paint and mop the living daylights out of it after.

Here's my new Leopard:

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Thanks for the advice, Paul, Ollie and WCA.

I have the boot-lid back in primer, lots of it!
And Ollie, I have left it for a day or so before I will flat it and
chuck a guide coat on to see if I've got it right this time!
Will post the resulting mess!

As long as that?
I may just leave it then and get on with other stuff.

The primer I am using is Autotek professional etch primer, billed as "High covering power" Comes in a 500ml rattle-can.

Ever heard of it Landmannn?

Well I was going to do that Ollie, but looks like I better leave it a couple of weeks first?

Well I want a really good paint job obviously Ollie, without one I would'nt dare go anywhere near a car show!

Perhaps I better get some of what you suggest and put it on with a gun.

I'll visit the paint bloke in the morning.

Friday

Drummajor and WCA, thanks for the input

Mr Towed, as usual you have excelled! Your car paintwork looks very good, and thank you for the detailed pictures.

I now feel very humble, as I already have all these things, including a huge compressor, (which after 30 years of use, finally gave up the ghost and needed a new motor last year)

In years gone by, I have sprayed several cars, ( my own) with varied results, so really, I have absolutely no excuses to give.

Why do I still use rattle cans as well? 'Cos I'm lazy, and sometimes I find it more convenient to do it that way.

To get a professional to admit that a good finish CAN be obtained by the
DIY / rattle- can route, is a bit like trying to convince a baker that home bread-making machines are a good idea! It just won't happen!

But there are a lot of people out there that know it can be achieved, Mr Towed is one of them, and I know my paint job will look okay when its done.

I was tempted by the idea of spraying my whole car by rattle- can just to show it can be done, but it will be faster to chuck the paint on with the gun.

I will probably use 1k paint, a lot of it, and mop it to a good finish.


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Sunday

Here's one for all you Ferrari fans.

A friend of mine dropped by to show me his completed kit car, he bought it as a

unfinished project, (like so many!) and put a lot of work into it.

I believe it is nat asp MR2, it sounds like it should, and goes really well.

It looks good enough to be badged up correctly, but he does'nt seem keen..

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Later Sunday

Well, I did as I was told, and misted a guide coat on the boot lid.

Today after 3 days of drying out, I flatted it and re-primed it again.
I know I never left it for two weeks, but it did appear to be okay. Time will tell.

The surface is improving, it looks, and feels much more smooth and silky than it did.

When I think I've got it right, the top coat will go back on. If it is not perfect, I will start again.

Its out baking in the sun as it was the last three days.
I expect the baking effect will has shorten the curing time somewhat.

Here's what it looked like before the latest primer:

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Even later Sunday

For anyone interested in one of my other projects, I have an update.

Here is the original picture I posted of the "front" propped up on my van:

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Well, since then I have sourced the two bling rings, which go round the headlights, made clips, and fitted them.

Sourced headlights, bowls and adjusting rings, and got one side assembled and bolted in place. I also have bought some new orange indicators.

My van, unlike a VW is mid-engined and water cooled, which means I would have trouble with cooling if I did not do something with the solid front I will fit.

As most water cooled machines, my rad is up front too.
I have planned to cut out some holes in the nose and glass in some perforated gauze to allow airflow. I will paint it the same colour as the rest of the frontage, so it won't be that obvious.

Here's what it looks like now:
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Hey thanks for that link Danny, could prove useful.

I still don't understand how the Japanese can put these fronts on the vans and not have an overheating problem!

Well Scimjim, I'm really blown away by those pictures, they are ones I obviously do not have!

Especially the interior pictures, which are needed for the cockpit details.

Please thank your friend Roger for me, it was nice of him to help out.

Scottie

Scimjim,

Since I posted the above bit, somehow your last post jumped in front, so I did not comment as it wasn't there at the time!

Well it is a small world, Rotherwas indeed!

Your paint jobs look good in the pics, and I will not be put off trying anything I have a strong feeling will work!

As far as those last pictures go, I have always thought that the Scimitar rear body half, is probably the nicest ever rear end on ANY shooting brake,estate/station wagon, tourer, coupe, or whatever you wish to call it!

The roofline and rear window shape is to me perfection, and could show the Italians a thing or two about styling.

I actually had a Scimitar on my patch for several years, waiting for its renovation, (along with several other cars I might add)
Eventually, I had to face reality and got rid of most of them, including the Scimitar, which I often regretted.

Hey, no problem Scimjim, its all good stuff!

Monday

I had another go at the boot lid.

It is improving! What went wrong this time?

The gun spluttered, and put drops on the top part of the lid, I flatted them off, but in so doing caused a very very slight hollow, which I have had to fill in with primer.

It may sound stupid to some, but I know what I am doing wrong, and I know how to put it right, and I am going through this process.

It is time consuming, and costly on materials, but with each phase, the boot lid is definitely improving, and I am learning what to do with the rest of the body when the time comes.

The whole thing is a painful process, but I do not really care as long as I get the results I want, and eventually, I will.


Here is the latest picture:

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The orange peely bit is not as bad as it looks in the pic, Scinjim, and the paint down there is thick enough to cut it back to a good shine eventually.

I will try to take your advice, but 24 hours sounds better than a week to me right now!! I have to get this car done.

As I said the boot-lid is kind of hidden under the luggage rack, but for me the paint has to as good there as anywhere.

At Stoneliegh, people understand kit cars, but the kind of motoring aristocracy one gets at Goodwood, do not.

So my yardstick for a good paint job is:

Would I take my car to Goodwood looking like that?

So far I would not have taken the boot lid to anywhere!

But when the answer to the question is yes, then I've got there.

Ha Ha! Aztec warrior indeed.

I've been called some things in my time, but never that!