MadaboutKitcars

You have it exactly Danny, I always ask that!

If the plumber was given a truth serum, he would have said:

"well, I don't really know what's wrong with it, but I can see an opportunity to make a lot of money here out of a gullible tw*t like you"

Monday

It seems like an age since I worked on the car, but I have not been sat on my bum. I needed to repair my conservatory roof as when it rained , I noticed a puddle on the floor, shock horror, and all that.

It stopped raining and I was up there with a heat gun to dry it out quick, the repair took a fair while, and in my heart I know the roof needs replacing, but really not at this time of the year!

The minute I stopped working and cleared away the tools, the rain started again, but I was able to give it two fingers, as the roof is now water tight.

Also, I have been playing the lumber jack again, and cut a fair amount of timber.
So much that I am having to really plan out where to stack it so it does not get in the way.

I am hoping to start back on the car shortly, in between Christmas cards and all that festive (commercial) rubbish!

Here are some pics:

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]


[IMG][/IMG]

This picture has been on before, but its my favourite, so here goes again:

[IMG][/IMG]

Tuesday

Well, I finally got out to the car and took the drivers door off yet again for sorting out.

When fitted the door, I honestly spent hours and hours, which ran into days, trying to get the door to fit right.

This has nothing to do with Chris's body shell or anything like that.
It has everything to do with me lowering the car way way down, and then getting hit by all the knock-on effects that generated.

The hinges were really out after lowering, I don't mean lowering on the suspension, that came later, but lowering the body shell onto the Spitfire tub.

I knew I could never get the car down where I wanted it by just suspension lowering, so the only other way was to dump the body lower and closer to the Spit tub, ( more than Chris had intended)

So that's what I did, but the knock-on effects which I had not forseen were horrific. and caused me several days of extra work.

Modifying the hinge brackets, the hinges themselves (three times!) the list goes on.

And the list is still bloody going on, hence all the door fitting and extra mods
that I am still doing and will continue to do until I get what I want.

Lots of you out there must have been in the position, where you look at something on your build and think "yeah, I can live with that" but really, deep down inside you have that horrid niggly feeling that you really can't live with it, and you are kidding yourself, and worst still, you know that one day, you will have to bite the bullet, and do it properly!

That sort of day comes to me quite a lot, and it came this morning with regard to the door fit. I knew I just had to sort it out.

Over on the "other side" Paul has just had one of those days and chopped his bonnet in half!! So I know, he knows what I mean.

I've been busy, and its lunchtime already, so here are some explanatory pics
to be getting on with, more after lunch

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

Okay Zag you are crazy! The sides of WHAT look like a VW camper?

My XKSS?? :-)

After lunch

While waiting for the resin to go off, I had a look at the passengers rear door shut lines, and was not sure it was good enough.

Then I did some photographic study of Steve (the coolest dude on earth at the time) McQueen's XKSS passenger door shut line in the same place.

No one back then said that looked awful, and after all this was, and is, the most famous XKSS of all time, all 6 million quids worth.
I have two pics for comparison, and will not be doing any mods to mine.
If it was good enough for Mr Cool, its good enough for me.

Here's what I mean:

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

So I carried on with the drivers door, which had the holes covered up and re drilled out, had the rear edge extended by a half inch or so.
I filled and cut it roughly to shape, and now it is a tight fit in the doorway, and will be sanded to a good fit at a later stage.

One more step.......... another day's work....

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

Well Jonesy, I'm glad I'm helping someone!

But I also find it hard to go out and work in the cold, but keep telling myself that if I don't keep at it I'll never finish it!

It doesn't always work, but when the guilt builds up, I HAVE to go out!!

Try and find things that you can do in the warm, even if you have to strip them off the car first! (Like my door)

Good luck with yours and keep at it.

Well Paul, you solved that one very neatly by glassing your doors in place! To be honest, when I saw what you had done, I was tempted,
as it would have saved me a helluva lot of work, but of course, decided against it in the end, which was probably the best option for my cars integrity.

Dave, you too huh? they are a pain I agree, but it has to be done, (as the vicar said to the little... oh never mind)

Merry Christmas to everyone that reads my thread, and also to those that don't!

Boxing Day

Thanks for the good wishes fellahs!

Jonesy: I was reading Danny's thread and noticed his gear stick arrangement.
Almost identical to what I will use, but mine came off my 1971 Spitfire donar car.
I think all cars of that age had similar.

Should look good once in place. Good luck with yours ( Danny's)

[IMG][/IMG]

Nice picture, Danny, an F Type would be a lot cheaper though!!

Monday

Over the festive period I went to a party and met an old army friend who told me about a fellow that lived fairly local to us who apparently had
"a fairly good collection of classic cars"
He promised me some pictures of them.

Today I had his email, and was actually staggered by what I saw in the pictures!
It surely must be the mother of all private collections.

I have not counted (I'm sure some one will!!) But he appears to have around 20 E Types, 10 or so mark two', God knows how many XK 120's 140's and 150's and the list goes on..........

I would like to share the pics with you all, so here they are:

[IMG]
[/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

Well. I think that link says it all!

New Years day

Well, I went out to the car to connect and test my stereo unit, which I had fitted before the Christmas period.
I connected the speakers up, and the live and earth, and it would not work.
Poosticks! Or something like that!

Flat battery, totally dead, so dead, that I'm wondering whether I have a leak somewhere that is draining the (new) battery.

One way I know is to fit a cut off switch, but the right way is to find the offending "leak" Any ideas anyone???????

Just over a year ago, when I re-routed the battery to the boot, I posted a picture of it, (complete with its 42 year old post type lead connectors, and was immediately chided my Mick O'Mally. Quite rightly too.

I bought more modern replacement units, as I knew Mick was right, but of course, it never got done. So now was an ideal opportunity to play catch-up.

The battery now has its new "modern" connectors.

Take note Mick!

Incidentally, Mick is building an A352, a rather nice looking one too. and also like me, he is trying to replicate a specific Jaguar, but he has chosen the D Type to model his build on, I believe, complete with rear fin.

I do look forward to seeing that one finished too.


Right, back to my build. About a year ago, when I started stripping out my donar Spitfire, I did some minor welding in the drivers footwell, which has since developed surface rust, and that has to go, so I sanded it out and gave it the Kurust teatment.

Also the passengers side too.


After the Kurust had dried, (quite quickly, as it was assisted by me and my heat-gun)

I intended to paint the floor in a rust preventative silver paint, which I had
bought last year.

It warned me on the tin that the colour may vary in silver tone, but it did not warn me that the paint was in fact fu**ing grey, and unless an effing miracle occurs during the drying process, it will stay that way.

Still. considering the whole floor area will be hidden by ally panels, seats carpets and the like, it matters not a fig, except to say it is very irritating.

I got carried away as usual, and painted the entire boot interior in my "silver" paint, so that was not a bad way to be carried away.

So, to summarise, I did not really achieve all of what I set out to do, but by the next session, the paint will have dried, the battery will be charged, so I will be able to finally test the stereo, and then paint the passengers side "silver"

here are some pics, not necessarily in the right order:

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

Thanks for the info WCA, if they do build an XKSS I'll snap it up quick, before any multi- millionaires get a chance.................:-)

WCA, wire brush / sand any loose rust off, treat with kurust, and hand paint over with hammerite paint in any colour.
Done correctly, you will never have a rust problem in that area again.

Simples :-)

Wow! You've done me proud Ed, I admire your tenacity!

At times I have tried read complete threads, and always end up just skimming through.

Your Marlin looks to be coming on really well, should look the part when complete.

I often joke about ingenuity being driven by poverty, but really, that is the case.
I wanted an XKSS, and there are several companies in the business of building them, and they talk of "owning a fabulous re-pro, for a fraction of the price of a real one"

The "fraction of the price" in XKSS terms appears to be between
£60, 000 and £125,000.
I really did not have that sort of small change lying around.

So I had to make just about everything myself, but as you say, it goes to show it can be done.

I have learnt so much from this forum and all the people on it, and that has made the build easier than it would have been.

Your list looks good, but I still can't get my head round lists for me!

Its all in my head, and I seem to be able to function reasonably well that way
Good luck with your build and look forward to seeing the finished pics.

Scottie

Don't worry about any hijack Ed!
I don't really care about the front lights, the car will not need an IVA, only an Mot, and I have an understanding Mot person, so things like that should not be an issue.

Regards the side lamps, my car has seperate side lamps at present, just like the Spitfire it is supposed to be, so I don't really see an issue there either, or have I missed a "nasty" that could trip me up?

Monday

You have an English wheel Ed??? Wow!

I wish I could have and use one!

Your car is looking good so far, you must start a thread.

Reference the lights, I was kind of aware of the issues you raised, and like you said Mr Towed has sorted that area out. He can usually be relied on to come up with good solid stuff.

Well, to any DVLC personnel reading this, have no fear, I've just measured my lights, they conform to the regulations perfectly, and like Mr Towed's car,
although they look very low, its just an optical illusion!

when I painted my boot out with the "silver" paint, ( which turned out to be grey)

I wanted to refit the battery the next day, but could not do so as the paint was not dry. Nor was it dry the next day, nor the next.

This resulted in me hurling the tin of paint in the bin, with a few choice words.

However, it is now dry, and I re-fitted the battery in its posh new home,
complete with its posh new connections this morning.

I started to make the lid of what will be the passengers glove box.

some pics:


[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]