1600 Coupe Restoration.

[MattNoVAT]

So plan for this weekend now that the Espace is fixed and not keeping me away from more important Beta work, is:

Providing the upper spring cups are ready then the back end suspension will get rebuilt and hubs/brakes etc being re-fitted.

Replace engine oil
Replace gearbox oil
Replace oil & air filters
Replace alternator belt
Replace spark plugs (if needed - not sure if Mark did this already)
Replace water hoses and clamps from heater matrix to engine
Replace rubber fuel pipes and clamps in engine bay

Before I bought the car from Mark some parts were renewed, like dizzy cap, rotor, points, coil etc, so I'm good on that front.

I think I have changed my mind over when to replace the rubber brake pipes, this may well be done this weekend so the brakes will get bled through as well. Some of this depends on whether the spring cups are ready.

The cam belt and tensioner bearing will be replaced when I get back from the US in mid-June as I have to ask Tony H if I can borrow the cam locking tool.  

I'll be ordering a set of black, front ARB and wishbone bushes soon, but I have to strip the front suspension, brakes, hubs and wishbones.  Once the big bits are off they have to be blasted and repainted then refitted. Lots of new parts going on like lower ball joints, bearings and track rod ends.

I have a large box of parts that is my latest batch to be blasted & some of it will be plated.  Ideally this will be done while I am away and ready for me when I get back. (I'll be eager to do some work on the car as I'd have been away for 3 weekends)

Seems like a lot of work but I think it should all be fairly straight forward methinks. (Crosses fingers  )

And after all thats done it will be time to strip the car fully in preparation for the car for going off to be welded and painted. (By the same guy that did my red S2/FL)


 

[MattNoVAT]

Got most things done that I wanted but got a little sidetracked.

The oils and filters were changed and I removed the front discs and calipers.

Mark & Tony swung by to see the progress and Mark bought me all my lovely new panels and some odd bits that I needed, one of which was an old Coupe rear silencer, the one I'd bought off Mark to put on this car has the hanger bracket welded on the wrong side   It wasn't going to fit so Mark gave me an old rotten one that I could take the bracket off and weld to the good silencer.

So my side track was, I ground away the spot welds for the old bracket and welded on the donor bracket in the right place.  A coat of paint and it's all fitted together nicely although it took longer than I expected as I did not want to cut through or blow a hole welding on the new bracket. 

The spring cups are still not here so I ended up tidying the garage up (this has actually made a huge difference) then while kicking around looking for something else to do, I cleaned up the rear suspension bolts & nuts.  This was a good opportunity to play with my tap & die set and boy what a difference it made No more struggling to tighten nuts because of rust/age. I know it may seem a bit OTT, but theres no drag anymore everything is nice and smooth.  As I'm trying to keep as much as possible original it makes that approach easier, so I think I'll be doing a bit more of this.  Not on everything but certainly on the major things.

Tony has kindly leant me his cam locking tool, so I'll be doing the cam belt & tensioner bearing when I'm back.

So, I'm now preparing for next weekend when I head off for 2 weeks away on business and being away from my wife, my daughter and my cars 

[rossocorsa]

amazing progress Matt! no real progress on my volumex so you are overtaking me fast still hoping to have it ready for the 40th though

[MattNoVAT]

Just my luck - the rear suspension upper spring cups arrived today - the day before I leave on business.

Still, at least it will all be here waiting for me when I get back :-)

[MattNoVAT]

Saturday I set about stripping the rear inner wheel arches back to bare metal.  Primarily to make life easier on my bodywork man but also to see how much work needs doing to the rear arches.  The job wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, partly due to using the right chemicals and tools and partly due to Lancia's somewhat haphazard approach to applying the stone-chip or under-seal to the inner arches.  About 3 hours per side not including the curing time for the Jenolite & red primer paint.  So a weekend of sweating, contorting myself and getting showered in muck & dust.

I've removed all bar one of the previous "attempts at repair" - some of which were purely cosmetic and served no other purpose than to hide a rust hole!  Thankfully the new panels I bought from Mark W will deal with most of the holes, leaving my bodywork man to only have to deal with a few patches.  Hopefully these patches will not take a huge amount of time to sort out.

Once stripped and treated I've given it a quick coat of primer to keep the surface rust at bay while I prep the rest of the car.  I will rebuild the rear suspension & hubs etc this week but only bolt them in place without torquing them up as its all got to come off when it goes in for the welding & painting.

The same work needs to be done on the front end, stripping back to bare metal removing any bad repairs and prepping for welding.  Thankfully the front only has a coupple of small holes that need sorting and once the wings are off the front is easier to work on than the rear arches.

I started the car up and let her run for 30 minutes now that I've replaced the split expansion tank, replaced cooling system hoses and the Rad sensor/switch.  Apart from running a bit rough (which was to be expected) all was well with no water leaks.  Need to fit new plugs and HT leads and change the cam belt next.

While poking around under the bonnet I noticed that the steering rack gaiter is fatigued badly, it is a good job I have a spare rack and a new gaiter  .  I'll check the spare rack and do a straight swap while the front suspension, hubs and wishbones are off the car.

[MattNoVAT]

I decided to leave the old brake hoses and calipers in place as I figured there is no point in getting overspray on my nice new bits.  When I get the car back from the bodyshop I will replace all the brake pipes with new copper ones that I make myself.

My last batch of bits for plating is now complete, but the small stuff came back first.  I know there are some random items in there but the more I have plated the cheaper it is, so I tend to chuck anything that can be plated in.  Things like bits from the tool kit I like to look good too!  (So theres a picture for those who like shiny bits)

Still waiting for the bits to come back from the powder coaters.

So here is what the rear arches look like now.

[rossocorsa]

your car is going to make mine look seriously tatty I don't have funds for all that posh plating. Your wheel arches look remarkable given it's an early car although I see you have the usual worm at the bottom of the strut tower.

[MattNoVAT]

Yes at rust at the bottom of the strut tower and also at the end of the sill, several bad attempts at repairing the hole have been removed from both sides.    It'll all get sorted when it goes to the bodyshop.

The good news is that the rear strut, hub, caliper and brake is now fitted to the offside (bits are starting to go back onto the car.... yaaaaaay!!!    )  Gotta do the near side next.

Even my MOT man told me that he'd noticed good progress when I was MOT'ing the red coupe today.  (He did ask if I'd bring the blue one to him for its ticket when the time comes)

I also stripped one of the wings I have back to bare metal.... a few small repairs need to be done before that goes on the car.

There seems to be a 100 different jobs to be done still.....  But I'm still loving it   

I'm very lucky that my engineer does my plating cheap.... plus,   You don't get a nickname like Matt "No VAT" for nothing tee hee hee!!

The rest of the plating is done and back with me, plus the powder coating should be back Thursday.  I've ordered the all new bushes for the front and also a new cam belt tensioner bearing from Mark W, so I'll be doing a a bit of proper spanner swinging soon.

[MattNoVAT]

Tonight I finished re-assembling the rear suspension & brakes.  Just the last 30 minutes required the use of the inspection light as the light faded.  Bit of a milestone for me this, as it means that all that remains is to bleed the rear brakes through and then put the rear wheels back on.  Will let the rears sit a couple of days before I bleed them.... a job for Sunday I reckon.

Then its on to the front 

Earlier this week I got the spare steering rack out, today I stripped it, checked it over generally for signs of wear and re-applied a little grease in the correct places, changed the gaiter, end caps and gave it a bit of a clean.  Ordered the bushes from Mark W and yet more stuff to go off for cleaning & plating.  I am 99.9% sure I have new steering tie rods so they'll get used up when the bits come back and I'll just swap out the old rack for this one.

Theres one element of doing the front end that I'm not looking forward to..... if the drive shaft gaiters are split anywhere they'll need replacing.  Thats just one of those jobs I have always disliked doing for some reason.

No spanners tomorrow.... sisters wedding!   (again!!)

[rossocorsa]

Blimey you are MILES ahead of me! I can't believe how quick you are, i am thinking to take the head off my spare engine tomorrow I wasn't going to bother but as I have a spare gasket it maybe makes sense to have a good look at it as it's the engine I intend to put in the car

[MattNoVAT]

It's a kind of relaxation / therapy for me as I have quite a stressful job. Also as you may have guessed I'm one of those people who has to be doing something.

Plus while we have long dry days and evenings I need to take advantage of that.

[rossocorsa]

It's a kind of relaxation / therapy for me as I have quite a stressful job. Also as you may have guessed I'm one of those people who has to be doing something.

Plus while we have long dry days and evenings I need to take advantage of that.

that explains a lot as I tend to relax by sitting beer in hand doing nothing, actually I must admit having had the car hanging around for nearly 10 years it is difficult to get so enthusiastic any more

[MattNoVAT]

Because my job involves using my brain and not my hands I am left with a feeling of having achieved nothing tangible, so working on the Beta remedies that so I have something physical to show for my hard work.

Plus I don't really drink that much so I spend my spare money on my cars!

[mangocrazy]

Hi Matt, what type of plating are you getting all your bits done with? It looks a bit like zinc passivation, but I'm guessing it's something else. I've been looking at electro-less nickel plating, but I think the finish on that is slightly different. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Graham

[MattNoVAT]

Mine is "Coloured Zinc Passivation", the options are clear or coloured and the coloured I think looks slightly better IMO.

I did look at cadmium plating but thats now reserved & licensed for the aviation industry from what I was told.

Usual story.... nasty chemicals that are not friendly towards the environment blah blah blah..

Electro-less Nickel Plating give more or a silver finish IIRC

[mangocrazy]

Cheers, Matt. I thought I recognised the zinc passivation colour; I had a set of motorcycle disc rotors done in that a couple of years ago. The first few applications of the brakes cleans off the swept area, leaving the rest protected by the zinc plating.

[MattNoVAT]

Today was like Christmas....... Only Santa was replaced by Mark W 

In the parcel was:

1 new Cam tensioner bearing

New engine bay stickers (both)

1 set of front ARB bushes

1 set of front wishbone bushes

1 set of steering rack bushes

Typical, I have Thursday off to start on the front and the weather report say...... rain! 

But that won't stop me

[HFStuart]

Because my job involves using my brain

and yet you seem to be doing quite well.....

[MattNoVAT]

ROFLMAO !

Yeah, one day they are going to catch on that I'm just blagging my way through 

[MattNoVAT]

After A full day a Peppa Pig World (with my 3.5 year old daughter & my wife) I called in and picked up my powder coated parts.  Top water rail, side splash guards, the two struts from front suspension tower to front crossmember, cooling fan mount and the rear link arms.  All very nice and black 

Tomorrow, hopefully I'll have a full day going at the 1600 Coupe and I'll make some headway on the front end of the car. 

Fingers crossed the weather will be kind to me.