169 replies to this topic

[GraemeC]

The seat set looks in good order, hope the rest are as good as the one in the pic as that's a difficult colour to find bits for.
This will make a good standard spec car with some nice original parts, should be a nice resto.

[Birminghamsmiths]

Those are perfect. Some of the cars I have seen that are supposedly original seem to have an opposite badge....the blue bits are silver and the silver bits are blue. Yours are the ones I have bought so I will now fit them.

Thanks for your help. Funny to see them on your removed panels though.

I forgot to remove mine before getting my shell acid dipped. They didn't survive the process.

[okc78]

Good luck with the project, I love the early GT's, still really miss mine I sold it over 10 years ago. They are getting pretty rare in original condition like yours.

[72gt]

The seat set looks in good order, hope the rest are as good as the one in the pic as that's a difficult colour to find bits for.
This will make a good standard spec car with some nice original parts, should be a nice resto.

Thanks,the drivers seat cover is split underneath the backrest but not visible,will hopefully repair and they should clean up well,they are all filthy ......
a few more pics .....back to jan 2010 and the stripdown starts....  001_001.jpg   81.18K   38 downloads  002_001.jpg   66.58K   44 downloads  003_001.jpg   73.08K   56 downloads  004_001.jpg   76.87K   105 downloads  005_001.jpg   77.55K   64 downloads  006_001.jpg   83.21K   45 downloads  007_001.jpg   65.15K   57 downloads  008_001.jpg   51.27K   42 downloads

[Steely]

That steering wheel with the centre cap is worth a lot on its own. Looks in good condition too. I look forward to seeing it's progress. Good Luck!

[Birminghamsmiths]

72gt...It's such a thrill to witness a genuine car being stripped down. Another question for you....

Is there any trim on the inside of the windscreen pillars. On some 1275GTs I have seen there is black vinyl running down from the headlining to the top dashboard foam panel. Not sure if this was standard or not.

As always, any help you can give is greatly appreciated.

[72gt]

72gt...It's such a thrill to witness a genuine car being stripped down. Another question for you....

Is there any trim on the inside of the windscreen pillars. On some 1275GTs I have seen there is black vinyl running down from the headlining to the top dashboard foam panel. Not sure if this was standard or not.

As always, any help you can give is greatly appreciated.

I dont remember removing any front pillar trim and all of the interior is boxed up and in the loft so can't check at the moment,this is the best pic I have of the pillars on stripdown,hope this may help you.
 035_001.jpg   63.83K   44 downloads

[okc78]

That bodshells not in bad shape considering its age, whats the plan of attack, will you get it dipped before welding? Is that teal blue paint? It looks quite dark in the pics. Looking at your photos brings back fond memories of stripping down my old GT, sadly I didn't keep mini completely original but they seemed less precious then. I threw away the original red seats for red leather riley or wolsey ones, binned the wheels and full webasto (welded on new roof panel) and scrapped the worn out but far from scrap original engine and box in favour of a recon MG metro unit, what an idiot. I did at least have the sense to retain the original paint colour which is pretty rare I think being black tulip with red interior and side stripes. I sold the car well over 10 years ago and really wanted another early GT but just couldnt afford one so I bought a 71 standard clubman, now waiting its turn for restoration after my 68 mkII.
I'm really looking forward to seeing more on this, good luck and keep us posted.
Ollie

[72gt]

^^ I think the colour is mallard green and limeflower interior,it's a very dark green,I did polish up a good section and it looks nice,I like it anyway ,not sure of the limeflower interior colour though but it has to stay and I'm sure once scrubbed up I'll get used to it I am thinking the way forward with this will be to carry out all welding/body repairs first,then refurb of all interior , wheels ,and all parts so that they are ready to go and finally I am considering having the shell soda blasted and if all is well painted straight away,then the rebuild (slow of course !!!!),I'm worried if I get the body painted first it will get damaged whilst I refurb everything else
Gareth.

[okc78]

Ahh yes there weren't that many colours in the early seventies BL range, I completely forgot about that dark green. I know what you mean about the limeflower but rekon when all the original colours come together it will look amazing.
I found with my project that I would get quite overwhelmed if I looked at the whole car as there was/still is, so much to do, although looks like your car is alot better than mine was. I just tried to only look at one part at a time. I started with just one small repair and set a goal to finish that. Your plan sounds good, never tried soda blasting, theres a bit in this months mini mag about it I think but I haven't read it yet. I clean stone at work sometimes using a fine tuned blasting system as I'm a stonemason by profession. Theres alot of different types of abbrasive media to choose from, walnut shells, calcite, dolomite etc. I'm not sure soda will get rust off though just paint I think as it will be a very gentle abbrasive blast.
Ollie

[72gt]

a few more pics from the stripdown...  057.jpg   79.32K   34 downloads  056.jpg   81.69K   41 downloads  055.jpg   82.22K   40 downloads
and as I said at the start,this gt was a spur of the moment buy,can you spot the whopping great problem I am facing here ?.......first to guess what wins 2 sheared subframe bolts.....
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[Vale 46]

Glad it's not just me , must be something to do with restoring GT's !

I've got a garage , but it's got 5 motorbikes , a Colchester lathe , pillar drill , compressor , mig welder & christ knows what else in there , so there is absolutely no chance of getting a car in

I did manage to get about an hours work done today before the rain started , YET AGAIN !!! I've got 3 weeks off , and I really thought I would get some work done on the car, but the way it's going with the sodding weather, if I manage to get the rear subframe off I will feel it is a major achievement .

Good luck with the re-build , i feel your pain

[minimikej]

I absolutely love this car, horrid colour and all :)

Fancy swapping for my other mk1 project?

[MrBounce]

Got to adore an early GT. Even with a limeflower interior

So nice to see that this one's not in bad nick for its age. Am going to enjoy this rebuild!

[72gt]

Glad it's not just me , must be something to do with restoring GT's !

I've got a garage , but it's got 5 motorbikes , a Colchester lathe , pillar drill , compressor , mig welder & christ knows what else in there , so there is absolutely no chance of getting a car in

I did manage to get about an hours work done today before the rain started , YET AGAIN !!! I've got 3 weeks off , and I really thought I would get some work done on the car, but the way it's going with the sodding weather, if I manage to get the rear subframe off I will feel it is a major achievement .

Good luck with the re-build , i feel your pain

Well done I DID have a garage but several years ago the current mrs gt decided it would be a great idea to convert it into a playroom for our 2 young kids so all I was left with was a 10 by 8 shed and that contained 3 motorbikes,tools,lawnmower,etc etc and now a vast growing amount of mini parts so the gt stayed covered up on the drive for over a year and I was then given instructions that we needed a new kitchen and while I was at it a new bathroom .
So fast forward to may 2011 and this happened  002.jpg   69.53K   17 downloads  11052011844.jpg   79.93K   33 downloads  28052011853.jpg   74.74K   32 downloads  30052011876.jpg   47.18K   22 downloads  001.jpg   62.9K   28 downloads  007.jpg   65.88K   30 downloads  004.jpg   43.32K   55 downloads
Yessssss I have a man cave ......Ebay came up trumps again with second hand concrete wall panels,windows and and free door