655 replies to this topic

[valve bounce]

now i don't know much about paint, but i was told that the clear coat needs to go onto a slightly wet base. ive just done my fiesta in 2pk moondust silver and once id sprayed the colour on i washed the gun out then had a quick brew then sprayed the clear on. i was told between colour and clear you should only leave 30-60minutes.

great thread by the way i just red the whole thing, keep up the good work

[bcjames]

Thanks I can't say as I had heard about spraying it over a wet base, I let the green dry overnight before I put some clear on. I'm quite new to spraying with a compressor set up, so more practice is in order I think. I have an old bonnet that I can try things out on. Thinking about it, I probably should have done that before I started playing with the car

Update coming shortly if I ever find my camera lead!

[bcjames]

Lead found! Just need to give flickr some money and I'll be all sorted for photos.

Anyway, good news Chris let me know he'll be bringing the subframe round this evening, so I can get that back together tonight, and probably back on the car tomorrow. That has spurred on getting the front finished, and the garage a bit tidier.

Now it's had around a week to dry, I went over the new paint with the rubbing compound and polish. It came up quite well, but if you stick your head by it, you can still see the transition between the paints. I don't know if its an issue with new/old paint (the wing's paint is 15 years old), the way I sprayed it, or if I didn't put enough/put too much on. Either way, it's done now, and I'm happy enough with it. It looks smarter at least than having a hole beneath the light and bubbles on the front/wing.



Paint finished by bcjamesmini, on Flickr




Paint finished by bcjamesmini, on Flickr

With that done, the front could all go back together. It's so great to see it looking like a road-going car again!



Front end! by bcjamesmini, on Flickr

I've also cleared space and sorted out all the nuts, bolts, and brackets for the rear subframe. All the other parts have been repainted in a satin finish ready for reassembly.



Rear subframe components by bcjamesmini, on Flickr

I found these photos on my phone too, it's a shame the car is going rusty as the paint can shine up quite nicely! Excuse the graininess, it's an iPhone!



Right by bcjamesmini, on Flickr

All being well it will be back on it's wheels and ready for it's first drive tomorrow. First stop, petrol station! Then it can come back for a head retorque and oil change.

Edited by bcjames, 05 October 2011 - 12:06 PM.

[bcjames]

So, Chris turned up at lunch time with this



Powder coated subframe by bcjamesmini, on Flickr

How nice does powdercoating look!!



New nuts by bcjamesmini, on Flickr

So after an hour and 3 cups of tea, I had this:



Subframe built up by bcjamesmini, on Flickr

Then, awkwardly got it here:



Subframe under by bcjamesmini, on Flickr

And finally...



Subframe in by bcjamesmini, on Flickr

Brakes are all back together, both hydraulic and handbrake. Fuel pipes are all connected. I was putting the suspension in when the boot came off of the cup on the knuckle joint. I'd tried so, so hard to keep them on. So, the annoying awkward job of getting it back on is first thing in the morning! When I fitted new suspension I had the knuckle and boot together, then slotted it in and used the cars weight to press it in. Since the cup is already in the arm, this will be a bit more difficult! Looking at those photos, I think I need to rub down and repaint my rear valance too!

[myredmini]

Looking good, best way to remove the ridge where you have painted is to wet flat with 2000 wet and dry and then cut it in with a good cutting compund. Great work!

Dan.

[bcjames]

Hi Dan, thanks for your comments

There's no ridge between the new and old paint, it was flatted to blend it in between prime, base and clear. After compounding there is no discernible difference in the surface between new and old. In just the ambient light of the garage it hard to tell, but shine the LED light on the area and you can see a difference in the colours. I'm yet to see how it looks in sunshine! Chris had a look and says I should have had a much darker primer or maybe needed another coat of green. Given my experience of spraying yellow over both white and grey primers, I'd say I needed a darker primer, it seems to be too light as you look in to it's depth, if that makes any sense.

I wish the garage was double width, my back is feeling squeezing between the wall and the car to fit parts!

[MaxAndPaddy]

So pleased for you that she'l be back on the road soon!! ...Your doing a great job on her, alot of the project threads lose us in techno talk, but really enjoy yours as it makes sense to us novices

(Read that back and not sure it came out right but hope you get the compliment )

[bcjames]

Thank you, I took it as a compliment! The things I do are very much an application of common sense rather than technicality! I paint stuff Some of it is shiny!

In truth, I just don't do a lot to it! I'm not in a position to rebuild it, and I'm not fussed on making it faster, sportier, etc. It's quite a nice car as Rover intended, so I'm not overly compelled to mess with it beyond maintaing it.

I'm really excited at the prospect of driving it again tomorrow!!! BRG Coopers are the best!

[Peskett]

Glad to see its going back together, frame looks good Sewell

Edited by Peskett, 05 October 2011 - 09:38 PM.

[Peskett]

Glad to see its going back together, frame looks good aswell

[Peskett]

Glad to see its going back together, frame looks good aswell

[bcjames]

Thanks Gary, and thanks for putting me in touch with Chris, he's done a great job on the frame.

Woo three posts there!

[MaxAndPaddy]

I'm really excited at the prospect of driving it again tomorrow!!! BRG Coopers are the best!

Max totally agrees

[bcjames]

I'm really excited at the prospect of driving it again tomorrow!!! BRG Coopers are the best!

Max totally agrees

Some more steady progress today. I couldn't get the knuckle boot to go back on, so I had to take the radius arm back off. After faffing around with that for about an hour and a half, I got the drivers side together in about ten minutes! I love the way a newly built up subframe looks


Passenger side complete by bcjamesmini, on Flickr

I also got my nice new stainless petrol cap on. It's the new one from Minispares. It's a really tight fit but looks smarter than my old one. For some reason the old cap was vented, where as this one is non-vented. As far as I know it's the latter I need on an MPi.


New petrol cap by bcjamesmini, on Flickr


New petrol cap by bcjamesmini, on Flickr

Once the exhaust is rehung and parts are greased, the car can go back on it's wheels. My grease gun is being a pain and won't push any grease through, so I'll get messy trying to fix that!

I also can't get my rear brakes to bleed. I have hooked up the eezibleed, opened the passenger side rear nipple, and nothing. No fluid gets pushed through from the front. I've not done rears before, so don't know if I'm doing it wrong or if theres some other issue.

Edit: all that code came back, it seems to be when I use smileys and flickr in the same post.

Edited by bcjames, 06 October 2011 - 11:40 AM.

[Juju]

Mr James, she's gonna be too shiney to drive at this rate...