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Elf Again


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#1 toromod

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Posted 25 October 2018 - 10:22 PM

Hi, I've just bought a 1968 Mk III Riley Elf for the second time, it's been lying in a shed for a number of years so there will be a fair amount of work to get it back on the road. I owned it briefly about 6 years ago, sold it on and it disappeared till it was offered for sale a couple of months ago. It's original, Yukon Grey with a Snowberry white roof, all documentation, genuine mileage etc.

I live in the Western Isles (Lewis) off the north west coast of Scotland so forums etc are my library!

Once I suss out posting images, I'll update as I go along.



#2 nicklouse

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Posted 26 October 2018 - 12:14 AM

sweet.



#3 Mini Manannán

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Posted 26 October 2018 - 05:15 AM

 

Once I suss out posting images, I'll update as I go along.

 

Imgur seems to be favourite for pics.   Welcome to TMF, must get out to your part of the world sometime, been meaning to for years.



#4 toromod

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Posted 26 October 2018 - 10:34 PM

43931462_10213139535462235_1427149574409

 

This is the Elf as it is today



#5 toromod

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Posted 28 November 2018 - 11:59 PM

Attached File  24th Nov 2018.jpg   51.73K   1 downloadsAttached File  27th Nov 2018 (02) - Copy.JPG   148.99K   2 downloadsGot the Elf into a local storage facility so the work has started - soaked all nuts/bolts etc in WD40 for a couple of weeks then removed the chromework.

Now I've started with the wire brush/grinder removing what appears to be mostly localised rust, not too many major areas so far, both door skins have rusted away at the bottom - I've been coating the areas I take back to bare steel in weld-through etch primer as I go along.

 



#6 toromod

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Posted 29 November 2018 - 11:02 PM

... after spending a few more hours today in paint & rust dust, progress continues ....

After returning home, I was leafing through some information that came with the car and lo and behold it represented the Riley marque at the Mini's 40th anniversary in 1999 at Silverstone! 

So, that's a definite target for completion for next year!  :highfive:



#7 Biggles1957

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Posted 30 November 2018 - 05:28 PM

Excellent!  My first car was a 1970 Elf - Persian Blue with Snowberry roof - WNX 227H - and I'm just restoring a 1969 one now with the intention of using it as my daily runabout.  Same colour.  The shell has been at the paintshop for a few months now but I'm not in a rush.  I have a smashing 1968 Cooper S 1275 engine that I'm putting in it and all being well will have it back on the road next year.  I did find an Elf owners club forum but I'm not sure what has happened to it - it seems to have disappeared - although it could be 'operator error' on my part.  Often is with computers!



#8 hhhh

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Posted 30 November 2018 - 05:47 PM

Somehow this seems appropriate:

 



#9 toromod

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Posted 30 November 2018 - 10:16 PM

I know what you mean about the Elf/Hornet Forum - I've tried several times to access it, with some rare success, though usually short-lived!  O_O



#10 toromod

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Posted 10 January 2019 - 12:08 AM

An Elvish update - front panel & wings, bonnet & bootlid sanded back to primer, removing the flaking grey topcoat which had been cracking and lifting - dirty, dirty work - my sympathies go to those working in bodyshops who do this on a daily basis! Next on the list are the rear wings, rear panel and the roof, the door skins need renewing so that's two panels less to sand (for now) then I can move into the engine bay and the interior - who needs a New Year resolution! ???? - the end is always in sight, I just can't reach it yet!!

 

49620880_1999029266855356_23377120874568

 

 



#11 toromod

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Posted 27 November 2019 - 11:28 PM

A year later and the restoration continues (from September), health issues meant an enforced 6-month break so obviously the Mini 60th wasn't possible.

The amount of time and effort that went into the Elf by Messrs Bodge-It & Scarper still manages to amaze me, each footwell was a jigsaw of irregular patches, with several weld runs to create a “join” even if the welds didn’t actually meet; plate sections attached over previous rusty pieces with some plate to plate welds resembling the mask worn by Anthony Hopkins in “The Silence of the Lambs”. 

Some progress - the engine was lifted out and been treated to a duplex timing chain and clutch followed by a fresh coat of MOWOG Green, the engine bay has been cleaned and repainted, also the roof, wings, boot-lid and bonnet sanded and primed; the passenger footwell has been replaced as has the footboard section of the wheel arch; 

intention was then to move on to the driver’s side, but when the multi-layer bodging became apparent, along with the overcill hiding serious rot in the original cill, it was decided to remove the overcill along it’s length to get a better view of the driver’s side - holes in the floor adjacent to and in the heelboard as well as a springy boot floor with yet more poultices in the corners and next to the wheel arches, the next train of thought was to lower the rear subframe to allow better access. 

 

A motorcycle scissor-jack (well worth £95)with a large pad was placed under the subframe, then the trunnion bolts were removed. (They had been treated to copious amounts of wd-40 beforehand and came out fairly easily.) Once the springs were disconnected, the subframe was lowered on the scissor-jack.

The hydrolastic system is still connected and pressurised, so the pipework was eased out of the retaining channel and clips beforehand. The subframe itself appears to be fairly sound though it will be given a serious going over with a wire brush to reveal its true condition. 

 

The battery box has also been removed, the final location for the battery has yet to be confirmed, but it won’t be underneath!



#12 eric67

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Posted 01 December 2019 - 03:31 PM

These jobs always escalate but it sounds like you are making good progress now. It will be interesting to see how you get on.
Any chance of a 'project' post.?

#13 toromod

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Posted 01 December 2019 - 09:33 PM

That was my intention, but I'm not too technically-IT so the system keeps telling me my photo files are tooo big! I'll get someone to suss it out, I'm hoping to go to the Minifest in January to get some shopping done! 



#14 toromod

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Posted 01 December 2019 - 10:38 PM

Attached File  IMG_1003-01.JPG   58.85K   0 downloadsAttached File  IMG_1015-01.JPG   70.72K   0 downloadsAttached File  IMG_1035-01.JPG   62.73K   0 downloadsAttached File  20190906_140010-01.jpg   60K   0 downloads

 

Think I've sussed the "add photos" now - so here we go, the 1st photo shows the multi-layers under the driver's footwell; 2nd shows what was revealed after removing the offside overcill; 3rd shows the rear subframe and the 4th shows the front end, bonnet, bootlid & roof in etch primer following sanding - progress since September!



#15 Guest_Red_Riley_*

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Posted 19 December 2019 - 01:14 PM

Excellent!  My first car was a 1970 Elf - Persian Blue with Snowberry roof - WNX 227H - and I'm just restoring a 1969 one now with the intention of using it as my daily runabout.  Same colour.  The shell has been at the paintshop for a few months now but I'm not in a rush.  I have a smashing 1968 Cooper S 1275 engine that I'm putting in it and all being well will have it back on the road next year.  I did find an Elf owners club forum but I'm not sure what has happened to it - it seems to have disappeared - although it could be 'operator error' on my part.  Often is with computers!

 

 

I know what you mean about the Elf/Hornet Forum - I've tried several times to access it, with some rare success, though usually short-lived!  O_O

The Elf/Hornet forum hasn't disappeared, https://elf-hornet.forumotion.com/ but it's not being used so much lately. Seems to be everyone prefers using the Facebook group. https://www.facebook.../?ref=bookmarks






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