73 replies to this topic

[bert998]

now thats a bargain and i just wish i was in the UK now.

Im sure you could squeeze it into your hand luggage

[craig 1010cc]

Come on chris, what progress have you made??

[bert998]

Come on chris, what progress have you made??

Well, now I have sorted the move and finally settling into the unit I have been able to crack on with it.

This weekend saw the n/s sill fitted and also the o/s flitch done. Both a panels were fitted and the front end offered up. It was good to see it looking like an actual car again.

Ive gone for a new steel front end which I will be making removable. I regret cutting the inner wings out for the honda lump now, but such is life! At least future engine work will be easier!

I'm completely flustered about what colour to paint it:

Vermillion with a cream/tan interior
White with a red interior with white detailing
Satin black with a black interior and orange detailing

Really it is out of the black and white. I know realistically the white is the more sensible option as keeping the satin looking fresh will be a royal pita, but I cant the idea of a cool looking satin black caddy with orange detailing out of my head

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[bert998]

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•  clubby.jpg   91.63K   20 downloads

[mk3 Cooper S]

Blaze was the colour in 72 not vermilion if you want the correct colour for the year?

[bert998]

nope! Its satin for now, and if i get bored of that it'll be going down to Pete for a coat of white

[bert998]

Some more progress, finally decided on the colour scheme (this is the third!) But im happy with this one.




Stripped a centre binnacle and modified it for a 2 clock setup, then trimmed it all up. Best of both worlds! Got a set of galileo clock faces in there too to keep the theme going.





Made a prototype heater cover kit as well, took a while. Still needs tweaking a little bit before i'll be happy with it. Vast improvement over the ugly old box though. All the hoses will be sleeved too.



Replaced all the switches with stainless toggle switches and made up a panel for them under the rail. Theres a couple extra, one for the metty fan and one for the spots.


Because ive fitted this here I cant run the pods under the dash rail, so i'll be fitting the pods to the doors. Plus a f'g build with four 6" speakers on the parcel shelf, trimmed to match. And a couple of bass drivers under the rear seat. Amp hidden in the boot.


then it all came back out to carry on with the wiring (wanted to see what room I had for the relays. I have almost everything relayed up)

The whole car has been lined with the thick rebond foam you can see in the pictures, including the boot and the roof. Will make a hell of a difference!

[bert998]

Oh and heres the carpet, I'll trim the sills and the cross member before final fitting

[Racer_Pete]

That looks great Chris, I like how the cd player is in the dash rail!

Cant wait to get my order now

[bert998]

Yeah, they should set your car off just nicely Pete

[apbellamy]

The CD player position is a damned good one, I might have to borrow that idea

[GraemeC]

Is the carpet a RetroRetrims product or sourced from elsewhere?

[bert998]

its one made by myself graeme, wool with edge binding, in the style of the wood and pickett builds. Never seen a commercially available carpet set that ive been happy with.

[bert998]

The CD player position is a damned good one, I might have to borrow that idea

No worries dude, go for it. You'll need to tease the metal on the actual dash rail a touch, not a lot mind. And you'll need to trim the padded rail a small amount due to the depth of the headunit, otherwise the rail will bow out at the top.

You'll also need to blank in the sides, I did this by glassing in a couple of pieces of ply. Then its just a case of recovering as per any other dash rail.

And obviously you'll have to find a new home for your switches etc.

I cant believe it isnt done more often, such an simple, effective mod

[apbellamy]

Butchering the dash is no problem. I had considered adding some tabs to the side of the radio cage to bolt it to the dash rail, should the need for heavy timber My dash rails will be having some nice light weight flocking and my switches etc will be custom

Your's does look good though