I now have a decision to take, and decide whether to sell the whole thing as a project, or to break it up into "lots" and sell it as an engine, body shell, etc. As a project, I reckon a few short weeks will see the car back on the road. I just have to rebuild the engine and drop it in, fit the seats and the doors, then stand back and admire my hard work. Alas, that’s not an option.
The rolling shell is immaculate. The body has a “Viper" (I think) body kit and has had a full bare metal respray in Toyota MR2 red. The underside has been Tetrasealed, even under the tank. The entire body shell (except the rear deck), doors, bonnet and boot were all rust free BEFORE the respray. A new rust free rear deck was welded in before the respray so this body shell is now virtually totally rust free – a very rare beast indeed. The Webasto sunroof is effectively brand new, having been professionally re-covered but still needs to be fitted. The radiator does not leak and has a Kenlowe electric fan with electronic sensor unit to replace the standard “bulb†sensor. All locks were stripped back to the tumblers and reset so that one key now fits all locks and the ignition. The door catch plates on the door and the B Frame have been chrome plated. I hand-made a new set of B panels and got them professionally re-covered, and fitted a new glass-fibre parcel shelf. All the light units (back and front) were completely stripped back to bare metal and resprayed with chrome paint before being reassembled with new gaskets. The front light lift mechanism was totally stripped, cleaned, refurbed and reassembled. The lights all work properly, with front and rear fog lights wired in separately. The fuel tank has 5 gallons of fuel in it and not leaked a drop and the gauge reflects this. There is an electric fan with electric sensor, chrome-plated wiper motor, new wiper wheels and all gaskets and grommets have been replaced.
Both sets of running gear have been completely stripped and overhauled and have a set of steel wheels with new tyres (still got the nobbles on!). The front hubs have new bearings, dust shields, shocks, track-rod ends and gaiters. The strut-tops have the roller bearings to reduce effort and anti-dive blocks. The rear axle has new shocks and a new handbrake cable, and all tie-rods and anti-roll bars have been Hammerited. To finish it off there is a set of refurbished 4-pot callipers with brand-new discs, pistons and seals on the front and new shoes and cylinders on the back.
The interior trim in red check is IMMACULATE, with no tears, rips or splits. A new arm-rest cover and rear panel in black match the new black carpet (with sound-proof underlay). The dashboard was removed and completely cleaned before being refitted with red air vent meshes (they look great). The seat runners have been refurb’d and operate freely, and the fasten seat-belt switch works properly.
All electrics work perfectly except the “Pass†flash (the lights illuminate but don’t pop up – they do when used normally). All the electrical switches on the dash and the steering column stalk were stripped back to the contacts and cleaned before being reassembled. There are front and rear fogs and a halogen conversion on the main lights. The heated rear window, electric flasher units for indicators and hazards, horns and wipers all work perfectly. The wiper motor has been chrome plated and the mechanism has brand-new wiper wheels. The modern 4-speaker stereo system has an attachment for i-pods and USB sticks and sounds fantastic. The heater was stripped back to component parts, cleaned, repainted and had new foam fitted and it works perfectly on all speeds and settings. All the dashboard instruments work; rev-counter, voltmeter, fuel gauge, water temp gauge and even the clock keeps good time. The dashboard-lights rheostat and the fasten seat belt light work correctly. I can’t guarantee the speedo as the car hasn’t moved under its own steam for years.
Now the engine. The block has been rebored and has new pistons and bearings. It has been degreased and painted silver. I have resprayed all the covers and blanks in red to match the body, including the water pump cover, oil filter housing, transfer plate, oil pump, sump, fuel pump, dipstick, starter motor, engine mounts, alternator brackets and lifting eyes. I have also bought a spin-on oil filter and a brand-new 12-vane water pump. I was going to convert the engine to a Sprint engine. The 16V dizzy has been stripped and refurbished and I have an entire new ignition system, including coil, condenser, points, plugs, Magnecore leads and dizzy cap. I have the full set of double geared timing gears and a brand-new, never fitted timing chain kit. The 16V head which has been skimmed, had a new camshaft fitted, the valves re-seated and all the valve gaps professionally set-up. I even have the correct water jacket to allow the heater to remain connected (apparently these are very rare). The inlet manifold has also been completely overhauled. I paid for the SU Carbs to be professionally overhauled and have fitted brand-new K&N filters.
I have hundreds of photos (see my photobucket page) and loads of receipts to prove the pedigree. So my dilemma is do I sell everything as a single project or split rolling body, engine block and 16V conversion kit? I know I will get nowhere near what I’ve paid for everything, so my loss will be somebody’s gain, but I think the best way to recoup some money will be to sell off in “lotsâ€. I will look at what I’ve got and over the next few days offer them up for sale, so if you’re interested keep an eye out. If in the meantime somebody wants to make me an offer for anything, please send me a message and we can talk cold, hard cash!</font id="blue"></font id="size2"></font id="Comic Sans MS">
The pheonix rises from the ashes - just give it time!
(4 and 1/2 years and counting - but who's counting!!)
http://s733.photobucket.com/albums/ww338/macmattom/
