LagondaNet

[Lagondanet]

A huge amount of work. Fabulous. I can't wait to see it again.

[Dimitri]

tic tac tic tac, 11 days to go before we see this gem finished
can't wait (bottle of champagne is ready)

[Keith]

Sounds like Dimitri's clock needs a service.
Does David do these as well?

[jonc]

Yes, plenty still to do.

Exterior mirror now. The car originally had a single mirror mounted on the A post finisher. Unusually it was black rather than body-coloured.



The car had been modified to the later door mounted black-base mirrors, both of which were damaged.

Fortunately, we have been able to obtain the correct chrome-base one:



..but it needs a bit of work. With the body painted satin black, reassembly can begin.







In fact, it has taken parts from three mirrors to put together one working one.





A new glass was needed too.









And now back to the interior. There are some jobs which best done before the doors are fitted.

The remaining pieces of interior are cleaned:



And here is how the dash looks at the moment:



..but we do have a working heating / aircon system now.





As far as we can tell, the car was never fitted with internal or external temperature sensors. We are mounting the interior one in the conventional place on a custom bracket with a new hole tapped into the cross-member:





The sensor housing is standard, but it contains a PT1000 sensor.

Its a similar job to mount the aircon frost stat properly:



Now it's time to look at the centre console.



The modern CD player has been replaced by a period Pioneer radio cassette which I had an aux input fitted to. The gear selector wiring is also connected up and checked.

David is always very careful when connecting a battery to the car - he checks immediately with a current clamp meter which will show any high current drain long before the wiring catches fire! Fortunately all looks ok..



Radio is tested on the aux input..



Can't test the FM radio for two reasons - firstly, the aerial needs some work which will have to wait until later, and secondly, the car doesn't have an aerial cable running to the radio!

Here you can see the mast part of the aerial on the right which pops out through the rear wing top rather than a corner of the boot opening:



David is replacing the damaged rivnuts which hold the remote aerial motor bracket. Here is it back in place, with new wiring and relay to protect the radio output:



Back to the centre console now a new aerial wire has been run through the cabin.



The gear selector lights can be tested.



..and they work - mostly. The switches are different to the production system and it's a bit cobbled together so less accurate in its operation.

More new sound insulation and then some carpets.









The glove box lid was loose and so needs a repair.









And both front seats are now in!

[Lagondanet]

Very nice! Shall I bring a cassette or two for you to play Jonathan?

[Dimitri]

I think Jonathan will need a good hammock on which to rest after all this work...
I also hope he has been successful in reuniting the car with its original number plates.

[jonc]

No need for a cassette with the aux input thanks.

Its David who will need the rest - he is doing all the work!

I am in the process of requesting the original registration back. For this, the car requires a current MOT test and an inspection so this has held things up.

Now the interior is back together, the doors can be fitted. This is done with out frames, glass or locks.







The door handles look good still but there is one plastic gasket to replace:







The boot lid can also go back on:



Here you can see the squirty foam to support the back edge of the top panel has been trimmed.



The white overspray has been cleaned off the loom:



All treads are cleaned out and new fasteners are used. You can just see on the right that David is using photographs taken during disassembly as a reference for refitting:





Lights in and lock fitted:

[Vincent]

Great job !!!!
_________________
Welcome to Paradise ! (FRONT 242)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XS30BC3D5WM

[jonc]

Now the doors are on, their wiring can be connected. This is not quite as simple as it sounds for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, to remove the doors, you have to disassemble each connector and the pass each individual wire out through the hole in the door casing. Secondly, the connectors are located below the door glass seal and water drips through and on to them causing corrosion.



Old crusty and corroded crimps are being removed, copper wire is cleaned and new crimps fitted:



Each contact also gets Contralube contact grease to improve future reliability.





Original speaker wires are also being reinstated.





And the relay connectors are also cleaned and greased.



With the front door wiring completed, the seat motors can be connected and tested. The front seats have a different chassis and a multipin connector:



The drivers one has an extra connector - a 5 pin DIN:



This is not connected and is most likely part of the memory seat function of the Cranfield dash.



Seat motors now work!



On to door lights.



Pin switches for the front doors are at the back of the door:





There have been some replacement connectors fitted in some places in the car, like here in the the rear door. David is returning this to original (including retaping the loom).





Door lights working:

[Lagondanet]

Saw this in the flesh on Sunday.
Very distinctive. Indeed unique.
A testament to the work put in by David & the owner.
Still needs some finishing but is in the best hands.
Congratulations Jonathan.

[Dimitri]

Congrats indeed Jonathan !
So pleased to see 13008 reborn.
The icing on the cake will be when it will be reunited with its original number plate but I understand Tim C is working on the matter...

[jonc]

Thanks for the comments. I have some catching up to do on here..

Earlier I said the bonnet wouldn't close properly - the airbox top was touching the underside of the bonnet. This picture shows what has happened:



The piece of wood resting on the airbox base plate should be horizontal - the same distance from both inner wings. After some head scratching, David has found the cause and it means the engine has to come out.





This engine mount looked OK when the engine was sitting on it, but it's not the cause..



The chassis part of the engine mounting bracket has moved out as a weld has torn:







This unexpected job has added days of work to an already tight schedule!





But at least with the engine out, some other jobs have been made easier. The sensors for the digital dash can be fitted. Here the existing water temp sensor is being modified to take a PT1000 sensor:









A new oil pressure sensor:



Along with new vacuum pipes:



The carbs and all jets are being cleaned out:









and the timing mark for top-dead-centre is being checked:





.. and corrected:



And the engine goes back in:

[jonc]

While David is getting on with the car, I have something else to prepare.

Earlier David straightened the grille:





..but this did leave ripples in the sides which needed straightening. Also, the front stainless trims were too far gone for repair:



I have managed to obtain a pair of trims but they need some fettling like the grille. There are some dents, bends and the fronts are a bit squashed. Still, at least I have some!





Stainless steel is a hard metal, but at least it can be knocked into shape. For the dents and ripples, I am knocking them out from behind with a hammer and punch, with the piece against an anvil with a single layer of duct tape on it to allow a tiny amount of give.



The piece is then filed which reveals the high and low spots and the process is repeated.









Each time, I mark up the rear with pen to show where I need to hit it:





and finally I end up with a flat surface. Unfortunately it is also very rough from the filing and so the next step is to work with a grinding stone, followed by 600 grade emery paper. Both are lubricated with WD40.



Ready for a machine polish:



Now to the trims:



It's the same sort of job but I have some low spots and tears at the ends where they have a weld underneath.



The solution is to have the low points filled with stainless steel welds:



..and then file them flat:



..and grind etc.



One other thing to sort. The trims have different mounting holes:



I am matching a single hole so more welding:







All polished:



and the finishing touch is a new-old-stock badge I bought recently:

[jonc]

More stuff to paint. Here are the steel wheels as they arrived:



The metal locating pegs are ground off by AML and so David does the same on these. Next they are blasted and powder coated so the colour needs to be decided. My guess is black or silver but I am referring to period photos to be sure. This one is not much help:



But maybe this colour one will be of use:



I am suspicious of this photo because some of the colouring does not look natural. The photographer of this shot is Mike Goss and I have managed to track him down; he is 73 now.

By researching his archive, I now know that the photo was taken on Sunday 12th or Monday 13th August 1979. It was taken at dusk with an orange sky, but a filter was used to correct back to daylight. From another archive photo, the photographer confirms that the colour is..

..red!

These stainless trims are a little smaller than the wheels, so there is about a 1cm edge of the steel wheel visible. So, we are going for powder coated black with the outer rim in red.

Back to the work:















and with new Avons:

[jonc]

So, what's left to do?

With the engine sensors all replaced, the instrument panel is working and back together:





Stainless trims go on:





Valances, including a replacement rear which has the lower apron (missing from this car most likely due to damage):



Headlights can be set:



and tracking adjusted:



Carbs balanced with David's magic vacuum reader:



Doors reassembled:



and out for a test drive:



Followed immediately by replacement of the brake master cylinder which failed during the drive!