[infamous pa]

Well with the weather being as it is I've taken it on myself to do something that I've been wanting to for the last couple of years but never had the time.

Although the car itself has always been garaged when not in use there were still bits that I wasn't happy with (mainly the under body) and now with a new garage built that has plenty of space, a ramp and all my gear under one roof there was no more delaying the inevitable and so it has started.

I know from past experiences that a restoration project is by no means a quick or easy task but with all the other threads on the go I was feeling left out and inspired.

To begin with I was self convinced that I was only going to tackle the under body and engine bay but as we all know if you're in for a penny you may as well go for the pound so it's now a full blown strip down and overhaul and its going to be getting everything it needs no matter how long it takes.

So far I've been working on it now for about two weeks and it's already a shadow of its former self.

I've already taken over 400 pictures mainly for reference for when it comes to putting it all back together but also so I can look back and see the progress and remind myself of what it looked like many moons ago so ill update this thread as I go for you all to enjoy my pain and probably misery.

Here are a couple of pictures of the garage queen before it all started.

 

[Simon350S]

Nice :thumbup:

Good luck

 

[infamous pa]

As you can see there's not much to worry about as its not looking too bad underneath (apart from the black Waxoyl) but at least there's no big holes to deal with.

Most of what you can see is only surface corrosion and as long as it's dealt with promptly and correctly isn't going to be a problem.

Well this was day one with the bumpers, side skirts, wheels, arch liners, wings all coming off and I then started on removing the interior

 

[ant1]

Subscribed.

 

[Dermot]

Always liked this car, one of my favourite red ones.
Look forward to seeing your progress

 

[infamous pa]

Updates will be coming in patches as ill try and update towards the end of my leave and with working away there will be some long periods of inactivety but once im home ill be cracking on and getting bits done.

At least the interiour floor pan is nice and clean, something im already having trouble with is finding somewhere to store all the bits that come off and putting them somewhere that there not going to be in the way and will also keep clean, oh well everythings getting wrapped up and stored in the garage loft.

 

[infamous pa]

Well I can safely say I've never used so much dismantling spray in all my life but I'm sure I would have had 10X more broken nuts and bolts if I had not used any at all.

I've only had two bolts break on me, one of them was the small bracket holding the off side hand brake cable to the trailing arm and the other was one of the rear anti roll bar bush clamp on the off side so these will need drilling and tapping out at a later date.

As it stands the rear sub frame, suspension, diff and all the control arms are now out and ready for cleaning and painting up.

The rear arms will be getting new bushes but as of yet I'm still waiting on my press but that's not a problem as it's not as if I've not got much I can get on with.

I was hopeful that the tank was in better condition than it is but after dropping it down it doesn't look to be in the best condition but I'll have to clean it up and see what it's like under all that dirt before it hit the scrap pile.

 

[Rkinnear]

Car looks lovely!

What's your plan for removing the underseal? I started stripping mines down at the weekend and doing the same. Not looking forward to tackling the waxoyl, looks like mine was done by a 3 year old it's a mess

 

[infamous pa]

Car looks lovely!

What's your plan for removing the underseal? I started stripping mines down at the weekend and doing the same. Not looking forward to tackling the waxoyl, looks like mine was done by a 3 year old it's a mess

I've not attempted removing the waxoyl yet and TBH I'm not looking forward to it.

I'll be taking mine back to bare steel and will most likely use a grinder with a wire wheel attachment but I've got to get it up on the spit first, how ever you tackle it it's going to be a messy and unpleasant job.

 

[A12DY B]

Doesn't look like a bad starter

Great thread, looking forward to updates

 

[infamous pa]

Doesn't look like a bad starter

Great thread, looking forward to updates

Well I thought I best get it done before there's any real problems, prevention is better than cure after all :smthumbup

 

[Robbo777]

It looks like your starting your restoration at the right time before any welding etc is required, does the upper car body itself need painted ?

 

[infamous pa]

It looks like your starting your restoration at the right time before any welding etc is required, does the upper car body itself need painted ?

Yeah it's best to get it done now I think.

The paint work isn't too bad but I'll probably bite the bullet and get it sprayed while it's in getting the underside done.

 

[Robbo777]

Yeah it's best to get it done now I think.

The paint work isn't too bad but I'll probably bite the bullet and get it sprayed while it's in getting the underside done.

A full restoration it is then, take your time do it once and do it right.
On a job like this the devil is in the detail so if you have to go the extra mile do it, good luck with it and I'm very much looking forward to the thread.

 

[Ralliart Rous]

Good luck with the project .. you've made a decent start and it will be well worth it when finished !!

As for removing the underseal I really recommend treating yourself to a MBX surface preparation tool . They aren't cheap at about £350 but are really really good at removing the horrible black stuff ! They kind of self clean and don't get gummed up . I used one on the underside of mine before it was blasted as believe it or not blasting just pushes the underseal along like a lump of sticky chewing gum !

I'm still using it for cleaning other bits and bobs up prior to painting !

Can't wait to see your progress !


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[infamous pa]

Good luck with the project .. you've made a decent start and it will be well worth it when finished !!

As for removing the underseal I really recommend treating yourself to a MBX surface preparation tool . They aren't cheap at about £350 but are really really good at removing the horrible black stuff ! They kind of self clean and don't get gummed up . I used one on the underside of mine before it was blasted as believe it or not blasting just pushes the underseal along like a lump of sticky chewing gum !

I'm still using it for cleaning other bits and bobs up prior to painting !

Can't wait to see your progress !

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I had a little play with the grinder wire wheel attachment last night as it was playing on my mind and it comes off quite quickly as I got quite a bit off in a matter of seconds so I'll try using this arrangement to begin with.

Like you say there quite pricy but thanks for the advice and if I start to struggle then its another path I can take thanks :smthumbup

 

[infamous pa]

Well this is how she sits for now as I'm back off to work

I've had a look up the chassis box section and once again I don't think its looking to bad, this is the worst one and its not really that bad so I'm just glad its coming apart and not just falling apart

probably the worst corrosion on the car as of yet is on the front cross member under the radiator but its still treatable, ill post some more pictures of it once its been stripped back.

I'll continue the stripping down once I'm back and I would like to hope that I will have it completely stripped, up on the spit and the under body stripped back and treated with Rust Bullet.

 

[thetyrant]

Looking good , i would probably replace the front lower cross member as if its anything like the one i changed on my old Evo2 it will be a lot worse than it looks at first glance!, due to the design its a real water trap and rust starts deep inside inbetween the seams.
They are cheap enough to buy from mitsi or rosssport etc and not that bad a job to swap over.

Ian

 

[David86C]

Nice garage you've got there mate!

Keep the good work! Can't wait to see the results!

How is the engine? Any concerns/plans in there?

Cheers,

 

[infamous pa]

Nice garage you've got there mate!

Keep the good work! Can't wait to see the results!

How is the engine? Any concerns/plans in there?

Cheers,

The engine has always been ok but could do with a tidy up so that will be getting a dose while it's out.

I'm not looking at increasing the power as it's already running 350 ish.

If anything I'll be putting it back to the factory spec of 280 and run it's completely factory.