A bunch of bitty jobs this weekend to get the car ready for it's paint correction.
Removed the badges to make polishing the boot lid easier, and the rings were past their best so they needed replacing anyway. The antenna also came off as the grommet was ruined. I also took the left rear light out because it was leaking around the seal. I appear to have successfully solved that as it rained last night and the boot wasn't full of water this morning. More on that later once I'm sure it worked.
Taped off to do the rest of the brightwork. Some of it came back, some of it didn't, so I'll replace what's needed later on. It looks good enough for before and after pics of the paint restoration though.
Saturday afternoon did not go well
The VDO pump I fitted last week wasn't holding pressure when turned off so it made starting quite difficult. I pulled that out and fitted a Magnetti Marelli unit which Mike bought a while ago to experiment with. That lasted ten minutes until it cavitated itself to death and the engine misfired and stalled.
At £25, most definitely too good to be true
Finally, I put in a known-good original pump and at last it worked properly. I'll fit another new VDO pump before it goes to its new home so the next owner has peace of mind, making four pump swaps in total
Sunday - pulled the last of the heinous mudflaps off
One of the parking sensors is not only unpainted, but superglued in to the bumper
What sort of deranged thought process goes through the mind of someone to think this an acceptable repair? Not only did they glue the sensor in, but they dribbled glue all over the bumper so it looks a total mess
I was able to remove the superglue with acetone, since this is original 2k paint which was baked on so its quite resilient. The mid-right sensor was also faulty so two replacement sensors and brackets and it looks a million times better and now works properly again.
The stone guard on the left is utterly ruined so this has to go. Warmed up with the heat gun and it peels off relatively easily, and then a bit of tar remover to get the adhesive residue off
This is probably the best paint on the whole car
For now anyway
Its now with Fiftyfive Details for Nicola to work her magic on it over the course of the next week or so. She is really keen to get started on the transformation, and Bert is going to shoot a bunch of before & after pics for a feature on paint restoration and etching in PVD magazine
Totals so far:
171 hours, £2472
Parts used:
PS hoses (refurb, £200)
PS hose brackets (used)
NSF upper rear arm (used)
NSF lower rear arm (used)
NSF wheel bearing (used)
CV boot (£12)
Suspension brace (used)
Boot lid (£150)
FE wheels (£500)
Window motor (£50)
Headlight level arm joints (£15)
Radiator (£300)
Belt idlers (used)
Accessory belt & idlers (used)
Snub mount (£60)
Air filter (£6)
Wiper mechanism & motor (£120)
Air box trim (£10)
Intake duct (£10)
Bumper (£200)
F125 (£1)
Exhaust clamps (£30)
Boot grommets (£15)
Brake fluid (£20)
Wiper trim (£50)
Platinum carpet (£25)
Central locking pump (£60)
Lateral Acceleration Sensor (£20)
N/S seat belt (£18)
Potions and microfibres (£120)
Wiper blades (£30)
Bosch S3 019 battery (£85)
Bosch lambda sensors 2x (£120)
Parking sensors 2x (£40)
SAI removal plates + map (£65)
Fuel pump (£140)