Body , Panel Fit, Flat, Gap, Prep and paint ..

[markt 70]

Results are incredible - Amazing attention to detail that's definitely paid off
Question - How did you recut the panel gaps?

[CHANGES 1,191]

On 10/11/2020 at 21:37, markt said:

Results are incredible - Amazing attention to detail that's definitely paid off
Question - How did you recut the panel gaps?

Very carefully .. . 

Early on in the process , I took measurements, made templates, and created datum points to work from...   It was all carefully marked out checked twice and cut once.. 

It all comes back to the old statement , fail to plan or plan to fail .

[CHANGES 1,191]

   Part 13

   Provisional assembly ..

 

With all panels prepped , careful assembly is started, realigning and gaping as we go ..  

This is the time you are thankful you took the time to check and re check , fit and re-fit during each stage.   At the time it seemed like so much fiddling a faffing , but experience has taught me this is when all that work pays off…

The pic above is showing the side of front wing  and how it aligns with the bonnet form .

So you may think that is it....  But NO !!  we need to do the bottom ..

next job chassis off and start scraping the underside .. 

  

 

[stephenwhyte 1,900]

Richard this is going to Museum quality when it’s done - you chose well when you put the car Dave’s way!

[Dan E 1,546]

@CHANGES stunning, stunning, stunning, wow 

[RichardJGC 372]

Thanks Stephen
I couldn't have put it in better hands.

I lose 10 mins every time I go in the garage just staring at it....and it certainly focuses the mind trying to make all the other bits i’m doing compliment the standard achieved.

It is progressing....and there will be a big push on it in the spring

[CHANGES 1,191]

 Part 14

   To get a Naked Bottom , '' in the pink'' ..

Before we can start getting the bottom sorted , we need to remove the Chassis .. So first set up the lifting frames.

Next locate in position with all fixtures and fittings removed .

Then lower the chassis from the shell in one smooth action . 

 

Job done . just need to park the shell in the upper position so most of the frames can be removed and we can get down to the dirty work .. 

As you can see from the above picture some under-body protection had been previously applied which was showing its age.. 

Before we can apply coats of Raptor , all this crap has got to be removed...  Leaving it is not an option , it will only peel off over time and be a real let down . So do it right and do it once ..  Unfortunately there is no easy way of doing this ... it needs to be scraped off a bit at a time ..

  But we do start to see the bottom in the pink. 

Next more of the same ..   

[JonSE 87]

Outstanding levels of finish, truly amazing! The transition to this stage must be so exciting when on a restoration project.

[CHANGES 1,191]

Part 15

   To get a Naked Bottom , '' in the pink''  Part 2..

There are a lot of totally naff jobs that have to be done in a restoration, some have their own rewards in the finish or function which help balance out the effort that goes into it ..  But scraping the old seal off the bottom of a car takes the biscuit ... Excuse the pun but its a real bummer of a job ...  So there you have it , something I don't like doing . !!! 

With jobs like this, they have to be done , so just do them...  Many years ago I used the YTS students..  The one job i did not mind delegating.. It did not make me a popular boss , but i told them it was character building ..    But as with all things , it can always come back to bite you , so i had to build some character and do this one myself..  one bit at a time ,

Once in the pink, it can have a light sanding to give it a good key , before applying the Raptor

Tough job when done right , but usually gets a seal of approval ..  

Next up chassis is back from galve and final fitting of parts .. 

TBC

 

  

 

 

 

[CHANGES 1,191]

Part 16 

Home   stretch .. 

Well all good things come to an end and it was time to draw a line under this one , 

The chassis was shot blasted and re- galvanized to give it fresh  new look along with decades of future rust protection. 

Before

   After

Needless to say , other than dimensional check and reaming out the mount points, plus tapping a few threads , that was as far as I went with the chassis on this restoration  ... At this point is was passed back to  @RichardJGC for him to do the assembly work ..

On return, I dropped in the engine and Box which I had rebuilt while customer was fitting up the chassis ..

The more observant among you will notice the few belt/tensioner upgrades along with the verniers...  I thought these were good additions that the customer requested to refine the older unit.. 

Finally the parts I had to do were all pieced together and the Esprit shipped back to the customer @RichardJGC  for him to complete the project...    

This was a hard long job, but a pleasure to do, ( with the exception of scaping the bottom ) .   Its only when I look back in the pictures and at this thread do I appreciate how fortunate i am to be allowed to do this sort of work for customers .. It really is an honor to be allowed to work on a customers pride and joy and be trusted to do the work required ..  Thank you. 

To close this thread here are a few of the pics showing the point it was passed back to @RichardJGC who will now finish the project.. 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

[RichardJGC 372]

A huge thank you to my good friend  @CHANGES for taking this one on. Every aspect of the restoration carried out has far exceeded what I thought possible.

It is true...this car is my pride and joy, owned for 29 ish years, so want it to be as good as it can be as I only intend doing it the once! 

The original shut-lines were particularly bad in areas on this one (even allowing for what’s normal), so when i found out this could be corrected then I was more than happy to let Dave work his magic, and then some!  

The journey so far has been fantastic and I have learned a lot about paint (and the 910) along the way. This is why it pays to entrust certain areas to people with experience, who really know what they are doing, and I was fortunate to be able to engage the very best in the business.

Dave will confirm blood, sweat and tears (scraping the underside no doubt) have gone into this one but the end result speaks for itself.

Its over to me now and I hope my part of the restoration will compliment the standard achieved.

No pressure then!

....and then its onto the rolling road to see how many horses are still in the stable ....but until then....there is work to do! 

Richard

PS....those white BBS are not staying! Got a nice set of Compomotives to go on complete with roof stereo! 
Just had to be done!

 

[Fridge 941]

These quiet North York Moors roads will be waiting Richard!