Brooklands restoration on track for 45th Anniversary

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brooky
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Brooklands restoration on track for 45th Anniversary

Post by brooky »

I know many of you have fantastic examples of capris so please bear with me as mine is by no means in this league at the moment but I thought my progress may help many of those who are in what can seem to be a never ending process of restoring a car to road worthy condition. I have been reading this forum now for many weeks with interest and as a constant spur to keep me going with my restoration of my 280 that I managed to find for sale a couple of years ago, it had not been run for a few years and was at the back of a guys garage which had 2 other capris in. Decided to trailer her home along with the years of dust that hid the story underneath rather than risking the 150 mile drive to home.
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Once home, a good wash down brought her back to a decent state (upper body at least) and I ran the car for a few weeks with a constant grin before deciding to take it off the road to get the engine reconditioned as idling was poor and it did not the smoothest revs despite many attempts to correct them.
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The engine bay was looking tired and with the heavy lump of an engine taken out all the old oil and leaks could be seen in the wrong places.

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At this point I had to make a difficult decision - clean up the engine and fit it back in so I could carry on enjoying the driving as soon as possible or strip the car and take a good look at everything so it would provide better service in the long run. As I had bought the car to drive and enjoy rather than be a show car, I decided reliability was key so a deep stripdown was started.

The engine strip down revealed #5 piston had broken rings, burning and a scored bore
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The unit was sent away to Tickovers where a complete overhaul has been carried out and heads converted to unleaded, can't wait to fire it up but much work has presented itself before this can be done.

The rest of the main parts were removed from the car on my drive but I needed to find somehere to restore the underbody as I am not the best welder especially when it means laying on your back in all weathers which is where a local garage came to the rescue with Kevin from Absolute Autos in Waterlooville offering me the use of a corner of his facility so I decided to get the shell onto a turnover jig to make the best of this kind opportunity of working in a nice dry workshop.
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With the car on its side you can see the brown rust stains coming through the underseal which seem to be hightened when you use a flash as it didn't look so bad when it was on the ground.....Image

In order to reveal all the necessary repairs, all the underseal was stripped with a hot air gun and areas marked up for cutting out
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Johnocapriman managed to salvage some floor pan pieces from an old capri (you can see whats left of the red donor parts in the last shot) from which I have now cut out the necessary pieces ready for kevin to weld in place as he insisted that anything coming out of his workshop had to look as original as possible, 'we are not just welding flat plates in, you need to find some properly shaped parts as the car needs to look as good as new when finished' seemed to be his standard comment so internet searches began. I could not find anywhere that had the necessary replacement new parts so thanks to this forum where I found JohnOcapriman lived locally, his donor car has given up the necessary pieces for Kevin to weld in and when undersealed it should look as good as new.

I am currently waiting for the gearbox to come back from Solent gearboxes when they have overhauled it, i have just got the axle back from them which I am painitng up and fitting new brakes and pipes so will post pictures when completed. Poly bushes are beingn fitted all round and all parts that suffer general wear and tear are being replaced (shockers, brakes, clutch, etc).

It has taken a long time to get the underneath stripped back and cleaned off with all the old stuff cut out (much more than pictures show as rear inner arches have gone, rear valance, spare wheel well, etc) but the main chassis rails and spring anchors are all good so hopefully will be a solid car when finished. We hope to get the welding done over the next few weekends followed by etch prime, undersealing, etc and then intense effort to get all the bits back on as by then I will have got all the main lumps ready to just put back - Engine is ready, gearbox and axle done, all suspension painted and bushed, drums and discs assembled and seats refurbished so hopefully a few intense weekends with beer and tea will get it done before end of August.

I know the car is not perfection and not the best example ever seen but for me it is about getting this motor to be as good as I can so when I get it back on the road soon it will have all major work done to it so I can concentrate on years of enjoyment and the fun of keeping it running sweetly. Thanks to people like John and others who give their expert advice, to all on this forum who share their stories which help us keep going to get these cars back on the road where they belong and also local services like Absolute Autos for giving up workshop space for a long time and sorting out all the stuff I cannot do in order for me to be able to get the car I always wanted on the road very soon.

My aim is to get her up and running to be able to drive with pride at the end of September to the 45th anniversary at brooklands, watch this space....
Last edited by brooky on Tue Sep 02, 2014 7:17 am, edited 6 times in total.
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Andrew 2.8i
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Re: Restoring my brooklands - will it ever end.....

Post by Andrew 2.8i »

Hi,
Thanks for posting pics of your resto, there's some excellent work going on there.
The car looks quite respectable in that second photograph, but it's amazing what you can find wrong once you start looking......... :)
Still, the car is going to be a stunner when it's completed and that will make all the hard work worthwhile.
Hope you get the car completed for the 45th at Brooklands.

Keep up the good work,
Andrew.
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Re: Restoring my brooklands - will it ever end.....

Post by Major_Tom »

It does kind of never end but that's half the... yeah.. yeah I'm gonna say it... the fun. Ha!

Great work so far by the way... I think I might be looking at the only car so far with about as much metal removed as mine. Conviction!
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Re: Restoring my brooklands - will it ever end.....

Post by brooky »

Thanks for the sense check, it is now nice to be looking at the freshly painted axle, gearbox, engine, etc all ready to go on which sort of puts the end in sight once we can get all the welding done.

As I mentione before, this forum is the biggest source of inspiration as you see what is possible and also see that many others have problems that are all fixable so thanks for sharing and I will make sure I put the key updates on to share the progress
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Re: Restoring my brooklands - will it ever end.....

Post by atomic4 »

Patience is the manic word! You've just go to keep a steady pace and not rush the finished project. It will obviously take some fair amount of time to complete. But once done you'll enjoy many years of hassle free motoring and positive acknowledgement from fellow capri and ford enthusiasts. :goodluck:
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Re: Restoring my brooklands - will it ever end.....

Post by Peter-S »

A lot of work but you'll be chuffed when it's done.
Look forward to the updates.
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Re: Restoring my brooklands - will it ever end.....

Post by brooky »

Managed to get the fuel tank painted up along with the rear springs and axle refurbed, poly bushed, etc. nice to see some clean parts ready to go back on rather than sweeping up the rust, the end is in sight.

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Re: Restoring my brooklands - will it ever end.....

Post by Major_Tom »

Look how it gets this fuel tank! Good as new!

Dirty axle? Now its a dapper axle! Cillit Bang Grime and Lime! BANG and the dirt is gone.

BARRY SCOTT.
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Re: Restoring my brooklands - will it ever end.....

Post by martinc92 »

cracking job mate, I know what you're going through as I have just finished my 2.8i special, although my engine was sweet so I only had to clean mine up.

You're brooklands will be worth a fair penny when done if you keep to the same standards all the way through. well done mate keep the pics coming.
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Re: Restoring my brooklands - will it ever end.....

Post by brooky »

Thanks for the encouragement and you are absolutely right, key is to focus on the quality of the restoration and make sure the car gets the attention it deserves but it is a challenge to resist temptation to get it done quicker so I can drive in this great weather we are having. Kev at absolute autos is doing a great job of the welding, passenger side floor is now all in and primed and looks like new so well worth piecing in sections from a donor car rather than just flat plates, I will get some pics before we underseal. Drivers side left to do and rear wheel arch, all are prepared so just need Kev to do his magic and then the fun begins sticking the clean lumps back on with nice new fixings.
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Re: Restoring my brooklands - The end is in sight

Post by brooky »

What a difference a few weeks can make, all floor corrosion now renoved and donor pieces are being welded in
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Kev has been happily (honestly) welding away with precision to ensure pieces will appear seamless

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Once we have got the pieces in, all seams are ground back about 80% to ensure we keep the strength in the joint
Last edited by brooky on Sat Jul 12, 2014 4:52 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Restoring my brooklands - will it ever end.....

Post by brooky »

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A couple of coats of Zinc primer and what a transformation, the work is in the prep and good welding and is well worth it to ensure we get good results.

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Heres a reminder of how it looked before

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Next job is to finish rear wheel arch and then get the stone chip sprayed on ready for the main items to be refitted, a busy summer ahead
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Re: Restoring my brooklands - The end is in sight

Post by Caprifan Rob »

You deserve a medal for all that hard work mate! From the pictures it's clear that this is some top work being done no stone left unturned. It's good to see any Capri receiving this kind of hard work, car looks to be as good as new when finished.
It's a shame that most people don't realise what it takes to get a good solid nearly 30 year old ford looking great. Impressed.

Cheers,
Rob.
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Re: Restoring my brooklands - The end is in sight

Post by brooky »

Thanks Rob, I think to get things done properly you have to invest the time and passion that these cars deserve and not go for the quick fix which is what has been done in the past on this one so I am trying to put this right once and for all so that I can hopefully not have to deal with and underneath problems for a while..hopefully going to get a lot of welding done this weekend so will update on Sunday with a beer in hand if we manage to complete the floor, then the fun begins with all the nice clean parts going back on.
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Re: Restoring my brooklands - The end is in sight

Post by murdomino »

That work looks amazing! i hope to put forth that much effort and detail when my car gets read to truly go under the knife
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Restoring my brooklands - 6 months on, floor painted like ne

Post by brooky »

http://s1175.photobucket.com/user/Mark_ ... &o=63&o=6o that is it, my time as a member of the 'A' team with grinder in hand has all but finished. Had 2 long days with Kev welding away, all floor panels pieced in and donor wheel tub put in to replace the original peppered one.

Underneath will have joints sealed this week and coated and then painted in same colour as body so will upload some pictures of final coat next weekend before getting all the parts back on, I am hoping to have her running by bank holiday weeekend... :deadhorse:

Original spare wheel tub was badly peppered as it must have been used as a fish tank. Image

Grinder attack took place and the bottom was cut out and same section removed from a good donor car. Image

Once welded in and dressed, all is back to how it should be. Image

Last piece of floor also welded in so now on with the sealing, thank goodness I can put the grinder in the shed...

Welds sealed ready for painiting
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Base coat being applied on top of the stone chip seal
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Base coat and laquer applied to give it a new shiny floor ready for reassembly, all the cutting grinding and welding blended in a treat and worth the effort over the last 6 Months

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Recon engine gearbox and axle now fitted to renovated shell along with other main items
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Last edited by brooky on Tue Sep 02, 2014 7:19 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Brooklands going back together ready for 45th anniversary sh

Post by brooky »

We have got the car underneath fully restored and painted like new, all parts now back on and running, just a few bits and interior to go before the first test drive in a couple of weeks, just in time for the 45th anniversary show.

The winner of the corrosion welding battle celebrates, could not have done it without the help of Kev and the team at absolute autos.

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Re: Brooklands restoration on track for 45th Anniversary

Post by Andrew 2.8i »

Hi Mark,
I was just re-reading this thread and getting up to speed on your fabulous 280. I hadn't realised that you've done so much refurbishment work on the underside and on all the mechanical bits of your car. I wish I'd had a better look around it now. :D
brooky wrote:We have got the car underneath fully restored and painted like new, all parts now back on and running, just a few bits and interior to go before the first test drive in a couple of weeks, just in time for the 45th anniversary show.
Did you take this car to Brooklands then? I don't recall seeing it there, but I most likely missed it with all the excitement of seeing 200 Capris in the same place!

All the best,
Andrew.
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Re: Brooklands restoration on track for 45th Anniversary

Post by G4242 »

Fascinating work Mark. All that effort means you will be able to enjoy it for many years to come.

Very very nice. Any pictures of the finished article. :applaud:
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Re: Brooklands restoration on track for 45th Anniversary

Post by brooky »

I didnt make it to brooklands Andrew, missed it by about 2 weeks by time I had got it running properly. Gordon, The upper half is still work in progress as I have been focusing on getting the car running properly, over winter I want to clean up the engine bay and get things looking more how they should using your pics as a reference :xd: and change the dash which is badly cracked.

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