3.0 strip down

[Ghia15]

Hi guys,

So the time has come to pull my finger out and start work on the 3.0, the wing is rotten to the point of being a bit of a risk of falling off and I really do not want the rust to spread so it has to go.

I have also set the parts I have taken off to be refurbished and have stripped the accident damaged bumper to either be straightened or replaced.

I am really happy with the car, she is really solid and the rust I have found is much less than I have seen on other cars over the years. I think this was due to the inner wing guards that were fitted at the factory.

There is no rust on the A pillar, and only slight rot on the inner wings and sill.

Even under the carpet, with the soaked underlay, there is no rot. Had a massive grin every time I uncover more of the car.

Here are some pics of what has been done so far


The start point, as you can see there is not much wing left












The wing when removed, some of the wing is missing due to where I cut it but you can see the rot. Managed to pull a big chunk off by hand



Working hard on the car


The sill, some surface rust and a small hole but nothing too serious


No rust on the A pillar, not even surface







As you can see there are holes in the valance, passenger wing and headlight bowls but still not too worried by it as not as bad as it could have been. As you can see everything is being treated with Krust before a coat of primer





Trial fitted an X pack wing that I got from ESSEXV6ESSEX, Looks great but not destined for this car though.


This work at the moment it just a preventative measure to stop the worst of the deterioration until the car can be restored properly. I want to get the whole car media blasted and then rebuilt from the ground up using all recon parts but that will be a while.

Also started getting bolts and screws for the trim and bodywork, thought it would be hard but the local bolt and fastener place had them all and a couple of hundred screws set me back less than a fiver.

That's all for now, more to follow soon possibly or none for a few years. lol

Thanks for looking

[Andrew 2.8i]

Hi,
Great work going on to bring this 3.0 back to it's former glory.
I have to ask, are you restoring it to a standard look, or are you keeping the distinctive bonnet /wing top design?
Andrew.

[Ghia15]

Thanks for the comments.

The car is going to be restored to original factory spec so the bonnet and wingtop design will be going.

Only Change might be an auto to manual conversion.

Got the bonnet off today and removed the nearly perfect sound proofing from it. The bonnet has surface rust but no rot anywhere.

Tomorrow I am going to remove the passenger inner wing shield so I can get them both repaired and then powder coated. If the passenger side is similar to the drivers then it will be an easy fix.

Cheers

[pbar]

That car of yours was certainly a head turner at Tatton Jonathon. Will follow this thread with interest, I'm sure you will do some great stuff.

[Ghia15]

Thanks buddy.

I am going to express my creativity on my 2.0 when I get round to it.

The 3.0 is my mums car and she wants it to look stock. Might have the racing stickers put back though depending on what she says.

Long way to go, aiming to have it up and running for the 50th anniversary year at the latest.

[Ghia15]

Hi all,

Got the bonnet off the other day and removed the sound proofing.

Apart from some surface rust there is nothing wrong so far. Still got to get the plastic trim off the front but not rushing there as if there is any way to get it off in one piece then I want to do it. To improve my chances I have been drenching the bolts in WD40 and getting it down behind, between the bonnet and the plastic, so if it does break then it was always going to.

I also got the passenger inner wing guard off and it is as close to mint as you would expect for something that has been on a car for 30 odd years. Going to get them shot blasted, repaired and then paint them up using plenty of primer and stone chip.

I think I am going to stay away from the waxoil on this car when it is done and use stone chip on the underside instead.

More pics to follow

[Matty28i]

Don't worry about the bonnet trim bolts. New ones are available online.

Matty

[Ghia15]

hey guys,

Few more pics of the work being done to the car, these are the parts that are being blasted and then powder coated







These headlight mounts have been modified to take BMW smiley lights



These are not being powder coated, just blasted and then repaired. You can see the passenger side is in much better condition. Once repaired they will be painted in stone chip.


There are two of these being done, one for the 3.0 and one for an upgrade to my 2.0



The under bonnet trim that holds a sealing rubber on the underside front of the bonnet. In fairly good condition but needs a new coat of colour





Will post up some pictures up when they come back from the blasters.

[Ghia15]

Got a bit more done yesterday.

Decided the time was right to clean up the battery tray, treat it and get it in primer.

As you can see it was in quite a state but it was not rotten.


very happy with the way it cleaned up.

I also cleaned up the leading edge of the bonnet and a few other patches of surface rust. The bonnet was solid as anything, only a few little spots of rust and the occasional pin hole.













Will be putting some more primer on the bonnet today, Had to give a chance for the krust to dry.

[pbar]

Nice work Jonathan, that battery tray has turned out really well. Any reason why you didn't carry the primer further around the edge of the car, is it just a job for another day that, or will top coat go on as it is, or is that area simply ok? Just curious.

[Ghia15]

Only reason I didn't carry it round was that I haven't got there yet.

Had a few slow days as been a bit under the weather.

Really pleased with how the battery tray came out, I want to keep as much original metal from the car as possible so anything that I can save I will.

[pbar]

Only reason I didn't carry it round was that I haven't got there yet.

No problem, that's just what I thought. One job at a time. Work so far looks great.

[Ghia15]

Hi all,

Got cracking with the vinyl roof today. It was cracked, ripped and well past it's sell by date so it had to go.

I used a wide pallet knife for plaster repairs to scrape it off and I carefully prised off the metal trim and drilled off the clips.




Before I started, as you can see there is a fair bit missing on the tailgate and the roof is badly cracked and has a few bits missing.




As you can see the roof is in good condition so that is a bonus and the trim is in reasonable nick, just needs a new coat of black.



The worst of the rust on the roof, will be treated and then the whole roof will be sanded down and given a good coat of zinc primer.

Also got all the parts stored in the boot, ready for the rebuild.


More pictures tomorrow.

[Ghia15]

Hi all,

Been a few days since my last post so thought I would update the progress.


I have wet sanded the roof until it was fairly smooth, This is just to protect the roof while the rest of the car is worked on. Using a sheet and some clothes pegs I protected the glass and doorless drivers side from the paint.





As you can see the engine bay and tailgate are being protected by normal plastic dust sheets.


Also got my stuff back from the powder coaters today.



Rear axle location kit


Headlight mounts were just blasted but not powder coated, will get a good layer of stone chip tomorrow.



Panel in front of the rad, still has a little damage as it has been that way since I have had the car. Also the under bonnet sealing trim.


The wing guards were just blasted, I have treated them with krust and primered them with etch primer and will be taking them to get repaired tomorrow.


wiper arms and bumper brackets


The two brackets for the washer bottle, one for the 3.0 and the other for the 2.0

Good progress so far but still a long way to go before she is back on the road.

[stevemarl]

The clothes pegs are a great idea, I`ll be using that! Good work.

[Ghia15]

Thanks, just came to me all of a sudden and worked an absolute treat.

Forgot to mention that the shot blasting and powder coating was done by A and C shot blasters off junction 13 of the M4. Used them twice now and the work has been superb.

[Will01]

Looking good
You making faster progress than i am on mine
Keep up the good work.

[Ghia15]

Hi guys,

Not got much done in the last few days, got to get my dads car sold.

Got my headlight mounts painted up with black stone chip. Also got all the plastic off as have new ones to go on.

In primer


Painted


Love the results and will be using the stone chip on much of the cars underside to give a cleaner look than waxoil while still protecting the car.

all the best

[Ghia15]

Been at it again and now have the seats and carpet stripped out of the car to check the condition of the floor.

The floor is in good condition with a few exceptions.

Most of the rot has been caused by rust repairs in which a plate was just put over the rust, allowing it to spread. Luckily not too far.


this is the worst of the patches, a fairly sizeable part of the floor will need to be cut out to remove both the patch and the rust.






As you can see the front spring hanger on the drivers side is pretty bad and would not be safe on the road. I think this was due to the poor repairs to the floor but it will cut out and done properly so this is not a problem in the future.




Found a key and some money under the carpet.


as you can see there is daylight through that floor.


As you can see there is another patch on the floor, again just over the rust.



some more repairs needed by the rear wheel arch.


The worst of it on the passenger side at the back. Will need care to repair due to the fuel lines and prep.



the passenger footwell. Not too bad but still has a little rot in it.

As you can see there is plenty to do but the car is still a fairly solid old girl and will be brought back to the road in as good or better condition than it rolled off the factory line.

all the metal will be treated until the rot is cut out and repaired.

[Will01]

Lots of work ahead of you but good luck