Hello...lost laser making a comeback

[[email protected]]

Once I'd recovered what tattered shreds of my sanity remained I had to make a call. Fight, or buy bonds. Turn it in as someone else's project (part complete lockdown project, might make the money back I've spent on the parts?) or go down swinging with a hacked up ruin fit for scrap.

Well, I had nothing else to do in lockdown....choppy choppy it is
1st thing is some nice thick steel into those suspension mounts. Before anyone chimes in, I know there needs to be a hole in there for access to the spring nut. But in my defence I didn't have a step bit to hand, its damn thick steel and until I need a hole there a nice box will just have to do. The horrors! A none original fix!...listen, this is a patchwork quilt not a show car, as I said at the start if it looks remotely Capri shaped its a win. So there

The repair also runs inside the sill (there's extra metal in there if you aren't aware) and then has this rather fetching finishing piece joining the sill lip to the suspension mount to the inner arch to the inner sill thing. There are no photos. You can barely get to it let alone poke a phone at it. But it's in there.

Now the bump stop mount....

Lovely. That should hold the rubber bit that stops the wheel hitting the inner arch when I decide to Dukes of Hazzard and leap a ton of Capri off a sand hill while being chased by Rosco. Or whatever else its supposed to do.
Can you tell I was putting it off? The tricky bit. The elephant in the room?
This....

It's because I wasn't entirely sure how to fix it
Do I cut a bit I need from a repair panel? Chop the bad off? This is where I strongly recommend you seek professional advice. Because this is not how to do it. Because I...well....I decided to (after an entirely sleepless night) zip up my man suit right to the neck, have a strong cup of tea and attack it with a grinder...

In retrospect, I may have taken a bit too much. I got giddy with power. Crazed some might say.

But look at how ruined the inner arch is. Couldn't get to fix that with all that steel in the way. It wasn't madness I tell you. I wasn't locked, alone, in a house for months away from my other half, family, friends and colleagues and going a bit peculiar. The missing metal and primer fumes had no effect on me

Better put some inner arch in then.....

Better, the front of the back arch is metal again.

This led to dilemma the first....how with a hammer, a pair of pliers and some tin snips do I fabricate a great big inner arch with lip and 2 compound curves. Because I'm not merlin or a 50 tonne press. I retired with cocoa and thought about it for some time....

Simple. I'll make a frame out of strapping, split the curves in 2 and make it like that. Is this the correct method of making inner arches? Good lord no. Was it the correct way to do it? Don't know. Did it work? sort of...see a professional is the overriding fink advice.
so...weldy weldy the new bits...

Well, it ain't pretty and concourse it will never be but that is, unquestionably, an inner arch made of metal in approximately the right shape (few love taps with a hammer with fettle for final fit) made with no clue, no talent and no pattern..YEEEEEHAAAAA! cowboy fabricobbling FTW
And then of course what do we do when we weld boys and girls? We zinc primer EVERYTHING!!!!!

Now dilemma the second... lets try that replacement panel....

oooh. Now obviously this is after several hours of calling it rude names, hitting it, cutting it, it cutting me, hitting it more, buuuuuuut...yeah...capri-ish?

Now for the hideous task of tiny tiny welds to not distort it. Then grind back. Then weld. Then grind back Then weld. Then grind back...........
Not that I was losing the will to live and talking to myself. It'd been a rough couple of weeks with all this inner and outer arch stuff.

Alas, that's all the photos the forum allows in one post. And what a post. Suspense(ion mounts), drama (queen after sympathy), action (packed photos), madness (constant), redemption (maybe)

But where do we go from here? What kind of a monkeys breakfast have I made? Tune in next time for more....LOOOOOOOSSSSSSSSTTTTTTTT LLLLAAAAASSSSSSSSEEEEEEERRRRRRrrrrrrrrrr

Or don't. I'm pretty much rambling on the internet, possibly to myself, or possibly to strangers if anyone is even reading this dribble

[D366Y]

I'm reading it!
Great work on the arch, it may not be concourse but who cares!

[[email protected]]

Now, where was I? Ah yes. The arch......what happens once we weld in the new metal? Zinc primer everything. Obviously needs filler and someone with the talent to make it pretty but..metal is in. Good enough. Looks Capri shaped to me. If I squint.

Now to move backwards... It appears tinworm has taken an undue fascination with the Capri's derriere. How very rude!

Time for bum-ectomy. Sorry old thing but we simply can't let you wander about with a raggedy butt.
Now I have better access (small mercies?) I will attack the rust behind the rear wheel arches. They weren't pretty....

holey...holey moley in fact!

Still, compared to the madness I've seen thus far (running outta lockdown at this point and now stuck with a sort of nearly finished car body thing, and much less time to do it ) these rusty crevasses are naught but a minor headache. Queue hot metal glue gun......

(not my finest photography but you get the idea!)

Then re-cheek-ifying the rear end. And all is well with the world.

Then many many paints. All the paints. All over everything. Then more paint to make sure.

And then the final job and I've completed a full lap, snout to tail, left to right, top to bottom, under, over, in and out. Ladles and Jellyspoons, the battery hodder:

ruined.

Unruined.

Its welded. Oh joyous day! calloo! callay! a hip and a hop and a skip and a bounce. All the burning can end. The weld in places I didn't want it. The cuts from the metal. The constantly wearing respirators (which given 'rona wasn't the worst idea anyway!) and ear goggles and eye goggles and gauntlets and welding sleeves...finally....done. No more welding. My silly little lockdown idea is welded. Just over a year ago to this very day.

It took: 5 months of evening/weekends and early starts, 2 wings, 1 rear panel, 1 NSF a post repair panel (useless, poor fit, I cut most of it away) a battery hodder, 1 OSR arch panel, I lost count but I think 10 x 0.6 kg welding wire (yes, really, 60kg just in wire) and another several tens of kilos of steel plate of varying thickness for all the patches, panels and random bits I had to make. Seeing as the total weight is about 1 tonne and the engine/axle/gearbag and whatnot weighs rather a lot of that, I estimate I probably put back 1/3 of the chassis weight with all the replacement panels and new metal

That's not including 2 pairs of welding gauntlets, 1 pair of overalls, 2 pairs of shoes and a fair few permanent scars to remind me of the good times when I'm a wrinkly old fink in the old fink's home.

Now for the next part. Fixing things with spanners. I much prefer that part. But for that you will have to tune in next time for another thrilling instalment of LLLLlllloooooooosssssttttt LLLLllllaaaaaaaasssseeeeerrrr

[pbar]

You should be really pleased, and proud of what you've done there. It's great to see a thread like this.

[Lord Flasheart]

Excellent effort & story

Onward with the spanners

[andyd]

You should be really pleased, and proud of what you've done there. It's great to see a thread like this.

Excellent effort & story

Onward with the spanners

Never welded in my life and pretty sure I wouldn't have the patience to do the amount of work you have.

[[email protected]]

Why thank you all, I was quite pleased to have made it this far, I wasn't planning on doing it but what with the "unknown virus of unexplained origin" I had the time and it stopped me going more crackers than I am. Just imagine how much better it would have been if I knew what I was doing!

Since I don't have to drag great piles of welding gear out every time I want to work on it, and I don't have to worry about spontaneously combusting or turning the car into the towering inferno it becomes a far more pleasant prospect of tinkering (handy as winter was arriving by this point).

Since I'm at the back anyway, lets start replacing all the bits that are missing, like one bump stop that was gone altogether At some point in the early naughties I suspect it set off like the little hobo, singing the catchy theme song as it went "down the road, that's where I'll always be" or the parts that were just utterly ruined (like the other one just fell off when I poked it in the welding times)


First some willy nilly drilly into my new shiny bump stop plates

And then, because apparently rubber bushes and bump stops are now unobtanium, on goes the replacement polyurethane bump stop. Utterly pointless material for the application but oooohh look. Shiny.

Now on to the shock absorbers. Astonishingly the weren't leaking and still did absorbing of shock (original ones too!) but they had become truly spectacularly crusty, the piston surround was half gone. Just rusted right off. That will never do, not with all my newly painted chassis.

Easy job, couple of nuts and bolts (which unscrewed easily, weren't even rusty inside the lower bush!)

There, that should impress whoever pokes it come MoT time

One of the original anti roll end bushes has a split for some reason (baffles me, I never drove it with any giddiness in my youth ) and as they are also unobtanium, more shiny hard poly bushes, this time in a fetching shade of orange just for giggles.

Now lets start stripping the braking system. Based on much oldness, the whole shebang will be getting replaced top to toe, whether it needs it or not. Because I'm a big sissy and jumping on the anchors and something going "ping" doesn't really appeal and I've been spoiled by modern cars with brakes. That brake.

First off this rather solid cable. Mmmmmm crusty.
Then all this calamity...

This is replaced by a nice new cable, the rod also had a good clean and some nice stone chip paint so it is all clean when it gets tested. They like clean when testing things. Makes it look like it was looked after.

and then new pins, shoes, springs and cylinders (and of a suitable quality brand so I know they'll work when I finally need them) all on cleaned and painted back plates. Should give it a fighting chance of stopping

And that's enough, I won't leave you in suspense(ion), time for a brake in the action (:sorry: couldn't resist...) The restoration continues in the next thrilling episode of Looooossssssttttt Laaaassssseeeerrrrr

[[email protected]]

so...now the rear brakes are finished

mmmm....shiny, its time to have a look at the servo and hydraulics:

Awww...look how teeny tiny it is. Explains why you need to give it such a shove. Not like a modern car with massive servo where you breathe on the brakes and it stops. How very retro. Unfortunately look how the paint has decided to fall off and go all rusty

Much sanding and wire wool plus a coat of enamel later.....

much shinier. Shame it won't stay that way. Probably rust over winter just to spite me

And while the paint dries off, time to start with the pipework. First job, the cross axle line. This time from lovely corrosion resistant cupronickel and not that crumbly steel lark. Fun fact, several of the lines on the car were the originals, and still in reasonable order.

Then a look at the brake master cylinder. Considering the age, mileage and lack of use it was in a surprisingly good state. Some of the seal edges had rounded off a little but at a guess it probably would have worked for at least 1 whole pedal press. Not that I would have trusted it as far as I could throw it!

Fortunately I had plenty of tinker time in the dark lockdown winter evenings but Finks top tip would be just buy a new one. Its a fiddly, messy job swapping them out, the allen bolt is tighter than a ducks squeaker, they need to be scrupulously cleaned and checked for wear and for the price of a new one...I'd just wang one of those on!

The next job once the freshly rebuilt master and the painted servo were bolted back in place (carefully avoiding mentioning the agonising crawling around under the dashboard fitting the pedal pin and bolting it all together so it sounds like its a cake walk and not the horror it really is) is to have a look at the front brake assemblies.....

and they be nasty! In fairness the discs aren't that bad considering they haven't done anything in decades. My Fiats brake discs see a shower and they are orange so, well done ford. Apparently.

However first off, the conked out flexi and calliper hard lines. Again cupronickel, and just for utter pointless pretty bling, braided. (honestly, can't tell the difference in pedal feel)

oooooh. Shiny.

Now what about those callipers?

ah. Things came out. Lumpy things. And chunks. Them too. And smell. Could they be rebuilt? Yes probably. But.....despite having purchased the kit, I think discretion is the better part of valour, new ones it is. Hey, I'm already many pounds into it at this point. What's a few more?

and then looking at the price of recon ones...are better ones that much more? No, not really.... And the discs are going to be changed anyway, and looking at the cost of better ones are they that much extra? Not really....Good job my credit card company likes me....CHARGE!!!!!!!

And look how pretty they are. Did it need vented grooved discs with braided hoses? No, its a 1 ton 1.6 pinto with barely enough power to pull the skin off a rice pudding. But you mind your own washing, I wanted them and I've got the visa statements to prove it and, I think that is where we shall halt this decent into monetary madness for now. All the actual brakes are now new, the master cyl and servo are happy, just pipework betwixt the two and it will stop itself for the first time in many moons.... but you'll have to wait till the next thrilling instalment of LLLooooooossssssssstttttt LLLLAaaaaaaasssssseeeerrrrrrr for that.

[[email protected]]

Now where was I...ah yes...pipes.

All pipes were fabricated up using some lovely cupronickle replacement so that should outlset the fabricobbled steel I spent months sticking in by a factor of several. And then I filled it with lots of lovely fresh brake fluid. And it doesn't leak. And for the first time in many years the actual brakes actually brake at my every whim and beck and call.

Now the front rubber parts that have suffered the ravages of time

New steering gaiters, new anti roll bar bushes/ball joint/bottom arm and new track rods ends. That should make the MoT tester as giddy as a clam. And mean when I find a corner on its first jaunt out, I actually go around it.

Now after all that effort I thought some seam sealer, paint and underseal might be a wise investment to keep those sneaky little tin worms out.

such as here where the welded wing meets the a post. Much seam sealer, stone chip paint and then wax based product has been applied so it doesn't get the wrong idea and fall off again.

and behind the headlamps. Lots of sealing to keep out that water. I'm under no illusions my welds won't trap the water and its goodnight Vienna. This should slow it down at the very least!


then in an attempt to stop it looking a complete basket case a quick whizz with rattle cans. The finish is appalling, I made absolutely zero effort for it to be pretty, this is entirely to get the car 1 colour and give the panels the merest whiff of protection for storage until I can find a body shop. Hopefully it should be in for April this year. Assuming nothing goes wrong with my booking. Finding a body shop willing to take on a respray around here is like looking for a needle in a haystack. I had so many tell me to go forth and multiply. Baffling.

then the headlights... tragically it appears all of them have degraded somewhat:

The mechanisms were rusted solid, the rings ruined and the whole lot needed some attention. Once I recovered from pricing up the new ones and then convinced myself what's a few more quid at the this point, new ones were source, the gubbins freed up, cleaned up, painted, greased and assembled

New bulbs in, lamps, bumper and grilles fitted and look...its almost presentable!

At this stage the steering, suspension and brakes are good, the body shell is whole again and from a distance, squinting its actually capri shaped.
Let us not forget where we started in this lockdown madness.

When this started I said if it looks even remotely Capri shaped then this is a win? Its a win, right?

I can also report that it was taken on its first journey in many years when I took several brave pills and drove it to an MoT station. Which based on it having not turned a wheel in so long was a slow, careful journey with my ears on stalks listening for anything failing. Despite a new carburettor, set up by ear and exhaust smell the emissions were half what's allowed (well done old girl), the headlights, lined up by eye, were perfect and the brakes are most efficient. Indeed it passed the MoT with zero advisories, having been very vigorously poked with the structure testing tool, pulled, prodded and generally treated to much indignities. So happily it looks like I didn't miss much during my many months of Rona "stop myself going crazy" tinkering. Hurrah. The Lost Laser has returned to the nations highways.

Course, there's another entry to come yet, one doesn't simply jump into a car that's been stood for so long and expect nothing to drop off. Because where's the fun in that?

[andyd]

Well done especially the MOT pass

Sad to hear you struggled with getting a respray, but maybe I shouldn't be surprised

[pbar]

Indeed it passed the MoT with zero advisories

Well done, you must be, and should be, over the moon. Great thread, one of my favourites of the re-build/project ones.

[Major_Tom]

Good show old chap! Top hole!