Project Coalnotdole's Scimitar - Machining work: Speedometer Drive Unit 12/4/19

[Guest Hooli]

Ginger

[trigger]

That looks beautiful with fresh paint, there's little more satisfying than seeing your car with a new coat of paint.

[bezzabsa]

Have you though tof Dropping the Ford Mondeo V6 in there ? either the 2.5 or 3.0? newer, more power and easier to get tuning parts for now?

could also drop the Jaaaaaaag covers on it LOL

[coalnotdole]

Have you though tof Dropping the Ford Mondeo V6 in there ? either the 2.5 or 3.0? newer, more power and easier to get tuning parts for now?

could also drop the Jaaaaaaag covers on it LOL

 

That would be a bit counter intuitive given I've sunk all this time and effort into fuel injecting the Essex....! I also think the Duratec is too wide to fit between for the Se5a's narrow chassis rails,

 

My general thoughts on Scimitars and engine swap's remain unchanged from when I posted about them on the first page:

 

I did consider going down the alternate engine route but ruled it out in the end. Mainly because an alterative engine would have meant having the car off the road for too long while it was fitted. I've noticed that scimitar engine conversions appear to rumble on for years and very few actually result in a car that's actually in regular use. There are exceptions to that but It was enough to put me off an engine swap. Added to that I actually quite like the Essex... controversial I know! in my opinion it suits the car, the torque and power are usefully delivered and the gearing is pretty good. With the engine a long way back the weight distribution is not bad either. Reliant came up with neat enough arrangement in the engine bay, even finding room for the spare wheel. This tidy packaging solution is something that is often compromised once you start swapping engines. Add to this I much prefer the idea of enhancing the original concept rather than binning it off.

[coalnotdole]

In other news I've had some problems with the paint and the car is still with the paintshop ( over 5 weeks now.) The front and rear are going to have to be repainted...

[loserone]

*DISLIKE*

[coalnotdole]

Its Boxing day and I'm suffering from the Christmas blues, the family and other visitors have all been and gone and there’s eff all on the telly... Seems like a good opportunity to write up another instalment on the GTE.

This post is sponsored by Laphroaig 10 Year old Whisky. (well it is Christmas)



As I mentioned in my last post I went to see the car a couple of weeks ago with a view to ok'ing the work and arranging delivery back home to refit all the removed parts.

When I arrived there were quite a few outstanding issues, there were dark patches on the front where there did not seem to be enough paint coverage, The same issue had affected the inside of the drivers door (visible inside the car.) There were a number of touch in spots that were very noticeable on the rear panel, passenger front wing, etc, etc. These were caused mainly by clearcoat inclusions that had been touched in badly. There were also problems with the inside of the passenger door which had chips and pinholes which would be visible on the inside of the car.

Here's a picture that gives an example of what I'm going on about:




Needless to say I wasn’t really happy with that, A walk round the car with the boss and he agreed that the offending areas would need painting again. (turns out I'm a terrible customer who is diffcult to please) By now they had had the car 5 weeks (original time table was supposed to be 2 weeks) So I left the car with them another week ...

On Friday I went back to see the final result:







And there’s a video walk around here:
 

The second attempt seems to be much better, There are still some minor issues but I’ve decided I can live with them for the sake of getting the car back home and cracking on with the refitting. I’m very pleased with the colour and depth of the shine and it is generally only under detailed scrutiny that you really see flaws in the clearcoat or the odd run. Perhaps this is the difference between a £3000 paint job and a £7000 one.

I’ve now got the car back in the garage and can begin fitting all the bits back on that came off for paint. Its amazing how full the garage seems now and how difficult it is working around new paint. Worrying that everything you do will cause a chip or a scratch.

Heres a few shots I took with the car back home...





Fitting all the difficult bits can wait lets start with the fun stuff...

[DeeJay]

That looks the dogs.

[Mally]

The difference between a £3,000 and £7,000 spray job on fibreglass is usually £4,000.

Few of the top price jobs are that much better, and you can still afford another spray if the worst happens.

[Junkman]

It's always with the solid colours, innitt? Metallics are just so much easier to apply, so much more forgiving.

The first time I had my race car painted metallic, everyone declared me nuts for such unneccessary lavishness.

But contrary to them, I knew exactly what I was doing, considering how frequently repaints were necessary on those

and with what half arsed preparation.

[coalnotdole]

I was never going to be in the position where I could spend £7000 on paint, it would have been total madness on this bodyshell in any case. The lower end figure is painful enough for someone like me who still has to get their hands dirty for a living! I'm hopeful that the current paint job will look nice for 4-5 years, if its still looking ok after 10 years I'll be well pleased. As its a daily I fully expect it to gain a bit of a patina along the way.
 
Perhaps what I secretly want is a car that got stuck in 1974, Nearly new in terms of reliability and upkeep and reasonably smart but not feeling the burdon of perfection.
 
I've got lots of exciting bits to refit, some NOS and custom made upgrades... Dave's tendancy to use stainless steel on his boat has had some impact and features in places on the replacement bits for the GTE.
 
In other areas I'm aiming to just clean up and polish origonal parts.... Like these sill trims:

[D Spares & Tyres]

Plastic cars are so much harder to get looking right, when used to paint cars I have refused to do them

[Mally]

Many won't do them.

Those who will quote fantastic figures because of the preparation involved.

 

In 1990 I had a Dutton Phaeton sprayed with gloss for £15 labour. My son drove it for 10 years.

Looked fine from the other side of the road, and reasonable close up.

Thank you Pat and Leslie Byrne, I haven't forgotten.

[xtriple]

I painted my SE5 in the garage. It was a project when I bought it so cheap. I love doing paintwork believe it or not. Prep was long and arduous and after it was sprayed, I wasn't happy so put a screwdriver down the passenger side so I had to do it again! I didn't want to live with it not looking 'right' after all that work. Second time it came out lovely and I was very pleased, but it took months to do (in cellulose) and so many faults showed up in the first lot of colour coats that I really thought I had dealt with, that was why it got done again...

 

Fibre-glass cars are sods to paint as you have found, but once done, there's no rust to worry about coming back through...

 

I had another SE5 a few years later, I got someone else to paint that one!

[Exiled_Tat_Gatherer]

Looks absolutely lovely........ although purple would've really set it off - I've never done more than a quick flashover on any of my cars as I'm damn certain I'd drop the first screwdriver/spanner/heavy part that I went near the car with..........

 

Looking forward to the refit - it'll be a stunner.

[coalnotdole]

This post covers work done a few weeks back, That grey-grim period between Christmas and the few first few days of the new year. Sorry its not a mega exciting.

 

When the car came back from the painters there were a number of areas that I wasnt entirely happy with and which were going to need some remedial attention. ( because I'm actually a massive pedant. )

 

In a few places there was too much overspray such as here on the anti-roll bar:

 

 

In the same photo the return lip on the wheel arch paint runs out early- which while not major can be seen on full lock.

 

There were also spots like this one under the front which had no paint on at all...

 

 

On a fibreglass car it may not be a corrosion risk and tucked away so low few people would ever spot it... but leaving it would offend me every time I went under the car... I recon that at least it needs to be the right colour....!

 

So I ordered a rattle can of chilli red paint online and decided to touch it up myself, I've also ordered a small touch up pot to deal with any minor chips that occur during refitting and a can of lacquer. after all what do you do when you've just paid someone else to paint your car... crack open the rattle cans...

 

The wheelarches were generally pretty untidy with a mix of painted and unpainted surfaces.

 

 

My personal preference is for black wheel arches so I decided to touch them up with black primer brushed on... I ususally use this on chassis and it has good adhesion and covers quite well.

 

 

 

The interior of the car was pretty grim when it came back from the painters too... I sent it off with the seats well wrapped but for whatever reason alot of the protection had been removed and the interior was covered in dust...

 

 

 

 

I'm going to have to get the seats out in order to refit the aluminum door seal protectors. So will have to give everything a really good clean out at the same time!

 

In the new year the Chilli Red paint arrived and I started on some of the touch ups! This spot in the engine bay had no paint on it before as it was obscured by the wiring loom ...

 

 

Similarly, the servo side was also short of paint...

 

 

The wheel arches and under body areas were also touched up...

 

 

 

 

 

I also had a look at some of the parts that I was about to refit... The taillight bodies were looking a bit scabby and the lenses were not much better with many of them missing studs...

 

 

 

 

I rummaged though my spares and managed to find a decent set set of lenses and I sanded the bodies down and repainted them in satin black...

 

 

Not mint but generally alot better than they were.

[cort16]

Worth taking the time to do those bit. When I see cars with overspray it always looks a bit sloppy .

I’m surprised there was some thin bits on a pro paint job though . Looks like you’ve addressed it well though.

 

I’ve smartened up rear light like that by sanding th with 1000 grit wet and dry then buffing them back up with compound .

 

[DeeJay]

Liked not for the way it came back but how it's going.

[spartacus]

That's looking great, I'm looking forward to seeing it built up and back on the road

possibly not quite as much as you though.

That red suits the shape and character of the car.

[coalnotdole]

Liked not for the way it came back but how it's going.

 

They somehow managed to paint my new Pirelli tyres with primer too...

 

[320touring]

Excellent work!

 

When I drove this at SF 15 it was a nice thing, now I think it's well on the way to being a LOVELY thing.

 

Sensible upgrades and a shiny new paint job on a properly repaired shell = Winner!

[DeeJay]

You didn't mention whitewalls at all, did you?

[coalnotdole]

You didn't mention whitewalls at all, did you?

 

LOL no to wightwalls on anything that isnt a 50's yank.

 

Excellent work!

 

When I drove this at SF 15 it was a nice thing, now I think it's well on the way to being a LOVELY thing.

 

Sensible upgrades and a shiny new paint job on a properly repaired shell = Winner!

 

SF 15 feels like it was ages ago, Fingers crossed I can make it up to scotland this year. I live on the south coast about as far away as I could possibly be... Maybe I should bring the Rebel Van....?

[bezzabsa]

Gunna be drop dead gorgeous!!!

[TagoraSX]

Very nice, well done.

[320touring]

LOL no to wightwalls on anything that isnt a 50's yank.

 

 

SF 15 feels like it was ages ago, Fingers crossed I can make it up to scotland this year. I live on the south coast about as far away as I could possibly be... Maybe I should bring the Rebel Van....?

No excuses - I've hauled a fair few shit cars up from Hastings /Lewes area as I have mates who can view them for me down there..

 

Aberdeen would be a good long run!

[coalnotdole]

No excuses - I've hauled a fair few shit cars up from Hastings /Lewes area as I have mates who can view them for me down there..

 

Aberdeen would be a good long run!

 

I did the South coast to Scotland run over the new year so I've had recent experience of how long it takes! Saw in the new year watching the Edinbrough fireworks from a rooftop in Leith! We only went as far north as Glenrothes on that trip though.

 

The drive home in a rented 2017 Astra crippled my back with its monumentally hard seats, I genuinely think a Reliant Rebel Van would be more comfortable vehicle in which to drive those 500 miles.

 

I'd like to make it to shitefest 18 so I'll evaluate which cars I've got that will make it that far a bit nearer the time!

[Skut]

Don't know if its normal to have so many errors for a 3k budget. It just seems too large an amount of money in one hit to trot out "you get what you pay for".  It does look stunning though.    

 

It got me wondering whether GRP has any finite lifespan?  If you just left the shell in the open without human intervention, would time & weather do much to it beyond peeling off the paint. 

[plasticvandan]

yes.early Reliants from the 50s and in some cases the 60s,that have had harsh storage conditions etc do get some wierd problems similar to corrosion on a metal car.I had a 57 Reliant soft top and certain areas on corners and the like were starting to crumble and turn powdery,likewise ive had bumpers on 60s regals that had a hard life crumbling away,obviously its easy to repair but interesting to see.im sure there is probably a technical term for it.

[coalnotdole]

Slow Progress...

Slow progress is better than no progress right? I spent 4 Months prepping the car for paint and its starting to feel like it will take as long again to put it back together.

Following on from the last post I decided the seats were going to have to come out in order to clean the carpet. Something I had resisted doing while I was prepping the bodywork as psychologically I guess I really wanted to keep part of the car intact.

Also the interior (heavily refreshed in 2011 was one of the nicer parts of the car and in theory* shouldnt have need to be touched. In the end I bowed to the inevitable, the seats had to come out in order to get the pop rivet gun in place to re-rivet the aluminium door seal protector.

The carpet underneath also needed a proper clean:



The overcarpet is only held in with a few poppers and is easily removed, So I took advantage of having the seats out to repair a crack in the rear footwell that was caused by the car slipping off a jack a few years ago.



With the carpets up I've also added a bit of anti vibration dampening. we use similar products at work and they help remove transmitted vibration and don't add too much weight.



I've also added a some more sound insulation, to the floors, heater blower motors etc

Lousy phone picture but you get the idea:



Fitted the refurbished tailights and a few more badges...



The 5a has quite a bit of steelwork in the nose of the car. Its a clever bit of design which does several important jobs: It ties the Front bumpers to the chassis, Supports the nose of the car preventing the fibreglass from drooping. It serves as ducting to the radiator and it forms the base for the tray holds the spare wheel.
The Reliant parts list 1971 gives a reasonable illustration:



The steelwork that was on my car was in pretty poor condition its a wet area of the car and takes a lot of punishment from the elements. The steelwork on my car had also deformed when I hit the deer last year. As the picture of the drivers side triangle below shows.



The steelwork deforming in the event of a crash seems to be a real advantage of this design as the sacrificial triangle absorbs some of the impact and reduces the chance of damage being transmitted back onto the chassis.

A look round a one of my garages full of parts and I found a reasonable used set of parts:



Steelwork refitted, the stainless grill went in first!



With the nose steel in I moved onto the bumper Irons, The ones that came off were a bit misshapen and corroded they could possibly have been saved with a bit of work....





Fortunately, I had some New old stock ones,



Which I used as a template to get some new ones made in stainless:





I've protected the bodywork with self adhesive rubber strip on the back of the bumper brackets & bumper irons.



Heres a photo of the refitted bumper irons and stainless overiders fitted. The overiders are a Harrington’s set and while the standard of finish is reasonable they did require quite a bit of adjustment.





As a reward for reading this far here’s a few more photos of shiny bits that are now attached:

A new roof Ariel



Sill trims (etched stainless attached with stainless pop rivets)




Factory spec Lucas door reflectors, (only some cars seem to have these from factory) and mine was missing them.



I reattached a new piece of exterior viynl to each of the B-pillars.



With the b pillar trims back on I could think about reattaching the gutters,
I gave them a clean to remove historic overspray:



The cleaned gutter then had some new butyl tape applied to make it waterproof. its about 1mm thick by 12mm wide.



Luckily Dave had a spare day and was able to give me a hand refitting them.
We started at the C-pillar and worked our way forward.



Peeling the cover back of the tape in stages to prevent it sticking in the wrong places.





Here’s the finished result: