danthecapriman

More done today.
Mostly cleaning the interior this time. The seats are fine, being new material, but the dash and most other bits of trim were filthy and looking dull from years of storage so I’ve cleaned it all down with some trim cleaner and a cloth. Incredible how much crap came off on the cloth! It looked grubby but it was far dustier than I thought. Then did a few coats of black cockpit shine and buffed up with a microfibre cloth. Looks absolutely fantastic now!


It’ll most probably need a few more goes over with the shine as some of the plastic had gone very dull. But it’s not been cleaned or polished in years.
Spent ages over the last few days sorting the door and tailgate seals too. They’re all new and are making shutting the doors/tailgate extremely difficult. The rubber is so stiff and thick it’s stopping things closing properly. Managed with the doors, although I think it’ll improve with time once the new seals soften and take the shape of the closed doors. But the tailgate is not having it! I think I need to loosen the hinge bolts and slide the tailgate up a touch as I think the seal is hitting in the wrong place on the underside of the tailgate.
Also finished cleaning and shining up the replacement footwell kick panels. They’re looking great now and just need fitting. I’ve also wax injected the A pillars and inside of the door hinge areas so now just need to fit the kick panels over them.
And, I had a great find recently! 
I’ve been thinking about the steering wheel recently. Been keeping an eye out for a better one - couldn’t find anything much of an improvement over mine so thought about getting the leather wrap on mine retrimmed. 
Then a really nice one turned up on eBay so I bagged it!
Heres my original. These are different to normal mk2 steering wheels. Mine being an early car they carried on using up stocks of mk1 wheels. Which look way nicer too imho.


And here’s the one I got off eBay.

It’s in absolutely lovely condition. The soft trim is all perfect and the plastic is all really good. I think it’s actually off a higher trim car than mine as it’s got a soft padded centre section whereas on my old one it’s hard plastic. All it needed was a quick wash and some cockpit shine buffing on and it looks a million times better than my old one.


Its got a really pleasant smell too! That old musty car smell with a slight hint of old tobacco! Or rather it did, until I cleaned it.
Anyway, almost there now. Just a few bits to finish then time to hit the queens highway. (It’ll probably be kings highway by the time I get it done!!) Main thing stopping me driving it now is the tailgate not latching down.

Did this today and the clutch now seems to work properly! Didn't think it could be something so simple. And changed the cluth fluid too and the old one didn't look so good.

I also changed 2 ball joints and now know which ones fit this car, so have to change the rest as well.

And started the engine again today and after 25 seconds with the glow plugs on, it started instantly, so I can say it's fixed now. But I have an injector that is leaking now have to investigate that.

Aye, mebe poke some holes, some seals have that from new. Vaseline softens up proper rubber, you can tell because the cloth you rub it in with turns black. Doesn't happen with some synthetics. 
If the tailgate doesn't close it may be because there is too much friction in the new rubber, try a bit of water on it to make it slippery.

Boring work has been continuing on this, mostly adding yet more cavity wax and clear wax where it’s visible. Didn’t take pics, cos, it’s boring! Also got the two footwell kick panels fitted back in… then had to remove them because I forgot to connect the earth wires for the interior lights first!🤬 refitted them again now though. 
Took the grill off and stole @captain_70s idea of using a silver permanent marker to restore the faded ‘FORD’ logo in the middle. Looks much better now so thanks for that one! 
Then while that was off spent a ridiculously long time trying to get the stupid bonnet release catch spring thing back into place under/through the slam panel. One of those jobs that was incredibly frustrating trying to get it to fit right. Then refitted the release hook and cable. Everything works perfectly which is good. 
I then decided the original bonnet spring and latch mechanism were not in keeping with the current state of the car! So I bought a new old stock replacement which is like new in that anodised gold-ish colour. Hermes decided to take 13 days to get it to me so it needs fitting and adjusting yet. Then that’s the front end finished and also means the car can be driven without the bonnet flying up. 
Pics to follow as I forgot to take any.
I also decided to spend a few days cleaning out the garage and laying a new floor since winters on the way. 
I’ve put down some rubber/foam type tiles on the floor just to tidy it up and keep it cleaner in there. They’ve got grip mouldings on too so shouldn’t be slippery. 
Loads of old rubbish and empty boxes of parts binned too, and there’s very very little left to actually fit on the car now which is a relief.

Its not the best garage ever but it’s all I’ve got for now. It’s dry and safe for the car though which is all I need.
 
And…
How was that for a spooky prediction!

More done today.
Mostly cleaning the interior this time. The seats are fine, being new material, but the dash and most other bits of trim were filthy and looking dull from years of storage so I’ve cleaned it all down with some trim cleaner and a cloth. Incredible how much crap came off on the cloth! It looked grubby but it was far dustier than I thought. Then did a few coats of black cockpit shine and buffed up with a microfibre cloth. Looks absolutely fantastic now!


It’ll most probably need a few more goes over with the shine as some of the plastic had gone very dull. But it’s not been cleaned or polished in years.
Spent ages over the last few days sorting the door and tailgate seals too. They’re all new and are making shutting the doors/tailgate extremely difficult. The rubber is so stiff and thick it’s stopping things closing properly. Managed with the doors, although I think it’ll improve with time once the new seals soften and take the shape of the closed doors. But the tailgate is not having it! I think I need to loosen the hinge bolts and slide the tailgate up a touch as I think the seal is hitting in the wrong place on the underside of the tailgate.
Also finished cleaning and shining up the replacement footwell kick panels. They’re looking great now and just need fitting. I’ve also wax injected the A pillars and inside of the door hinge areas so now just need to fit the kick panels over them.
And, I had a great find recently! 
I’ve been thinking about the steering wheel recently. Been keeping an eye out for a better one - couldn’t find anything much of an improvement over mine so thought about getting the leather wrap on mine retrimmed. 
Then a really nice one turned up on eBay so I bagged it!
Heres my original. These are different to normal mk2 steering wheels. Mine being an early car they carried on using up stocks of mk1 wheels. Which look way nicer too imho.


And here’s the one I got off eBay.

It’s in absolutely lovely condition. The soft trim is all perfect and the plastic is all really good. I think it’s actually off a higher trim car than mine as it’s got a soft padded centre section whereas on my old one it’s hard plastic. All it needed was a quick wash and some cockpit shine buffing on and it looks a million times better than my old one.


Its got a really pleasant smell too! That old musty car smell with a slight hint of old tobacco! Or rather it did, until I cleaned it.
Anyway, almost there now. Just a few bits to finish then time to hit the queens highway. (It’ll probably be kings highway by the time I get it done!!) Main thing stopping me driving it now is the tailgate not latching down.

Small update. 

Got a few small odd bits finished since last time, nothing exciting really. I’ve been over the entire underside and fitted split pins to all the castle nuts and nut cages and made sure all the nut/bolt lock tabs are bent over - loads weren’t 😬 That sort of stuff really, and more waxing of box sections and bits of the underside and chassis which wasn’t a nice job in the recent hot weather!
Today I ran it up warm and changed the engine oil, it’s been in the sump a good few years now since the car went back together but I wanted clean oil in ready for hitting the road. Didn’t bother changing the filter as it’s essentially new still and hasn’t hardly been used. 
Old oil came out slightly darker than new oil but still golden and pretty clean. No metallic bits in it, no moisture and no petrol so everything seems good inside. No bits of crap on the drain bolt magnet either. Stuck new 15W40 Castrol back in (which is what I’ve always used in this) with a dose of Marvel Magic oil mixed in just to help it a bit after sitting around so long. Also diluted some of that down in petrol and stuck it in the tank to help lubricate the top end/rings etc. can’t hurt! Also shoved a bottle of fuel system cleaner in the tank just in case there’s any varnish of crap in the lines or carb. It seems fine so far but again, can’t hurt! 
I’ve given the carb a bit of a tweek on mixture too, seemed a tad rich looking at the plugs and it seems to run a bit smoother now.
Decided to change the front anti roll bar bushes today too. Old ones looked very tired and were likely original parts. 
Dead easy on these, two bolts each side to release the U clamp then just pull the old bush off the bar. New ones are polyurethane replacements in the soft ‘Road’ material so should be similar to new rubber ones in the way they feel. All contact faces were smeared in silicone grease that came in the pack and all went back together easily.
Old V new. Old ones were really baggy and dry rotted once off, definitely worth changing them. 

 

The new ones are a superb fit too, really nicely made. This is one of those jobs made so much nicer by the car being as clean as it now is. All the bolts came out easily, no rust on the U clamps or mounts… lovely!
Been shopping too. Got a really good condition base model instrument cluster with correct mk2 style lettering on the dials. Mines ok but nowhere near as good as the new one. Got that for less than £10 posted, which seems a bargain to me. 
And scored a pair of very good condition black front footwell kick panels. Been looking for some for ages but good black ones never come up. Loads of grey mk3 ones but no black. They’re in great condition and just need a wash and buff up with trim shine. My old ones were a mess, one had a hole melted through it from a welding job behind it way back whenever, and the other was cracked and had a hole through from an angle grinder! Always been like that since I’ve had the car and not ideal to put back into such a nice car now!
Anyway, it’s on the home straight now. Very little left to do. Main thing is fitting the last bits of brightwork, odd bits of interior, under-dash panel, steering wheel needs bolting tight and pinch bolt on the steering UJ coupling. Probably other bits & bobs too but it’s close!

Here’s a few pics of the stuff I was on about in the last post.
Bonnet latch/spring which was an absolute arse to fit.

New and old bonnet latch. Old one worked ok but looked awful!


Been waiting for a couple of bits and doing a few odd jobs around the car in the meantime. One of which was to use some clear Dynax UB wax on the inside of the stainless centre caps for the wheels.

3 of these are new old stock items and I selected the best one from my original four to make up numbers. The wax is to try and stop the sprung clips on the inside from rusting and breaking. Might be a bit over the top but do it right!
 
Here’s a crappy pic of the sill carpet, stainless sill step trim and replacement footwell kick panel all fitted.

 
Im still having trouble with the new door seals. Passenger side one has relaxed significantly since last time, and moulded to shape really well with the door being closed on it. It’s still pushing against the door but you don’t have to slam it nearly so hard to fully close it now so hopefully it’ll sort itself out in time. 
Drivers door seal is still a bitch! It’s incredibly hard to shut the door fully and you can hear the air being forced out of the gap in the rubber when you try, it’s that tight. 
I’ve re-aligned the door and striker a touch so it closes better and lines up better now but I’m hoping it just needs the door leaving closed on the seal for a few weeks to flatten it and shape it. I don’t know if there’s anything apart from that you can do with the seals? Maybe a light coating of vasaline or something might help make it a bit softer and more supple?? 
 

The fuel door is open as I was filling the void in the hinge with cavity wax. They have a tendency to rust from inside out if you don’t. Also did the bonnet leading edge while I was at it.
 
While messing around with the bonnet, I wasn’t happy with the release handles operation. It worked, but felt very slack and loose. Turned out I was missing a tiny clamp which holds the cable outer sheath still while the cable is pulled. Without it the whole cable moves around and you loose that firm ‘pull’. I can’t remember this car having this clip while I’ve had it tbh, but it’s got one now! It’s been cleaned up, painted silver and fits under the slam panel where nobody will ever see it to appreciate my fantastic paint job!



Im almost done now, it’s just the door seals causing problems that’s slowing things down. I’m pretty certain you won’t be able to close the drivers door fully properly from inside the car the way it is now. Obviously that doesn’t help if you want to drive it! 
I need to bleed the brakes again too, I’m pretty sure there’s a bit of air still in the system somewhere.
Im also installing lights and sockets to the garage next week. Shouldn’t be hard but takes time away from working on the car itself.
 
Edit: 
Heres the grill badge after the touch up with silver permanent marker! Brilliant idea that was captain 70’s!

Just got a bollocking from an old bag at the petrol station.

There were two vacant pumps, both on the left. She was needlessly waiting for one to become free that was on the right. My filler cap is on the offside too, but I drove round her to one of the vacant pumps, and stretched the hose round to fill up my car.

Didn't think anything of it, and as I was paying (at the pump), she stormed over and asked why I was in such a hurry, claiming that I was "jumping the queue"!

I explained that the "queue" consisted of just her, and that there was no need to wait as two pumps were available. She then said that it was illegal to use a pump that's not on the same side that you fill up and that I was breaking the law. I told her to phone the police then, and that I'd wait for them to arrive so they could arrest me!

She marched back over to her car shaking her head. I could see what I assume was her long-suffering husband sat in the passenger seat looking the other direction. Poor bloke!

Patinated but still tasty FE in VX490 flavour seen in Co. Down...



I've a serious lust for these; the best bit is I spotted a silver VX490 in the same street about 15 years ago, so I reckon there's a serial Vauxhall licker in the vicinity.

Look at that interior. Woof.

But what's this, parked not far away?


Mk2 1600E, in the best colour?
Oh, yes please.
Looked very clean - but I'd still take the big Vauxhall.

Here’s a few pics of the stuff I was on about in the last post.
Bonnet latch/spring which was an absolute arse to fit.

New and old bonnet latch. Old one worked ok but looked awful!


Been waiting for a couple of bits and doing a few odd jobs around the car in the meantime. One of which was to use some clear Dynax UB wax on the inside of the stainless centre caps for the wheels.

3 of these are new old stock items and I selected the best one from my original four to make up numbers. The wax is to try and stop the sprung clips on the inside from rusting and breaking. Might be a bit over the top but do it right!
 
Here’s a crappy pic of the sill carpet, stainless sill step trim and replacement footwell kick panel all fitted.

 
Im still having trouble with the new door seals. Passenger side one has relaxed significantly since last time, and moulded to shape really well with the door being closed on it. It’s still pushing against the door but you don’t have to slam it nearly so hard to fully close it now so hopefully it’ll sort itself out in time. 
Drivers door seal is still a bitch! It’s incredibly hard to shut the door fully and you can hear the air being forced out of the gap in the rubber when you try, it’s that tight. 
I’ve re-aligned the door and striker a touch so it closes better and lines up better now but I’m hoping it just needs the door leaving closed on the seal for a few weeks to flatten it and shape it. I don’t know if there’s anything apart from that you can do with the seals? Maybe a light coating of vasaline or something might help make it a bit softer and more supple?? 
 

The fuel door is open as I was filling the void in the hinge with cavity wax. They have a tendency to rust from inside out if you don’t. Also did the bonnet leading edge while I was at it.
 
While messing around with the bonnet, I wasn’t happy with the release handles operation. It worked, but felt very slack and loose. Turned out I was missing a tiny clamp which holds the cable outer sheath still while the cable is pulled. Without it the whole cable moves around and you loose that firm ‘pull’. I can’t remember this car having this clip while I’ve had it tbh, but it’s got one now! It’s been cleaned up, painted silver and fits under the slam panel where nobody will ever see it to appreciate my fantastic paint job!



Im almost done now, it’s just the door seals causing problems that’s slowing things down. I’m pretty certain you won’t be able to close the drivers door fully properly from inside the car the way it is now. Obviously that doesn’t help if you want to drive it! 
I need to bleed the brakes again too, I’m pretty sure there’s a bit of air still in the system somewhere.
Im also installing lights and sockets to the garage next week. Shouldn’t be hard but takes time away from working on the car itself.
 
Edit: 
Heres the grill badge after the touch up with silver permanent marker! Brilliant idea that was captain 70’s!

Here’s a few pics of the stuff I was on about in the last post.
Bonnet latch/spring which was an absolute arse to fit.

New and old bonnet latch. Old one worked ok but looked awful!


Been waiting for a couple of bits and doing a few odd jobs around the car in the meantime. One of which was to use some clear Dynax UB wax on the inside of the stainless centre caps for the wheels.

3 of these are new old stock items and I selected the best one from my original four to make up numbers. The wax is to try and stop the sprung clips on the inside from rusting and breaking. Might be a bit over the top but do it right!
 
Here’s a crappy pic of the sill carpet, stainless sill step trim and replacement footwell kick panel all fitted.

 
Im still having trouble with the new door seals. Passenger side one has relaxed significantly since last time, and moulded to shape really well with the door being closed on it. It’s still pushing against the door but you don’t have to slam it nearly so hard to fully close it now so hopefully it’ll sort itself out in time. 
Drivers door seal is still a bitch! It’s incredibly hard to shut the door fully and you can hear the air being forced out of the gap in the rubber when you try, it’s that tight. 
I’ve re-aligned the door and striker a touch so it closes better and lines up better now but I’m hoping it just needs the door leaving closed on the seal for a few weeks to flatten it and shape it. I don’t know if there’s anything apart from that you can do with the seals? Maybe a light coating of vasaline or something might help make it a bit softer and more supple?? 
 

The fuel door is open as I was filling the void in the hinge with cavity wax. They have a tendency to rust from inside out if you don’t. Also did the bonnet leading edge while I was at it.
 
While messing around with the bonnet, I wasn’t happy with the release handles operation. It worked, but felt very slack and loose. Turned out I was missing a tiny clamp which holds the cable outer sheath still while the cable is pulled. Without it the whole cable moves around and you loose that firm ‘pull’. I can’t remember this car having this clip while I’ve had it tbh, but it’s got one now! It’s been cleaned up, painted silver and fits under the slam panel where nobody will ever see it to appreciate my fantastic paint job!



Im almost done now, it’s just the door seals causing problems that’s slowing things down. I’m pretty certain you won’t be able to close the drivers door fully properly from inside the car the way it is now. Obviously that doesn’t help if you want to drive it! 
I need to bleed the brakes again too, I’m pretty sure there’s a bit of air still in the system somewhere.
Im also installing lights and sockets to the garage next week. Shouldn’t be hard but takes time away from working on the car itself.
 
Edit: 
Heres the grill badge after the touch up with silver permanent marker! Brilliant idea that was captain 70’s!

Here’s a few pics of the stuff I was on about in the last post.
Bonnet latch/spring which was an absolute arse to fit.

New and old bonnet latch. Old one worked ok but looked awful!


Been waiting for a couple of bits and doing a few odd jobs around the car in the meantime. One of which was to use some clear Dynax UB wax on the inside of the stainless centre caps for the wheels.

3 of these are new old stock items and I selected the best one from my original four to make up numbers. The wax is to try and stop the sprung clips on the inside from rusting and breaking. Might be a bit over the top but do it right!
 
Here’s a crappy pic of the sill carpet, stainless sill step trim and replacement footwell kick panel all fitted.

 
Im still having trouble with the new door seals. Passenger side one has relaxed significantly since last time, and moulded to shape really well with the door being closed on it. It’s still pushing against the door but you don’t have to slam it nearly so hard to fully close it now so hopefully it’ll sort itself out in time. 
Drivers door seal is still a bitch! It’s incredibly hard to shut the door fully and you can hear the air being forced out of the gap in the rubber when you try, it’s that tight. 
I’ve re-aligned the door and striker a touch so it closes better and lines up better now but I’m hoping it just needs the door leaving closed on the seal for a few weeks to flatten it and shape it. I don’t know if there’s anything apart from that you can do with the seals? Maybe a light coating of vasaline or something might help make it a bit softer and more supple?? 
 

The fuel door is open as I was filling the void in the hinge with cavity wax. They have a tendency to rust from inside out if you don’t. Also did the bonnet leading edge while I was at it.
 
While messing around with the bonnet, I wasn’t happy with the release handles operation. It worked, but felt very slack and loose. Turned out I was missing a tiny clamp which holds the cable outer sheath still while the cable is pulled. Without it the whole cable moves around and you loose that firm ‘pull’. I can’t remember this car having this clip while I’ve had it tbh, but it’s got one now! It’s been cleaned up, painted silver and fits under the slam panel where nobody will ever see it to appreciate my fantastic paint job!



Im almost done now, it’s just the door seals causing problems that’s slowing things down. I’m pretty certain you won’t be able to close the drivers door fully properly from inside the car the way it is now. Obviously that doesn’t help if you want to drive it! 
I need to bleed the brakes again too, I’m pretty sure there’s a bit of air still in the system somewhere.
Im also installing lights and sockets to the garage next week. Shouldn’t be hard but takes time away from working on the car itself.
 
Edit: 
Heres the grill badge after the touch up with silver permanent marker! Brilliant idea that was captain 70’s!

Here’s a few pics of the stuff I was on about in the last post.
Bonnet latch/spring which was an absolute arse to fit.

New and old bonnet latch. Old one worked ok but looked awful!


Been waiting for a couple of bits and doing a few odd jobs around the car in the meantime. One of which was to use some clear Dynax UB wax on the inside of the stainless centre caps for the wheels.

3 of these are new old stock items and I selected the best one from my original four to make up numbers. The wax is to try and stop the sprung clips on the inside from rusting and breaking. Might be a bit over the top but do it right!
 
Here’s a crappy pic of the sill carpet, stainless sill step trim and replacement footwell kick panel all fitted.

 
Im still having trouble with the new door seals. Passenger side one has relaxed significantly since last time, and moulded to shape really well with the door being closed on it. It’s still pushing against the door but you don’t have to slam it nearly so hard to fully close it now so hopefully it’ll sort itself out in time. 
Drivers door seal is still a bitch! It’s incredibly hard to shut the door fully and you can hear the air being forced out of the gap in the rubber when you try, it’s that tight. 
I’ve re-aligned the door and striker a touch so it closes better and lines up better now but I’m hoping it just needs the door leaving closed on the seal for a few weeks to flatten it and shape it. I don’t know if there’s anything apart from that you can do with the seals? Maybe a light coating of vasaline or something might help make it a bit softer and more supple?? 
 

The fuel door is open as I was filling the void in the hinge with cavity wax. They have a tendency to rust from inside out if you don’t. Also did the bonnet leading edge while I was at it.
 
While messing around with the bonnet, I wasn’t happy with the release handles operation. It worked, but felt very slack and loose. Turned out I was missing a tiny clamp which holds the cable outer sheath still while the cable is pulled. Without it the whole cable moves around and you loose that firm ‘pull’. I can’t remember this car having this clip while I’ve had it tbh, but it’s got one now! It’s been cleaned up, painted silver and fits under the slam panel where nobody will ever see it to appreciate my fantastic paint job!



Im almost done now, it’s just the door seals causing problems that’s slowing things down. I’m pretty certain you won’t be able to close the drivers door fully properly from inside the car the way it is now. Obviously that doesn’t help if you want to drive it! 
I need to bleed the brakes again too, I’m pretty sure there’s a bit of air still in the system somewhere.
Im also installing lights and sockets to the garage next week. Shouldn’t be hard but takes time away from working on the car itself.
 
Edit: 
Heres the grill badge after the touch up with silver permanent marker! Brilliant idea that was captain 70’s!

Here’s a few pics of the stuff I was on about in the last post.
Bonnet latch/spring which was an absolute arse to fit.

New and old bonnet latch. Old one worked ok but looked awful!


Been waiting for a couple of bits and doing a few odd jobs around the car in the meantime. One of which was to use some clear Dynax UB wax on the inside of the stainless centre caps for the wheels.

3 of these are new old stock items and I selected the best one from my original four to make up numbers. The wax is to try and stop the sprung clips on the inside from rusting and breaking. Might be a bit over the top but do it right!
 
Here’s a crappy pic of the sill carpet, stainless sill step trim and replacement footwell kick panel all fitted.

 
Im still having trouble with the new door seals. Passenger side one has relaxed significantly since last time, and moulded to shape really well with the door being closed on it. It’s still pushing against the door but you don’t have to slam it nearly so hard to fully close it now so hopefully it’ll sort itself out in time. 
Drivers door seal is still a bitch! It’s incredibly hard to shut the door fully and you can hear the air being forced out of the gap in the rubber when you try, it’s that tight. 
I’ve re-aligned the door and striker a touch so it closes better and lines up better now but I’m hoping it just needs the door leaving closed on the seal for a few weeks to flatten it and shape it. I don’t know if there’s anything apart from that you can do with the seals? Maybe a light coating of vasaline or something might help make it a bit softer and more supple?? 
 

The fuel door is open as I was filling the void in the hinge with cavity wax. They have a tendency to rust from inside out if you don’t. Also did the bonnet leading edge while I was at it.
 
While messing around with the bonnet, I wasn’t happy with the release handles operation. It worked, but felt very slack and loose. Turned out I was missing a tiny clamp which holds the cable outer sheath still while the cable is pulled. Without it the whole cable moves around and you loose that firm ‘pull’. I can’t remember this car having this clip while I’ve had it tbh, but it’s got one now! It’s been cleaned up, painted silver and fits under the slam panel where nobody will ever see it to appreciate my fantastic paint job!



Im almost done now, it’s just the door seals causing problems that’s slowing things down. I’m pretty certain you won’t be able to close the drivers door fully properly from inside the car the way it is now. Obviously that doesn’t help if you want to drive it! 
I need to bleed the brakes again too, I’m pretty sure there’s a bit of air still in the system somewhere.
Im also installing lights and sockets to the garage next week. Shouldn’t be hard but takes time away from working on the car itself.
 
Edit: 
Heres the grill badge after the touch up with silver permanent marker! Brilliant idea that was captain 70’s!

Boring work has been continuing on this, mostly adding yet more cavity wax and clear wax where it’s visible. Didn’t take pics, cos, it’s boring! Also got the two footwell kick panels fitted back in… then had to remove them because I forgot to connect the earth wires for the interior lights first!🤬 refitted them again now though. 
Took the grill off and stole @captain_70s idea of using a silver permanent marker to restore the faded ‘FORD’ logo in the middle. Looks much better now so thanks for that one! 
Then while that was off spent a ridiculously long time trying to get the stupid bonnet release catch spring thing back into place under/through the slam panel. One of those jobs that was incredibly frustrating trying to get it to fit right. Then refitted the release hook and cable. Everything works perfectly which is good. 
I then decided the original bonnet spring and latch mechanism were not in keeping with the current state of the car! So I bought a new old stock replacement which is like new in that anodised gold-ish colour. Hermes decided to take 13 days to get it to me so it needs fitting and adjusting yet. Then that’s the front end finished and also means the car can be driven without the bonnet flying up. 
Pics to follow as I forgot to take any.
I also decided to spend a few days cleaning out the garage and laying a new floor since winters on the way. 
I’ve put down some rubber/foam type tiles on the floor just to tidy it up and keep it cleaner in there. They’ve got grip mouldings on too so shouldn’t be slippery. 
Loads of old rubbish and empty boxes of parts binned too, and there’s very very little left to actually fit on the car now which is a relief.

Its not the best garage ever but it’s all I’ve got for now. It’s dry and safe for the car though which is all I need.
 
And…
How was that for a spooky prediction!

Small update. 

Got a few small odd bits finished since last time, nothing exciting really. I’ve been over the entire underside and fitted split pins to all the castle nuts and nut cages and made sure all the nut/bolt lock tabs are bent over - loads weren’t 😬 That sort of stuff really, and more waxing of box sections and bits of the underside and chassis which wasn’t a nice job in the recent hot weather!
Today I ran it up warm and changed the engine oil, it’s been in the sump a good few years now since the car went back together but I wanted clean oil in ready for hitting the road. Didn’t bother changing the filter as it’s essentially new still and hasn’t hardly been used. 
Old oil came out slightly darker than new oil but still golden and pretty clean. No metallic bits in it, no moisture and no petrol so everything seems good inside. No bits of crap on the drain bolt magnet either. Stuck new 15W40 Castrol back in (which is what I’ve always used in this) with a dose of Marvel Magic oil mixed in just to help it a bit after sitting around so long. Also diluted some of that down in petrol and stuck it in the tank to help lubricate the top end/rings etc. can’t hurt! Also shoved a bottle of fuel system cleaner in the tank just in case there’s any varnish of crap in the lines or carb. It seems fine so far but again, can’t hurt! 
I’ve given the carb a bit of a tweek on mixture too, seemed a tad rich looking at the plugs and it seems to run a bit smoother now.
Decided to change the front anti roll bar bushes today too. Old ones looked very tired and were likely original parts. 
Dead easy on these, two bolts each side to release the U clamp then just pull the old bush off the bar. New ones are polyurethane replacements in the soft ‘Road’ material so should be similar to new rubber ones in the way they feel. All contact faces were smeared in silicone grease that came in the pack and all went back together easily.
Old V new. Old ones were really baggy and dry rotted once off, definitely worth changing them. 

 

The new ones are a superb fit too, really nicely made. This is one of those jobs made so much nicer by the car being as clean as it now is. All the bolts came out easily, no rust on the U clamps or mounts… lovely!
Been shopping too. Got a really good condition base model instrument cluster with correct mk2 style lettering on the dials. Mines ok but nowhere near as good as the new one. Got that for less than £10 posted, which seems a bargain to me. 
And scored a pair of very good condition black front footwell kick panels. Been looking for some for ages but good black ones never come up. Loads of grey mk3 ones but no black. They’re in great condition and just need a wash and buff up with trim shine. My old ones were a mess, one had a hole melted through it from a welding job behind it way back whenever, and the other was cracked and had a hole through from an angle grinder! Always been like that since I’ve had the car and not ideal to put back into such a nice car now!
Anyway, it’s on the home straight now. Very little left to do. Main thing is fitting the last bits of brightwork, odd bits of interior, under-dash panel, steering wheel needs bolting tight and pinch bolt on the steering UJ coupling. Probably other bits & bobs too but it’s close!

Here’s a few pics of the stuff I was on about in the last post.
Bonnet latch/spring which was an absolute arse to fit.

New and old bonnet latch. Old one worked ok but looked awful!


Been waiting for a couple of bits and doing a few odd jobs around the car in the meantime. One of which was to use some clear Dynax UB wax on the inside of the stainless centre caps for the wheels.

3 of these are new old stock items and I selected the best one from my original four to make up numbers. The wax is to try and stop the sprung clips on the inside from rusting and breaking. Might be a bit over the top but do it right!
 
Here’s a crappy pic of the sill carpet, stainless sill step trim and replacement footwell kick panel all fitted.

 
Im still having trouble with the new door seals. Passenger side one has relaxed significantly since last time, and moulded to shape really well with the door being closed on it. It’s still pushing against the door but you don’t have to slam it nearly so hard to fully close it now so hopefully it’ll sort itself out in time. 
Drivers door seal is still a bitch! It’s incredibly hard to shut the door fully and you can hear the air being forced out of the gap in the rubber when you try, it’s that tight. 
I’ve re-aligned the door and striker a touch so it closes better and lines up better now but I’m hoping it just needs the door leaving closed on the seal for a few weeks to flatten it and shape it. I don’t know if there’s anything apart from that you can do with the seals? Maybe a light coating of vasaline or something might help make it a bit softer and more supple?? 
 

The fuel door is open as I was filling the void in the hinge with cavity wax. They have a tendency to rust from inside out if you don’t. Also did the bonnet leading edge while I was at it.
 
While messing around with the bonnet, I wasn’t happy with the release handles operation. It worked, but felt very slack and loose. Turned out I was missing a tiny clamp which holds the cable outer sheath still while the cable is pulled. Without it the whole cable moves around and you loose that firm ‘pull’. I can’t remember this car having this clip while I’ve had it tbh, but it’s got one now! It’s been cleaned up, painted silver and fits under the slam panel where nobody will ever see it to appreciate my fantastic paint job!



Im almost done now, it’s just the door seals causing problems that’s slowing things down. I’m pretty certain you won’t be able to close the drivers door fully properly from inside the car the way it is now. Obviously that doesn’t help if you want to drive it! 
I need to bleed the brakes again too, I’m pretty sure there’s a bit of air still in the system somewhere.
Im also installing lights and sockets to the garage next week. Shouldn’t be hard but takes time away from working on the car itself.
 
Edit: 
Heres the grill badge after the touch up with silver permanent marker! Brilliant idea that was captain 70’s!

Here’s a few pics of the stuff I was on about in the last post.
Bonnet latch/spring which was an absolute arse to fit.

New and old bonnet latch. Old one worked ok but looked awful!


Been waiting for a couple of bits and doing a few odd jobs around the car in the meantime. One of which was to use some clear Dynax UB wax on the inside of the stainless centre caps for the wheels.

3 of these are new old stock items and I selected the best one from my original four to make up numbers. The wax is to try and stop the sprung clips on the inside from rusting and breaking. Might be a bit over the top but do it right!
 
Here’s a crappy pic of the sill carpet, stainless sill step trim and replacement footwell kick panel all fitted.

 
Im still having trouble with the new door seals. Passenger side one has relaxed significantly since last time, and moulded to shape really well with the door being closed on it. It’s still pushing against the door but you don’t have to slam it nearly so hard to fully close it now so hopefully it’ll sort itself out in time. 
Drivers door seal is still a bitch! It’s incredibly hard to shut the door fully and you can hear the air being forced out of the gap in the rubber when you try, it’s that tight. 
I’ve re-aligned the door and striker a touch so it closes better and lines up better now but I’m hoping it just needs the door leaving closed on the seal for a few weeks to flatten it and shape it. I don’t know if there’s anything apart from that you can do with the seals? Maybe a light coating of vasaline or something might help make it a bit softer and more supple?? 
 

The fuel door is open as I was filling the void in the hinge with cavity wax. They have a tendency to rust from inside out if you don’t. Also did the bonnet leading edge while I was at it.
 
While messing around with the bonnet, I wasn’t happy with the release handles operation. It worked, but felt very slack and loose. Turned out I was missing a tiny clamp which holds the cable outer sheath still while the cable is pulled. Without it the whole cable moves around and you loose that firm ‘pull’. I can’t remember this car having this clip while I’ve had it tbh, but it’s got one now! It’s been cleaned up, painted silver and fits under the slam panel where nobody will ever see it to appreciate my fantastic paint job!



Im almost done now, it’s just the door seals causing problems that’s slowing things down. I’m pretty certain you won’t be able to close the drivers door fully properly from inside the car the way it is now. Obviously that doesn’t help if you want to drive it! 
I need to bleed the brakes again too, I’m pretty sure there’s a bit of air still in the system somewhere.
Im also installing lights and sockets to the garage next week. Shouldn’t be hard but takes time away from working on the car itself.
 
Edit: 
Heres the grill badge after the touch up with silver permanent marker! Brilliant idea that was captain 70’s!

Boring work has been continuing on this, mostly adding yet more cavity wax and clear wax where it’s visible. Didn’t take pics, cos, it’s boring! Also got the two footwell kick panels fitted back in… then had to remove them because I forgot to connect the earth wires for the interior lights first!🤬 refitted them again now though. 
Took the grill off and stole @captain_70s idea of using a silver permanent marker to restore the faded ‘FORD’ logo in the middle. Looks much better now so thanks for that one! 
Then while that was off spent a ridiculously long time trying to get the stupid bonnet release catch spring thing back into place under/through the slam panel. One of those jobs that was incredibly frustrating trying to get it to fit right. Then refitted the release hook and cable. Everything works perfectly which is good. 
I then decided the original bonnet spring and latch mechanism were not in keeping with the current state of the car! So I bought a new old stock replacement which is like new in that anodised gold-ish colour. Hermes decided to take 13 days to get it to me so it needs fitting and adjusting yet. Then that’s the front end finished and also means the car can be driven without the bonnet flying up. 
Pics to follow as I forgot to take any.
I also decided to spend a few days cleaning out the garage and laying a new floor since winters on the way. 
I’ve put down some rubber/foam type tiles on the floor just to tidy it up and keep it cleaner in there. They’ve got grip mouldings on too so shouldn’t be slippery. 
Loads of old rubbish and empty boxes of parts binned too, and there’s very very little left to actually fit on the car now which is a relief.

Its not the best garage ever but it’s all I’ve got for now. It’s dry and safe for the car though which is all I need.
 
And…
How was that for a spooky prediction!

More done today.
Mostly cleaning the interior this time. The seats are fine, being new material, but the dash and most other bits of trim were filthy and looking dull from years of storage so I’ve cleaned it all down with some trim cleaner and a cloth. Incredible how much crap came off on the cloth! It looked grubby but it was far dustier than I thought. Then did a few coats of black cockpit shine and buffed up with a microfibre cloth. Looks absolutely fantastic now!


It’ll most probably need a few more goes over with the shine as some of the plastic had gone very dull. But it’s not been cleaned or polished in years.
Spent ages over the last few days sorting the door and tailgate seals too. They’re all new and are making shutting the doors/tailgate extremely difficult. The rubber is so stiff and thick it’s stopping things closing properly. Managed with the doors, although I think it’ll improve with time once the new seals soften and take the shape of the closed doors. But the tailgate is not having it! I think I need to loosen the hinge bolts and slide the tailgate up a touch as I think the seal is hitting in the wrong place on the underside of the tailgate.
Also finished cleaning and shining up the replacement footwell kick panels. They’re looking great now and just need fitting. I’ve also wax injected the A pillars and inside of the door hinge areas so now just need to fit the kick panels over them.
And, I had a great find recently! 
I’ve been thinking about the steering wheel recently. Been keeping an eye out for a better one - couldn’t find anything much of an improvement over mine so thought about getting the leather wrap on mine retrimmed. 
Then a really nice one turned up on eBay so I bagged it!
Heres my original. These are different to normal mk2 steering wheels. Mine being an early car they carried on using up stocks of mk1 wheels. Which look way nicer too imho.


And here’s the one I got off eBay.

It’s in absolutely lovely condition. The soft trim is all perfect and the plastic is all really good. I think it’s actually off a higher trim car than mine as it’s got a soft padded centre section whereas on my old one it’s hard plastic. All it needed was a quick wash and some cockpit shine buffing on and it looks a million times better than my old one.


Its got a really pleasant smell too! That old musty car smell with a slight hint of old tobacco! Or rather it did, until I cleaned it.
Anyway, almost there now. Just a few bits to finish then time to hit the queens highway. (It’ll probably be kings highway by the time I get it done!!) Main thing stopping me driving it now is the tailgate not latching down.

Here’s a few pics of the stuff I was on about in the last post.
Bonnet latch/spring which was an absolute arse to fit.

New and old bonnet latch. Old one worked ok but looked awful!


Been waiting for a couple of bits and doing a few odd jobs around the car in the meantime. One of which was to use some clear Dynax UB wax on the inside of the stainless centre caps for the wheels.

3 of these are new old stock items and I selected the best one from my original four to make up numbers. The wax is to try and stop the sprung clips on the inside from rusting and breaking. Might be a bit over the top but do it right!
 
Here’s a crappy pic of the sill carpet, stainless sill step trim and replacement footwell kick panel all fitted.

 
Im still having trouble with the new door seals. Passenger side one has relaxed significantly since last time, and moulded to shape really well with the door being closed on it. It’s still pushing against the door but you don’t have to slam it nearly so hard to fully close it now so hopefully it’ll sort itself out in time. 
Drivers door seal is still a bitch! It’s incredibly hard to shut the door fully and you can hear the air being forced out of the gap in the rubber when you try, it’s that tight. 
I’ve re-aligned the door and striker a touch so it closes better and lines up better now but I’m hoping it just needs the door leaving closed on the seal for a few weeks to flatten it and shape it. I don’t know if there’s anything apart from that you can do with the seals? Maybe a light coating of vasaline or something might help make it a bit softer and more supple?? 
 

The fuel door is open as I was filling the void in the hinge with cavity wax. They have a tendency to rust from inside out if you don’t. Also did the bonnet leading edge while I was at it.
 
While messing around with the bonnet, I wasn’t happy with the release handles operation. It worked, but felt very slack and loose. Turned out I was missing a tiny clamp which holds the cable outer sheath still while the cable is pulled. Without it the whole cable moves around and you loose that firm ‘pull’. I can’t remember this car having this clip while I’ve had it tbh, but it’s got one now! It’s been cleaned up, painted silver and fits under the slam panel where nobody will ever see it to appreciate my fantastic paint job!



Im almost done now, it’s just the door seals causing problems that’s slowing things down. I’m pretty certain you won’t be able to close the drivers door fully properly from inside the car the way it is now. Obviously that doesn’t help if you want to drive it! 
I need to bleed the brakes again too, I’m pretty sure there’s a bit of air still in the system somewhere.
Im also installing lights and sockets to the garage next week. Shouldn’t be hard but takes time away from working on the car itself.
 
Edit: 
Heres the grill badge after the touch up with silver permanent marker! Brilliant idea that was captain 70’s!

Here’s a few pics of the stuff I was on about in the last post.
Bonnet latch/spring which was an absolute arse to fit.

New and old bonnet latch. Old one worked ok but looked awful!


Been waiting for a couple of bits and doing a few odd jobs around the car in the meantime. One of which was to use some clear Dynax UB wax on the inside of the stainless centre caps for the wheels.

3 of these are new old stock items and I selected the best one from my original four to make up numbers. The wax is to try and stop the sprung clips on the inside from rusting and breaking. Might be a bit over the top but do it right!
 
Here’s a crappy pic of the sill carpet, stainless sill step trim and replacement footwell kick panel all fitted.

 
Im still having trouble with the new door seals. Passenger side one has relaxed significantly since last time, and moulded to shape really well with the door being closed on it. It’s still pushing against the door but you don’t have to slam it nearly so hard to fully close it now so hopefully it’ll sort itself out in time. 
Drivers door seal is still a bitch! It’s incredibly hard to shut the door fully and you can hear the air being forced out of the gap in the rubber when you try, it’s that tight. 
I’ve re-aligned the door and striker a touch so it closes better and lines up better now but I’m hoping it just needs the door leaving closed on the seal for a few weeks to flatten it and shape it. I don’t know if there’s anything apart from that you can do with the seals? Maybe a light coating of vasaline or something might help make it a bit softer and more supple?? 
 

The fuel door is open as I was filling the void in the hinge with cavity wax. They have a tendency to rust from inside out if you don’t. Also did the bonnet leading edge while I was at it.
 
While messing around with the bonnet, I wasn’t happy with the release handles operation. It worked, but felt very slack and loose. Turned out I was missing a tiny clamp which holds the cable outer sheath still while the cable is pulled. Without it the whole cable moves around and you loose that firm ‘pull’. I can’t remember this car having this clip while I’ve had it tbh, but it’s got one now! It’s been cleaned up, painted silver and fits under the slam panel where nobody will ever see it to appreciate my fantastic paint job!



Im almost done now, it’s just the door seals causing problems that’s slowing things down. I’m pretty certain you won’t be able to close the drivers door fully properly from inside the car the way it is now. Obviously that doesn’t help if you want to drive it! 
I need to bleed the brakes again too, I’m pretty sure there’s a bit of air still in the system somewhere.
Im also installing lights and sockets to the garage next week. Shouldn’t be hard but takes time away from working on the car itself.
 
Edit: 
Heres the grill badge after the touch up with silver permanent marker! Brilliant idea that was captain 70’s!

Here’s a few pics of the stuff I was on about in the last post.
Bonnet latch/spring which was an absolute arse to fit.

New and old bonnet latch. Old one worked ok but looked awful!


Been waiting for a couple of bits and doing a few odd jobs around the car in the meantime. One of which was to use some clear Dynax UB wax on the inside of the stainless centre caps for the wheels.

3 of these are new old stock items and I selected the best one from my original four to make up numbers. The wax is to try and stop the sprung clips on the inside from rusting and breaking. Might be a bit over the top but do it right!
 
Here’s a crappy pic of the sill carpet, stainless sill step trim and replacement footwell kick panel all fitted.

 
Im still having trouble with the new door seals. Passenger side one has relaxed significantly since last time, and moulded to shape really well with the door being closed on it. It’s still pushing against the door but you don’t have to slam it nearly so hard to fully close it now so hopefully it’ll sort itself out in time. 
Drivers door seal is still a bitch! It’s incredibly hard to shut the door fully and you can hear the air being forced out of the gap in the rubber when you try, it’s that tight. 
I’ve re-aligned the door and striker a touch so it closes better and lines up better now but I’m hoping it just needs the door leaving closed on the seal for a few weeks to flatten it and shape it. I don’t know if there’s anything apart from that you can do with the seals? Maybe a light coating of vasaline or something might help make it a bit softer and more supple?? 
 

The fuel door is open as I was filling the void in the hinge with cavity wax. They have a tendency to rust from inside out if you don’t. Also did the bonnet leading edge while I was at it.
 
While messing around with the bonnet, I wasn’t happy with the release handles operation. It worked, but felt very slack and loose. Turned out I was missing a tiny clamp which holds the cable outer sheath still while the cable is pulled. Without it the whole cable moves around and you loose that firm ‘pull’. I can’t remember this car having this clip while I’ve had it tbh, but it’s got one now! It’s been cleaned up, painted silver and fits under the slam panel where nobody will ever see it to appreciate my fantastic paint job!



Im almost done now, it’s just the door seals causing problems that’s slowing things down. I’m pretty certain you won’t be able to close the drivers door fully properly from inside the car the way it is now. Obviously that doesn’t help if you want to drive it! 
I need to bleed the brakes again too, I’m pretty sure there’s a bit of air still in the system somewhere.
Im also installing lights and sockets to the garage next week. Shouldn’t be hard but takes time away from working on the car itself.
 
Edit: 
Heres the grill badge after the touch up with silver permanent marker! Brilliant idea that was captain 70’s!

Here’s a few pics of the stuff I was on about in the last post.
Bonnet latch/spring which was an absolute arse to fit.

New and old bonnet latch. Old one worked ok but looked awful!


Been waiting for a couple of bits and doing a few odd jobs around the car in the meantime. One of which was to use some clear Dynax UB wax on the inside of the stainless centre caps for the wheels.

3 of these are new old stock items and I selected the best one from my original four to make up numbers. The wax is to try and stop the sprung clips on the inside from rusting and breaking. Might be a bit over the top but do it right!
 
Here’s a crappy pic of the sill carpet, stainless sill step trim and replacement footwell kick panel all fitted.

 
Im still having trouble with the new door seals. Passenger side one has relaxed significantly since last time, and moulded to shape really well with the door being closed on it. It’s still pushing against the door but you don’t have to slam it nearly so hard to fully close it now so hopefully it’ll sort itself out in time. 
Drivers door seal is still a bitch! It’s incredibly hard to shut the door fully and you can hear the air being forced out of the gap in the rubber when you try, it’s that tight. 
I’ve re-aligned the door and striker a touch so it closes better and lines up better now but I’m hoping it just needs the door leaving closed on the seal for a few weeks to flatten it and shape it. I don’t know if there’s anything apart from that you can do with the seals? Maybe a light coating of vasaline or something might help make it a bit softer and more supple?? 
 

The fuel door is open as I was filling the void in the hinge with cavity wax. They have a tendency to rust from inside out if you don’t. Also did the bonnet leading edge while I was at it.
 
While messing around with the bonnet, I wasn’t happy with the release handles operation. It worked, but felt very slack and loose. Turned out I was missing a tiny clamp which holds the cable outer sheath still while the cable is pulled. Without it the whole cable moves around and you loose that firm ‘pull’. I can’t remember this car having this clip while I’ve had it tbh, but it’s got one now! It’s been cleaned up, painted silver and fits under the slam panel where nobody will ever see it to appreciate my fantastic paint job!



Im almost done now, it’s just the door seals causing problems that’s slowing things down. I’m pretty certain you won’t be able to close the drivers door fully properly from inside the car the way it is now. Obviously that doesn’t help if you want to drive it! 
I need to bleed the brakes again too, I’m pretty sure there’s a bit of air still in the system somewhere.
Im also installing lights and sockets to the garage next week. Shouldn’t be hard but takes time away from working on the car itself.
 
Edit: 
Heres the grill badge after the touch up with silver permanent marker! Brilliant idea that was captain 70’s!

Here’s a few pics of the stuff I was on about in the last post.
Bonnet latch/spring which was an absolute arse to fit.

New and old bonnet latch. Old one worked ok but looked awful!


Been waiting for a couple of bits and doing a few odd jobs around the car in the meantime. One of which was to use some clear Dynax UB wax on the inside of the stainless centre caps for the wheels.

3 of these are new old stock items and I selected the best one from my original four to make up numbers. The wax is to try and stop the sprung clips on the inside from rusting and breaking. Might be a bit over the top but do it right!
 
Here’s a crappy pic of the sill carpet, stainless sill step trim and replacement footwell kick panel all fitted.

 
Im still having trouble with the new door seals. Passenger side one has relaxed significantly since last time, and moulded to shape really well with the door being closed on it. It’s still pushing against the door but you don’t have to slam it nearly so hard to fully close it now so hopefully it’ll sort itself out in time. 
Drivers door seal is still a bitch! It’s incredibly hard to shut the door fully and you can hear the air being forced out of the gap in the rubber when you try, it’s that tight. 
I’ve re-aligned the door and striker a touch so it closes better and lines up better now but I’m hoping it just needs the door leaving closed on the seal for a few weeks to flatten it and shape it. I don’t know if there’s anything apart from that you can do with the seals? Maybe a light coating of vasaline or something might help make it a bit softer and more supple?? 
 

The fuel door is open as I was filling the void in the hinge with cavity wax. They have a tendency to rust from inside out if you don’t. Also did the bonnet leading edge while I was at it.
 
While messing around with the bonnet, I wasn’t happy with the release handles operation. It worked, but felt very slack and loose. Turned out I was missing a tiny clamp which holds the cable outer sheath still while the cable is pulled. Without it the whole cable moves around and you loose that firm ‘pull’. I can’t remember this car having this clip while I’ve had it tbh, but it’s got one now! It’s been cleaned up, painted silver and fits under the slam panel where nobody will ever see it to appreciate my fantastic paint job!



Im almost done now, it’s just the door seals causing problems that’s slowing things down. I’m pretty certain you won’t be able to close the drivers door fully properly from inside the car the way it is now. Obviously that doesn’t help if you want to drive it! 
I need to bleed the brakes again too, I’m pretty sure there’s a bit of air still in the system somewhere.
Im also installing lights and sockets to the garage next week. Shouldn’t be hard but takes time away from working on the car itself.
 
Edit: 
Heres the grill badge after the touch up with silver permanent marker! Brilliant idea that was captain 70’s!