Project Korean Cortina - going back in time!

[dollywobbler]

It can be the star of your very own Shitefest.  

 

Rotating turntable please.

[mat_the_cat]

With the rear end done I thought I'd have a look at the slam panel - I'd painted it last year but only in Hammerite, so didn't want anything going on top of that. Ready for some etch primer now:

 

 

As the boot lid was off, I decided to paint the underside to keep the costs down a little. Unfortunately I ran out of paint, so you can still see the red primer through slightly in places. But it looks a great colour, and I'm well happy with the choice. More paint on its way!

 

 

I've sealed the gutters and boot lip channel with PU sealant now too, as an extra barrier to water, especially if flexing of the shell opens up the seams slightly. I've got the day free tomorrow, so will do a bit more stripping hopefully. Looking like mid-March now to go in for paint, which is a bit later than hoped but gives me a little more time now.

 

A possible target for completion could be Pride of Longbridge on the 18th April, but given that I've got a decent price for paint on the basis that they work on it during quiet periods, I can't hassle them too much!

[fordperv]

I can't wait to see this painted

[mat_the_cat]

You're not the only one! Something I've hoped to do for almost the last 20 years...I can't quite believe it myself. And I'm not sure I will fully until it happens.

[mat_the_cat]

Surprise surprise, today I discovered more rust! Not a massive amount, but thought I'd better deal with it myself.

 

 

After taking the wire brush to it, it looked rust free:

 

 

But no; you can see the darkened areas where tiny spots of rust are being eaten away:

 

 

The tab on the bottom left is a bit of a problem, as the gel kept on sliding away and not leaving a sufficient film thickness. So I cut a short length of hose to slid over it, then filled that up, with a piece of tape to prevent it all running away.

 

 

I might be wrong, but I don't think many people who make a living from this sort of thing would go to so much trouble. And to be fair, why would they? With just a wire brushing and a decent coat of paint covering it, it'd probably be several years before anything came back through. But I can take the time go that bit further, which wouldn't be financially viable to pay someone else to do.

 

Lastly, a picture for RayMK:

 

 

This shows how the rear bumper is attached at the trailing edge of the rear wheel arches. Mine just needed a sharp tap with my hand to disengage it once all other fixings were undone.

[RayMK]

Thanks.   You've done a grand job chasing and eradicating rust.  Mine is going round the rear arches - I had one side repaired and the rear wing resprayed about 4 years ago.  They did a good job, but not good enough.  It's rusting again ......and then there's the engine.  I have not got a V8 to replace the working but tired original.

[mat_the_cat]

We need photos of yours Ray! BTW, I have a few parts (some NOS) for the facelifted version which I bought in error...you may as well have them if you want?

[mat_the_cat]

Area around the fuel filler now free of rust:

 

 

 

Plus phosphate treated and etch primed - they may of course sand all this off, but I need to do something to stop flash rusting, and if they do paint over it at least I know it's a good base.

[mat_the_cat]

More progress...seam sealed around the fuel filler:

 

 

Rear panel etch primed:

 

 

Same with the slam panel:

 

(Being dried by the Hyundai branded heater!)

 

And finally the underside of the boot lid is painted and lacquered:

 

[KruJoe]

Loads of cracking progress Mat.

 

I don't know how much of a risk it really is, but I always unwind an extension reel before plugging in anything high powered like a heater, for fear of the wire heating up and melting itself.

[mat_the_cat]

You're entirely correct, but the reel in this case was rated sufficiently to run the heater even when wound - it's only 800 watts. I have seen the effects of that before (although not my doing!) where the cable melted through, which was fortunately spotted before it got any worse.

[DeeJay]

Just read this (start to finish). 

Perseverance levels are off the scale.

At least fifteen times I would've applied a gallon of Shells finest and a box of Swan vestas.

Hope it's all ups (no downs) from now on.

[mat_the_cat]

It never got that bad, but the worst time was on the journey back from the MOT when the engine cut out AND lost oil pressure. Talk about a complete change of emotions from the excitement of the MOT pass!

 

The trailer is now booked to take it in for paint on Friday the 13th (WCPGW?), but I got distracted from stripping the car in preparation, by some of the bits I'd taken off the boot lid. I dipped the number plate light holders to remove what I thought was some surface corrosion - sadly it was a little deeper than I thought!

 

 

But fortunately I had a decent spare:

 

 

Annoyingly one of the rubber stops was missing, and I didn't have any in my spares stash

 

 

But after some internet searching I found a Fiat/Lancia rubber was a near enough match to the other side:

 

 

A little bit longer, but I can just screw it in a little further. Back to the car and I popped the bonnet off to paint the underside. There were a couple of spots of rust to deal with, so I've left it coated with rust remover for now.

 

 

In the meantime I thought I'd take a closer look at the rear panel. I spotted a few spidery traces of rust creeping under the paint, so took it all back to bare metal to give a good base for paint. On the lower sections behind where the bumper sits there was some pitting present, so I've given it a good coat of gel (the cling film helps to stop it from sliding off).

 

[mat_the_cat]

Latest progress! All rust removed on the bonnet...

 

 

...primed...

 

 

...and painted:

 

 

Rear bodywork is also done - first of all it was taken back to shiny metal:

 

 

 

 

Then phosphate treated and etch primed. The lower parts which will be behind the bumper I coated in Zinga, which was worked in between the spot welded seams as much as possible for more protection.

 

 

Really hoping the weather is OK next Friday, as it'll be a problem otherwise with no boot lid, bonnet or rear window! Half thinking of getting a cheap cover just in case, although how well a thin cover will stand up to a 50 mph (if I'm lucky!) slipstream I don't know...

 

 

[mat_the_cat]

Well, apart from disconnecting the door wiring I think I'm just about done and ready for Friday - a whole day early! Weather looking dryish, but I have a cheap cover just in case. Started it up this evening too, which was both fun and reassuring that there were no issues.

 

Only slight worry is timing, as I will be finishing work at lunchtime, then an hour's drive home, jump in the van, go and collect the trailer, come back home, load the car, then drive to the bodyshop - all before 5. Fingers crossed!

[mat_the_cat]

Predictably it was raining, but not too heavily by Welsh standards. So I managed to get it loaded, and covered up before the interior got too wet.

 

 

 

Coming over the mountains was slow, but I made it to the bodyshop, unloaded and got it safely inside which was a big relief! The journey back was quite a bit quicker, and I stopped for a quick photo at the top of the Crimea pass:

 

 

Oh, and I had two people (one at the trailer place, the other at the bodyshop) congratulate me on my fine choice of tow vehicle! One even offer to buy it, but I'm not selling. The engine of the Stellar received similar approval - when I left there were three of them looking into the engine bay...

[vulgalour]

Looking forward to seeing the end result on this one, I'm living vicariously through your progress.

[cyruspower]

What a totally amazing and inspiring story. So much so in fact, that I'm going to start rebuilding the wiring loom of my GPZ900R this weekend. Who knows where that might lead.

 

You should be nominated for that Britain's Most Winningest Brave-Like Individuals show they have with Carol Voldermorts!

 

Can't wait to see and hear the end result....

[Semi-C]

" Dear Father Christmas,

 

 I know it's very early but could you see your way to getting me a new Like button this year?

 I have worn my one out whilst following Mr the-cat's Stellar resurrection.

 

 Man-e-thanks,

 Aesop."

 

Superlatives fail me again, ultra-hyper-mega-super stuff Mat, keep keeping on

[mat_the_cat]

I popped by the bodyshop on my ride back from work this afternoon, so here are a few pictures:

 

 

 

I must admit I wasn't expecting much progress, given that they were a man down last week, but they've done more than I thought. It also surprised me how many dents there actually were, as I'd thought the car quite straight!

 

They are going to replace the rear wheel arches - maybe it's something I could have done but there will be some tidy fabrication required. They've managed to find an off-the-shelf repair section from another vehicle which has an almost identical section, so with a bit of adjustment to the curvature it should look spot on

 

 

And lastly, seeing as we had an eclipse today I thought I'd post up a photo from the last one we had, when went went down to Cornwall back in 1999. Coincidentally that was the last time I did any bodywork on the car, and you can see from the photo that I'm half way through the job!

 

 

Hopefully it won't need any more paint before the next one in 2026...

[mat_the_cat]

I'm feeling a little bit lost without the car now,but there's a few small jobs to keep me occupied! First of all is the bonnet catch:

 

 

After cleaning and dipping to remove the rust:

 

 

I've put one layer of zinc plating on, but I'm not too happy with the results - it's very dull and patchy so will have another crack at it this week. I've also cleaned and plated a load of the old under-bonnet fasteners, so (apart from the small matter of the engine!) it will look totally original.

[oldcars]

Great work so far, when its finished will it be a daily?

[mat_the_cat]

It's an 80 mile round trip to work, plus I car share with my wife as she gets fuel expenses, so I doubt I'll be using it for daily commuting. But for fun trips like weekends away, or if I'm doing something after work it will certainly get used It was only on the road from mid-August (when I got it legal) to the start of October (when they started gritting) last year, and I still ended up doing around a thousand miles as it was so much fun!

[Skizzer]

I popped by the bodyshop on my ride back from work this afternoon, so here are a few pictures:

 

DSC_5868.JPG

 

Just noticed the bonus Suzuki LJ80 in the background

[mat_the_cat]

Not much bodyshop progress when I popped round today, just a bit more flatting down of filled areas and old paintwork. And with the next two weeks being short weeks, that might slow things a tad too so in my head I'm pessimistically thinking back on the road for the start of May.

 

In the meantime I've finished plating the bonnet catch, which I had to strip and re-plate twice before I was happy with it. Still not as shiny as commercial zinc plating but at least it's better than it was and reasonably even.

 

 

[mat_the_cat]

No real news - they're currently working on the rear wheel arches and modifying the replacement sections to suit the originals. I've managed to match the old door seal rubbers to identical replacements, so ordered 15 metres for when I (eventually) get the car back. Might have a crack with linseed oil on the black trim this weekend...stay tuned for the next hopefully more exciting update!

[mat_the_cat]

Tried the linseed oil on a few bits of plastic trim - this is before...

 

 

...and after:

 

 

Time will tell how long it lasts, but initially it looks OK (as I suspect pretty much any oil would).

 

The only other development is that my door seals have arrived; I can't wait to be able to fit them as it will mean I'm close to driving it again!

 

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Has anyone ever done a Maserati conversion on a Stellar? You see those wanker Bentley grilles on 300C Christ-lers but a Quattroporte look on a Hyundai would be MINT.

[mat_the_cat]

Linseed oil isn't lasting too well on the other cars in the fleet, so I splashed out on some Gtechniq C4 which is supposed to last a year or two. You certainly don't get much in a bottle, but a couple of drops goes a long way! I've now done all the trim I have here, leaving the bumpers (which are at the bodyshop) to do later.

 

The driver's seat is quite worn on the outer edge, and I had some spare material so I took that to be repaired today (sorry, no photos). Where the material came from is a bit of a mystery - it must have been cut from a scrap car many years ago but in that case why didn't I just swap the seat? Plus it isn't stitched as a seat would be, just a plain piece of material. They're reckoning on 3 weeks, which doesn't leave much time before SF15!

[mat_the_cat]

Progress at last! Both wheel arches are in, although the passenger side needs the welds grinding back still.

 

 

I can't believe what a good match they are for the original profile! That's going to save a lot of money compared to making a panel from scratch. Now looking at mid-May for completion. Hopefully. Just have to hope they get a quiet period...