Project Korean Cortina - going back in time!

[Timewaster]

Weren't there some mk2 escort belts on ebay for £1300 recently? They would probably do

[mat_the_cat]

I've started putting back the carpet and interior trim, at least on the passenger side. No matter that I've still got the offside sill to tackle (and tidying the bodywork), it's really feeling like proper progress now and a big step towards getting a usable car again!

 

It struck me that there's some things on the car which are quite surprising for what was at the time a 'cheap and cheerful' brand - like these hot air vents for the rear passengers:

 

 

While I was unfolding the carpet, this fell out...

 

 

...a student bus pass belonging to my (at the time) girlfriend. Who is now my wife of 8 years

[tooSavvy]

Didn't the Cortina have plastic ducting, through the carpet, into the rear ?

 

TS

[mat_the_cat]

It might have done - I don't know. In which case it might just be the fact I'm not used to such luxuries! I'll have to check it for a Ford part number...

[mat_the_cat]

Result! Managed to get another day off work tomorrow so can hopefully make progress on the offside sill. 18 hours for the nearside but I'm hoping this side will need less work and can all be done in one day.

[Bren]

Something immensely satisfying about removing large sections of rot from a car and replacing them with metal.

 

Even more so when the welding does'nt look like a pigeon with the wildshites has landed on your work.

 

You are making good progress - please keep it up.

[mat_the_cat]

Thanks for the encouragement, I must admit I've never done it on this scale before - always just done it in bite sized chunks - and it has been daunting sometimes. Probably my lowest morale was when the battery it had wouldn't hold a charge, the engine wouldn't fire, the gearbox was out so I decided to start on the welding. I then realised that more than I thought was needed; couple that with a lack of funds and it's not surprising that the project stalled for so long!

 

But towards the end of last year I had a spare battery, and managed to get it started again - it turned out to be a problem with the ignition timing being wildly out. I also got a pay rise which meant I could actually put money aside some months, so got my mojo back again. I also have Dollywobbler to thank as it was partly his suggestion of getting it ready for Shitefest that spurred me on as well!

 

Today I hung the doors on the nearside, then removed them and the front wing on the offside in readiness for tomorrow. At first look the sill seems worse...it's had numerous 'get it through the MOT' patches on top of each other (and rust!)

 

The jacking point had collapsed:

 

 

 

Plus a previous welded repair at the rear of the sill had cracked:

 

 

Looking on the bright side though, the footwell area behind the front wing was a lot better than the nearside

 

 

I think I'll just be able to wire brush the rust off here, without any new metal required. So it may be less work this side, but I'll only know for sure once I cut off the old sill.

[Bren]

The funny thing with bodged welding repairs is that they usually require more effort than doing the bastard thing properly.

[Ratdat]

I'm going to a local place on Saturday that has heaps of old stock to enquire about Pony sills amongst other things. Want me to see if he has any Stellar ones?

[fordperv]

looking good mate keep the momentum going, i havnt seen a stellar on road for years

[mat_the_cat]

  On 26/03/2014 at 09:47, mat_the_cat said:

I'm hoping this side will need less work and can all be done in one day.

 

Ha ha ha ha!  No such luck. I've had to replace most of the inner sill and edge of the floorpan, so I haven't even got the sill welded on yet. The only good news is that because it's quiet at work, I've got the day off tomorrow too. Not that I'm especially looking forward to more welding!

 

A few photos before I got into the swing of things and forgot to take any more:

 

Sill cut away, showing the multiple patches at the front end.

 

Inner sill lower edge replaced.

 

 

Small patch needed behind the throttle pedal.

 

I'm knackered now, but the end is in sight. One more patch needed on the floor, the sill end piece in the rear wheel arch and the sill to be welded on; then that's most of the metalwork done

[mat_the_cat]

I'm now FINALLY at the stage I can put on the outer sill, although it needed a small patch first.

 

 

I've just tacked it on for now, and had a quick break for lunch. Hopefully I can post photos from my phone!

 

[mat_the_cat]

Time for celebration now, as both sills are now done!

 

 

There's only 3 more bits of welding needed on the car, and it's all minor stuff so nothing to worry about. And it means I can put the interior back in, and find out just how many screws I've lost in the past 10 years...

[KruJoe]

Mat, you're doing really well with this, but have you noticed that you've somehow trapped a person inside the bulkhead?

 

  On 27/03/2014 at 21:05, mat_the_cat said:

Not to worry, it's probably just someone's severed hand. Carry on.

[stuboy]

keep on with the good work

[mat_the_cat]

  On 28/03/2014 at 23:53, KruJoe said:

have you noticed that you've somehow trapped a person inside the bulkhead?

 

Haven't you ever heard of a dead man's hand being a useful tool to assist you when you're working on your own?

[KruJoe]

No, I hadn't to be honest.

If I have a tricky job where I need a hand, I wait until my younger brother is about, and get him to hold the part while I clobber it with the lump hammer, or attack it with the old angle grinder with an absent safety guard and a dicky switch.

[mat_the_cat]

Back to it today, once I'd waded past the empty gas bottles - I really must get my proper bottle filled!

 

 

Painted the floorpan with zinc primer, and sprayed all the welds with Bilt Hamber S-50.

 

 

I also filled the new sills with the stuff as access is very easy before the carpet goes back down. There was a bit of light surface rust on the A pillar so I took that all back to bare metal and gave it a coat of paint.

 

[Lankytim]

I don't think a Stellar has EVER seen this much love!

[mat_the_cat]

Carpet is now in properly:

 

 

You might wonder why I've put the original carpet back in, as they are a bit manky. But most of it will be under mats, and I think that pristine carpets would soon end up dirty given that we live up a muddy forest track. I'd rather get it mechanically sorted and worry about the cosmetics later, plus I don't want it to be too nice that I'm afraid to use it!

 

I then started putting the centre console in - the original wiring wasn't a problem but the additional wiring I'd added over the years will need tracing as I stupidly used the same colour for different circuits!

 

 

The original gear gaiter was no good, but I managed to adapt one from a TD5 Defender to fit. It's a bit more rigid than the original, but should be OK and will be covered by the 'leather' gaiter on the console itself.

 

When I first stripped the car I found a few coins...noticing they were foreign I just chucked them in the ashtray rather than my pocket. It was only now that I took a closer look:

 

 

I'm guessing from the symbols that it's Korean, so probably dropped by a worker when the car was built!

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Wow thats class!!! Korean money!

[trigger]

I've heard of half eaten sandwiches inside the doors of British Leyland cars but never of Korean money dropped by workers, excellent!

[ProgRocker]

 

  Quote

I then started putting the centre console in - the original wiring wasn't a problem but the additional wiring I'd added over the years will need tracing as I stupidly used the same colour for different circuits!

 

 

 

4 electric window switches?! Luxury!

[mat_the_cat]

Very decadent for 1985! If you're really eagle-eyed you may spot the AC switch, but sadly although the loom is present the plumbing isn't. I've managed to retro-fit AC before, so it is a possible plan.

 

  On 01/04/2014 at 20:23, Mr_Bo11ox said:

Wow thats class!!! Korean money!

 

Maybe I should put it into the respray fund?

[ProgRocker]

  On 01/04/2014 at 21:07, mat_the_cat said:

Very decadent for 1985! If you're really eagle-eyed you may spot the AC switch,

 

Didn't see the A/C switch. Assumed that Hyundai didn't offer A/C even as an option until the 1989 Sonata or 1991 Lantra.

[gtd2000]

  On 01/04/2014 at 20:11, mat_the_cat said:

Carpet is now in properly:

 

 

 

You might wonder why I've put the original carpet back in, as they are a bit manky. But most of it will be under mats, and I think that pristine carpets would soon end up dirty given that we live up a muddy forest track. I'd rather get it mechanically sorted and worry about the cosmetics later, plus I don't want it to be too nice that I'm afraid to use it!

 

When I bought my old 1986 Hyundai Ponly GLS the carpets that came from the factory were blue in colour. The carpets fitted to my car were a combination of black with bits of blue.

 

I pulled them all out and hung them over a fence and blasted them with a jet wash.

 

Amazingly they came out as blue as the day they left the factory...quite a transformation.

 

Took a few summer days for them to dry out completely but they looked great when reinstalled.

 

I also removed all of the seat covers and washed them in the machine and they also looked great once refitted - smelled fantastic after the washing powder too!

[Mr Livered]

  On 01/04/2014 at 20:31, trigger said:

I've heard of half eaten sandwiches inside the doors of British Leyland cars but never of Korean money dropped by workers, excellent!

I've heard of this too. Is there any truth in it? A quick Google brings up other mentions of this phenomenon, suggesting that sandwiches behind door cards have entered the popular consciousness, but is there any evidence that it actually happened or is it an urban myth?

[fordperv]

I once found some rust under the carpet of an escort that was left there at the factory

[mat_the_cat]

Spent a few hours doing my favourite job (no, really!) which is messing with wiring and now everything works apart from the indicators. Although hazards are OK. I put in the radio which I've had since I was 19, and when I spent silly amounts on ICE. Does still sound rather good though

 

I've bought a neat little device which should enable me to connect my phone into the head unit. I've tried the FM transmitters before but not been that impressed - interference and swamping by stronger signals from proper radio stations. This is spliced directly into the aerial cable, and when it's turned on isolates the input from the aerial so you should just get the audio signal from the RCA sockets on it. Not actually tried it yet, and obviously the limiting factor will be FM quality. But if it sounds OK I will put in a discreet 3.5 mm socket somewhere.

 

With the console down properly it was decision time. Do I go with the flashy gearknob a mate bought me many years ago...

 

 

...or revert back to the original?

 

 

I actually think the original knob suits the car better, so am inclined to go with that. It's actually a really nice shift action, especially after suffering with remote gear levers on everything else in the fleet!

[stuboy]

original knobber