SambaS in AlpineLE Oh-dearage!

[MarvinsMom]

you sir, are a certifiable loon.

 

but in a really good way, in how you have devoted time, money and hard work to what some peeps would say are hopeless cars.

 

i don't as i think they are ace, especially the alpine. Roy Axe did such a great job when he designed that one.

 

where on earth you have found those repair panels just astounds me.

 

good work sir, i tip my bonnet to you and look forward to more updates.

[steve_earwig]

 When it's done*, you need to drive it over to visit the previous owner, then start smacking him across the chops with a stale baguette. Maybe leave all the filler and rotten metal you've cut out strewn across his doorstep as well.

Oh I dunno, the previous owner is part of the chain of coincidences that's got this particular car to this point. Ok, no money, no skills either but he kept it going nonetheless, it could so easily have been a fridge freezer by now.

[MarvinsMom]

i'd take the car back to the previous owner just to show the amount of time and effort that has gone into the car to bring it back from the brink.

 

if as you say the last owner a lot to keep it going, so he (she?) would be pleased to see that it has fallen into the hands of someone who really cares about it.

[Dick Cheeseburger]

you sir, are a certifiable loon.

 

you have devoted time, money and hard work to what some peeps would say are hopeless cars.

Not sure my father would agree with you. His 'S' plate Alpine, which he owned back in the day, was one he was very fond of. The car was only around 4 years old at the time, but appeared to have been an ex-repmobile. He got shot of it for a Horizon after 12 months as it looked like it had been clocked and wasn't the low mile minter he believed he'd bought. However, he still maintains that it was a fantastic mile muncher. He quoted just the other day that it was 'a far more refined ride than any previous cars' and he even went as far as to say the the engine was 'really lively for what it was.' The fact he then dipped into a 'T' plate Horizon, followed by an 'X' plate Ultra Horizon speaks volumes, I'd say.

[SambaS]

While at Talbot Rehab over Christmas we met with a guy who knows the previous owner of this car, I believe he has seen the thread!

 

 - Stu, have just seen these photos on a proper screen, never ending is it

[Simcat]

"Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." - Winston Churchill

[alpinerapier]

While at Talbot Rehab over Christmas we met with a guy who knows the previous owner of this car, I believe he has seen the thread!

 

 

Adam, the previous owner has seen this thread when bodywork repairs were started and he was amazed, along with everyone else    I am sure he would be delighted to see the Alpine again, so if its back on the road in June for the Simca Talbot club rally, I will invite him along as he stays close by.  Adam has owned several Alpines over the years as daily transport, the LE being his last.  Thankfully he gave it the best chance of survival  by selling it on rather than just weighing it in when the bodywork got beyond his capabilities and the MOT was about to expire.  Thankfully it has ended up with an most enthusiastic owner and now made its way south to Talbot rehab where the impossible is happening.

[trigger]

I really should look at this thread more often, there's some pure internet gold going on here.

[sierraman]

Found a Chrysler Alpine handbook pack in my dads loft today if that's any use?

[SambaS]

if ya have the time - fix

 

if not save bits weigh and buy johns twingo

Funny John now has the Twingo I assumed you meant in the first place.

 

My John that is, who I also assumed you meant in the first place.

 

[Simcat]

Restarted some Alpine action today...

 

Will this side be painted by Easter?  

 

The preparation begins!

[SambaS]

Still think it just want clear lacquering

[Simcat]

Still think it just want clear lacquering

Hmm - that would be the quick & easy option...

 

Would save the hours of rubbing down and hand finishing...

 

That's a thought, with the time saved you could instead spend four days scraping all that odd white paint off from the underneath   

[alpinerapier]

Restarted some Alpine action today...

 

Will this side be painted by Easter?  

 

The preparation begins!

Easter is a long time off............... 

Get it masked up and spray some high build primer on it tomorrow. 

Keep up the good work chaps

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Blimey

[Parky]

Almost looks like a stainless steel finish!

 

Are you going for the original colour or something mad like an orange or yellow?

[Simcat]

Staying original being the last of the line - flat Baltic Blue, befitting of it's fleet market status.

[alpinerapier]

Easter is fast approaching, so looking forward to an update.

I am currently waiting on some Ming blue paint arriving so I can spray the rear wings on my Solara.

Been waiting for over 2 weeks now, so getting a little annoyed to say the least 

[SambaS]

Tuesday. Filling, sanding, sneezing {infinite loop}

 

 

Wednesday.  Filling, sanding, sneezing {infinite loop}

 

 

Thursday. Time for some etch primer

 

 

 

Then primer filler

 

 

 

 

mmm

 

 

Now for some mauve!

 

 

I name this photograph 500ing the door shuts:

 

[vulgalour]

Get you painting your car all in one go rather than ekeing the job out over the course of 4 years and never finishing it unlike some people (me).

[Dick Cheeseburger]

Even The A Team would have balked at doing a proper job and giving this honey a second chance.

Winning.

[SambaS]

I think it will take 4 years !

 

The engine bay needs doing, the front end and bonnet, the roof.

 

Also the other side needs one door, one door skin, the front wing repairing, a new inner wheel tub and a new rear quarter panel, plus a repair to the sill, before it can be prepped to paint.

 

The underneath also needs the opposite side of rear crossmember repairing, Then the boot interior panels needs finishing and painting. Tailgate needs tidying up.

 

It needs a full new interior using impossible to find material, that was paper thin to begin with. Headlining, parcel shelf.

 

Also a full brake overhaul, new OSF hub, wheel refurb and 4 tyres.

 

And all the white emulsion underneath needs sorting out, it also needs a replacement rearcross  beam, and both rear arms...

 

Anyway more progress made!

 

FRIDAY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Currently the paint is drying. It may be ready to flat out tomorrow and then polish

[theorganist]

This thread is absolutely amazing and inspirational. I just wish I had the skill, space and patience to carry out a restoration like this, I take my hat off to you.

 

It is also great to see some more Talbot love.

[bub2006]

Well done ed. Great thread. Are you bringing it to shitefest? Comparison shots of it last year compared to now would be awesome

[Burnside]

Fantastic work on the Alpine it looks a different car just the sort of thread that makes Autoshite!

[KruJoe]

Please tell me you're only making this side perfect, and leaving the other side cosmetically minging, like a before and after display of your capabilities.

[Simcat]

Now that the paint has had a couple of days to dry - but not become too hard, it's time to flat it out. This takes out the orange peel and the odd fly that decided to embed itself in the wet paint...

 

Method is 1000 grit paper used wet with a rubbing block - a little detergent is added to stop clogging.     

[Simcat]

Allow the surface to dry off for inspection, any remaining areas of peel can be attended to as above.

[Simcat]

Now this is where the fun starts...

 

Get out the T-Cut and get polishing - always use a new piece of cloth for applying and polishing off.

[Simcat]

Upper part of wing now finished, ready for rear quarter window to be refitted.

 

I will now leave the paint for about a month to fully harden, before T-Cutting again and applying wax, I use traditional Turtle Wax paste, there's nothing to beat it in my opinion.