Project Rusty Triumphs in Scotland - 145 back up and running - 15/04/26

[vinyljunky]

 

What a magical time the 50s were. The attention to detail to provide the motorist with somewhere to preserve pickled eggs; truly we never had is so good.

[captain_70s]

On 14/10/2024 at 13:33, juular said:

I feel like the previous owner's website effort needs preserved as part of the car's history. Making a website from scratch to sell a car is admirably eccentric.

I've saved each page, just in case it goes down. I think he's maintained a website for the car more or less since getting it in 2006.

He worked in computing as far back as the late 70s and the days of magnetic tape storage so I guess a bit more tech savvy than most folks in their 70s!

Despite saying I'd leave it alone until other stuff was fixed I did go prodding around the A pillars and gutters and have been thinking of repair methods while I should be concentrating on work...

The Acclaim will be coming up for sale shortly if anybody fancies an early Christmas present... Just need to dress up the welding seam on the sill.

[24vdiamond]

Nice project, these drove ok considering their age, I have very few spares for these but if you need part numbers I do have the Vauxhall parts book which may help you find anything thats missing

[somewhatfoolish]

A lot of sheet metal and a sheet metal folder is now on your christmas list?

[captain_70s]

1 hour ago, somewhatfoolish said:

A lot of sheet metal and a sheet metal folder is now on your christmas list?

So. Back in July I bought the cheapest metal folder on eBay and two sheets of 2000x1000mm steel, one 1mm thick, one 2mm.

I've used about 1/4 of the 1mm stuff doing the Acclaim. I was going to use the 2mm to make a new rear bumper but never quite got to it. It'll be used for making spring hangers and door hinge reinforcement plates.

The metal folder is functional, but I have some modifications in mind to make it more versatile.

 

[Dick Cheeseburger]

Is the work you're doing to the Acclaim critical? 

[captain_70s]

It's MOT exempt, so a waste of time really. I just really dislike the idea of selling a car in worse nick than when it arrived...

Ultimately it's had a 1" wide strip along the length of the O/S  floor replaced, some patches to the O/S footwell and bottom of the bulkhead, the lower half of the inner sill and whole outer sill from the A pillar along to halfway along the rear door, aft of which was replaced 3 years ago.

It's a bit patchworky, but it needed to be out of the garage before the Cresta arrived and the wonkiest bits are out of sight...

Thankfully the passenger side isn't as fucked.

[captain_70s]

Just in case anybody was worried the Cresta was beyond my abilities, my latest 740 fixes to secure the heater blower motor and prevent water ingress should provide reassurance. 

[Dyslexic Viking]

Early in my motoring career, I fixed a large rust hole in my Volvo with a piece of roof gutter attached with self tapping screws.

The next owner was probably delighted when he found this.

[vulgalour]

The attention to detail really matters.

[Supernaut]

I get around the judgement of my bodges by subsequent owners by almost always being the last owner of any car I have.

Or selling them to idiots highly discerning shiters.

[junkyarddog]

If it works it works!👍

[2flags]

If newspaper and P40, with plenty of underseal, got it through the MoT, then it got sold on. They never were intended to pass the next ticket anyway!

[captain_70s]

This big old bastard was taking up way too much space. Easiest solution? Put it back in the car.

Massively imbalanced and dangerously understrapped? Check. Fear not, I was wearing my safety slippers...

Entirely doable solo, very handy the whole front of the car comes off.

Next job is windscreen removal...

[comfortablynumb]

That's not as bad as a 1970 MK2 cortina I'm building from sheet steel 👍

[Dyslexic Viking]

Opel also had a 6 cyl engine at this time, wondering how much they had in common with the Chevrolet's 6 cyl?

I would guess that Vauxhall and Opel's were copies of the Chevrolet and it looks like it when you study photos.

[Matty]

2 hours ago, captain_70s said:

safety slippers...

My man 🫡

[SiC]

2 hours ago, captain_70s said:

 

Can I have my ratchet straps back that I leant to strap down the Triumph engine in transit? 🙃

[vulgalour]

I shall be disappointed if that didn't land in place with a clang and/or kerthunk.

[captain_70s]

2 hours ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

Opel also had a 6 cyl engine at this time, wondering how much they had in common with the Chevrolet's 6 cyl?

I would guess that Vauxhall and Opel's were copies of the Chevrolet and it looks like it when you study photos.

I imagine they share a lot of similar design. It is very narrow!

16 minutes ago, SiC said:

Can I have my ratchet straps back that I leant to strap down the Triumph engine in transit? 🙃

Shit, that'd explain why I couldn't remember where I got them...

It's probably easier if I just buy you a replacement pair, send me a PM and I'll sort something out!

15 minutes ago, vulgalour said:

I shall be disappointed if that didn't land in place with a clang and/or kerthunk.

I tried to keep the clangs/kerthunks to a minimum!

[hairnet]

@Skizzer

import royale into scotland theres at least 3 talented ecosse their

also - svm complain about rusty volvos?

awae tae fuck ken

nice one captain

[High Jetter]

3 hours ago, comfortablynumb said:

That's not as bad as a 1970 MK2 cortina I'm building from sheet steel 👍

Stronger than factory spec!

[captain_70s]

Screen oot!

Frame is generally very good.

The bottom corners are actually better than I thought they'd be...

Then I dropped the headliner.

What a cunt of a job. It's held in on all sides by being  stretched round and perforated onto a rail.

I managed to largely get it out undamaged, there were a few tears due to the material being incredibly fragile and having lost any ability to stretch.

The best way I can describe it is being like a cheap plastic table cloth, like you used to get in 1990s cafes. I guess it's just vinyl without the usual faux leather texture. It's not actually all the way out, as that'd require removing the rear screen, which I'm trying to avoid...

Above that was some mouldy, crumbling hardboard which has been relegated to the bin.

Its asbestos content is unknown and probably best not being thought about.

[Surface Rust]

At least asbestos doesn't rust...

[hairnet]

eep

[captain_70s]

12 hours ago, Surface Rust said:

At least asbestos doesn't rust...

Unlike the roof it was glued to!

Just surface rust but I'm glad I did all this and can give it a coat of paint...

There had definitely been some mice in there above the doors with some unfinished nests as well. I was half expecting a mountain of shit and corpses, thankfully not!

[vulgalour]

That's not bad at all on the screen surround, all things considered, and that style of headlining isn't actually too bad a job to make up, especially since you've got one to template from.  Considering the full restoration you're doing here, taking the glass out isn't so much of a problem as it might be for doing the headlining since it will give you chance to inspect the rear screen surround.  Almost every car of this era seems to leak around the rear screen and I doubt this one will be any exception.

The board in the roof is probably bitumen infused sound deadening and probably doesn't have asbestos in it as it wouldn't serve any practical benefit in that location.  Well worth putting some modern version of it in when you get to that point, helps reduce not just panel boom but also the build up of condensation.  You can apply the same to the inside of the boot lid too so that it reduces the chance of a mouldy boot interior.

[timolloyd]

6 hours ago, captain_70s said:

 I was half expecting a mountain of shit and corpses, thankfully not!

And some dead mice too? 😂

[somewhatfoolish]

14 hours ago, vulgalour said:

That's not bad at all on the screen surround, all things considered, and that style of headlining isn't actually too bad a job to make up, especially since you've got one to template from.  Considering the full restoration you're doing here, taking the glass out isn't so much of a problem as it might be for doing the headlining since it will give you chance to inspect the rear screen surround.  Almost every car of this era seems to leak around the rear screen and I doubt this one will be any exception.

The board in the roof is probably bitumen infused sound deadening and probably doesn't have asbestos in it as it wouldn't serve any practical benefit in that location.  Well worth putting some modern version of it in when you get to that point, helps reduce not just panel boom but also the build up of condensation.  You can apply the same to the inside of the boot lid too so that it reduces the chance of a mouldy boot interior.

Stick-on sound deadening if flush, self-adhesive roofing flashband if skint.

[captain_70s]

On 30/10/2024 at 14:56, vulgalour said:

That's not bad at all on the screen surround, all things considered, and that style of headlining isn't actually too bad a job to make up, especially since you've got one to template from.  Considering the full restoration you're doing here, taking the glass out isn't so much of a problem as it might be for doing the headlining since it will give you chance to inspect the rear screen surround.  Almost every car of this era seems to leak around the rear screen and I doubt this one will be any exception.

I'd really like to preserve the original material if possible,but it's certainly not a complex thing to replicate.

My current plan is to bond a strip of new material to the inside edge to try and hold the stressed areas together.

I'll need to see if I have a rear screen seal in the spares stock, although I believe you can get them from Aus. That's where my windscreen seal came from!

Never a good sign when interior trim looks like this...

Just the headlining securing rails, so not under any real stress.

Attacked with a wire wheel, acided, zinc primer and rattle can black applied.

Then I carefully pried the stainless trim off the gutters.

Then set about drilling the spot welds for the worst sections.

Interesting profile.

Attacking the A pillar with the flap disc revealed more surviving metal than expected. I'm too used to working on the Acclaim and it's 0.8mm steel...

The pitted stuff is getting cut out anyway, but it's solid enough to use as a buck for roughing out the start of a repair panel...

All of this is hidden by chrome/stainless trim, so it'll not need to be completely perfect.

I also started wire brushing and aciding the roof. Hence the tarp.

The previous owner also messaged to say we'd missed a box of stuff. 

Yes. I'd say there are some bits there that would be handy to have...

I actually spent yesterday fillering the welding seams on the Acclaim but the last batch of filler didn't get enough harder and took hours to go off. Naturally it has rained all day.