Thread of remorse AKA Project Last Chance Saloon.

[Crusty Sills]

Just read this thread from start to finish, not sure how I managed to miss it.

Some top work. From a car on the edge of the bridge to a nice clean usable one.

And the pictures are great, keep the up dates coming.

[Jim Bell]

If this was a television show, I would watch it every week.

[fatharris]

I returned to find the car a lot lower than when I left it, I reckon the jack is getting on a bit.

 

 

The calipers were fully dry, so I refitted them, and bled both rear calipers.

 

 

Turns out I'm taking so long on this thing, a small plant has sprouted from a crevice. 

 

 

Generic BLOO picture, was meant to show the poor paint condition. Getting closer to having that stage to deal with.

 

 

BUT FIRST, the clutch needed bleeding, as they're a "sealed" system and prone to failures.

 

The master cylinder is located in the dark expanse of "behind the dashboard".

 

 

Requires quite a few panels to come off.

 

 

Next, CLEANLINESS IS KEY. Brake fluid sits in carpets for ages and is a bitch to get out, so I lined the carpet with a bin liner and bloo roll. The eagle-eyes amongst you will notice I removed the clutch pedal rubber - this means brake fluid can't dribble into the back of the pedal rubber, causing it to slide every time you press the pedal.

 

 

Finally, we reach the cylinder. Looks like someone has been here before.

 

 

Tapping the lid round with a long flat-point screwdriver will eventually unscrew it, so you can remove the lid and the rubber condom. The idea of which is to prevent any form of air entering the system and introducing sponginess. Luckily, when I had my old 75, the clutch needed bleeding about half a dozen times a month, so I'm well rehearsed in this procedure.

 

 

The duct tape on the inside is a new one on me though.

 

 

The biggest issue with this job is trying to get the fresh fluid into the reservoir, as there's very little access and room. To get around this, I fill a glove up with brake fluid and tie it up. When I'm ready to fill the system, I snip the very tip of the glove finger off, guide the snipped finger above the reservoir (a LOT easier than any other method), and squeeze very lightly.

 

 

The bleed nipple is located directly above the gearbox bellhousing, forward of the battery box. Using a 13mm to steady the pipeline, an 8mm spanner is used to loosen it off.

 

 

Bleeding kit rigged up, and we're good to go!

 

 

Best thing about the glove method? If you don't want to use it all at once, tie the finger off and use another!

 

 

Guess it's been a while since the fluid was changed!

 

 

Once bled, everything is tightened and refitted.

 

 

With that done, onto the wheels.

 

 

Don't like having dirty ones on though.

 

 

That'll do.

 

 

Other wheel cleaned and fitted, and she sits on four alloys for the first time since I've owned her! The passenger rear tyre doesn't seem to have sealed around the bead properly, so I'll look into it soon.

 

 

The fifth spare wheel was brought outside...

 

 

...cleaned up, and fitted in the spare wheel well.

 

 

The carpet was finally fully dried out, so it was a case of mating the board, handle and carpet together...

 

 

...and refitting it in the boot. Very, very happy with the results.

 

 

Finally, following advice on this thread, I dismantled the master electric window/mirror switch, as it only moved in one direction. Dismantling it reveals the internal circuit board. I cleaned the contacts with brake cleaner and a clean cloth.

 

 

 

Once reassembled, I fitted it and functioned it, works fully like a charm. Tried the same trick on the other one and that worked too! Martin sent me one (Thanks again!) Which I'll give this method a try on as well.

 

 

With that finished, I cleared out the interior.

 

 

Pulled her out...

 

 

...and went for a quick test drive. All seems well, wishbone next.

 

 

Total hours  - 66 1/4. Short day today because I had other goings on today. 

 

Cheers!

[Ben_O]

Fantastic!

[MarvinsMom]

more progress and excellent work sir!

[Eddie Honda]

Don't think I could be arsed with that "sealed" clutch m/c. Whatalottabollocks.

I see the window switch suffers like every remote control that oozes shite from the latex. 

[fatharris]

*Sighs*

 

Guess there's no avoiding it now.

 

 

I've been avoiding the wishbone on this because I tried to change the wishbone bushes on my old 75, and I eventually had to resort to paying a garage to do it, because the wishbone just would not come out.

 

First up, raised it and removed the wheel.

 

 

As you can see, well past its prime. There was play in the lower ball joint too, causing a knock.

 

 

So, onto the first nut. Christ, she's tight, but no match for my big guns...

 

 

...whoops.

 

 

Sod it, at least it's out. The ARB link and N/S mount had to be removed too, to allow access to the wishbone bush bolts.

 

 

With the aid of a MASSIVE BLOODY HAMMER, copious amounts of swearing, and a ~60% accuracy ratio between hits, it finally came out. I'll be honest, I danced a little afterwards.

 

 

Replacement wishbone copper greased up to hopefully prevent it rusting in place again.

 

 

As you can see, access is tight.

 

 

Mercifully, I found a bolt that matched the dimensions of the sheared one perfectly, so that took its place.

 

 

Balls to it, whilst I'm here, I can finish the work needed here. Wishbone all done, it was time to start the arch liners.

 

 

Couple of rounded off plastic screws as expected, so a short sharp tug release both the liner and the FLYING NAIL SCISSORS OF DEATH.

 

 

Disaster and injury avoided, I tossed the broken liner.

 

 

Whilst in the area, I gave it a scrub.

 

 

This too.

 

 

And the replacement liner got a scrub too. I believe this was actually an aftermarket one, which seemed slightly thicker but less flexible as a result.

 

 

Refitting was reversal of removal.

 

 

The final dirty alloy was taken outside...

 

 

...cleaned...

 

 

...and fitted.

 

 

Drivers' side now.

 

 

Came off easily, revealing yet more grime.

 

 

Shook things up this time with a DURING CLEANING shot!

 

 

The replacement liner lower strip used to mount the liner to the wheel arch was split, so I used the old one which still worked.

 

 

Aaaand this side is done too.

 

 

No during shots, 'cause it was a massive pain in the arse, but the undertray is fitted.

 

 

A lot of anchor nuts were missing from the subframe, so it's currently wire-locked into place. It's strong stuff that'll hold for years, but I'll be getting some anchor nuts in soon.

 

 

Wheel was finally refitted.

 

 

Plant update - he's up to two leaves now.

 

 

Lowered to the ground, wheel bolts torqued and taken out for a test drive and.....

 

 

....There's still a knock. Not as pronounced, but there all the same. More investigation required, but it's a start.

 

Total hours worked - 71 3/4.

 

Cheers!

[purplebargeken]

The brake backing plates are quite rusty aren't they. They kind of spoil the look of the wheel arches as they look quite dirty and shabby. Hmm.

 

Just saying like.

 

You can't kill the plant. he is negating all of the pollution.

[MarvinsMom]

the knock from the suspension could it be the arb links or arb bushes that are on the way out, or are those new ones that you have put on?

[Parky]

The brake backing plates are quite rusty aren't they. They kind of spoil the look of the wheel arches as they look quite dirty and shabby. Hmm.

 

Just saying like.

 

You can't kill the plant. he is negating all of the pollution.

Yeah, natures DPF!

[fatharris]

the knock from the suspension could it be the arb links or arb bushes that are on the way out, or are those new ones that you have put on?

Front ARB links have been replaced, the symptom is a clunking/knocking noise, loudest when stationary and wiggling the wheel back and forth over the straight ahead position.

 

I've ordered new track rod ends, so we'll see what that does.

 

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[purplebargeken]

Love the use of the rubber glove.

 

I have never seen anything like that before and believe me I have found many uses for rubber gloves in my nursing career.

[fatharris]

Total hours worked 77 1/4.

 

RIP Sill Plant.

 

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[LC Torana]

Total hours worked 77 1/4.

 

RIP Sill Plant.

 

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Erm, removing the plant took 5½ hours' work?

 

I suppose you removed the sill cover, then found one thing after another until half the car was in pieces.

[fatharris]

Nah, it means I didn't get to finish what I did today, there weren't many pictures either so I'll do a better update on Wednesday!

 

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[purplebargeken]

RIP Sill Plant, sigh.

[Bobthebeard]

If it isn't too late put the sill seedling into some compost in a heated greenhouse. It may grow and become a blossoming new MG. You could then take cuttings from it and grow many new MGs. They will need plenty of water though....

[LC Torana]

If it isn't too late put the sill seedling into some compost in a heated greenhouse. It may grow and become a blossoming new MG. You could then take cuttings from it and grow many new MGs. They will need plenty of water though....

 

But it'd be a basal-shoot, suckered up from the root stock.  When you grow these, you tend to get throwbacks to the parent, like an Austin 1800.

 

Or a mutated variant, like a diesel Maxi.

 

(Thank you, I'm here all week.  Try the veal)

[MarvinsMom]

why?

 

is it veally good?

 

geddit, veally good?

 

i'll get me coat......

[fatharris]

Hours worked 82 1/4.

 

Update soon, promise.

 

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[pompei]

I have just come across and read this thread  -  49/10 for effort & skills.  

[hairnet]

many melons imploded

 

patience of a saint

 

@eddyramrod do this

[fatharris]

After a month of sitting in a dusty workshop, or out in the rain, the old girl needed a wash. Coincidentally, so did Herman.

 

 

Two birds, one stone. Lovely.

 

 

Once drip dried, I air dried it in any moisture traps and began masking off any black plastics. I used 3M blue tape because it's designed for these applications.

 

 

*****WARNING - DETAILING WANKER PICTURES AHEAD*****

 

First up, the claybar stage. I've used several different brands of clay bar in the past, and the absolute worst is Turtle Wax clay bar, so avoid that like the plague. I use Bilt-Hamber Clay bar because it's very reasonably priced, only requires water for lubricant and folds in nicely, with excellent results.

 

I won't do a panel-by-panel showing, because not even I'm that sad. However, this was the result of the first sweep of the passenger front door:

 

 

The brown streaks are from tar spots that embed themselves onto paintwork.

 

At the beginning of the project, I noticed a weird gritty, brown substance stuck onto the rear quarter of the car. This would not budge under conventional washing, but blitzed off easily with clay.

 

Drivers' side

 

 

All the effort resulted in lovely, smooth paintwork, ready for the next stage.

 

 

And a before and after comparison for the clay - if this was on Herman, I'd have changed to a fresh lump a while back.

 

 

Compound stage next, this takes the fine scratches out of the paintwork to bring clarity to reflections. With a rotary action machine polisher and plenty of time, I've had some truly outstanding results from cars with completely shot paintwork. However, I didn't have a rotary machine polisher, I had a £3 drill bit with velcro, some hand polishing pads that cost me £1.20 from China DELIVERED, and about 2 hours before I had to leave to go to a concert.

 

I'm not going to annotate every photo, instead I'll post a load of bloo paintwork.The lamp is meant to show the before and after of the work done.

 

The results were excellent, much better than I was expecting for the paintwork. I finished for the evening, and went to enjoy my concert.

 

 

LAMPSHOT! The lines of light/cloudiness shows the fine haze of scratches.

 

[fatharris]

With the deadline looming near, my twin brother (ChatsHarris) very kindly offered to carry on the work whilst I was at work for a long shift the next day. As demonstrated with his car:

 

 

He's good with blue cars, and he even took a few pictures of the work in progress!

 

These were the products used - American, so obviously they smelled bloody edible. He applied these by hand, and he standss by these products for being easy to apply, quick to dry and easy to remove.

 

 

As you can see, the reflection test was a resounding pass!

 

 

 

My favourite  - the clarity is amazing.

 

 

Then I rocked up, having being thinned out early from work, and got a phot of the man himself in action!

 

 

And another, just to highlight my gratitude, he gave up his spare time ON FALLOUT 4 RELEASE DAY NO LESS to ensure his berk of a brother has a shiny motor. Thank you again Alex, you're a top bloke! Whilst he cracked on, I busied myself with polishing the glass inside and out with Auto Glym  Glass Polish and polished the plastics with Auto Glym Bumper and Trim gel. No pictures, it's just sodding glass.

 

 

Once he departed, I sealed the paintwork using Auto Glym Extra Gloss Protection

 

The results were excellent!

 

 

 

I peeled the tape off to reveal the finished product.

 

 

 

Lamp comparison.

 

 

Finally I knocked up another switch with some pins.

 

 

Crossed some fingers, and finally managed to reset the service indicator!

 

 

With that, I went to bed, finishing off Day 2 with a win.

 

 

Day 3 rolled around, and it was the home straight.

 

 

I got stuck straight into it and went about replacing the battery.the current one is too big to be strapped down, so constitutes an MOT fail.

 

 

My friend sorted me out with one the correct size, albeit used and a bit dirty - 

 

 

Nothing a bit of elbow grease doesn't sort out.

 

 

The size difference is noticeable.

 

 

In position!

 

 

And battery box lid fitted (Thanks Panhard65!)

 

 

HOWEVER! The car wouldn't start with that battery fitted, even with a 90 minute charge, so all the hard work was undone as I refitted the old one. I'll buy a new one and stop being tight.

 

Next up, confession time. I may have forgotten to re-fit the boot seal properly before parking out in the rain, and it may* smell slightly* damp in the boot.

 

Better whip it all out again.

 

 

Quick scrub and wet vac, left out to dry.

 

 

One I forgot to get pictures for was fitting the chrome rings on the door handles that fell off.

 

Next up, sorting out that awful flaking black trim around the rear windscreen. Heat gun to soften and run a scalpel around.

 

Before

 

 

After

 

 

 

Much, much better.

 

Boot was rebuilt once dry.

 

 

Finally, the last job - track rod ends.

 

 

Driver's side - old v new. They were properly in there, I finally made use of one of my balljoint removal tools!

 

 

Fitted!

 

 

The passenger side must have been over-torqued on fitment. Call it gut feeling.

 

 

All sorted now though.

 

 

With that done, I checked the tyre pressures and fluid levels. This car is going to be whisking my wife and I from the bottom of Cornwall to *Insert generic characteristic here* of Cheshire, to enjoy the company of some fellow internet twats . Quite the test drive! As usual, when it comes to tools, I choose to err on the side of caution:

 

 

At long last, after many hours of work, I opened the roller door:

 

 

And started to pull her out, not before bringing her straight back in, I buggered up refitting the drivers' internal handle, so the door wouldn't open. Sorted now though.

 

 

With the tax and insurance sorted earlier, for the first time in nearly six weeks, I drove the car on real roads. I drove 20 miles to Falmouth and back to ensure that everything was working, as the car had running issues when I picked it up. It would appear that a thorough service has fixed it.

 

Finally, I filled the old girl up with dizzle, and parked her outside the house.

 

 

 

Hours worked  - 88 1/2.

 

Only thing left to do is the bonnet and the battery.

 

As a bonus - remember the rear seat bench that smelled like a whores' gusset? Here's a photo of as it stands now:

 

 

Yummy.

 

Cheers!

[MarvinsMom]

if i had not been reading this from the beginning then i would hardly believe that it was the same car!

 

good work sir, the zt is looking oh so sharp now. 

 

its a credit to you.

[fatharris]

Thanks mate, its been a long six weeks, but its been worth it!

 

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[Parky]

One of the best threads going, shame it's nearly over!

 

Please can you sell this to me for a fraction of what you have spent and move onto another shonky Rover? Perhaps a primrose yellow one found in a canal or something?

[fatharris]

The wife has said that if I don't at least break even on this one then I "can forget about another project in the future".

 

However, I'll secretly start looking again in the new year for anything that catches my eye at the right price!

 

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[The Moog]

I am in awe. I just don't have the patience to do a half of this.

 

Is Missus Harris going to use wheeler dealer formula for costs? Or real world costs including labour?

[fatharris]

Realistically, the cost of the replacement interior means its fallen straight into " 'old out yer aaahhhnd" territory.

 

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