Project 1975 Ford Granada Coupe - Lots & lots of tinkering

[danthecapriman]

Thanks Dan.  We do need another apprentice in fabrication.  The two guys in there are swamped with rust and I was helping them out but now I'm swamped with painted shells that need putting back together.  Hard finding people who want to do it though.  So many people my age just want to work in offices, do social media and get pissed!

Ha! I’m 34 so might be a bit beyond being an apprentice!

I’ve been in hands on work since I left school, commercial vehicle bodywork/construction, then a mechanic, now I’m in power distribution as a fitter. I’d love to do restoration work though, it’s literally my dream job. I’ve even considered a college course to learn paint spraying as that really appeals.

Your right though, people just don’t want to do hands on ‘spanner’ work anymore. I think a lot of people think themselves to good for doing dirty work nowadays and prefer moving bits of paper around in offices instead. Fuck knows why as it sounds like he’ll to me!

[Scruffy Bodger]

Glad that panel has saved you boys a few hours work then   As others are alluding to, why is the Cavvy being done, a sentimental thing I am assuming? I know the turbo 4x4's are getting to be worth a bit, anything other than one of those appears to be financial  

[TripleRich]

That Mk3 Cav SRi has provoked quite a bit of discussion from most people that see it.  Even our initial response when the owner enquired was along the lines of "why do you want to restore that'?  To many they just don't feel like classic cars even though the youngest ones are now 23 years old.

 

The owners reasons are sentimental.  Amazing how much people are willing to spend on stuff like this.

[Scruffy Bodger]

That's fair enough it's his money. I was never struck on the Mk3, the ones I've driven were properly boaty and generally meh.

 

The Mk2 on the other hand. A mates early 1.8 saloon with a twin Weber conversion I knocked up was a hoot and another mates Sri 130 even more so back in the day. There must be very few of those left now, can't even remember the last time I saw one! Much more worthy of restoring imo.

[fordperv]

Ha! I’m 34 so might be a bit beyond being an apprentice!

I’ve been in hands on work since I left school, commercial vehicle bodywork/construction, then a mechanic, now I’m in power distribution as a fitter. I’d love to do restoration work though, it’s literally my dream job. I’ve even considered a college course to learn paint spraying as that really appeals.

Your right though, people just don’t want to do hands on ‘spanner’ work anymore. I think a lot of people think themselves to good for doing dirty work nowadays and prefer moving bits of paper around in offices instead. Fuck knows why as it sounds like he’ll to me!

They used to offer a painting one local to me that I was interested in but because of no interest they dropped it, my pal at the bodyshop is going to teach me though when im doing a bit of work for him,

[danthecapriman]

They used to offer a painting one local to me that I was interested in but because of no interest they dropped it, my pal at the bodyshop is going to teach me though when im doing a bit of work for him,

Same thing happened down here, course was on offer but because of lack of people interested they cancelled it.

I got a good start though when I did my City & Guilds motor mechanics qualification, part of that included a separate course in welding and fabrication, which I completed both. After that when I got a job a mate there taught me more about welding and I got plenty of practice that way.

Painting and proper car panel fabrication is what I’m keen to get into though.

[chodweaver]

Dammit, Dan beat me to it:

 

Gizzajob!

 

I'd work for free if I was learning how to do all that stuff to THAT standard.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

...Gizzajob!

 

I'd work for free if I was learning how to do all that stuff to THAT standard.

 

Seconded.

[Talbot]

I was never struck on the Mk3, the ones I've driven were properly boaty and generally meh.

 

The Mk2 on the other hand. A mates early 1.8 saloon with a twin Weber conversion I knocked up was a hoot and another mates Sri 130 even more so back in the day. There must be very few of those left now, can't even remember the last time I saw one! Much more worthy of restoring imo.

This. Very much this. Still miss my old MK2 2.0i

 

 

Were it not for the three M's (Mortgage, Marriage and Miniature People) I would come and do this work in a heartbeat.

[DSdriver]

Yeah I've used all the wrong methods for this car.  This bloke building Cortinas knew what he was doing!

 

Dagenham Cortina Production.JPG

Ah... the art of knowing where to hit it... and how hard. People look in horror when I start biffing weatherstrip windows into place.

[danthecapriman]

Ah... the art of knowing where to hit it... and how hard. People look in horror when I start biffing weatherstrip windows into place.

When the guys were prepping my Capri for finishing and paint I walked into their workshop to pay a bill. I walked in the door and saw Steve, the head body man, about to swing some big fuck off mallet at my car!

He saw me, stopped and walked over laughing and said ‘I’ll do this after you’ve left!’. I do know a bit about bodywork anyway so it wasn’t any concern and I knew what he was doing and why so just laughed, gave him his money and told him to have fun!

He said some people are genuinely shocked to see some bloke swinging such tools at their pride and joy but sometimes you’ve got to.

[stonedagain]

When the guys were prepping my Capri for finishing and paint I walked into their workshop to pay a bill. I walked in the door and saw Steve, the head body man, about to swing some big fuck off mallet at my car!

He saw me, stopped and walked over laughing and said ‘I’ll do this after you’ve left!’. I do know a bit about bodywork anyway so it wasn’t any concern and I knew what he was doing and why so just laughed, gave him his money and told him to have fun!

He said some people are genuinely shocked to see some bloke swinging such tools at their pride and joy but sometimes you’ve got to.

Try working in a car factory........

[TripleRich]

Continued working through my list of remaining jobs yesterday.  Mostly worked my way around the shell knocking out as many dents as possible.  The offside quarter panel was perhaps the worst area.  Looks as though the car had an argument with a wall or post at some point.  Also tidied and finished some small areas at the back of the car.

Finished up the front wings.  They just needed some stone guard spraying inside so that was a nice easy job.

Then a bit of a surreal moment...

Sorted out another few bits on the list and crossed them off.  Then checked the list and everything was crossed off.  Checked the car and list several times but couldn't find any more welding do.  So that means the shell and panel work is ready for paint prep!

Its taken 639 hours of work over 108 days spanning 2.5 years to get to this point.  Feels weird not having any more welding to do on the car!

Next is paint prep.  I need to take the outside of the car back to bare metal and paint with POR.  I've already done this in many places so the bulk of the work will be on the roof and bulkhead.  Once that’s done I'll start working with stoppers and fillers on the areas that need them.  Then a coat of primer and more filler work if the primer shows up any areas.  With that done I can finally paint the car back into Carnival Red.

Thanks for all your comments and support on this thread.  There have been many depressing moments when I wondered if I would ever get to this stage.  Being able to post the pictures and get such a response from those on here has provided the much needed boost to keep going with the car. 

[Scruffy Bodger]

A milestone moment, congrats 

[Pillock]

Incredible work, I can imagine the "what, that's it?" moment when the last box was ticked.

 

Also +1 on the Cavalier. I read what you'd written, glanced at the picture and was all "what on earth, that's a new car" because I remember going along to pick a new one up with my grandparents. That however was 30 years ago (on launch day). It's heartwarming to know both people want them restoring, and there's restorers willing to have a go

[Broadsword]

What at job. Congratulations!!

[uk_senator]

When I worked at a Jaguar dealer there were a few customers like that. One that sticks out was an XJS Convertible, it was about 8 years old & came in with slightly rusty floorpans, in the end it had a full blown resto, including brand new engine (with all ancillaries), autobox, complete wiring loom, every piece of suspension etc. His final bill was around £40k, which he was fine with, despite it being about 3-4 times the value of the car at the time.

I wish I could remember its reg, to see if its still around.
 

That Mk3 Cav SRi has provoked quite a bit of discussion from most people that see it.  Even our initial response when the owner enquired was along the lines of "why do you want to restore that'?  To many they just don't feel like classic cars even though the youngest ones are now 23 years old.

 

The owners reasons are sentimental.  Amazing how much people are willing to spend on stuff like this.

[fordmad80]

Well done on getting to this point fantastic work

 

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

[danthecapriman]

No more welding! Hurrah!!

 

Great work Rich, can’t wait to see it in fresh paint.

[busmansholiday]

Its taken 639 hours of work over 108 days spanning 2.5 years to get to this point. Feels weird not having any more welding to do on the car

You've done a great job there and I, like many others have learned a great deal through your posts. When it comes to welding I've an MGB about three foot from a MiG if you need any more practice.

[dozeydustman]

This is going to look awesome when painted. Well done that man!

[Tadhg Tiogar]

...Its taken 639 hours of work over 108 days spanning 2.5 years to get to this point.  ...

Six hundred and thirty nine hours.....Jaysus, count 'em, 639. Ye couldn't put a price on that - the true value of the work would be unaffordable.

[vulgalour]

No more welding?  That is weird!  Congratulations

[fordperv]

That's fantastic

[Jim Bell]

I bet that welder feels quite relieved. Or have you got through more than one?

[mk2_craig]

This is one of my favourite threads, well done on getting "over the hill" with it, but also thank you for the regular and comprehensive updates. Your effort in doing so is appreciated by many.

[sierraman]

Christ. That works out by my back of fag packet estimate to be about £25-30k labour?

[Tadhg Tiogar]

Christ. That works out by my back of fag packet estimate to be about £25-30k labour?

Doesn't bear thinking about in AS terms, does it?

[TripleRich]

Started prepping the car for paint yesterday.  First step is to take as much of the original paint off as possible.  I'll then key the metal and paint the whole outside of the car with POR.  I need to do this as there are hundreds of tiny rust blisters lurking under the paint.  This means the paint is letting moisture from the air through to the metal so it has to go.  Its also not the best idea to rely on 40 year old paint as the base for a new paint job.

First job was the bulkhead.  Very difficult to remove all the paint but I did my best and even in bare metal it looks so much better.;

Also did the same to some final areas inside the car.  I'm not so concerned about the finish inside the car as all of it will be hidden.

Managed to do both rear quarters as well.

With that done I keyed the metal with 80 grit and painted all the bare metal areas with POR.

Once this process is completed I can flat and key the POR ready for primer.  The POR will then prevent moisture from doing any damage over the 20 or more years.  Next job is the roof, rear panel and door shuts.  Everywhere else has already been painted.  The bonnet and doors will be done off the car on panel stands. 

[TripleRich]

More old paint removed today.  Very boring but the car is slowly turning black.

First I took all the old paint off the roof.  As said before I have to do this to expose all the tiny rust blisters lurking beneath the original paint.  It a horrible job and you get covered in red dust so its important to wear a mask.  I also put a big fan in the roof of the workshop earlier this year to help reduce the amount of sweeping up.  Surprising how much difference its made.

While doing this I found two very small holes in the rear window frame.  Only took about 10 mins to mig up as they were so small.

Moved the car back into storage and painted the roof making sure it was well prepared and thoroughly degreased before applying POR.

Parts I painted previously like the bulkhead are now looking very nice.

With the shell out of harm’s way I set to work on the bonnet.  This is a genuine panel but like many NOS bonnets the frame has de-bonded from the skin.  They are bonded with seam sealer in spots along the edges of the frame.  I dug out all the old hard sealer and replaced with fresh stuff.  Left the panel to dry leaning against a wall as leaving it upside down can glue the skin too tight to the frame causing all sorts of issues.

Then removed all the paint from the original boot lid.  Again I have to as its pitted in many places.  The POR should stop that in its tracks and allow me to paint over the top knowing no moisture can get back down there.

Again the metal was thoroughly keyed and degreased before painting.

The doors and bonnet need the same treatment so will do that next week.

Meanwhile during the week I'm still flat out on the P5 rebuild.  Have managed to complete most of the trim work.  Everything has been recovered, reupholstered or cleaned to within an inch of life so it's slow progress but very satisfying to do.  The screens were an absolute pain in the arse to get right (aftermarket seals).