Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[vitesse]

Spent the day rubbing down again. Got quite a major problem with the paint work though. As you can see in the pictures below it is covered in tiny spots where when it was last resprayed I believe it means there was moisture in the air? I am sure you guys will be able to advise? Which means I am going to have to take that last coat of blue off completely.





Also paint stripped the bonnet and engine cover as they were far to gone to sand down.





What's the best thing to do about the corrosion on these? phosphoric acid? It doesn't feel pitted on the bonnet, so do think it needs skim filler? What do you reckon???

[colwyn500]

Tony, Here's my two penn'orth simply because your car is similar to mine, not because I am an expert in this. I would rub the pimpled paint until you are sure there is no further indentation to the marks. The pinkish paint looks like the original primer you get on 500s. The crazed rust patterns can probably be found all over the car if you dig deep enough. You do need to use something phosphoric based after you have lightly rubbed the rusty surfaces down.
Where I have dug around in the paintwork I have found the same. I would post a request on the body and paint section.
Personally I will be taking all the paint off mine.

[vitesse]

Nothing major happening really. Just the joys of rubbing down the pits in the paint work which my next neighbour describes as fish eyes? Getting there though, panel at a time. Needed a bit of red oxide in the right places. The gutters came up really nice. I stuck a Dremel down there but it dug a lot of seam sealer out but much better than rust.





Inspector come to check my progress!



Totally off topic I found this oil painting sitting hidden away in my out building. I have lived here 20 odd years and there was plenty of stuff left behind. Looks quite nice after a wash down.

[vitesse]

Did some more work on the bonnet and engine cover today and endless rubbing down to the pitted paintwork. Getting arms like Popeye now!

[colwyn500]

It's looking like you are going to end up with a silver car before you get to a blue car again. At least you are going to know it won't go pimply this time.

[colwyn500]

Tony, you were asking me about that masking paper at the back on the inside of the car. I have put on a couple of photos of mine.

JAN_9403 by peterthompson, on Flickr

JAN_9402 by peterthompson, on Flickr
It looks like something put there when the factory was originally assembling the car. My guess is that it was to stop the back seat, which can be un-hitched and laid flat, from sticking to any sealant or perhaps abrading on sharp edges. I will be leaving it as there is no need to remove it, but I dont think that a lack of it would be any big deal.

[vitesse]

Thanks Peter just wondering whether it was some bodge someone had done.

Nothing really much to add really on progress, a lot of what I am doing is too boring to post about. I have gone through a bin liner of wet and dry say no more but not far off.

I am not going to attempt the repair on the rear wing myself. I just don't have enough experience on a Mig welder to do it. I am a bit paranoid as the body panels just seem so thin compared to anything I have welded on before.

[vitesse]

Decided yesterday to get rid of the gunge in the engine bay. Looks ok in a photo but in reality seems to be Waxoyl, as soon as any oil or petrol gets on it, it is just a sticky mess, gets all over your hands. So with a lot of petrol and rubber gloves off I went.

I haven't finished but made had to give up when I got an eyeball full of sticky petrol like tar, I know should have had my goggles on. It is spotless underneath it all so far. But unfortunately I wasn't had to shower with shower gel and a scotch pad.



Also I am going back and forth, but during the evening I will tackle the more in house type jobs. Like repairing a sun baked steering wheel control for indicators and lights. I got some epoxy putty and the results are obvious in the pictures. These are 2 of the most expensive interior bits to try to source.









Just needs a bit of rubbing down with a bit of wet and dry.

[colwyn500]

Nice work on those plastic stalks and steering wheel and good that you are retaining original bits where you can.

That sound-deadening underseal is awful and I took it off the inner wheel-arches with a blunt (well now it is!) chisel and a final wipe with paint remover. I have just degreased the surface of it it in the engine bay because it wasn't falling off and it does have a function.

Actually, looking again, I think most of the original stuff has been taken off previously because that red-oxide doesn't seem original and some of it is painted over the crinkly-finish that originally coated the engine-bay. You are probably coated in fairly recent bituminous underseal.

It's getting a bit major this restoration! Great stuff.

[vitesse]

Peter I think most of the original is under the red oxide as you said but after another go at it, it is like new under the rubbish, it not Waxoyl as I mistakenly said as that is much more waxy and stuck down seams etc...

This was basically bitumen based underseal as you said. But it is gleaming now.



Not sure how to finish the engine bay though, had suggestions off some sort of stone chip? Those rear suspension arms in the picture are immaculate, considering I hammerited them nearly 20 years ago, but there again it hasn't moved for about 16 years-ish.

My whole mindset behind this is, that it deserves to be running for it's 50th birthday in 2016!

Just officially placed my order for all that is needed from Axel Gerstl.

[colwyn500]

Looking at that nice clean undercoat, I would just paint it body-colour. The best coating if you want nearly the original surface would be over-paintable stonechip. I think the idea was to keep noise levels down and heat out of the passenger compartment and to be honest, any paint finish is going to struggle at that job..

2016? Surely false modesty? You're really going at it with that car and I bet you do it faster than that.

[vitesse]

Yeah true Peter hopefully within the next 2-3 months but I am probably like a lot of people on this forum and thought "Oh she/he is fifty soon and deserves to be back on the road to celebrate the milestone".

Been playing around with the engine and gearbox today and it is very oily on the distributer side, I think it has always been worse on this side. I am guessing the seal has gone on the pipe feeding the oil up to the tappets etc at the top end. What do you think?

Also managed to shear off the bolt with a hole in it to allow the exhaust gases to vent, so I am going to have to get that out some how!!

[colwyn500]

It's a very long time since I got close up and personal with one of these engines. I remember that bolt; does it do anything else apart from holding on a section of the cowling? At least it should be easier to drill out being hollow already.
In my hazy memory I remember leaky rocker gaskets and leaks under the nuts to the same. There are also issues with those concertina tubes that cover the push-rods for the valves. It looks like you might as well check everything now. I watch with interest as you cover new ground in advance of me.

[vitesse]

Today I wanted to sort the brakes out as I know it had popped some of it cylinders whilst it has been sat and the drums seized up.

So stripped the front-end and cleaned it up. All quite tidy underneath, even the rubbers. The backing plates for the drums are going to get a new lick of paint and not a lot else needs doing. King pins seems ok. Thank god.





Best of all my bits arrived from Munich. It was quite a large order that I managed to negotiate on the price!!!!!! Shall we say!!! But probably half of what a UK supplier would charge. There is another box to come yet!!!!!



You can get an idea of how big the boxes are. In the right hand box are the new bumpers wrapped in brown paper. Which are surprisingly good quality chrome. All the bits are actually good for patent parts apart from one.

[D4B]

The air cooled VW Beetle engines also suffer regularly from leaking
push rod tube seals.....

Exciting getting parcels tho isn't it?

My postman always arrives here saying "more pressies"