Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[bertie]

Back again! After the euphoria of the previous day, I had work, so duly completed it then went round to my ex`s place to retrieve bertie- I pushed him onto her drive the previous night after he broke down again! She didnt mind, and after a few "hurry up, the scrap man has been promised it" type remarks (we`re good friends really!) I removed the fuel pump, stripped/cleaned/rebuilt/refitted/primed it and bertie fired up first time. I spent a few minutes adjusting the carb-wonderfully simple-and he was at last sounding good. I then travelled up to my place 3 miles away without any further problems. Then, i decided to wash him.....3 washes later, the dirt was still coming off! My dad always said to me, "Ally, the best way to know a car is to wash,rinse and dry it-you soon find all the imperfections!"He was right,there were many.The lad who had had him before me had obviously spent many hours with filler and glass fibre, and although the result wasnt bad,the months since his "restoration"work had been completed had taken its toll as bertie wasnt garaged...o dear. The spray work at the front wasnt bad, but you could see as you started to go towards the back, how his patience had worn thin...poor finishing,overspray, bits not rubbed down properly etc. A clean now and again would have helped! But, once i set to with the wax (bodywork can wait for the moment, protection is the priority), the results were startling...he shone! He`s off the road,safely garaged in a nice double garage (cheers, Annie!) while we have this diabolical weather.As the adage goes, you get what you pay for. I can see why he didnt sell: a purist wouldnt have been interested as the bodywork needs addressing and the back "bumper" is a shaped steel tube with trailer lights on!!The vinyl seats and trim have been painted and the lad had stuck "ghia" on the dashboard! But, I`m not naive. I didnt expect perfection-certainly not at that price. An excellent example of these can fetch £3000-£6000...i spent £1500! I`ll detail what I found when I carried out a full service on him(how many grease points????)next time. Again, sorry for lack of pics, but it`ll be addressed shortly. Thanks for reading, catch you soon...