rottenlungs
Member
Hi all
I have been busy lurking and asking the odd question over the last year or so since I introduced myself.
I though I`d give an update on progress. The car is a 75 3500. Assembled in Nelson, NZ, it was first registered to a company director then spent many years registered to his wife. I bought it in 2002, and it went off the road in 2004 when the kids arrived. It sat in my carport until 2010, when I moved house and had to make a decision. I decided to restore the car.
So far I have had the gearbox reconditioned, the rear axle and brake calipers rebuilt. The main task now is to stop the corrosion (which was light but extensive) and repaint the car.
I have restored a couple of cars before, a 1971 Land Rover and a 1980 Spitfire 1500. I resprayed the Spit myself and decided to the Rover.
Over the last couple of months I hae upped the pace a bit. I have to say, the thread by DamianZ28 with the story of his Monza Red car has been an inspiration. You have done a superb job - I note your comments about the dust being like the 9/11 dust cloud and know exactly what you mean.
So here`s where I`m at.
This shot shows the roof (partially flatted back after priming) and the last remaining untreated door - you can see the 'dust rust' that covered the whole car.
Took this shot when I got one side of the car rust free. Currently various layers of primer.
There was a big scrape down the rear pass. side door and I had to replace the rear pass. side wing as a result of the same injury. I beat and filled the door and am pretty chuffed with the result.
Last weekend saw my biggest single batch of spraying. The boot has been etch primed and all have been 1200 grit wet-sanded to get rid of the stinking dust lumps.
Finally one of the boot - I was a bit nervous about the aluminium stripping process but it has turned about to be the best panel so far.
Incidentally, the pattern of dents behind the number plate carrier intrigue me. I though it must be where someone had clumsily screwed the number plate on with long screws and deformed the usually hidden boot skin. However, on another posting recently I saw the exact same pattern on another S2 car. Anyone know what those holes are for?
I am finally getting close to being in a position to lay down some top coat. The car was originally Artic White but I am going to respray in Davos White, simply because the local auto paint supplier couldn`t mix Artic in 1K , only 2K. However, he had no problem finding the codes for a 1K mix of Davos White, which I think is a nicer colour anyway.
One the bodywork is done, the glareshield has a big split in it so will need to be recovered, the engine is leaking oil from both front and back seals (not intolerably but noticeably) so I will service the crankcase breather and replace the timing cover / front seals.
This forum has really inspired me - thanks to you all and keep it up. At the rate I`m going now I might just get the car finished before the oil runs out!
Cheers
James
I have been busy lurking and asking the odd question over the last year or so since I introduced myself.
I though I`d give an update on progress. The car is a 75 3500. Assembled in Nelson, NZ, it was first registered to a company director then spent many years registered to his wife. I bought it in 2002, and it went off the road in 2004 when the kids arrived. It sat in my carport until 2010, when I moved house and had to make a decision. I decided to restore the car.
So far I have had the gearbox reconditioned, the rear axle and brake calipers rebuilt. The main task now is to stop the corrosion (which was light but extensive) and repaint the car.
I have restored a couple of cars before, a 1971 Land Rover and a 1980 Spitfire 1500. I resprayed the Spit myself and decided to the Rover.
Over the last couple of months I hae upped the pace a bit. I have to say, the thread by DamianZ28 with the story of his Monza Red car has been an inspiration. You have done a superb job - I note your comments about the dust being like the 9/11 dust cloud and know exactly what you mean.
So here`s where I`m at.
This shot shows the roof (partially flatted back after priming) and the last remaining untreated door - you can see the 'dust rust' that covered the whole car.
Took this shot when I got one side of the car rust free. Currently various layers of primer.
There was a big scrape down the rear pass. side door and I had to replace the rear pass. side wing as a result of the same injury. I beat and filled the door and am pretty chuffed with the result.
Last weekend saw my biggest single batch of spraying. The boot has been etch primed and all have been 1200 grit wet-sanded to get rid of the stinking dust lumps.
Finally one of the boot - I was a bit nervous about the aluminium stripping process but it has turned about to be the best panel so far.
Incidentally, the pattern of dents behind the number plate carrier intrigue me. I though it must be where someone had clumsily screwed the number plate on with long screws and deformed the usually hidden boot skin. However, on another posting recently I saw the exact same pattern on another S2 car. Anyone know what those holes are for?
I am finally getting close to being in a position to lay down some top coat. The car was originally Artic White but I am going to respray in Davos White, simply because the local auto paint supplier couldn`t mix Artic in 1K , only 2K. However, he had no problem finding the codes for a 1K mix of Davos White, which I think is a nicer colour anyway.
One the bodywork is done, the glareshield has a big split in it so will need to be recovered, the engine is leaking oil from both front and back seals (not intolerably but noticeably) so I will service the crankcase breather and replace the timing cover / front seals.
This forum has really inspired me - thanks to you all and keep it up. At the rate I`m going now I might just get the car finished before the oil runs out!
Cheers
James