Dave the tram

Car all ready to go to the bodyshop next week - I shall miss it! I think my wife may have noticed the big pile of removed bits in the basement spare room! Surprising just how much there is for such a small car. No big surprises with bodywork so far, except the top edge of a door near the quarter light that’s a bit cracked due to previous rust. The door looked perfect until everything removed and is otherwise sound so will get them to do a repair job. My main concern is how they will approach the front chassis rot. Chassis looks completely sound all the way back from the antiroll bar. I check and inject regularly as I have a pit. The front bits back from this get a useful coating of oil of course, even though there are no significant leaks. The front main chassis rails are ok, but for a small hole under one anti-roll bar attachment, but the front sections that hold the bonnet and bumper are fairly rotten at the bottom. Likewise the bracing pieces to the front cross member, although the cross member itself looks solid. It’s a question of whether they plate the bottoms of these and fashion a repair, or prefer to cut away and fit new sections. Worst case before labour would be about £350 for parts (from Rimmers for example) for these 4 sections and the front cross section if needed. Has anyone experience or advice on this, incase they come back with options? I guess an extra challenge will be getting everything aligned properly with new bits, although I don’t think it’s that good now, from a previous owner rebuild many years ago. I’ve warned them about getting the bonnet bulge clearance right, both with bonnet fitting and the top hose clip etc. in case they’ve not done a GT6 before. Cheers Dave

Thanks all. Might pause on this until I’ve cleaned up the bowls - one has a big hole corroded through it so might need to replace these as well. Will research the Cibie 180s further. Have already got relays and a direct, fused live feed from battery but will check earth feed as well when refitting. No rush as car is off for bodywork and respray in a week and may be away for 6-8 weeks (see other thread) Cheers Dave

Hi Clive So are you saying that Wipac ones that aren’t described as crystal, such as at the club shop, are different and perhaps not as good? I’ve read in other posts that the land rover ones described as crystal have different shaped attachments and need modding, but clearly you have fitted them fine. cheers Dave

I know there has been a lot of discussion already on this, but before I buy Wipac halogens from the club shop for my GT6, people talk about the Wipac crystal headlamps being the ones to get. All the adds I find stating ‘Crystal’ are specifically for land rovers. The ones I can find to fit small triumphs, including the club shop, aren’t described as crystal just H4 halogen. Is there a difference? I’ve already fitted relays and direct feed. Dave

Many thanks Chris. Will proceed as advised. Trim In fairly good condition I think so will do my utmost to preserve it and any clips I find. Drivers door to dismantle then nearly there (see pics). Will need advice at some stage on the inner and outer top gutter seals to the door glass, which I’ve never quite understood. The picture of the special tool use in the manual doesn’t really explain it. The other door wasn’t a problem as the inner one was missing and the outer rubber strip one had disintegrated and been glued on! So everything fell out leaving a big gap to lift the glass and assorted fittings through. I’ve been on a tight schedule as the date with the bodyshop has been fixed for some time, then I got a date for my cataract op in a few days which halved my prep time, so pleased that it’s largely gone well. At least I’ll be able to see what I’m doing when I reassemble over the winter, with two good eyes and no time constraints. Having a garage with a pit is such a bonus and has helped me keep the underside in good nick over the years. Cheers

Also, any tips on removing the chrome trim around the Mk3 KAM tail? Dave

Hmm? Regarding the rear quarter window hinges - as I don’t understand the riveting terms you use Chris, and don’t have the tools, it might be prudent to leave these on and let the bodyshop man handle it. He can ether work round them leaving them on or remove them then refit them for me I think. cheers Dave

I’m beginning to realise you are right Josef, the wiring loom is not actually that scary and I had no problem fitting a headlamp relay recently. My car even seems to have the correct colour wires mostly!

I think you are right about the self centring Casper. Thinking about it, on my car it might be complicated by the fact that I replaced the original worn rack with an aftermarket one that was a bit stiff and after many miles is still not fully loose, so I’ve got used to the fact that you have to help it a bit with the straightening. It got rid of the ‘play’ along with rebushing the universal coupling. The rack doesn’t have the shim adjuster but has a seal where it should be. However, from handling it off the car, I think it’s the ball joints at the ends of the new rack that were tight. I decided to let them bed in rather than take it apart again and investigate. Still, I’m very happy with how it drives and handles. Another strange issue I had when I first got it, it started to wander and float above 60mph. Taking the front spoiler off improved things, which is counter- intuitive, but correcting the slightly high front end did the trick. Also, the front of the bonnet hinge is set at its highest adjustment so as to clear the rocker cover and top hose clip, so I guess all these small things add up.

Well so far so good and 3/4 there with the strip down, although the final bolt to remove the rear bumper (behind the fuel tank) took nearly as long as the rest of the work put together after much swearing, skinned nuckles and mugs of tea. Hoping that I’ve labelled all the bits well enough, especially all the disconnected wiring. There comes a point when you start to wonder if you should have gone a step further and done a full body off - but that would still have been a big step, probably not needed and I want it back on the road asap. One door left to dismantle and with this one I’ll take more photos and label meticulously how it goes back. Done it before bit always tricky. It will be nice cleaning and polishing everything then building it back up with all new bolts. One bit of advice needed so far - the opening rear windows that the Mk 3 has. I can see the 4 pop rivets along the hinged edge so don’t need to remove any more trim to get at them with a drill, but does it work just using self tapping screws to refit? Cheers Dave

Interesting about the handling, but I think the current handling of mine is spot on, even in the wet - with the anti-roll bar. Mk 3 with swing spring, fully adjustable gaz shockers, lowered a bit at the front to balance what must be a slightly sagging rear spring, giving it very slight negative camber all round, rather than the bit of positive at the front as standard. This looses some of the self-centring but don’t mind that as it feels very sharp while not at all tail happy. Unlike most comments I’ve read, I set the shockers well above half way so quite firm even though I use it as my regular car, but I like to drive it like a sports car! Falken Sincera 165/70/13 work for me and made a real difference in the wet, being slightly softer compound I think. Can’t wait to build it back up all shiny and with no underlying rusty bits. Cheers Dave

Finally getting round to sorting some minor bodywork issues on my GT6, including rubbing right down then a respray, all with a nearby company at Darley Dale in Derbyshire. Leaving the body on but stripping all components off it then trailering it to them - saving about £1500. This keeps it within my budget of 3k (plus an extra 1k as backup for the surprises) as I didn’t want try mastering both welding and spraying. Ok with spanner’s but didn’t want this to be a barely successful learning experience with bodywork. It also needs a bit of repair to the front outriggers, the bits that support the bonnet and bumper - either plating the bottom or new sections welding on. Question is, am I ok to remove the anti roll bar to help him get at things and still drive the car about - not on the road but around the yard etc. I’m pretty sure it is, but wanted a second opinion. Then the winter job of building everything back up all cleaned and smart. I was tempted to do a full body off but I don’t think it needed it and didn’t want it off the road for a year! It will never be perfect or concours and I just prefer using it as my regular car. Will let you know how it goes. Cheers Dave

Pretty sure the the inner is all good but will clean everything fully and poke about some more before discussing with them further. Their thinking was that fitting the full wing avoids the time consuming finishing of the joins to repair sections. I’m guessing that cutting out fitting and finishing the aperture would be more work than that. Dave

Now looking at just getting rear wing sorted, plus anything they discover with bottom of B post, end of sill etc. then sort paintwork myself. Bodyshop suggest easier and more cost effective to fit new outer wing (about£250 for the panel) The problem is, all the outer wings I can find with suppliers need modifying as they don’t have a fuel filler aperture. This makes me think to go back to the idea of getting bottom half repair panels welded in as this should be less work than fitting the aperture. Does anyone have experience of the fuel aperture issue. I’m assuming that even just doing the repair panels would still need the tank taking out - perhaps not if just the front section. cheers Dave

Ho hum, not the most encouraging of days. The favoured body shop (who has a good reputation), after raising my hopes initially, today put the car on the ramps and had a good look over. As I originally expected, they would only tackle it if doing it a to a good standard and replacing anything that was substandard. This would be better than I require and costlier than the car warrants (and we’ll beyond my budget). Might go back to someone’s suggestion of ‘keep patching it up, save your money and drive it like you stole it!’ Also! I dithered too long on a bonnet that was for sale. Once I decided it was better than mine and might resolve some of the issues - it had gone of course’ . I think I’ll get quotes for welding in the rear arch sections (or if simpler a complete outer wing for about £250 from Rimmers), then work steadily on patching and rubbing the other more minor flaws myself. Either carry on with rattle cans or buy a spray gun. Then lots of injection with Bilt Hamber wax/rust converter. Now regaining perspective over a beer or two! cheers Dave

Blimey, and I thought changing a bulb on the Yeti needed a contortionist, unlike our good old cars! Thanks guys, will get my nimble fingers working tomorrow. Sounds like this is one of the few jobs on our Meccano kit cars that is a bit fiddly. I remember the equivalent on my Morris 1000 many years ago being refurbing the brake master cylinder - inside a box section under the floor that needed the front torsion bar removing to access - on an otherwise simple car! Cheers Dave

Thinking of fitting new Crystal Halogen headlamps as my sealed beams are badly tarnished and dim. Also need to remove them for planned respray. I’ve already rewired with a relay. Question, how do I remove them? No cowl to remove, just the body fairing surround that attaches to the bonnet. No fixings visible outside, and inside just the inner end of several screws. I assume the bodywork surround comes off to reveal the screw heads, but how? There are 2 small holes in each surround to access the small alignment adjuster screws, but don’t think these attach them as such. Cheers Dave

Hoping to take it back to one of my 2 selected body shops this week while the weather holds. Get it on the ramps and firm up an estimate. Most interior trim panels, carpet and passenger seat are out. If floor and chassis as good as I believe and just minor plates to chassis front needed, then I’ll go with the plan of keeping the tub on and the car in one piece (more or less). If I can keep body repairs and respray to £4K and they continue to convince me about their work, I’ll probably go with them. Main advantage over the other outfit, which seems equally competent, is that this one could fit the job in early next year, so I can dismantle as required in mid winter, put back together early spring and get the benefit next year. T’others are busy till next autumn. Dave

My quotes are for them doing all the rubbing down/paint stripping, bits of welding then a quality respray, and me taking all the bits off the car that might be in the way, but still a complete car, not a separated tub etc. However, once you start planning for this the inevitable question surfaces, should I be taking the tub off and doing a complete rebuild. But surely this would be much more work, perhaps more expensive and would take the car off the road for a year, not weeks. Any thoughts? Dave

Had the same problem with my GT6 ignition key many years ago. Went to local key-cutter in Hillsborough, Sheffield and he took one look at at it and rattled off the the code for the blank from memory. ‘Lotus Elan - not seen one of those for thirty years’ . My guess is the old Lotus used the same pattern. He went out the back and found one, cut it for a few quid. And I bet he can’t even remember the reg of his current modern haha. Dave

An update on the thinking process after a couple of visits to reputable body shops. As expected, the only way to get a full respray that looks smart and will last (a warranty) is to rub it right down, and down to metal where any doubt. I can’t face stripping paint back myself after experiences just doing a door once. I’ve suggested patching in situ of the minor rust at the chassis front (bonnet and bumper support bits) after I’ve thoroughly checked the rest of the chassis (I have pit!). Then a respray, body still on but all trim etc removed and after replacing rear arch lower sections, sills if required - plus any other minor repairs found after rubbing down, bits of filler redone professionally etc. Can’t face a full dismantle and rebuild and don’t think it’s necessary. I’d rather do this and get a smarter car back in use fairly quickly. Prices I’m getting are about £4.5 - £5.5k, which is outside my budget. However, this comes down about by £1500 if I take off all the bits myself and they transport it. That’s remove all trim and carpets, seats, bumpers, all door fittings and glass, petrol tank, radiator, bonnet, lights etc. I’d quite enjoy that, then putting it all back cleaned up, sound proofed and so on. A complete body off restoration would be many times the work and cost I think. Also it would be never ending as the car would still not be perfect due to history of previous imperfect restorations. Assuming it would end up at £4K with hidden extras that’s my budget limit. Probably in the spring so will update then. Never did find Andy Dann who some had recommended. Cheers Dave

Correction it’s Bilt-Hamber spray I now use for all the cavities etc. not Dinitrol. Also, regarding spray guns, I made a note from previous threads that praised high volume, low pressure spray guns and mentioned: Sealey setup (HVLP2000 600w) Any comments? Cheers Dave .

Badwolf - are you implying it might be for sale if I were in the market, once I’ve done my research? If so where are you? Dave

Anyone know how I can get in touch with Andy Dann and if he’s still doing work, sounds like he might be reasonably near me and I found other good reports. Tried various searches and other posts gave address as ‘classic-resprays.co.uk’ but that didn’t work.

Look forward to chatting more about spray guns in due course and will explore previous threads. D