DJB350Z

Thanks @chrishawley for your detailed description. Looking forward to having a go once I've dug out and refurbed the bowls (for some undiluted joy). 😆 I think I have the proper metal bowls with tabs.

Yep, the cowl goes over the top. I just wondered if somehow there's some way it clamped everything together. I thought the 3 fixings per side were present but now you've got me thinking.. I will check that. At the moment it's like there's nothing fixing it in place along the top edge. And thanks Pete for the Canley link - I just couldn't find it earlier.

Hello, One of my GT6 headlight cowls has an ugly 5mm gap between it and the bonnet. Will this gap disappear upon fitment of a headlight, effectively clamping it shut?

Ok, so a recent change then I suppose. I didn't go 800% over quota overnight. 😅 I don't see any option to delete photos from the 'my attachments' page. How do I get rid of them please? Edit: not sure what's going on but I have more quota now, and the option to delete photos has miraculously appeared.

Would love to but I've suddenly just been told I've used over 800% of my image quota elsewhere on the forum. Will need to delete some photos to free up space first.

Are these recent changes related to why I can no longer upload photos to my posts? Tried to upload this evening but the option is missing, and instead it says: "You have used 162.7 MB of your 19.53 MB attachment limit.". If I delete some photos what will happen to my restoration thread? I self hosted images in the past on other forums but not sure I want to do it again... Edit: I don't see any option to delete photos from the 'my attachments' page.

Hi, I've just stripped my GT6 bonnet to bare metal on the outside side. Now, the underside of it is my next focus. I was planning to strip the inside back to metal but actually it's in pretty good shape so I decided I would just key the surface and repaint. But... now I'm quite unsure how I will get my hands, tools or fresh paint in there. So maybe I'm better off doing 4 or 5 smaller smart repairs on the imperfections. How would a professional prep and paint the inside side of the bonnet - the wings aren't removable, and there's all sorts of nooks and crannies. Thoughts?

Pretty much my plan of attack.

+1 for that cover

It does seem to be hit and miss. Mine was fine, but I only used it for 3 months.

Where and what have you ended up purchasing to do the job? The bodywork you had done looks tidy.

For restoring faded black plastic I use Gtechniq C4 Trim Restorer. You only get 15ml in the bottle but it goes a long way and lasts a good while. I don't remember exactly but I think it dyes the plastic black which makes it last longer than something that otherwise fades again after a couple of washes. https://amzn.eu/d/5VgkXDK

I have to ask. What is a bell manifold?

This is how I recently did it.

Having read this I thought I'd better go see what mine look like because it was PO that fitted them. Mine are like the way Ian pictured them with the hard pipe. The hoses fit without any harsh bends etc. Excuse the dust..

How much fun was it spraying the inside?

The day arrived when I decided to start sanding back the bonnet. Of all the panels this one was hands down the best so to start peeling it back to bare metal was a little sad. However, there were signs of oxidation as well as some scratches and minor chips so in the long run it's a necessary evil. The other thing is that bringing it back to bare metal means we don't have to worry about matching new red with old. The paint was much thicker here than elsewhere so I had to bring out the grinder with poly disc to get through the top coat, primer and body filler. However, up until now the cheap replacement drill from Amazon has been doing a stellar job. The filler was a bit of a surprise (read nuisance). I found some, then some more, and then more. Why? What was it hiding? Not sure. So far as I can tell its not hiding any rust or damage... there seems to be minimal, if any waves in the panel either. It's just a massive pain because as soon as any powered tool runs over it dust plumes EVERYWHERE. I'm particularly fastidious about keeping the working area clean so this cleanup operation is next level and testing my OCD. I'll have to pull the car outside and do a deep clean of the garage when this round of sanding is finished. I'm nearly done with this top side, but need to decide what to do about the underneath. I'm conscious I won't be able to easily A: sand in all the nooks and B: spray them either. Maybe instead of attempting to get to bare metal on the underside I should just scuff it with 240 grit, prime and then spray? The metal is in good condition and I'm not as worried about matching the shade of red here since it largely goes unseen. In other news I got a couple cans of Dynax S50 to spray into the cavities of the tub when the time comes. Anyway.. some progress pics.

Ok, good point about the overspray. Also wasn't aware it needs topping up every 1-2 years. Will probably punt for 2-3 cans of Dynax S50 and see how I go.

Thanks for the recommendations. Are they all flammable due to the nature of the wax, or is it just Waxoyl and Dinitrol specifically? Sounds mildly terrifying.. What sort of quantity would I need for the cavities inside the tub, doors and dashboard?

Cheap replacement arrived from Amazon today. £23, though whilst it has a higher RPM it's bigger, heavier and louder than my old Bosch. Doesn't feel like the same build quality either. It'll get me back up and running but I will take the old one apart again and check the coil as mentioned above. Failing that will keep an eye out for a similar second hand one on market place or a bootsale.

What is the recommended approach to converting rust / protecting the metal in hard to reach places like inside panels and under the dashboard etc.? I've seen some products that come in a tub with a long tube that you blindly aim and spray with. I guess that's the trick, but are there any specific products or alternatives to look out for? Thanks

My drill packed up today. Inherited it some years ago and it's had a hard life, but it couldn't quite hold on until the end of stripping back. Shame.

Great question. I've invested in a compressor, spray guns and the accessories so my wife would wring my neck if I changed my mind now - looks like I'm painting it myself! What led me to this decision was that for a long time I'd wanted to 'do up a classic car'. To me that means do, and learn as much about the task as I can. Though I still enquired about farming it out because like anyone I want to get a really good end product. I got estimates from people on the internet for £5k and from businesses around £12k. The latter was based on something like 120 - 200 hours labour. £12k was way out of my budget given this is a hobby project. I only found 1 of these mythical £5k bodyshops near me. Given it was a bit of a gamble I figured I'm confident enough to do a good job myself, something that 80% of people will think that looks great and the other obsessive 20% will find flaws. If I do it myself I know exactly what's what, the process used, and if I mess up it's on me and I don't have to argue it out with someone to get it put right or money back etc. At a rough count I'm about 40 hours into the bodywork and I'm still enjoying it.. though I've started talking to myself rather a lot. I'm glad I'm able to do it whilst I'm young because the sanding becomes quite a workout.

Opened the garage door and manoeuvred her over to make some room to start sanding back the otherside. Plan after this is to get her up on stands so that I can sand around the bottom of the tub - with some luck I'll be able to do that from my stool rather than crawling around on the deck.