Eclat 75 LAH

[CharlieCroker]

Looking great, can't wait to see the upholstery come back.

[mikeeech]

Good work. my wife would not approve of an engine in the house!!! How have you ever got away with that?

[igg-hiss]

Good work. my wife would not approve of an engine in the house!!! How have you ever got away with that?

Mike

it did have to travel around the back and through the conservatory doors, she would not allow it down the hall and through the kitchen.

If you want to pee the mrs off run the dellorttos through the dish washer, god i will never live that one down.

Regards Ian

[Barrykearley]

Crackle paint in the oven Ian - that's gotta be your next one.......

Legend

[directordanw]

Just out of interest (not of course that I'd ever dare do it) do the Dellortos come up nice from the dishwasher..? Just wondering...

[Barrykearley]

Just book a timeslot when she goes out shopping and bang em in with some fairy 3in ones and some Calgon!

[igg-hiss]

Just out of interest (not of course that I'd ever dare do it) do the Dellortos come up nice from the dishwasher..? Just wondering...

there was a marked improvement in their appearance.

[igg-hiss]

newly repainted heater box ready to go in, would be ready but for two reasons.

reason one. I need to source wheel box for window wipers.

reason two. Bosch are a shadow of their previous selves, ordered a replacement blower mot. Poorly made and even more poorly packaged.

now I have to wait again for a replacement one.

Boot lock reafixed with a newboot seal. Servo painted and the radiator painted also. Moving forward but needed in three months so really need to push on now.

Whew Ian

[esprit s2]

Looking good Ian! 3 months isn't that long, you've got your work cut out there.

[igg-hiss]

Looking good Ian! 3 months isn't that long, you've got your work cut out there.

I know, i really am going to have to pull my finger out as i have commited the car to NEC show, it would be really nice to have the car there. She is (baring the one coupe elite/eclat green prototype) the first Eclat, being a preproduction car signed over to marketing about two months before the eclat launch and has been off the road for 24 years.

I really get the impression that the next 2 months will be wake-work-lotus-shower-bed-repeat.

but one more saved.

[Dunc]

Well done Ian,

 

I'm full of admiration for this one.

D

[igg-hiss]

Tonights work

Disconnect the heater pipes on my triumph herald and connect them to the eclats heater matrix and run for 1 hour. The matrix sat there warm at tick over and hot under revs for one hour without problems.

While this was going on I rigged up the smaller bosch blower motor for a capri (delivered very quickly considering I only moaned about it to the supplier 2 days ago) into the eclats motor housing using the old motor outer case some 1mm plastic and 2 welds. On went the fan and sat in the right place.

While the herald was cooling down i fitted the servo and reconnected the master cylinder (although i will replace the two pipes as although they ar copper nickle i am jot happy with how they look.

Finished the night of by assembling the heater box, setting the cables and giving the motor a hook up to check the speed and giving it a trial fix.

Tommorow i think may back down the pedal box and cables.

[igg-hiss]

Should have done the cables, as i spent a dispiriting night faffing around with the seat belt strengthener inside yhe nearside sill.

Sill wont come off but just enogh space to fetvh 40 years of rust out. Then i had to die gring the securing scewws out.

I made up a test replacement. Idea seems ok, but it will mean messing around in a pried open gap the bonding the lower edge of the sill back in place.

Sad just thinking about it and I need to do the o/s.

The last owner but one, who was also the guy who arranged for me to buy the old girl came for a mot today. He was amazed she wasn't scrapped years ago. Nice to know i can suprise people.

[igg-hiss]

I have worked hard the last couple of days, but not seemed to have made much impact externally, the issue with the front seat belts has been resolved. New mounting brakets have been made which included the same imperial thread (relatively fine thread) they were squeezed in between the prised open sills and the rust that was all remained of the old ones was let free. The sill have been seam sealed back on and re riveted back up. The sills and the rear bumper have been rubbed down etch primed and the first couple of coats of matt black aplied to gauge finish.

All the tread holes in the roll cage and chassis have been tapped clean and i have started work on the rear seatbelt mounts.

To cheer my self up after removing the cylinder head on corsa and by freak accident breaking the windscreen, my son and I trial fitted the bumper and new rear lamps to see how she looked. Not to bad we thought.

[Dunc]

I made up a test replacement. Idea seems ok, but it will mean messing around in a pried open gap the bonding the lower edge of the sill back in place.

 

You could just remove the sill cover? It's a 10 minute job to take it off. Just drill out the rivets and seperate the bonding with a wide chisel?

 

Car looks great in the pics btw..!

[igg-hiss]

Dunc

Every single joint was bonded with resin all the way, they are on! I drilled out the rivets and started with a very fine wood chisel the sill would come to bits, the inner sill would splinter but the resin was impressively resolute in it desire to stay firmly just where it was. Much kudos to 40 year old resin.

The sounds of splintering on the near side, the level of bond and the fresh paint meant they were staying on. Not risking the paint and not risking them falling off in the future.

Regards Ian.

[Dunc]

Great if the job is done and you got the mounts in without removing the cover Ian.

 

Mine made some strange cracking noises when I removed them 10 years ago, but I guess I got lucky. I just shored them up with P40, resprayed them and refitted them.

[CharlieCroker]

How did you get to the seat belt bolts? Without removing the the sill covers you can't get to the nut, for ease of maintenance I drilled holes (with rubber covers) so that I can get to the nut without taking the whole sill cover off.

[oilmagnet477]

Charlie - all the fibreglass you keep removing is following in the Chapman mantra - "Lightness, Lightness, Lightness"

 

;)
 

[igg-hiss]

How did you get to the seat belt bolts? Without removing the the sill covers you can't get to the nut, for ease of maintenance I drilled holes (with rubber covers) so that I can get to the nut without taking the whole sill cover off.

charlie I had no choice but seperate a section of the sill about 18 to 24 inches long, then using a pair of wooded wedges I opened up a 1to 1.5 inch gap at the center. Die grind off the old seat belt bolt and the two reataining bolts knock through and through the gap clean all the rust out I then measured carefully and made a fresh plate. I only welded on the main nut and left two holes forthe securing pins fitted the main pin and the using to 10 mm headed pins I tightened the new plate up, using unusall dexterity to get the nuts on and spanner up while my son tightened them from in the car. Once this was done the plate stayed in place and the main bolt can be removed, reaseal the lower edge.

Swine of a job but not impossible. And definetly no need for blowing doors off.

[CharlieCroker]

Well dobe sir, no mean feat by the sounds of it. Regarding my access panels and holes, while I own this car I'll do anything within reason to make life easier when working on the car, if that means a few 'gentle persuasions' in strategic places then so be it. Nothing I've done is at all visible and helps greatly with maintenence and if I were to sell the car on the new owner can reglass them if they like, I still have all the plugs I've taken out!

[Dunc]

they are simply covers - no damage will be done by your mod. If you have black grommets, then why not?

[oilmagnet477]

Sorry - wasn't having a pop - I actually can't believe there wasn't already an access panel in situ - so a good mod me thinks

[igg-hiss]

I have got very little done this week, my son has repaired filled, filler primed, primed and painted the front bumper.

While i have spent every night peeing around with a corsa that won't run right. Not what i wanted to be doing.

I have now fitted the wiper motor and new wheel box, and permanently fixed the heater motor in place and started to address and final fix in place dash wiring and column stalks.

Today will be spent on the engine, but to cheer myself up i sneaked something through while washing the glasses.

[Dunc]

Genius!!!!

Kudos on getting It done without getting caught!