Gold '78 Elite 503

[Farmer Bob]

 

3 months later I have the body back on again, much fiddling about with a single trolley jack and many breeze-blocks but all went to plan. I will have to remember where all the body mounting points were now. I suspect I will have to find a lot of new nuts bolts and large washers tomorrow!

 

[Barrykearley]

Baler twine and tex screws ??

[silverfrost]

Great progress Richard and a fast turn around to get the body off and back on with the restoration work done the rolling chassis also. Must be  a farmer thing with the breeze blocks as a friend of mine kept his on four block high concrete solid blocks when restoring his landy in the barn.   Looked crazy but he room to work was fanstastic.  Any idea when it will be seeing the paint gun. ?

[Farmer Bob]

I took the car to be painted today, very nervous but should be back in 2 weeks so time will tell! Time now to spend some time on the engine / gearbox. I had a peep inside the the gearbox and can only hope all is well but the gear lever does seem to be loose and floppy. Are there springs to hold it in a central position?

[soldave]

I had the same issue with lots of movement. I've replaced mine with a short shifter and it's sorted all my problems out. Straight swap too.

http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mk1-Mk2-Escort-Gp4-Rally-Car-4-speed-Quickshift-Gearlever-/131767781364

Really looking forward to seeing the paintjob by the way ?

 

 

[silverfrost]

Glad to see it has been sent off to paint already, super fast restoration 

[ramjet]

I feel this is going to look awesome completed.

I have known for a fair while now that the driveshafts are used as the upper linkage in the rear of the car. Seeing it like that makes you realise the compressive force that those drive shafts and the cv's must be under.  

[Loose Cannon]

You certainly don't hang about. Pictures please asap!

[ramjet]

I just had another look. Looks like universal drive joints and not cv's.  

[Farmer Bob]

I cannot post any photos currently as I have blown my quota with some photos that were too large early doors, I cannot seem to delete them so perhaps I will start again with a fresh username?

Presumably the shortshift lever has its own spring mechanism inside to return the stck too the central position?

UJ's are nothing to be scared of, unlike cv joints they have to be used in pairs, otherwise the output does not rotate at a constant speed. In agriculture we use them a great deal to transmit huge amounts of power and they do last for ever if you grease regularly but fail very quickly if not maintained. Also when working at a larger angle they require more maintenance.

 

 

[silverfrost]

Become a full forum member John,  I think that gives you more data or what ever you call it, I presume so, i am sure Bibs or other members will clarify   Do not delete your pics they are part of your cars history now, my photobucket pics got deleted and i was gutted, lesson learnt though never leave all your passwords stored on a computer the x wife has access to 

[Dunc]

3 hours ago, Farmer Bob said:

 In agriculture Lotus elites and eclats we use them a great deal to transmit suspension shocks and loads that they weren't designed to take at wide angles of deflection huge amounts of power and they do last for ever a smidgen longer than an Arsenal title challenge if you grease regularly but fail very ridiculously quickly if not maintained.

I've fixed it for you...

:-)

 

Also, definately become a full forum member - We want to see more pics of this beast, and besides contributing to the costs of providing TLF, it provides some useful member benefits.

[Farmer Bob]

Ha Ha, will do. Stripped cam covers and repainted today with wrinkle paint, sent carbs and inlet manifold to be vapour cleaned and rebuilt in Devon but not much left to do for a couple of weeks until I get some parts back, (except bumpers, master brake cylinder, engine bay parts etc etc!!).

Will pop some pictures on tomorrow, is the rubber finishing material, glued to the fibreglass that surrounds the air intake for the cabin and sits behind the master cylinder still available?

[mikeeech]

Quote a lot of the rubber moorings are generally available from ebay. A quick Google search will turn up http://www.rubbertrim.co.uk

[Farmer Bob]

Painting the cam covers was one of the most satisfying jobs I have done, they were hand painted red and now look much more original. I did not realize how good oven cleaner is at removing grime and have used it to clean up other engine parts since.

I used VHT wrinkle paint and am pleased with the results.

Also spent last weekend filling and sanding the bumpers before painting. The rear bumper ha seen a bit of action in its time so i built up with fibreglass, ground out the cracks and repaired with resin and filler, time will tell I suppose!

More importantly I took the bumpers to the paint shop yesterday and discovered the car was finished and ready to collect!

 

[Dunc]

Cam covers look amazing!

[CharlieCroker]

Looking really good, cam cover painting is definitely up there with the most satisfying jobs on the list, looking forward to seeing you progress. 

[silverfrost]

Fantastic work Robert, the cam covers turned out really nice, Looking forward to seeing the pics when she gets back from paint

[Farmer Bob]

Well, here it is then!  Garage floor painted and ready for arrival I picked up the car today.

I have to say I am a bit nervous now and can see why projects get to this point and fail, I have many bits and need some sort of order to reassemble. The problem is everything that I put back on the car needs painting or cleaning at the least and for a fair number of parts replacement is required. The list is fairly endless, radiator, fans, brake master cylinder, vacuum system for lights, wheels and tyres, interior, door windows ( goodness knows how the doors will go back together ) fuel system, carbs, exhaust, carpets, headlining etc etc and this is hoping the old engine and gearbox and wiring are good. Everything I require seems to begin with £200!

So I just need to knuckle down at the weekend and start painting / refurbishing some parts and focus on an order of reassembly.

I have now blown my budget so would anybody like to buy a nice black XKR?

Short term I have found some nice repair studs for the exhaust manifold so will post pictures of that next!

 

[Barrykearley]

That's looking lovely - keep pressing on - it will be worth it.

could be worse - with an esprit - it's always in lumps of £500. And normally those lumps come in pairs !!!

[mikeeech]

I tend to focus on the systems... I should get mine back next week and my approach will be steering column and pedal box, then get the brake servo in and get the brakes working... Get the engine and box in so clutch cable and speedo cable in with the dash board out, heat in with associated pipes to the engine, finish the cooling system, etc etc...

Just keep plodding on since it will all come together if you keep going forward on it.

Great colour BTW. It's looking really good

[purso]

That colour looks amazing great job so far must be uber satisfying getting to this point!!

[silverfrost]

Looks lovely Robert, the paint shop did a great job by the looks of the pics looking forward to seeing th ebits going back on soon, the alloy trim will be the best thing to see as it will complete the look and pull the whole car together, cant wait to see that bit.

[Dunc]

Stick at it! This is where the forum comes into its own. You get a bunch of cheerleaders encouraging you on the lows when it all feels a bit daunting!

You have the makings of a great car.

None of the bits you mention in your list are hard to find or that expensive. If your feeling daunted/low about things - go for the easy wins and the ones that help it look great - like the wheels and chromework. It's your car, and I can understand if you want to keep things original,but I'm not sure I would re-install the vacuum system -google the forum for mx5 headlight motors as a potential alternative. Similarly, the cooling fans are old, ugly and heavy - Modern stuff is much lighter and cheaper. I bought a twin pack of rad fans for my excel on ebay for something like £29.99.

I've been HUGELY impressed with the amount of progress you've made so far and your putting most of us to shame with the strides your project has taken in a short space of time. I'm still gathering parts for mine!

Dunc

 

[Loose Cannon]

Lovely job and thanks on behalf of the nation for keeping the colour gold.

The rubber trim you mention is not available exactly to the best of my knowledge - I looked everywhere! Be careful when replacing with anything else that if the profile is too tall it can crack the fibreglass under the bonnet. The original is also a sponge section rather than rubber so much more forgiving in that department.

2 minutes ago, Dunc said:

I've been HUGELY impressed with the amount of progress you've made so far and your putting most of us to shame with the strides your project has taken in a short space of time. I'm still gathering parts for mine!

 

^^^^^ This. Most people only get to your stage after many months/years, we are humbled.