Scotts of Sloane Square Campaign

[Butterfly 0]

I really hope you do go and get yourself properly checked out soon (aka NOW) The www is great for car forums but search 'burns' and I'm sure you will see every site saying see a Dr for burns to the face of ANY category.

 

The car can wait.

Fingers crossed all is OK.

[Butterfly 0]

How are you doing James?

[C5 OEM 0]

Pictures or it did not happen...!!!!

[dragon green 4]

Pictures or it did not happen...!!!!

 

X2

[James. 7]

Went over to the walk in centre (mainly to make sure it wasn't infected), where they were happy it wasn't serious enough for me to require hospital treatment. Though they were wondering how on earth it happened.

 

I'd been slapping plenty of E45 and Vasoline on to keep the moisture levels up. And that's exactly what they told me to keep doing.

 

It's not hurting anymore, but I can't open my mouth to eat that well. The scabbing/cracking is stopping me from doing so. Just as well Jo has made a soup for tea !

 

Spent most of today stripping a Mk2 Raleigh Chopper apart. Going to give the frame a respray, rebuild all the mechanicals and have all the chrome work re-done. Hopefully with a bit of summer left to spare.

 

But for now, back to the indoors where Jo has very kindly handed me a glass of Jura. At least I can feel great, even if I don't look so

Edited July 25, 2023 by James.

[Big Adam 0]

James......next time give us a ring before you attempt to tackle any brambles!

 

looks like a wanted poster

[James. 7]

James......next time give us a ring before you attempt to tackle any brambles!

 

looks like a wanted poster

 

Common sense wanted more like.

 

What with the weather being as poor as it is, we're staying home. So feel free to buzz round, or I could swing by yours if it's easier. I'll have your parcel shelf as well, if it's up for grabs ?

[James. 7]

Started on the underside last week by taking off all the fuel lines/clips/heat shields etc. Looking to track down any hidden rot and broken underseal. What a bloody awful job it is. Every time I look at the car I end up filthy. Crawling round under the car, covered in filthy water like a rodent aint' my cup of tea if I'm honest. certainly don't want to be doing this job again any time soon so best to do it once and do it right then. Going to give the existing schutz a new top coat. It's going to need dabbing in here and there. so best to do it all so it looks right I say.

 

Anyhoo here's a couple of quick snaps. Not much to say but should have more updates soon as I start summer holidays on Friday. Back of the net !

Edited July 25, 2023 by James.

[Butterfly 0]

Those pics could so be taken in our garage ;)

Having cleaned 100k+ miles of road grime off the underneath of my orignal Storm while lying on the drive in the pool of resultant muck I leant that to get it steam cleaned first was a good idea. Second time around I went to a tools hire place that had a steam clean jet wash to get 90% off it off first.

It was almost a pleasure to do after.

 

Looking good, have fun with checking round the posts etc. I have that gem of a job to do yet.

[bmwcompact 10]

Hi James-hope your eyebrows/lashes etc now fully regrown.

I was thinking about you and those like you last week as I too was on my back getting filthy. I had been reading a post of someone else doing a mega restoration job and going looking for the onset of rust under the underseal.

In my case I decided to replace my rear beam mounts in my search for the smooth ride, and to replace the brake regulator since it seemed my front brakes were doing all the stopping despite recent looking rear calipers. My cause of consternation and cussing were the rear brake pipes-everyone of which was impossible to remove. I ended up replacing 4 solid pipes and 4 hoses. And the outcome? The ride is certainly improved-I think the bushes had lost all their resilience- and though the pedal is a little soft still, the rear discs are cleaning up now.

However I didnt do any undersealing while I was there, I didnt sandblast/powdercoat the rear beam (it got a quick cleanup and a couple of coats of paint), I dont have the patience or devotion that you show.

My joy at achieving was short lived. The car has started playing up-it runs rough on start up and doesnt want to rev. So Im playing around with the ISV, CSI, the thermo time switch, the throttle potentiometer etc etc . One day I hope to start enjoying Corrado ownership!

Keep up the good work. Hope Oscar is well-and dont forget Summer hols are for you to be with the wife and Oscar not the corrados!!!!!

[KIPVW 0]

:lol: just done this too mate, spent most of yesterday on my back with the drill for company. As you say mate i done wanna be doing it again anytime soon but then i have the Nugget to do too Doh!

[James. 7]

Judith: You're right. In hindsight I should have blasted it all off first but then again, this time last year I was "only going to clean the front end up". Couple of hours should see the rest cleaned off so not the end of the world.

 

Alan: You're really pushing on with the mechanics and always great to hear of another Corrado in the hands of a real enthusiast. And yes you're right, holidays are for Oscar and I to utilise. I tinker with the cars when the little man is at his Nans. Though he is showing an increased automotive interest on a daily basis recently, the beach, airport, tennis and swimming take precidence on our days together.

Back to the rear bushes. Did you see mine when I removed them (pictures on previous page) ? Both were cracked in half ! It went someway to prove that all moving parts should be checked and/or replaced at regular intervals.

 

Kip: I always get the feeling you wouldn't be happy unless you're up to your boots under a Corrado. That's not a bad thing in my world.

 

I'll check in next week with another snap or two. Thanks all.

[James. 7]

Well after a solid couple of days with matted hair and resembling someone who's been "darn't pit". The underside is well on its way.

It's fair to say that the underseal hides an absolute multitude of sins. I could see small 4/5 mm tears along the sill. The same along the rear lower apron and a break in the sealant at the front point of the rear lower arch. The rear arch had a small bubble at the base of both sides. After cleaning away 20 years of filth I kind of got carried away. I foolishly assumed that all the metal work would be in fair fettle. Fast forward an hour or so and boy had I been handed the wrong script.

It's fair to say at this point I was less than happy. But it's a restoration project, so hey just part of the project.

 

What I refer to above is the shock of seeing the underseal as being structural. I really couldn't believe my eyes. But after seeing other cars when this job has been carried out, shouldn't be surprised.

I therefore urge all owners (current or prospective) to mark this on their radar.

 

Looking at the sill, it drops away a little towards the rear. This in turn must be acting as a trap for moisture and slowly letting the dreaded red rot weave its dastardly daring dos into the doting drivers dreams.

 

Six hours on my back and the underside rot/bad underseal has all but been cut away. I'll tackle grinding and treating it next week (Looks like the welder is going to have to make an appearance after all). But for now here's a few shots to help build the scene.

Edited July 25, 2023 by James.

[daleyboy 0]

A heavy duty wire wheel on an angle grinder works wonders on areas like that, it makes the underseal turn into a white spiders web which covers everything, its good though cos all it leaves behind is good metal,

[MK1Campaign 0]

They all go on the sill there. When I owned OSV that exact area needed welding.

[Overmind 10]

Yep, mines the same. I bought an early vr6 once that had gone there early in its life and spread round most of the rear arch!

[James. 7]

I guess this really is a common rot spot. And what's a rot spot not ?

 

Annoyingly the sheet steel and welder is in work. And seeing as we only broke up last week, I won't be back in for six weeks.

 

Might have to sneak in next week as looking at is driving me crackers.

 

Expanding foam and filler ?

 

 

 

Joke !

[Butterfly 0]

For anyone getting worried and thinking of giving their C a good clean to check this area.....That box section at the rear of the sills should have tiny drain holes where the seam is not fully joined. I guess they allow water that enters from the front arch area to either drain out or provides some air circulation. If the holes get blocked on the inside by gritty road water entering or a general build up of road crud on the outside the rear arch sill area will sit in dampness and rot.

 

To check out the presence of a problem internally remove the rear cards and stick a camera down the opening that is just about accessible if your arms bend in wierd ways!

Taking pics with the flash on will show you the metalwork condition from the inside. (have lots of hankies near by, you may want to cry!).

Taking pics with the flash off will show if your drain holes are clear as you will get a few tiny bright spots in an otherwise black picture..

[James. 7]

Thanks for the tip Judith. That'll come in really useful when the repair gets underway.

 

When I chopped the grot out, a hand full of dirt/ sand/ grit fell out. It's obviously been building up over the past few years.

 

Kind of ironic that I bought the car because it visually didn't have any rust and hadn't had any paint ! And what with the comment about OSV needing the same job, guess it goes to show that even the best cars aren't immune from the red devil.

 

She's done 175k and was used as a daily hack before I bought her, so guess I can't complain too loudly !

 

Getting quite excited now. Once the underseal is finished, I can start building her back up. All those lovely P/C parts to be bolted back on. Really want to spend everyday on her, but as is the way, I have to earn money for the shiney new trinkets.

 

Note to self: work harder to buy more bits.

[Big Adam 0]

Fair effort James, dread the point when I look under mine! Might put it in a few gravel traps, that should get most the under seal off :)

[Henny 0]

Great work James... 8) I'm dreading starting work on my G60's restoration/reincarnation when I finally get around to it... it's already been sat for 6 years, and it's likely to be a while yet before I get the funds and time to put her back onto the road again... :|

[James. 7]

Don't fret Henny. All good things come to those who wait.

 

Just spent all afternoon cleaning and priming various random pipes / brackets / parts. Feel like all I do is wash, wire brush and set aside bits at the moment.

 

It's a bit of a double edged sword though. I can jump out of one job and into another if I feel it's wearing me down. On the other side, I feel like there's loads of jobs still left to do and none of them are finished (some are finished, I just feel that way).

 

Anyway, the brushable underseal should be here tomorrow. Zinga all the scabs. Dab in with a bit of seam sealant and hopefully should get the underneath finished.

 

Famous last words...

[James. 7]

So then, where were we ?

 

Ah yes, I was telling the tale of lying down on the garage floor, underneath the old motor for three days. Well, in between drifting off and dreaming of rolling the old girl out once more, I actually got a bit of work done.

 

Received the brushable underseal and set to work, giving the underneath a well deserved 21st century refresh. After being quoted £20 a tube for the VW stuff I did a bit of research and came up with some underseal from a company called Indasa. It's grey and comes in 1KG tins. I bought three tins for £30.

 

It's quite thick going on, but not un-workable. I added a drop of solvent later on, as todays heat was causing it to dry out quicker than I would have hoped. Glad I opened both garage doors though, as it was causing quite a dizzying effect. Weeeuuw !!!

 

I'll give it a second wash over on Friday but so far I'm wearing a big grin as I feel I'm quickly reaching the tipping point where all the parts start to get installed.

 

Here's a couple of before and after shots:

Edited July 25, 2023 by James.

[KIPVW 0]

lol the whole car belly :) looks fantastic mate. i've just done areas that needed it on mine and then a little body colour to protect it too, will also be spraying on some cavity wax to protect further.

[James. 7]

Thanks Paul. I'm chuffed to bits with the result if I'm honest. Just about to blow in a second coat and build up any relevant areas. Then it's off to VW this afternoon for an order of clips / screws / brackets / blanks excetteraaah exceteraaah !

 

Just had a quick bash with the heatshields ( wd40 and a metal bristle wheel ) and they're a lot better than they were. Think I'll give them a high temp coat though. Dont fancy taking them off again in a years time.

And lastly yes. Cavity wax will be the life blood of this machine once finished. Dad uses Waxoyl. Which one do you reccommend ?

 

I've heard stories of some waxes literally pouring out of the car when it gets hot ?

Edited July 25, 2023 by James.