Scotts of Sloane Square "Carry on" Campaign

[KIPVW 0]

I think the Dinotrol stuff is superb, it's dark coloured but seems to hold solid when it warms up a bit, you'll probably always get some running out once first re-applied but the majority will stay put.

 

They have a shop on ebay too with post free.

[James. 7]

Thanks paul, I'll give it a try.

 

Couple of spare hours today. After seeing the prices VW wanted for the heat shields, I thought "Best try to clean them up a bit". Went to work degreasing with a stiff brush. Then jumped inside and hit them with WD40 and a wire wheel on the drill. I'll have another go next week and if all else fails I could always break out the very high temp alu paint.

 

Had a go at the brake lines as well. They were looking a little past their best so why not give them a clean up and see if we can't bring them back.

 

Small rub with wire wool, prime and Hammerite (Wild Thyme for those interested). The colour isn't exact, but it is now consistent and free from scabs.

 

Couple of shots to mark where we're up to:

 

 

Edited July 25, 2023 by James.

[James. 7]

"Day 38 in the big restoration house"

 

Well it certainly feels like a sentence at the moment. Small fettle with the usual suspects and a few hours in the sunshine today and we're good to go. Dropping in to VW tomorrow so may even have some bits assembled by the afternoon.

[James. 7]

Following on from the last post, progress has been slow. I've spent most of the week off the road with a virus. Nipping into the garage in short bursts to get a bit of fresh air. Cleaning a bit here, fitting the odd bush there.

 

I've got pretty much all the bolts and clips for the front and rear subframe from VW (with a couple of exceptions) and am due to start bolting it all up in the very near future.

Front and rear shocks are built up. Wishbones built up with ball joints, bushes and drop links. Ready to install the heatshields and brake/fuel lines next, along with building up the rest of the engine support/subframe.

 

Here's an odd one. Whilst refurbing the parts I took off I noticed that the shock top mounts were black. It looks like someone from the factory had been extending the cars black roof lining theme onto other parts. The door/boot locks and bonnet catches had received the same treatment. As a result they've had their original coatings brought up to date.

Edited July 25, 2023 by James.

[KIPVW 0]

Looking good mate, am sure you wont need any help but if you get stuck with anything just as having recently done it all too.

 

A very satisfying task knowing that i did it all myself and have both good and bad memories of it all :lol:

[James. 7]

Thanks Paul, your offer is greatly appreciated.

 

And yes you've hit the nail right on its tete. Couldn't imagine handing the car on to someone else. It's the whole reason I bought it in the first place. To learn.

 

I like to think the really bad days are behind me. Days sanding, cleaning, laying on my back on a cold garage floor for what felt like days on end.

 

Assembling clean parts is an absolute joy.

[KIPVW 0]

Yeah, the stripping underseal and all that was truly awful but needed to be done. am sure you'll have a few issues. I particularly enjoyed the front roll bar bushes :lol: till i fathomed a plan ;)

[James. 7]

I've been a good boy over the past few weeks. Fixing the toilet, Removing and installing a shower, adjusting the satellite. Saving up garage time here and there. So today I went all in and got a full day of work in the bag.

 

You may recall at my disappointment of finding the rear sill of each arch rotted through. So today I entered new territory...

 

...Welding.

 

With lance in hand I set to work tacking new fabricated steel where the rusty stuff once resided. The passenger side was as I found it. Unfortunately the drivers side didn't fair so well. Upon closer inspection, the underseal was acting as a structural part of the body work !

 

After an hour or so, cutting out the rot and prepping the metal, we were ready for the new metal to be welded in.

 

Now I will be the first to admit that i am an absolute beginner at this welding lark. But we all had to start somewhere. And after an hour or so of practicing I was ready for action.

 

I know the welds are rough but once their dressed and cleaned up I'm sure they'll be fine. A good old coat with underseal won't hurt either.

 

Lastly we welded up the heat shield on the exhaust. Tres bon.

 

On another note, I had a bit of a koo. I'd been experimenting with a natty little product called Deox-C by those masters of the dark art at Bilt Hamber.

My results at finding a new tank heat shield where proving less than fruitless, so it came down to restoring the one I had. Shotblasting was a no go, so after 24 hours soaking in the Deox-C the results were proving pretty good. Brushed off the old crusty bits and popped her back in for another overnight bath.

Today I washed off the final crumbs of red rot from the husk of a shield and then there it was. A PART NUMBER !!! C'est magnifique ! Sadly the shield resembled a tea bag this morning.

Guess where I'm off to tomorrow. Der parts counter.

 

So there we are, all ready for some filing , filling and paint.

 

Feel like we're on a roll now.

Edited July 25, 2023 by James.

[James. 7]

Well, it looks like it's back to the drawing board on the heatshield (or should that be workbench?). I was quietly optomistic of there being stock somewhere, when I swung by the dealer this afternoon, what with it not showing on ETKA and all that. As it transpires, the reason it was hard to find is it's been obsolete since 1996 ! It's had a couple of revisions, but that particular route of enquiry is dead in the water like a smelly old whale.

 

So as a feel good back up plan, I went armed with other wants. A new rubber boot for the steering rack neck (obsolete) and a new foam gasket, for where the heater matrix meets the firewall (stock).

 

A cheap day at the parts counter then. Must be a first !

Edited July 25, 2023 by James.

[James. 7]

Managed to sneak into the garage for a bit of alone time with the VR this afternoon/evening. What with welding up the arches at the weekend and then undersealing them on Tuesday, I was itching to keep up the momentum.

 

So today I managed to mask off, scrub down, pre-paint and prime the rear arches and under apron. I'll give it another blow over tomorrow, followed by a basecoat on Saturday and Sunday. Giving it a couple of days, before I lay on the topcoat.

 

Hopefully once the rear suspension is fitted, It'll make me feel like progress is being made. Not a feeling I've had for a while.

Edited July 25, 2023 by James.

[fla 9]

very informative build thread as always James. Cant fault your dedication, and results to be proud of ;)

[KIPVW 0]

Wowsers! you're brave lol! good work there though but that'd terrify me.

[fla 9]

i dont think there's any Corrado job that could worry YOU Kip!

[James. 7]

Cheers chaps. I'm a real have-a-go-hero if honest. Which can be my downfall as well as saving grace at times. But that's the whole reason why I bought the car. To try new skills I haven't done before.

 

What with the old girl being highly immovable at the moment, my options for repair are limited. But considering I've got the tools at my disposal then why not. The main body paint work will be left to the professionals, but I don't mind doing the arches and less obvious places myself. There's a couple of small bits of paint to do ( the passenger door from when I backed into dads car, the week after it came from the bodyshop for one ). The other is a small scrape under the front bumper, a mini scratch on the spoiler and then the rear arch lips.

 

First things first though, let's get the mechanicals all bolted in place and then we can get lost in the detail.

 

Oh and as for the comment from Captain Corrado about being terrified.... Pffttchh, I don't believe that for a moment !

[James. 7]

Managed three layers of basecoat on the rears today. Finishing up with a clear coat later on. Plan to give it another coat tomorrow, followed by priming up the engine bay.

After much confinement based frustration, standing on my head in the cabin, removed the brake slave cylinder. Plan to clean and paint that up before re-fitting as well. Oscar did his best to help. His new Hotwheels play set saved our sanity later on.

 

Lastly, cleaned out the scuttle tray, ready for painting later in the week. After removing half a tube of black silicone (Thanks Diavia) that had been applied with the finesse of a two year old, it's all ready for a wipe down and a bit of paint.

Lots of jobs being crossed off. Can't sleep I'm that excited.

Edited July 25, 2023 by James.

[RedRado 0]

James - excellent use of the tabloid press! I am really looking forward to completion of your project and seeing the fruit of your labour in the flesh. Dave

[C5 OEM 0]

Top level work yet again..... real credit mate..... when its all done if you want a hand detailing just give me a shout... bring all my gear over..

[James. 7]

Thanks Dave, Andy.

 

Not quite ready for detailing yet. But rest assured I'll give you a shout when we're something like.

 

If I'm honest, I'm a little bit dissapointed. I haven't really touched the car since the last update. Too many other commitments. I've had the paint for the arches/engine bay/scuttle sat in the garage for weeks.

 

I managed to fit the rear suspension. Remove all the masking tape/paper. Clean a small amount of grease and prep some small scabs in the engine bay and that's about the long and short of it.

 

Corkills VW have the rear beam and wishbones, which they are very kindly fitting the bushes.

 

I breezed into the garage a few weeks back, with the express intention of kicking on. Ended up having a mother of all tidy up sessions.

 

Might see if I can get an hour or two in this weekend.

Edited November 3, 2012 by James.

[Rams 0]

I like seeing this type of work and I'm sure makes you feel better knowing everything is nice and solid/protected.

 

Keep it up!

[KIPVW 0]

Yeah good steady progress James, keep out going youth ;-)

[James. 7]

What with the 8valve having a couple of mechanical corrections remedied this weekend, I felt it prudent to share some mechanical love with the other Corrado in my life.

 

So today (somewhere around lunch time), Oscar and his mum tootled off to his Nans. Allowing dad the rest of the afternoon to spend in a freezing garage, with just automotive beauty, a couple of brews and Radio 2 for company.

 

First off was plugging the heater in. Once I got the feeling back in my fingers I proceeded to degrease the engine bay and arches, scotchpad it all down and then give it a wipe over with pre-paint.

 

Much to my fingertips disappointment, I opened up the doors and started to spray on the primer. Nipped back inside for another brew and to see who we had in the next round of the FA cup (Would have liked an away day at Aldershot, Harrogate or Crawley. But ended up with AFC Bournemouth at home if you're interested).

 

Not much to elaborate on after that. Just a couple of snaps for the family album.

 

Need a bit of warmth for the basecoat though.

 

 

Edited July 25, 2023 by James.

[KIPVW 0]

Wowsers, thats dedication indeedy James :) are you having a go with the gun then too?

[James. 7]

Rattle cans Kip. I know the purists will bang on about quality blah de blah, but to be purfectly honest, there's so many seams and underseal to distract the viewers eye from any small blemishes that after seeing how the rear lower apron arches came out, I'm confident of achieving a similar result. And let's be honest, how much of the bay paintwork can you see when the VR6 lump is dropped back in ? Not much at all.

 

Looks like I'll have to get the heat up in the garage before I paint it though. Last thing I want is a milky bay !

 

Sunday we paint !

[KIPVW 0]

Fair doo's Good luck with it chap ;)

 

It's actually possible to get a reasonable finish as I have done the very same thing to a section of external panel on the VR, Spot it if you can ;)

[ChrisL 17]

Well done James, plenty of paint then plenty to rub back if you need too.