My Series 1's Transformation and Modernisation

[stormracer]

Looking good Derek

[Dereksjoint]

[Ade]

Looking forward to seeing this all come together! Should be a cracker.

[Dereksjoint]

[Dereksjoint]

Not updated the thread in a while due to moving house and working away from home to pay for it all

The boys at MJ Racing have now finished the fab work and have removed the last of the parts from the shell

New Gearbox Mount



New Torsion Bar Mount



New Engine Top Mount



And 1 Bare Shell



It then sat about for a couple of weeks but it had some good company












The Shell and all the panels are now at SPL in the queue waiting to be dipped which can take 3 to 4 weeks so it's a waiting game now.

[Dereksjoint]

Well after 5 weeks at SPL I finally got the call on Monday to say the shell and panels were ready to be picked up

Managed to get the shell transported back up on Wednesday but I never got a chance to see it until today

























This next picture is whats left of the bottom of the drivers side rear arch














There appears to be a fair bit of micro blistering on some of the panels which we previously thought were good so looks like many hours on the internet trying to source the panels required and another grand or 2 to chuck on the fire

[gibby]

Was there not an option to get it coated after Derek ?

As it'll be hard to get the paint in to all the areas and will end up all being rusty with the dampness in the air when it's getting welded

[Dereksjoint]

[Adam-M]

Superb mate just read all the way through. Best of luck with the car!

[gibby]

That makes more sence that Derek thought there must have been a reason behind it lol

[mikeymikeyp]

thats good progres mate and the shell aint too bad

[cutch]

Wish I had my shell dipped at the time but it costs a fortune doesn't it! Or is that galvanising I'm thinking of

[boeb]

[Dereksjoint]

[Dereksjoint]

Thought it was time to post a wee update on how the car has been progressing over the last month or so after coming back from it's dip at SPL

New front panel has been riveted in place to allow everything to line up before being welded in place




Thankfully the scabby old front floor pans are out and new repair sections are getting welded in





Inner and outer sills are being replaced both sides to allow for a fresh clean look to the panel joins between the floor sections and the sills











I've not managed to get down to see the car over the last couple of weeks as I'm back working away from home to pay for it all but the boys at MJ Racing posted some pics up on Facebook for me so I could see how it's coming along.

This was the new boot floor panel I picked up a couple of weeks ago








The troops have been busy chopping more bits off the car








After fitting new inner sill sections they added an extra reinforcement panel down the full length of both sills to help strengthen the shell as I'm reluctant to put a cage in the car.













Just awaiting a new Passenger side A pillar to arrive and the passenger side should be complete

[Dereksjoint]

I managed to pop into MJ and get a look at the car today as I've been working up in Aberdeen for the last few weeks so I haven't seen much progress other than the pics the boys had previously sent me via Facebook.

I've got to admit I was pretty shocked when I saw how much work they've put into the shell over the last few weeks. I'll let the pictures do the talking









They have fitted reinforced sections around the rear chassis legs and rear cross member joints again to help strengthen the shell



















































Almost all of the welds still need to be buffed down but the car doesn't look to far from being finished and ready for it's return visit to SPL for another dip and an e-coat

[Dereksjoint]

Well the welding works were completed some weeks ago but due to the e-coating plant being shut down for 3 weeks over the summer I'm unable to get the car back down to SPL until the start of September

Anyways here's a couple of pics of the finished shell









While the boys have been busy over the last few months welding the crap out my car I decided to tackle a job that I'd been putting off for a while.








At first the plan was just to clean the exterior casing but once I started to see shiny bits I ended up getting a wee bit carried away. I started with a wire brush then moved on to the dremel to remove all of the oxidization and cast marks.












































After removing all of the cast marks with the Dremel I then spent between 300 to 400 hours hand sanding the gearbox from 120 grit all the way up to 4000 grit.






































Not a job that I would recommend but I must admit I'm very happy with the end results although I will most likely go over the full box again with 2000 wet and dry just remove some minor marks and scratches that are still visible in places.

[andy-mac]

that's some job you have made of the gearbox do you have any finger tips left

[Dereksjoint]

[cutch]

Jesus mate, that's some job on the gearbox!! Well done, you've got more patience than me.

Saw the shell leaving today for the dipping place too