You are here

The rebuild

The 1993 Rebuild...

Although the engine was rebuilt and the top half of the car resprayed in 1986 by my late father, the car had suffered some deterioration, not least a worn engine and rebuild at the beginning of 1990.  In addition, with the drop in lead content, the valve seats were suffering recession, and allied to the burnt-out valve following the fuel starvation issue in 1990, I decided that th ecar needed a total restoration - frankly, with the decision to emigrate to the UK in 1994, I wanted a project to keep me busy during 1993.

So, I set to and stripped the body and set about respraying the car...badly!  I used cellulose and some attempts were excellent, but sadly as a whole it was a disappointment.  However, a local work colleague that did car spraying as a hobby/moonlighting activity came to the rescue and finished it off with a top coat of 2-pack that looked perfect (apart from the few runs from my efforts)!

So, to begin with the engine and front sub-frame came out and the bay stripped and resprayed.  Working on a large mine meant that it was easy enough to get access to clean the sub-frame and repaint it.  There was no rust at all, as salt on the roads is not an issue in South Africa, although some rust had taken place behind the s/steel trim pieces from the sea air.  Durban was worse for this problem - don't let the stories about South African cars not suffering rust fool you, if they came from the coast, it could be bad news.

Once the front end was back together and the engine refitted, attention turned to the rear. Notice the reddish tint in the before photo of the wheel arch, a common problem living and working near an open cast iron ore mine.  Again, no real problems were found and the underside was well under-sealed in preparation for the UK.

And finally, it was done!

Theme by Danetsoft and Danang Probo Sayekti inspired by Maksimer