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Downstairs Dave

Mk1 GT Resto/2 door conversion

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Well I've finally started the restoration and conversion on my Mk1 65 GT, its going to be a Jim Clarke Team Lotus replica, these are the cars I remember as a kid when my dad took me to Crystal Palace and Brands Hatch back in the late sixties and early seventies, and I always dreamt of owning one.

I would love to have a genuine Lotus but the prices are far too high, especially as I want to do track days.

As for power and transmission this will be from a 1.8 Mazda MX5 and later on with added Supercharger.

Edited by Downstairs Dave

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Well I've finally started the restoration and conversion on my Mk1 65 GT, its going to be a Jim Clarke Team Lotus replica, these are the cars I remember as a kid when my dad took me to Crystal Palace and Brands Hatch back in the late sixties and early seventies, and I always dreamt of owning one.

I would love to have a genuine Lotus but the prices are far too high, especially as I want to do track days.

As for power and transmission this will be from a 1.8 Mazda MX5 and later on with added Supercharger.

 

Can anyone help me with uploading pictures, I must be doing something wrong, cheers..

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Managed to work out the picture upload, does help if you read the instructions.

 

 

IMG_0900_zpsc9c285d9.jpg

 

bth_IMG_0898_zps975de23f.jpg

Edited by Downstairs Dave

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Good luck with the build mate, shell looks ok in the picks, look forward to following your thread, you'll get loads of help and encouragement from the guys on this site :thumbup:

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Spent the afternoon mounting the shell to a dolly, this was what I used to use when restoring Mk1 Mexicos, but with a few modifications it works well.

19Mountedonthedollyandtippedtoonesideandreadyforstonechipandtopcoat_zps2c426872.jpgavo040_zpsf1bbaaa1.jpg

IMG_0928_zps7977d4a3.jpgIMG_0930_zps31f1c340.jpg

IMG_0932_zps39bc0dec.jpgIMG_0929-Copy_zps2332e94b.jpg

The good thing about this set up is the fact that I can mount the suspension and mock the Mazda Gearbox and engine mounts.

Edited by Downstairs Dave

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Thats awesome, very interesting concept.

What work does it need bodywork wise?

Look forward to more updates :thumbup:

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Thats awesome, very interesting concept.

What work does it need bodywork wise?

Look forward to more updates :thumbup:

 

 

No that much really, Strut tops, front outriggers, few holes around inner rear tub, very bottom of A posts and the usual rot in the spare wheel well, but no doubt I will find more when I start stripping the paint and start poking around.

Will post some close ups tomorrow. got to close down now missus is moaning about the time I've been on the lap top (got to keep her happy!!!)

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Looks like it's in good hands :thumbup:

Keep the pics coming ;)

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It was all going so well until you posted the escort pic :ninja:

 

Nice truck!

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Very interesting project,look forward to following this thread.

Its just a shame another genuine 2 door GT is lost for ever, i would

of thought selling that & buying a 2 door deluxe would

leave you more free cash to do your conversion.

But hey ho,who am i to judge.

Best of luck with your project. :thumbup:

 

Bob

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Here are some pictures of the main problem areas, as you can see they are the usual suspects.

IMG_0925_zpsbe071a03.jpg

N/S front sill to floor area is the worst, but the O/S seems pretty good.

IMG_0926_zps311b315c.jpg

Small hole in the floor on top of the centre cross member.

IMG_0927_zps379a6ce2.jpgIMG_0924_zps13e233f5.jpg

More pictures tomorrow.

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Very interesting project,look forward to following this thread.

Its just a shame another genuine 2 door GT is lost for ever, i would

of thought selling that & buying a 2 door deluxe would

leave you more free cash to do your conversion.

But hey ho,who am i to judge.

Best of luck with your project. :thumbup:

 

Bob

 

Id swap him for mine :D

 

But then id probably do the same lol

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Very interesting project,look forward to following this thread.

Its just a shame another genuine 2 door GT is lost for ever, i would

of thought selling that & buying a 2 door deluxe would

leave you more free cash to do your conversion.

But hey ho,who am i to judge.

Best of luck with your project. :thumbup:

 

Bob

 

Hi Bob, the car is actually a four door, but I have a 2 door roof and rear quarter panels, so the first job will be the 2 door conversion (welded at the natural joints, no cut and shut) also I only got the bare shell ( through eBay) as the bloke sold all the other bits

I know what your saying about original GTs but hopefully there wont be that much cutting/modifying the body so it could be returned back to genuine.

Its nice to know you guys are out there making sure our heritage is kept,

 

Dave

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It was all going so well until you posted the escort pic :ninja:

 

Nice truck!

Thanks for the comment, spent the last four years building the truck, now its finished I'm straight into the next project much to the annoyance of my wife (she has no soul!)

Sorry about the Escort, but it was for illustration purposes only.

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What is the truck? Looks lovely we need more pics!

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