Lagoonblue's MK2 1600 deluxe

[LagoonBlue 145]

Things don't always go as planned...

 

March was really busy at work and just after everything was beginning to settle back to normal the bombshell dropped:

I got diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, spent a week in hospital as a result.

Reflecting back I was lucky that this was found out before anything irreversible happened but oh boy does it still suck :thumbdown:

So much to sort out with this sickness, very tiring at times.

 

Cortina will still happen but may take longer than planned. Luckily Spring is coming and that will help a lot with everything.

 

won't give up, gotta keep going. Cheers to all

 

-Peter

[LIFE OF BRYAN 0]

1397397937[/url]' post='539344']

Things don't always go as planned...

 

March was really busy at work and just after everything was beginning to settle back to normal the bombshell dropped:

I got diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, spent a week in hospital as a result.

Reflecting back I was lucky that this was found out before anything irreversible happened but oh boy does it still suck :thumbdown:

So much to sort out with this sickness, very tiring at times.

 

Cortina will still happen but may take longer than planned. Luckily Spring is coming and that will help a lot with everything.

 

won't give up, gotta keep going. Cheers to all

 

-Peter

Best of luck Peter with your Cortina project, and good health to you,

[Cortymk2 0]

Things don't always go as planned...

 

March was really busy at work and just after everything was beginning to settle back to normal the bombshell dropped:

I got diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, spent a week in hospital as a result.

Reflecting back I was lucky that this was found out before anything irreversible happened but oh boy does it still suck :thumbdown:

So much to sort out with this sickness, very tiring at times.

 

Cortina will still happen but may take longer than planned. Luckily Spring is coming and that will help a lot with everything.

 

won't give up, gotta keep going. Cheers to all

 

-Peter

[Cortymk2 0]

Best of luck Peter with your Cortina project, and good health to you,

Good luck mate I'm doing a deluxe mk2 and is taking longer than planned because of work and the dreaded neighbours keep us posted regards peter.

[LagoonBlue 145]

Thanks to everyone for the kind works here at BSC and in real life, slowly getting the hang of all this diabetes stuff...

 

On the upside of things, finally managed to get a good full day working with the car and got the drivers side floor panel sorted, no more flintstones mobile for LagoonBlue :D

 

 

Even managed to replicate the swaging (if that's the right word for it?) on the floor panel. Used a ballpeen hammer, some scraps of wood and a bag of sand. Not perfect by any means but secretly i'm kinda proud of it as this is the larges and most intricate panel i have made to date ^_^

 

Paint is only temporary, i'm thinking of having the car hydroblasted after welding is done.

[myle087 2]

Thats a great job Lagoonblue well done ,mind me asking what exactly is hydroblasting.

[MK5 V8 1]

jet washing :thumbup:

[LagoonBlue 145]

jet washing :thumbup:

Yep :thumbup:

 

But not with your average kärcher, pressures involved are around 1000-3000bar (145000-43000Psi :shocking: . UHP (ultra high pressure) hydroblasting is mostly used for industrial purposes. Process is supposed to be gentler compared to sand blasting and does not leave such a mess behind. There is less abrasive medium used or none at all (straight water), important thing is to get the car immediately dried and primed but that should be included in the process.

 

Never seen this in person but it has been highly recommended to me by people in the know.

[LagoonBlue 145]

These pics are mostly for my own reference before i sand blast the fan.

 

 

Gloss black with 16~23mm wide white tips, reverse solid gloss black.

 

 

Looks just like a dulled lawn mower blade, won't be putting my fingers anywhere close when that thing is spinning :lol:

[LagoonBlue 145]

Some more work done with the cortina B)

 

 

I made a path panel to passenger side inner sill and welded it on. I had done this bit in the beginning but it had distorted quite badly when welded, this time around i made sure to brace the sill with angle iron and clamps and made only small welds. Came out ok. Shame that i have only 925mm wide sheet in stock as i would of rather made this bit with only one piece.

 

Still loads of more to do, before even thinking about a rotisserie i will complete the sills as the shell will be stronger that way, maybe even add some more bracing inside before that :headscratch:

 

 

Not pictured are all the small bits and bobs that i have done, got a shelf full of those ready.

Progress is slow as i'm learning as i do and having to pace myself so that my BG levels don't go too low. But i'm not in a hurry with this resto, quite good therapy in fact :lol:

[LagoonBlue 145]

A wee bit of progress again..

 

Cleaned the tank, and what a pig of a job that was :angry2: But under a generous layer of underseal, dust and crud was a nice solid unit, albeit slightly dented. Washed the insides with petrol, diesel, turpentine, denatured alcohol, Würth pineline and water. Basically with everything that i had in hand :lol: Denatured alcohol seemed to work best for cleaning the solidified petrol remains (luckily there had been a sniff left as that had keeped oxygen away)

 

Fuel sender seal is a standard size O-ring, but i lost the receipt and allready forgot the dimensions :blush:

 

Wirebrushed;

I removed underseal with heat gun and scraper, and after that sprayed with turpentine and cleaned with a rag followed by light wire brushing.

 

Primered with 2-pack epoxy compatible with zinc plating;

This was my first time spraying with epoxy primer and i most likely thinned the paint too little or had a too small nozzle as the result was somewhat rough. I'll finish with hammerite gloss black.

 

Inner sill work;

I finally found the right recipe for not warping the metal while welding :thumbup: Brace with angle iron where ever possible, keep the welds short (1,5-2cm) working in different sections at a time and follow each weld with compressed air to cool it.

[LagoonBlue 145]

Work continues...

 

Managed to fabricate right side sill end, this was fairly complex piece to make so i had to patch it together from several pieces. This section had been hacked previously which did not help. Gotta love those 80's bodges for MOT :thumbdown:

 

 

 

 

Rear arch had been repaired (pop riveted in place :huh: ) at some point and did not seem to fit properly. At that point i noticed that they are not even form a Cortina but snipped from Escort or some other car. So i have to source those too before i can finish the sill end :angry2:

 

Maybe i should change my username to BadLuckPete :lol:

Ah, the joys of restoring old cars.

[LagoonBlue 145]

BSC to the rescue! I read from here (though can't find the link anymore) that front arches can be used in the back by flipping them from side to side and looking at pictures they do seem to be the same. :)

 

And i have a pair from my spares car that i don't mind cutting, not the best of condition but better than making the arches from scratch.

[cardinal red 19]

excellent work :thumbup:

[G.O 19]

BSC to the rescue! I read from here (though can't find the link anymore) that front arches can be used in the back by flipping them from side to side and looking at pictures they do seem to be the same. :)

 

And i have a pair from my spares car that i don't mind cutting, not the best of condition but better than making the arches from scratch.

Replacement rear arches are available from the MkII clubs - got to be a better option than cutting up a pair of front wings if they themselves are good enough to be saveable?

 

Some great work going on there, love seeing this sort of thing. Keep the pics coming