Lagoonblue's MK2 1600 deluxe

[nascar66 74]

I only use sand paper or emery paper to remove very light scratches on a satin finish and then finish with scotch brite.

The trick is keeping the lines straight. 

 

For what you are doing you just need to be careful you don't create any low spots with abrasive wheels or sanding discs. 

If you use a flap wheel you can round the corners off slightly with an old grinding disc. Obviously held in the hand and not fitted to the grinder. 

 

I'm sure you'll have no trouble.

 

[LagoonBlue 124]

Thank you all for the tips!

 

 

Here is one thrown on an old rim. Not perfect but certainly passable. It's going to get dusty and scratched after a few miles anyway

I think that the most important thing i learned was to get all the scratches out before continuing to the next step as any left behind will stick up later like a sore thumb. Quite obvious really but learning to read the surface takes it's time, many a times i had to go back a step or two. Gutter trims and the like should not be too big of a challenge after these.

 

And i tip my hat for anyone capable of doing a truly flawless mirror finish, it's a lot off work! 

 

[Dave A 17]

Wow, what a load of spares, you got his whole extensive collection....cheap too!! That's a brilliant shine on those hubcaps for being the stainless ones...I always thought the chrome ones were a bit shinier. I presume your series 1 door seals the sort of flat  sealing edge vs the tubular series 2 type. Are they all molded to fit into the upper channel and lower retaining clips? 

[nascar66 74]

The hubcaps look great. 

[LagoonBlue 124]

On 3/4/2020 at 3:15 PM, nascar66 said:

The hubcaps look great. 

Thanks! I will be first to admit that i went full OCD on these but for a first try not all that bad

 

On 3/4/2020 at 1:35 AM, Dave A said:

Wow, what a load of spares, you got his whole extensive collection....cheap too!! That's a brilliant shine on those hubcaps for being the stainless ones...I always thought the chrome ones were a bit shinier. I presume your series 1 door seals the sort of flat  sealing edge vs the tubular series 2 type. Are they all molded to fit into the upper channel and lower retaining clips? 

Such loads do not come for sale often, i must have poached around the net for years before coming across this lot. Luckily it was during holidays and fairly close by so i was able to quickly snatch them up. Fella had recently sold his MK2 (i think a driver or mild project) and these were left overs from that.

Chrome caps are indeed better, they have a different hue and deeper shine and i presume that they do not need as much polishing when in use. But stainless is easier to rework.

Door seals are still on their wrappers but i will take a peek during the weekend. I should still have the originals stored (somewhere) to compare against. I know that East Kent has a patchy reputation but at least from a cursory glance these did not look horrible, though i will only know for sure when they are fitted to the car.

[LagoonBlue 124]

Checked the door seals, they are the "budget" glue on type without the molded edge or clips. Profile is quite close to the originals (flat). Material seems to be some sort of urethane rubber (a bit spongy) instead of real vulcanized stuff which is understandable due to presumed volume of sales. All in all seems serviceable but might be bit of a mongrel to install.

 

When i was compiling my order Burton had the molded type still in their catalog but with 0 in stock so i went with East Kent offerings instead.  Now Burton has dropped the better type altogether in their catalog which is a shame.

I still need to buy rear side window seals and with those my choice is limited as i think only one company in Australia makes them. Should really get that done while still available..

[LagoonBlue 124]

Some odds and sods..

 

I helped a friend with installing glasses on his project. Some strange non Ford thing i believe

Extremely good practice for when it's my turn. Was much easier than i thought, just keep rubber lubricated with dishwashing soap + water in a spray bottle and do the string trick (though we used electrical wire instead). It's definitely a two man job.

 

Stripped the spare wing. Front has some damage and back end had a fair amount of filler. I have yet to decide whether to fix this one or the original, i will sort that out when it gets a bit warmer outside.

 

Next i plucked engine out of the running jig;

 

And installed it on a proper engine stand (was on sale for 69€)

Block heater will definitely be deleted later on.. Stand is rated for 450 Kilos (1000 lb) but that feels a bit optimistic so..

 

Off with his head! Much lighter now and sooner or later it needs to come apart anyway. Only broke one exhaust manifold bolt in the process, manifold itself is a goner too but that i knew already and have another prepared.

 

Now i can also see what's going on inside;

One small scratch on number four cylinder..

 

And a sizeable step on the back wall. Cylinder four is the worst as usual but others are also fairly worn too as i can jiggle pistons quite bit in the bores. Beyond honing but that's no surprise, from the start i knew that it will need a thorough rebuild. This thing must of smoked like a chimney back in the day 

I do not have a proper bore gauge but roughly measuring with dial calibers the bores seem to be the stock 80.9mm so there should be enough meat left for oversizing.

 

I bathed the upper part with WD40 and strapped a plank to serve as protection for now.

 

Luckily the plague has not reached here for the time being but for when it does i rummaged around the house and found these;

*all bought ages ago, i might be bit of a hoarder but not an a-hole.

 

Should last me a bit this lot  plus i have this social distancing thing well practised as i did it even before it was cool..

In the mean time i still have to go to work as usual (hands on job) even though it's not something i would call even remotely essential

 

Well that was longer than i thought, stay safe out there!

[nascar66 74]

My wife has one of those VWs. I need to get it back on the road but I'd much rather work on my own projects. She can't drive it anyway under lockdown conditions. 

[LagoonBlue 124]

On 4/2/2020 at 7:41 PM, nascar66 said:

My wife has one of those VWs. I need to get it back on the road but I'd much rather work on my own projects. She can't drive it anyway under lockdown conditions. 

 

Not necessarily my cup of tea but i can always appreciate any vintage car. Though I must confess that i am a wee envious on the parts support on those bugs

 

On the same note i am slowly warming up on the MZ, even took it for a short spin yesterday since we are not yet under full martial law. Was a bit nippy at +5°C but it ran fairly well, no major issues to deal with.

 

Small side project, a rack for my rattle cans. These were taking way too much self space and were hard to get at. Took ages to cobble together as it fought me all the way through but that's just how these things go sometimes. Anyway the end result works well.

And why do i have 4 cans of silicone even though i hardly ever use any

 

Another side project, i took four of my spare starters apart and turned their commutators on the lathe at work. Has been years since the last time i operated a lathe but still have all my fingers attached

 

Little more engine dismantling,

I put a catch pan under the engine and turned it upside down. Nice big dent on the oil pan but i have a fixed spare for that.

 

Innards seem to be all there. Oil pickup mesh might be little bent(?) but otherwise looks ok.

 

Cam is past it, no surprises here. Now i am wondering if i should get a little hotter cam kit since there is no real differences on prices, maybe BCF1 or similar? But i am likely keeping the stock Ford carburetor so there might be some issues with that combination

[nascar66 74]

That's a great solution for the rattle cans.

 

I know very little about tuning engines so I'll be very interested to see what you do cam wise. 

[LagoonBlue 124]

On 4/11/2020 at 10:19 PM, nascar66 said:

That's a great solution for the rattle cans.

 

I know very little about tuning engines so I'll be very interested to see what you do cam wise. 

 

Not that i'm any expert in the subject too.. I remembered that i have another block on storage with a decent cam in it but after taking a closer look it was a 711 block so i do not think it will fit 

Would be better block to tune but i'm going with the one that belongs to my car. Of course a new cam kit would cost a bit but who's counting at this point and new is always new.

 

Speaking of new, i finally bought the seals for the front and rear quarters;

That should be it for the seals, i hope. Also bought the dynamo bracket that was missing on my car while i was at it.

These feel like excellent quality seals, should plop right in. From a friend of the forum too if i'm not mistaken?

 

Little actual work too;

This was the stud that broke when i removed the (very broken) exhaust manifold.

 

I protected the machined surfaces with an old rocker cover and thin aluminium flashing and welded a nut to the stump that was left.

 

After couple attempts it came off. Trick was to wait for weld to cool and heating the head with a small torch. And lot's of penetrating fluid too.

Really happy about not having to resort to drilling. 

[nascar66 74]

That's a clever solution for the broken stud. I'll have to remember that one. 

[68 Cortina 17]

Hi i see in your job lot of spares you got a heater like mine,it has longer tubes on the sides with diverter butterflies to move air flow to side windows or screen,has two choke style cables either side of heater controls on dash,i had never seen one like this before.

[mk2sav 37]

6 hours ago, 68 Cortina said:

Hi i see in your job lot of spares you got a heater like mine,it has longer tubes on the sides with diverter butterflies to move air flow to side windows or screen,has two choke style cables either side of heater controls on dash,i had never seen one like this before.

This is correct for early cars - as you say , the easiest way to see is the cable operated air vents . 

[LagoonBlue 124]

And for series 2 they seem to have switched to plastic. My original box was hacked to pieces (VW fan adapted to it) so i restored a plastic one from my '69 parts car but now i can fix up a proper unit by combining all the bits and bobs from my collection.

 

Sometimes i wonder if they built any two Cortinas the same