Time to pause and draw breath
Ihave returned to work after a few months furloughed, and while I was very happy to do so, this has meant that time for classics is more limited. Although things are very far from ‘normal’ and are likely to remain that way for some time, I’m now back to the production levels I was at in those far off pre- COVID days. Still, I’ve been lucky and made far more progress this year than I could ever have imagined. So in addition to outlining the work over the last month, I’ll be taking stock of where the various cars are at and how I intend to push these projects forward over the coming months and into 2021.
After a huge push, I have finally got a good coat of epoxy primer onto the 1950 Lowlight Tourer, the welding of which I reported on last issue. In that report I had made a start on the grit blasting, which was progressing slowly. Just after the issue went to press, going back to work full time brought this work to a near stop. With the temperature dropping and half the car in bare metal, I needed to get this stage finished and some paint onto the body before the winter as the increased condensation would have made the metal rust again. A special shout out must go to my dad who, being retired, was able to devote countless hours to finishing this thankless task so we could paint the bodyshell before the temperature dropped. I think blasting like this is about the limit of what you can do yourself, and as I have said before, if you can afford to get a car dipped, I would seriously consider doing so!
I have found it best to use an epoxy base coat, as this provides a durable non-porous barrier (unlike etch primer) whilst still keying into the bare metal to make a tough first layer. This was brushed on, and with a few coats of two-pack primer and a sanding block should form a good solid basis for the layers of top coat in due course. I will soon be spraying inside all the box sections with Waxoyl to stop it rusting away from the inside – after all, it will have to live in an unheated
shed for a while yet,
Once this is done, I’ll be taking time to have a good sort out and tidy up before proceeding with the next stages of the project, which will be to get the shell out of the tipper and onto its running gear again. This means getting the springs, rear axle, torsion bars, kingpins and front hubs out of storage, and painting them ready for fitment. Some of this has been made less onerous because
I had previously refurbished many of these parts for fitment into my 1950 Lowlight Saloon before opting to fit a larger engine and later axles. Beyond this, I’ll make a start on rebuilding the engine and blasting the various body panels and doors of the Tourer.
For now though, I think I’ll take a bit of a step back from the project whilst I focus on the rest of the fleet. On the whole, the collection is in a far better position than a year ago, even if there are still plenty of jobs to keep me busy over the winter (aren’t there always!). The 1950 Lowlight Saloon is generally in pretty good condition, although the engine vibrates at low revs and it uses oil, so I want to take this out at some point to have a look. Whilst I am there I want to try and improve the paintwork and give it a good cut back with a polishing mop; I think I was too cautious when I first cut back the paint and some areas could be improved with a more thorough going over. Finally, I’d like to try and make the exhaust quieter, as this rather lets the car down when cruising at speed.
Lily, my 1967 four- door Saloon, is just about finished following the re-paint about 12 months ago. The only things I still want to sort are the rear telescopic adjustable dampers, which still seem to be bottoming out and spoiling an otherwise smooth ride. I also want to fit oil pressure and temperature gauges, along with a cigarette lighter socket and some better speakers. The indicator switch assembly could also do with refurbishment, and I think the driver’s seat has a bit of a sag and needs replacing.
Horris, the 1970 Morris 1000 van which dad is leading on, hasn’t progressed much over the summer while our attention has been on the Tourer. Regular readers will remember that this was meant to be a quick restoration, and that it was a working vehicle when we started, although the scruffy yellow paint made it too embarrassing to drive! With many coats of oil-based brush paint on it over the years and it had originally been our intention to just brush it again, but some months ago a decision was made to do a bare metal respray as there was just too much rust and cracked filler to get any sort of decent finish. Every panel has dents and repairs, so it’s going to take a lot of smoothing down with filler. As a result of the serious help dad gave with the blasting, it’s likely that after getting the Tourer onto four wheels, much of my attention will be diverted to assisting on this project. Still, it could be worse. It’s in a nice warm shed, with a stereo…