“THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH A 202. IT'S A BEAUTIFUL CAR TO DRIVE – REALLY NICE"

Because I was working to a limited budget, it was important to do as much of the body prep as possible myself, before sending it off for paint – one of the few things I’m not really equipped to do. That’s hugely time-consuming, but worth the effort.

We decided to give the interior a complete refit – at least when it came to roof lining, soft panels and seats.

This car started life as an SL, and so has the standard dash. It does the job, though we did manage to source an SS steering wheel to jazz up the interior a little.

When it came to mechanicals, the original engine and transmission were stuffed. In the end I bought a VK wagon with an EFI 202 and Trimatic as a donor car. The machining was done by Seymour Engines, while I tackled the assembly and finish. It was a bit frustrating to discover the EFI wouldn’t quite clear the bonnet, so I fitted a Weber carburettor from a 4.1 Falcon as an interim measure.

What I plan to do is make up a new manifold out of two existing ones so the EFI can go in. It’s also running the VK distributor and coil.

There’s nothing wrong with a 202 – it’s a beautiful car to drive, really nice. Light on the steering – there’s no power steering, or other accessories. The daughters can handle it very easy.

I spent more time on it doing the hidden bits, to make it nice. So I did a lot under the bonnet – instead of having it nice on the outside and open the bonnet and it’s horrible, same under the hatch, around the doors and so-on.

Last on my list are some new headlight trims and one or two other pieces. I’m just waiting for them to turn up.

My advice for anyone tackling a restoration: first, keep going on the job. This took 50 weeks to complete. Second, watch the money side of things, as it’s really easy to blow the budget. I initially aimed to spend $14,000, but it ended up more like $18,000. Even so, I’m pretty happy.