I've just spent a few hours over the last two days getting rid of the last of the underseal from the back end of the car. What a disgusting job! I've been thinning it out using white spirits, which is pretty effective, but turns it into a sticky, tar-like goop.
It got in my hair, all over my hands, up my arms, on my face, down my back, you name it! And once it dries, it's bloody hard to shift. I've just spent 45 minutes in the shower and I still haven't got it all off. I think I'll have to hit the shower tomorrow armed with a bottle of white spirits.
But that's all the underseal gone from the rear (up to the rear bulkhead) now - all that remains is to get the welding done, take a wire brush to the surface rust, and then get painting. I've decided to use POR-15 all over the underside, I've heard some pretty good things about it.
Overall, the project seems to be dragging a bit; all I'm doing at the moment is cleaning and stripping stuff, which is dull, dirty and time-consuming! I'll be glad when this part is over and I can start putting the back end back together again.
Sunday, 26 August 2007
Sunday, 12 August 2007
Rust - ouch!
I've now got most of the underseal stripped from under the car, the main problem areas were the wheelarches - the stuff was 1/2 inch thick in places!
As I was suspecting, pulling the underseal off revealed a few areas of rust - Some worse than others:
Apart from the rear sills and the seatbelt mounting (last picture), this was all hidden neatly behind layers of underseal. So either it was there to start with and just sealed over, these were problem areas that weren't treated properly when the sealing was done.
The fact that the big hole in the wheelarch (Third picture) was covered up on the other side by a patch of fibreglass matting, and the NS sill had a huge lump of filler whacked into it doesn't fill me with confidence in any previous repairs, though!
On the other hand, that's pretty much it now - at least as far as the rear is concerned. I don't think there's much more hidden anywhere, as I now have a fairly intimate knowledge of the area!
Most of it looks pretty simple to fix, as it's all in the middle of single layered panels, with no complex curves or angles. Those rear sills are going to be pretty tricky though - there's three different panels joining in that area, all with different curves and angles. But I'm determined that I can do this myself, it's just going to be a steep learning curve for me!
As I was suspecting, pulling the underseal off revealed a few areas of rust - Some worse than others:
Apart from the rear sills and the seatbelt mounting (last picture), this was all hidden neatly behind layers of underseal. So either it was there to start with and just sealed over, these were problem areas that weren't treated properly when the sealing was done.
The fact that the big hole in the wheelarch (Third picture) was covered up on the other side by a patch of fibreglass matting, and the NS sill had a huge lump of filler whacked into it doesn't fill me with confidence in any previous repairs, though!
On the other hand, that's pretty much it now - at least as far as the rear is concerned. I don't think there's much more hidden anywhere, as I now have a fairly intimate knowledge of the area!
Most of it looks pretty simple to fix, as it's all in the middle of single layered panels, with no complex curves or angles. Those rear sills are going to be pretty tricky though - there's three different panels joining in that area, all with different curves and angles. But I'm determined that I can do this myself, it's just going to be a steep learning curve for me!
Thursday, 9 August 2007
Heads back
I phoned the machine shop today - the heads have now been skimmed and cleaned, and are ready to pick up. Nice and clean and shiny now!
As for the rest of the engine, I've just got to clean up the outside of the block, then the sump, and it's all done - I can put all the bits to one side and forget about them until it's ready to be reassembled and installed. Thankfully - I'm starting to get fed up with constantly smelling of paraffin!
I also checked all the crank journal and piston sizes, no problems there - they're all well within tolerances. So that leaves me to get a new camshaft, followers, rockers and shafts, timing chain and gears, rings, bearings, gaskets and seals. It's not going to be cheap, but as I've said before, there's no point cutting corners here.
Next up after this: the gearbox!
As for the rest of the engine, I've just got to clean up the outside of the block, then the sump, and it's all done - I can put all the bits to one side and forget about them until it's ready to be reassembled and installed. Thankfully - I'm starting to get fed up with constantly smelling of paraffin!
I also checked all the crank journal and piston sizes, no problems there - they're all well within tolerances. So that leaves me to get a new camshaft, followers, rockers and shafts, timing chain and gears, rings, bearings, gaskets and seals. It's not going to be cheap, but as I've said before, there's no point cutting corners here.
Next up after this: the gearbox!
Sunday, 5 August 2007
More on the back end
I've now got all the rear end stripped out, the last thing was the fuel tank this afternoon. In spite of all the horror stories I've heard about tank removal, it was actually a breeze - although it probably helped to do the job without the axle in the way! I'd left all the bolts soaking in WD40 since last weekend, with a reapplication on Wednesday, so it all came straight out, no problems.
The tank itself is pretty rusty, so I think I'll probably play it cautious here and replace it. All the fittings are fine, though, so they can be reused - just the pipes and hoses to replace.
On the bad side, the panel where the filler cap goes is a mess - a mass of rust, filler and what looks like silicon sealer. Something's going to have to be done about this, I'm just not sure what yet - I might take the opportunity to fit a later type locking cap if I can - I've never been too keen on having a non-locking cap on there!
Now everything's off, I've started attacking the underseal - what a bitch of a job! Some of it's coming off fairly easily, but I can see this is going to be a long, hard slog. Lovely.
The tank itself is pretty rusty, so I think I'll probably play it cautious here and replace it. All the fittings are fine, though, so they can be reused - just the pipes and hoses to replace.
On the bad side, the panel where the filler cap goes is a mess - a mass of rust, filler and what looks like silicon sealer. Something's going to have to be done about this, I'm just not sure what yet - I might take the opportunity to fit a later type locking cap if I can - I've never been too keen on having a non-locking cap on there!
Now everything's off, I've started attacking the underseal - what a bitch of a job! Some of it's coming off fairly easily, but I can see this is going to be a long, hard slog. Lovely.
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