For those that don't know, the original thread is here
It was originally going to be a donor vehicle, was then discovered to be in MUCH better condition than the original eBay pictures suggested.
A brief history:
So, the car arrived and the first step was to engage detective mode; Its the initial assessment to help get it back on the road as quickly as possible.dragonflyjewels wrote: ↑Tue Nov 03, 2020 9:29 pmIt's the usual story on a relatively rust free example - bought new by someone with a garage who loved it, looked after it and kept it long term. In this case until he died a few years back leaving it to be inherited by his son. The son used it for a year or so but had a very limited budget and no garage so problems weren't fixed and the car ended up just left parked on the drive. Our man the ace fabricator bought it with half an idea of doing it himself - he does all sorts of weird restorations and whacky conversions for some seriously wealthy clients so this was a bit ordinary for him, hence it ended up on ebay.
The car was already something of a bombsite. The dashboard, along with dash surrounds had been removed. The back seat was out and in a semi re-assembled state, and there was the obligatory "box of bits" in the boot. So, first step was an audit. What was missing, or needed.
Dashboard itself was awol. Messages have been dispatched to the Bodyshop to locate this, as it's a rare red/yellow plug version used on the earliest models.
We were also missing a rear washer jet - a tad annoying as I'd already donated my spare!
So, before going any further, it was time for a bit of decluttering! This:
Became this:
Because I'm going to have to have my head in that footwell quite a lot!
Popping the roof rails off revealed a surprising lack of filth build up - These are normally stuffed with horribleness!
One thing we did miss on initial inspection, were two tiny dents in the roof - You can make them out in the refelection of the tree
Although interestingly, they appear to be from the inside, going out (or up)...
The very special rear lights
And to be honest, I have something of a soft spot for these; Don't get me wrong, they're bloody awful, but obviously the car, at some point, needed a pair of rear lights. I'm presuming right about the time they became unobtainium and silly money. The previous owner then created these so that they could keep the car running - That, in itself, deserves applauding.
The scuttle never lets us down as a dirt trap....
And also notice the Map sensor is off the bracket?
Anyway, whilst clearing the scuttle I found this:
Just how it ended up IN THE SCUTTLE is perhaps one mystery too much....
However, our detective work revealed we've had some starting issues previously:
First thing to note is the replacement wiring for the "start" wire, the second is the additional earth strap from anti-roll bar to gearbox.
Now we should all know that I approve of additional earth straps! Just not, sadly, when they're like this:
We've some "interesting" work to correct on the positive side too
as well as some plumbing....