'George' 1965 2 Door Restoration Log

[ArunW]

So more the engine bay is getting there - I've ripped the patch weld that was underneath the near side engine mount and but welded a new piece in place, cleaned off all of the paint and resprayed the bottom of the engine bay as well as the engine mount towers. I've also replaced the engine mounts with nice fresh new ones (not the nasty hard type mind).

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I've cleaned up most of the old paint someone had put on top of the original paint (don't know why as the original paint is looking great mostlty) and I've replaced the oil filter with a modern screw on one - I had to saw the pipe union off of the old one with a hacksaw and re-profile the treads and hexagonal section with a needle file after I couldn't get it out and rounded it off with the impact gun lesson learnt!

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Finally I have stripped the rocker cover and completely re-painted it as well as putting new badges on, new chrome nuts, and painting on the oil companies on the lid. Whilst I was in there I also did the valve gaps.

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Still got to fit a new pump and an alternator also need to get some new HT leads and figure out a PCV system! Thinking of using the brake servo take off from esm and filling it with belzona and then drilling a smaller hole or tapping a hole in the plastic spacer and putting a barb in.
Any suggestions or advice would be welcome thanks!

[shoebone]

Well done with your purchase, 'George' looks like a good starter car that hopefully wont give you too many problems, your enthusiasm is incentive for people like me to catch up with various jobs i need to do to my car. 190psi compression test is high(ish), maybe your tester is over reading a little, I wouldn't worry about it, its more about similar readings for all cylinders. Could I ask, where did you get engine mounts from ? I replaced mine recently and they are a lot harder, makes for a noisy car !!

[ArunW]

Thank you! I got mine from esm and they seem to be fairly soft to me, I can squidge the sides of them with my fingers and the compress.

[ArunW]

So its been a while since my last post... again! And I've got a fair deal done since then despite things being busy. I've replaced the track rod ends, a bearing puller was invaluable here, I couldn't get the old ones off no matter how hard I tried or what I used (blowtorch, plus gas etc.).

Bearing puller and track rod end.

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I have also replaced all of the bushings with poly bushings (apart from one tie rod one on each side), I have also checked the trunnions/kingpins and they look okay. I've added new brake shoes and drums on the front as well as replacing the master cylinder - I'll add a before and after.


As well as the suspension, breaking and steering stuff I have stripped and painted the front grill and battery box and made a restriction fitting to fit in a PCV system.

[philthehill]

Looking good.
As regards poly bushes on the tie rods:-
Fit a poly bush in front of the bracket for braking resistance and a rubber bush behind the bracket for articulation.
Fitting poly bushes front and behind can restrict the articulation of the tie rod.

[ArunW]

Thanks for confirming that Phil, that's exactly what I've done!

[ArunW]

So its been a while since I've replied due to being away traveling and busy at work but I've taken out the fuel tank, cut off the old spring hanger and nearly finished welding on the new spring hanger.

Spring hanger

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I've measured it up many times and test fitted the spring with it tack welded and it all seems to be alright, I've plug welded it and then welded what I can from above before welding a "Continuous" line underneath the car. Welding thin metal upside down is great fun but I'm relatively happy with how it looks for an upside down weld from a newbie welder and most importantly the penetration looks good from above.

I've also cleaned up and painted one of the springs and I plan to do the other one some time later along with replacing both of the rear drums.

[ArunW]

I've been looking for a damped crankshaft pulley and today I looked a bit closer at my current one and I realized that I may already have one! So I think this is a damped crankshaft pulley but I'm not 100% sure could anyone verify weather it is for me? (Picture in link)

https://flic.kr/p/2bWW3Ya

[pgp001]

Looks liked a damped one to me.

Phil

[philthehill]

You have a damped crankshaft pulley fitted which can be clearly seen in your first photo.
The damper pulley is either Pt No: 88G305, CAM4929 or AHU1875. The Pt No: is dependent on original engine fitment.

Here are pictures of a damped pulley for comparison. The third picture as fitted to 'A' Plus 1275cc engine.

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100_2019.JPG (1.35 MiB) Viewed 4332 times

A Plus 1..JPG (1.81 MiB) Viewed 4332 times

[ArunW]

Yipee! Thank you chaps! I thought as much but as a relative novice its always good to confirm, and its just as well really as I wasn't having much luck with my search.

In further news the welding is coming on, though I can't say I'm particularly enamoured of upside down welding underneath the car.

All of the rust in the rear of the floor has now been chopped out and replaced.

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[mogbob]

Classic car upside down welding …. I remember that ! Funnily enough , most restorers' recollections usually include the adjective painful ! When it's all finished the memory fades ( a little ).
Good work there , crack on , good luck with it , you'll get there.
Bob

[ArunW]

Good work there , crack on , good luck with it , you'll get there.

Thanks for the encouragement Bob!

[kevin s]

Looks like you are getting on well, should be a great car when finished.

[BrianHawley]

Going great!

[ArunW]

So I've been back at it for a bit now Christmas is over and all of the structural welding is complete! (for now) I've started painting the inside and just finished soundproofing the gearbox tunnel cover :

Gearbox with silent coat rubber mat.

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There is a pretty good amount of work left to go still but but once I've rebuilt the rear offside suspension I should be able to put George back down on his wheels and start putting everything back together.

[ArunW]

Finally getting near the end I think! I have rebuilt the rear suspension and replaced some of the old worn brake components. There is very little welding left and the floor needs its last coat of paint followed by painting the underside of the car. Once all of this is done I need to paint the new fibreglass valences and front panel (and figure out a way to attach the 5 bar grill to the fibreglass???) and then it will "just" be a case of putting the fuel tank back in and the radiator and we'll be done! (pretty much )

I've been keeping myself amused with the steering wheel whilst all of the paint has been drying, so here's some (hopefully) nice pictures bellow!

Horn push.

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Custom wheel boss.

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