New project - 1972 Audi 100S Coupe

Well, this is the new project I'd previously pictured, and well done to those of you who correctly guessed what is was! The Audi 100S coupe is a very rare beast in this country, with only around 20 being registered with the DVLA. Produced from 1969 to 1976, not many of them sold in this country, which is a great shame, as their stylish lines and lively performance makes for an unusual and competent choice of classic.

The car and all the panels have now been sand blasted and etch primed, to reveal all the true horrors that lurked beneath the filler.....
As I write this, large steps have allready been made into repairing the shell. Some pictures will be posted shortly.

1965 MGB Roadster: Feeling (Iris) Blue

The MGB is now painted and looking rather nice back in its original factory colour. The car was painted in a very durable 2k etch primer after it was sand blasted, and during the prep recieved 4 more coats of 2k primer (flatted between coats). Once everything was ready, the body recieved 4 coats of 2k top coat. The wheel arches have been coated with a high quality wax-rich stone chip, the next job will be to get the shell up on the lift, and coat the rest of the underside.

New mystery project - can you tell what it is yet?

A new restoration project has recently arrived, the owner had been looking for an example of this car for a while, and finally found this one. It was complete, and in reasonable order, but someone had started to 'restore' it with lashings of filler, grey paint, and the kind of welding you could probably produce with a nine volt battery and an old coat hanger.
The first stage, as always, is to strip the car right down for sand blasting.
For now, Im going to leave you all guessing what the car is, and no, it isn't an Aston Martin!

1965 MGB roadster - The restoration continues

Although I've not mentioned it in a while, work on the '65 roadster has been slowly progressing in the background. All the welding work has been completed - the n/s rear wing was replaced, along with the complete inner and outer wheel arch, the rear panel and valance were replaced, as were the boot corner panels. After a few small repairs to other areas, the car was removed from the roll-over jig, and it was time to start making sure everything lined up.
The car is now prepped and nearly ready for top coat. The doors have been checked and adjusted for fit, the wings are fitted, as is a new front valance. Any edges and areas on these panels that are hidden, were painted before fitting, to make sure no areas were left in primer.
The engine bay and boot are painted first, and will be masked off when the outer is painted, to prevent over spray. As you can see, the car is being painted in Iris blue - the colour it left the factory. Before long the car should be this colour all over, and ready for rebuilding.

Series one Land Rover: Finished

By the end of July the Land Rover was all ready for its MOT, which it passed without any troubles.
The final touch to the restoration was the adding of a roof. The vehicle had previously been fitted with a hard top, so rather than spending ages finding all correct soft-top bits second hand, everything was purchased new from Exmoor trim - a well known company for all things Land Rover trim related.
Not only did they supply a new hood, but new hood sticks and window channels and all the fittings. The hoods are made to the original Land Rover patterns, so look just right, and really finished off the restoration.
The vehicle is now back with its owner, being enjoyed attending shows and going off camping, another job done!

Series One Land rover

The 1955 Series One Land rover has come a long way since I last mentioned it. The bulkhead has had the top rail section replaced with a new section fabricated 'in house' and various repairs have been made to the footwells. The chassis has had repairs to the bumper irons, outriggers and more drastically, a complete rear 1/4 chassis! As the rear crossmember was a bit 'ripe' and the spring hangers had been heavily plated, it was the easiest route to a smart repair.

The chassis, fuel tank and axles were all thoroughly cleaned, painted in an anti rust primer and then given a few coats of black enamel. The front springs were replaced with new items along with various bushes and bolts, and things like steering, pedals and prop-shafts have all been greased. Also, the brake pipes (including flexi peipes) and wheel cylinders have been renewed.
The old mix of worn out tyres have been replaced with a brand new set of suitably nobbly 6.00x16 crossplys. Supplied by the good folks at Longstone Tyres (a good source of old style crossplys for all kinds of vehicles) they look the part, and wernt any more expensive than cheap radial remoulds.
It was then time to get on with the bodywork. As mentioned before, the owner stated that he wanted the vehicle to be tidy and usable, and concious of cost, the bodywork was given a quick prep down, with the wrost of the dents and old body filler being rectified.
The vehicle is now looking much better in its original 'mid bronze' green colour.
The wiring has been replaced with a nice new loom from Autosparks and everything is now connected back up and working. Due to the fact that the originals were broken or missing the side lights and indicators have been replaced with brand new series 2/3 land rover items.
Within the next few days the vehicle should be back up and running, driving, and ready for its first MOT in a good few years!

Latest worshop news

Its been a while since I last posted an update, so heres a quick catch up of whats been going on.
Firstly, the 1968 MG Midget restoration is finished, and is now on the road and back living with its owner, being enjoyed in the summer weather. Ill let the pictures do the talking, the final results were very pleasing, especially considering the cars original state.




As always there has been plenty of other cars in the workshop for smaller jobs, such as Servicing, MOT work and other repairs. Ive added the next few pictures just to show some of the cars that have visited recently.