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Rust removed and new lip welded in.

Then i assembled it all together in the dash, although the speedo needs rebuilding everything else can stay. Now onto the centre console....

Bit more progress on this, Did some more panel beating of the front end, it had been chinned quite badly on the passenger side especially, and had a sharp bend just below the round bumper mount holes. Now its pretty even and roundedish, way better than before. Once the front bumper is on it will be hidden anyway. Again very finding very little rust holes, there is some, obviously, as well as surface rust, and there are a couple of tears as well, but its held up very well considering. Removed the handbrake mechanism so i could tidy up the handle, and the lower mechanism was scraping on the valance, so that all got removed for a clean paint and grease. its crossmember also got a light sand of the surface rust and a squirt of 'not quite body colour' spray paint as a test, pretty happy with that! Check out the factory cut out for the end of the mechanism, it as all chewed up around the tip of the pivot before Looked good, so did a bit more sanding Its starting to look way less shitty. Still shitty, just less I also got onto the brakes, i needed to pull the fronts to inspect and start parts hunting. 10" Aluminium drums front and rear. Check out the pile of dry dirt and grease i chipped off - its caking everything that pile is just off the backing plate. Ive only done the fronts so far, ended up having to pull the hub off, as the drum had differentially welded itself to the steel hub and the puny M6 spacer plate retainers that get moved to another set of holes were not going to shift it. Got it off in the end and its all clean and dry and no damage. Im glad the drums especially are ok they are simply NLA. Cylinders are rusted stuck tho but they are quite cheap, shoes less so (rears are cheap, fronts are $$$) I bought 16l of vinegar for about $24 and started chucking bits in after i water blasted them, ill check them in the morning. Someone had already taken one of the rear brakes apart already so i have those bits in a shopping cart already. The Brake and clutch master cylinders were already removed too, but praise be, they are not seized. The clutch master and slave is the same as my 2300 wagon, ie Lada stuff can work, so that's good. Im very very happy the brake master cylinder is ok. It is available but not cheap, because its a part that is shared with both Ferrari 330 and Lamborghini Espada, lol https://www.okp.de/xtc2/Ferrari/45-Brakes/Master-cylinders/Brake-master-cylinder-Ferrari-330-1-series-4-holes-flange::19478.html?language=en

Then this happened !

My son bought his first car. A 1981 Mk5 Cortina. He is 15 and we are going to restore it together. In other words I’ll be doing up a car.

Big thanks to @MaxPower for helping out with a spare manifold from one of his vans. I checked online and for some reason you can buy a supercharger manifold for your Corvette or Mustang but there is no off the shelf option for your 1982 Mitsi Sigma. I will have to make one, what could possibly go wrong? I will post more pictures as the manifold comes together

I'm willing to ignore the fact that an XR100 doesn't tang, and that it got ran over after Arnie saves John Connor on his potato bike (the ultimate shame)

Templating the Valance. This is going to be hard! Might take a few goes I think.

Sanded back to nearly metal and etch primed.

The blue fork boots on the 185 had disintegrated after being ridden for the first time in 20 odd years. IMG_20210426_140223_1 by John Bell, on Flickr AliExpress to the rescue, they're not quite long enough but will do for now. IMG_20210501_131214 by John Bell, on Flickr Annoyingly the rear shocks that I had rebuilt at somewhat of an expense don't seem to dampen very well again, no oil lost so I'm guessing the gas has left. Might have to look to AliExpress for this also. Would like to keep the blue springs though. Have only travelled about 400km on this since reviving it. The jetting on china carb is still a bit off, so will have to experiment sometime. Is nice enough to ride around on though, not fast by any means but would probably tour around at ~80km/h quite happily, will do 100km/h but tach is at 9k by then. Found a gate open close to home and drove up a hill. IMG_20210426_163748 by John Bell, on Flickr IMG_20210426_163800_1 by John Bell, on Flickr IMG_20210426_163817 by John Bell, on Flickr IMG_20210426_163829_1 by John Bell, on Flickr

So its been awhile still in WA australia and sold both my escorts, bought a house with a good sized shed thats empty... thought you know what goes in here well. Junk. So I ended up getting this 1970 Hillman Hunter Royal HE of this guy up in perth thats had it for 20 years collecting bits and pieces but got cancer and needed it to move on to someone who will do it up. Its a matt black spray can jobber someones slapped a wing on it for god knows what reason. Came with all new doors, front end, bonnet, boot lid, engine, transmission, and boxes full of unused and used parts aswell as badges lots and lots of badges so if people need parts and dont mind it coming from over here might be able to help So here it is in all its glory and the amazing bit of engine bay art Heres the discussion Forgot how to post and dont have a computer to bare with me

Big mission today to get old motor out and get the new motor/box/clutch/etc assembled. I was thinking it would likely be best/easiest to drop the motor out the bottom, like I've done with MR2 in the past. However once the axles are out it's pretty easy to turn the motor 90 deg and pull it straight out the front. Ended up spending about an hour and a half playing Dentist, when the new motor and new box both had the same alignment dowel stuck in them. Took a lot of heat and CRC and filing some flats into it before the bloody thing eventually came loose. Once that was sorted I tried aligning the box onto the motor but it was just too dark and too tired. So will get that sorted tomorrow after work. I CBF with the power steering so I've been keeping an eye out for a manual rack Echo at Pick a Part etc, but havent seen one yet. Then one just popped up on Trademe so bought it. hopefully it isnt missing a UJ or something specific to the manual rack (probably is, and I'm stupid for buying this) "

That rust killer from SCA is awesome.

Also the sweet sweet number plate HUNTER HE So where all things start... seeing what doesnt work and what parts I have Bloke seems to think it was something to do with the dizzy and points so I have like 4 new ones to try out from his stockpile Also about 6-7 stromburg carbys aswell as being able to install two so who knows we will see how things pan out My partner doesn't want to keep the engine bay art either... she thinks her parents might not approve

Aaannd bought a rough XR100 because reasons. Has had a hard life. Will attempt to tidy up without exceeding the limits of financial sensibility. And probably just use it for very light farm duties or as a loaner to beginners. IMG_20210424_115304 by John Bell, on Flickr Got vaguely correct tank graphics from.... AliExpress! Looks ok but are very thin, and have bubbled something chronic in days prior. Oh well. $$ IMG_20210425_170715 by John Bell, on Flickr Waiting on parts currently.

Guess I’ll be needing this.

They say the two happiest days of Birtish car ownership are the day you get the car and the day it leaves your life. Well the other day it left my life (at least for now). My dad is taking it on a long road trip. He is taking it to Auckland, via the bottom of the South Island. They're staying at Lake Hawea tonight. I think their trip will be complete by around about the 15th. Hitting the road: Somewhere in Mt Somers I believe: Lindis pass (actually surprised it still ran up there): He insisted on taking the roof rack with it. I bet it uses 25% more fuel now. When it gets up to Auckland my brother will paint it and we will try to track down the few remaining bits that it needs to be complete and then will stick it on the market. I'll keep this updated as the photos from the trip come through. Feel free to add any spotted photos if you see him on the road.

Getting there now.

Thought I would put up a build of my Ariel, have been lurking on here for a while and have really enjoyed reading the builds posted, both cars and bikes. I've always been interested in motor bikes and had a few in my earlier years, mostly Yamahas, and had always wanted an older bike. Many moons ago where I worked in Ch-Ch there were quite a few guys in the VCC. A couple of them went to Wellington and bought up a heap of bikes from an estate (Brook or Brock Motorcycles?) One guy got a bunch of AJS/Matchless stuff, and the other guy a bunch of Ariels. I had a look through the Ariels and chose a bit of stuff that would be the grounding of a 1937 Ariel Red Hunter. Engine was 1937 and not too bad, frame is about 1946 from memory. Pretty much enough for a complete bike plus extras, but everything needing work. Back then I got a few bits done, girders straightened, oil pump over hauled and most importantly got the engine done. Had it re-bored to suit a wiseco piston from a 350 Chev and new chev valves to suit. Didn't get much more done due to moving towns, young family, seperating from wife etc. etc. Usual shit. So recently life has settled down a bit and I have come into possession of another Ariel. This is a pretty much complete, bit rough, ex farm/hoons bike that has been hidden in the back of a shed for at least 40 years. It's a 1939 500cc Red Hunter. Frame and engine numbers show it as a 1939. It had been used on a farm for a bit here in Ashburton and thrashed, blown up, piston shattered! Then sold, engine removed and stripped, stashed in the back of a shed until a few weeks ago when I got it. Most parts from 1937 & 1939 are all the same. Will post a couple of pictures of the 1939 bike as I got it, 1937 is in bits and all over the place in my workshop.

Thanks, I had a look on some EPC sites but couldnt find a diagram like that. I'll call the wrecker and see if they've got the rest of the car there still. What's the bet that sensing my desperation this part now costs $600 haha.

If modern cars are anything like my old crap, the p/s steering column may be a different length to allow for all the hydralic bits

I found this pic from a while ago when i got the fibreglass dash parts and offered them up to see what it was going to look like... Lots of hours have gone into them since that pic was taken...

I painted it black and offered up all the gauges and lamps to make sure the layout was correct and was going to work in the dash surround. Very happy with the result , then i just had to finalise the wording i wanted and get it cut out in laminate. Happy days!

The first step was to cut out the centre as i only need the outer shell.

Thanks mate, I’ve been getting heat from my mates about buying safer first cars, but surely you can’t beat something special like this for a first car.

So bought a very rough CRF50 near the start of 2020. As is tradition, threw a bunch of AliExpress parts at it, and badly painted rusty bits. It probably wasn't safe sitting around here as I was riding it round the lawn at every opportunity. Have lent it to my nephews until my boy is big enough or they get sick of it. IMG_20200213_183639 by John Bell, on Flickr IMG_20200426_151544 by John Bell, on Flickr

Front Valance is a mess too. Buckled and rusted. Bonnet is straight as are all the lines on the body, but for the valance.

So much hate in here, I can't even tune a carb, let alone tune an engine with EFI that wasn't setup for it. Go work on your cars, the lot of ya.

I'd fill the sump with CRC 556 if I was you.

I bought a ToolShed linisher/belt grinder/sander thingo a while back. It had mediocre performance and it was easy to stall the belt. It came with a 1HP 1400rpm motor. Boooo! There! I've fixed it! YAAAAAY! Three times the power and double the speed should do it. The belt guard is off here. It's a bit shit and rattles and vibrates. It's almost as if they forgot to add fasteners to that lower bracket. I'm gonna sort that out. Should be able to flatten my exhaust manifold flange now.

I don't think I've ever made threads for any of my current bikes. I don't do anything particularly interesting with them from a project perspective. Just attempt to maintain and improve where I can. This will mostly be pics. XR650R, have had for about 5yrs, probably only ridden actively for a year or two total of that time. Goes (IMO) hard. Probably too hard for me. Previous owner reckons it had been taken out to 680cc. It has a aftermarket CDI, noisey boi exhaust, and would probably benefit from a carb. Took it to the drags a couple times, 12.7s quarter was the best I managed. Gets pretty lively on gravel. Rode it around and have slowly attempted to sort out its issues, few more yet. Have safari tank and big stator, an the right set of wheels sitting there for it. One day. When I got it. 11536025_10155674571955099_4189236658958656570_n by John Bell, on Flickr IMG_20151219_091851 by John Bell, on Flickr 15325216_454106908046730_4447607667093221977_o by John Bell, on Flickr 23333047081_0e0871bc32_z by John Bell, on Flickr IMG_20160306_104356 by John Bell, on Flickr IMG_20160306_113924 by John Bell, on Flickr Made a spacer IMG_20180726_163359_HHT by John Bell, on Flickr IMG_20180726_170446_HHT by John Bell, on Flickr Bought some black bits IMG_20181028_180740 by John Bell, on Flickr IMG_20190525_123410 by John Bell, on Flickr 48240827_948318268625589_5533612005623070720_o by John Bell, on Flickr 47573781_948318068625609_5746037085173710848_o by John Bell, on Flickr

well, at least my cars have enough metal still in them to get sent to a scrap man eh @RUNAMUCK

But if I compare it to the abortion spec complexity of my EFI system it is a walk in the park. The problem with that exhaust system is the person who put it together. A couple of flanges in places would have made life a lot better.

Yeah I'm calling fake news on that. The time that a team of OS boes had a working bee on it, I was actually amazed by how user unfriendly the whole thing was. To get to anything, you had to remove 12345678 other things. And each bit required 123556 other bits to be taken off first. As I recall, to replace the rear seal of the gearbox, resulted in us needing to remove the exhaust manifold from the motor, and unbolt the entire exhaust system. We owned an Anglia estate when I was a kid, (it had belonged to my grandparents) and I recall dad saying that everything got in the way of everything else when working on it. His folks bought it in '67 when it was almost a new car. But by the end it had been repowered by a 1500pcf, bored out to 1540.

Pulled nearly a bucket full of bog out of the fenders. I think maybe the bog was holding the fenders on!!

Tanks can't be electroplated inside very easily as the process doesn't really work without a direct flow between the anode (which would have to be inside the tank) and cathode (the tank itself). When I let my fabricated tank get rusty I had to cut the top off again to get it plated and even then the coverage wasn't great inside the tank (inside corners didn't get much zinc).

hmm yeh the usual not everything as it seems. The dyno sheet has a 1.20 tcf. which im pretty sure is the correction factor they have added. so the 290kw is more like engine power, not wheel power. but 1.2 is pretty generous for drive line loss. heres about what it would look like in kw at wheels. I overlayed a run from my turbo setup at 16psi. which shows how yuck the power curve is also

The Sigma has been sitting around a bit. I drive it every so often but it's kind of underpowered compared with my Aussie 6 cylinder stuff and I really wish it wasn't. I have been toying with the idea of repowering it but I thought I might try to liven up the stock engine first. A buddy of mine dropped this off over the weekend. I really have no idea what I am doing but that has never stopped me in the past. What could possibly go wrong?

Factory wheels, new tyres and alignment today

In the 1980's car manufacturers seemed to think it was a good idea to supply their customers with unnecessary and unsightly additional ride height. Last weeks project was to correct this with new springs and shocks all round. The car didn't drive particularly well so I did a back yard wheel alignment with string and a tape measure. I found that the front wheels were actually toed out so I also corrected that problem and it drives heaps better now. I will get it in for a proper wheel alignment sometime soon.

185 also came with original registration and story which I enjoyed. The mans work told him not to drive the work vehicle home at night, so he bought a bike, shortly thereafter they told him there wasn't enough room at the depot to park all the work vehicles, and that he needed to drive it home at night. Looks like he bought bike in '97, and WOF expired in '98. Sounds like he'd used it here and there to ride around the yard and up and down the driveway, but pretty much sat in the shed since. IMG_20200314_200224 by John Bell, on Flickr

Those with a keen eye may have noticed the CRM50 in the last photos, that I obtained a few months later. It was also quite rough. I've spent a little time sorting bodges and attempting to return things closer to original where possible. Very pleased with the 50. You'll notice tiny rear tyre. IMG_20190524_144403 by John Bell, on Flickr Better IMG_20191027_175159 by John Bell, on Flickr Nanging around. IMG_20191028_084259 by John Bell, on Flickr

Found these two mid 90's XR200 in a shed from my teenage years, sold them, because even Honda can't make a bike that will stand up to teenager on a dairy farm. IMG_20180624_125712 by John Bell, on Flickr That led to me eventually buying a mid ninties XR250R. Which is everything the 200 is not. Double discs, actual power, better suspension. This one is a little bit beat up, but mostly intact, and has done fairly low KM. Currently attempting to get it a bit nicer and possibly go through the registration process. IMG_20190517_101943 by John Bell, on Flickr IMG_20190517_124333 by John Bell, on Flickr