yoeddynz

But still better to follow best practice eh. Id rather always do it that way instead of watching my car slowly bubble up down the road. One little tiny scratch through the top coat can let moisture in. Also- it means you can take your time with the filler stage. Even a high humidity environment, ie doing the work on a wet winter day, or in auckland... any filler present can start to pull moisture.

And then fill cavities with waxoyl or similar. Then fit 12A drill port and modgies.

That filler on your boot lid, the stuff that fell off, is a prime example of why one should never put filler directly onto steel. It never sticks properly and will absorb moisture through the paint, hold it against the steel and cause corrosion. It's why youll so often see old repairs with big blisters as the filler swells away from the steel. For fresh steel repairs paint it with resene industrial 440 epoxy. Then you can smear it with filler to your hearts content knowing that no matter how damp the filler gets it won't affect the steel beneath. Damn I like this car!

Edited double post..

Fantastic update!!! Big thanks for taking the time to post up so much good info and photos. I love reading threads like this. Looking real well engineered. How much did it cost to get the adaptor plate machined Inc cost of steel? Looks like you've got a bit less room between the bonnet underside and the cam covers than I had.. I'd have thought the escort would have a similar height within the bay? How close is the bottom of the block sitting to the cross member? I made quite a thin sump pan to get as close as possible.

Yeah you are completely correct there. That race car shell will never see the road again with its front end in that state. But its sills and complete rear end are in great condition but for some localised typical areas of old car rot such as the very bottom of the rear corners etc. If I dont end up selling them together to someone who wants a project then it will most likely get cut up for panels. I certainly have enough stuff here to build another car. Must keep a look out for live plates and tags which always helps.

Oh that.... been on TM for yonks. I'll pass...

Just hot up the 1300. Inject it. Lumpy cam. Make car handle amazingly and for sure it won't be the fastest at the lights but it will be great fun in the twisties, hooning along, wind in your hair. You waving enthusiastically... "heeeeelloooooo boys".....

Boat anchor in a tiny sports car.jpg 12A drill port with modgies please.

This new Imp. Hmmm. Its too good to scrap and I am hankering to do another Imp project in the future. However plans/motivation always change. However- in order to make sure that the really solid floor and inner sills etc dont get any proper rust I decided to remove all the heater pipes and loom, clean out the dirt and dry out any damp from the pipe removal process (they still had water in them). I'll spray some wd40 in the crevices along under the nice solid inner sills to halt moisture and so I can sleep easy at night knowing that my investment in for a future project has a chance. This done I looked at that rusty shelf. it had to go. But there as an engine in the way...so last night this happened... Getting quite good at chopping up Imps. Moved it out and Kevin posed for photo on his new perch... I separated the engine and box. Box feels to be in great condition, smooth, no slack. I now have five Imp transmissions. So I need more Imps? Engine feels seized. Spark plug removal attempt broke plug off in hole. Removed cam cover to have a peek. Very clean and tidy in there. Shame. Cute little cam... Engine will probably get weighed in. Cant imagine a mk1 engine with the weaker curly edged block is worth anything when seized. Now I must stop procrastinating and crack on with IMP two shell.

Bugger. Pcd is 12mm too big thereabouts. My search continues. There's a whole 6 page long thread didicated to failing couplings and alternatives. It's frequented by Imp barrys of the highest order. I shall go there.

sweet- cheers! I'll have a measure up soon. I think some Imp folk have been using modified BMW items too so I must look into those as well. Some how I dont think they'll be quite as cheap though....

I just get it from a paint supplier in Nelson. Should be available over there id have thought?

Oh and @RUNAMUCK look here.... https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/car-parts-accessories/other-accessories/listing-1662697959.htm?rsqid=8f77ea972d7f4cae983e05baef056679

Those rubber driveshaft doughnuts - they look like these.... Now could you please be a kind young man and measure them up for me? Width across the steel inserts, diameter of bolts, pcd etc Are they cheap/where are they cheap/where should I get some?

Actually a fucking good idea!!!! Also- plans to setup wetback engine preheater to warm fluids on IMP 911 race car... because race car..

It works way better than I was expecting too. Roll that steel table over to it, stand 1 meter away and it's too hot.

Imp pimp?

So where was I ? Well some might remember ages ago, a long, long time ago when I still had a V6 Viva,that mentioned I was going to sell it and if so I wouldn't mind an Imp project. Well last August Hannah and I had gone to the Oldschool Hanmer get together and after the meet we went along to a large collection of classic cars an old boy had been collecting until he died. It was there that I had spotted this wee fella... After lots of in-decisions, plus getting another two Imps since then, this one ended up on the back of a trailer on Saturday morning and did a little trip north... Thanks very much to those involved in making this happen. Thanks to Will for collecting it from the yard, along with many other Imp bits (hopefully he might well yet get into an Imp project one day and when this one is finished he'll get a drive so hopefully he'll see what the fuss is about) Also big thanks to Greg for bringing the Imp up for me. Props to Bart, I think, who spotted one of the strops had broken and saved a potentially nasty incident. So it arrived and I sat inside it, beer warming my belly and pondered what new mess I had acquired... Before the guys went on their way back south, Datsun in tow, they helped me push the Imp up to the Imp 'Lichen removal' area... So it sat as I mixed up some warm water and car shampoo... As I cleaned it up an old rego label appeared dated 1985-1986... It looked a fair bit better with all the Lichen removed. Although no all the rust was better evident .... The inside (great head lining which was one of the reasons I wanted it) was filled with extra interior bits and even included a rats nest too. How lucky. I quite like the dated 'Jazzergetics-fitness the fun way' sticker.... I moved the car inside and started the empty out. Good score on a red and black set of seats and door cards. Great condition. It looks like someone had previously removed the door cards, made new hardboard backs and were obviously intending to fit them into either this Imp or another. I'm happy that they'll get used I think they'll look really good against the black mx5 front seats I have bought for the car. Another good score was this fine example of a '90s kettle... So that evening the Imp sat, all clean and dry, probably wondering what was to become of itself.. I was wondering too. I thought it would be a wise idea to pop it up on the hoist and see what it was like underneath. Turns out its really solid from the front to the back until you get to the rear arches. The outer sills are shot but the inner sills, floor area are great. In fact the outer sills are still intact along the very bottom but would still need replacing. The floors are solid! No rust. The front end is really good too. The worst rust is the entire rear end, from the bottom up to the swage line. The rear seat area is solid but the parcel shelf is even worse than the other one. I have learned from that and if I was to do anything with this shell that will be cut right out first. So there we have it. Another potential shell to be rescued but for now it will be plundered for anything that I might need to complete the other one. Apart from the pedal box having been nicked by someone its complete. I have already removed the following for IMP ONE.. The gearstick and choke lever/cable. The throttle pedal and cable. The hand brake and cables. I'll be taking the headlining at some point, the dash, heater, gauges, wiring, lights. So it'll end up as a stripped out rolling shell. I think between the solid rear end and sills of the race car and the really good front end of this a good shell could be made. But I'll wait until I see what Imp one is like to drive before I make any more decisions on what might happen with this one. i might just stash it away in a friends shed for the future. Or maybe flick everything remaining off for someone else to take on as a project. I shall ponder this in the future. Nothing wrong with having a spare Imp up your sleeve ....

and a pic from another on there... such great wee cars!

Oooooooohhhhhh nice! @Sanfiddy you'll like this project, having just laid down some coin for the same sort of pain. For both of you fellas with old Spitfires here's a good thread on RR I have been following... http://forum.retro-rides.org/thread/201146/1978-triumph-spitfire-1500-defeated

Well the weekend just gone saw the end of my part in this Datsun restoration. It has now been passed over to its new owner Greg. More of that soon. First though, let me show you some photos of my final bit of work before the budget pulled its purse strings. I filled in a section of floor alongside the inner sill so making the area strong again. I left the inner edge unwelded because Greg will bechopping out the section of rotten floor that meets it later on and adding more steel. In order to make the chassis rail decent enough to lift the car without a jack going through the floor I had to sort out this mess... Interesting note.. the rails are different shapes side to side. The passenger side rail has more of a taper. Not that it really matters that much but I tried to copy the original shape as close as I could make out from what was left. Luckily the passenger rail was solid as so it just received a vaccuum out. Greg can fill it with penetrating wax once he's finished the car. Repairs in pictures.. Por 15'd the inside of the rail before continuing. Bought some thicker steel sheet from engineering company in town. Done. Greg can continue on with the floor repairs around it. My final task was to finish off the end of the sill near the a pillar. But once I started welding stuff in there it didnt seem rigt. I ended up chopping out a whole load more up the pillar back to decent steel. Again- in pictures... And that was that. I left the suspension off for Greg to fit so he would have decent chance to scrape underseal off around the chassis when he arrived. The next day a group of Oldschoolers turned up, Greg with a very fine wee car in tow. A rusty Imp swap for a not so rusty Datto? Yeah OK.. We unloaded the Imp, got the fire going in the shed, cranked the music up and drank beer. Greg scrapped underseal off the Datsun and then later on he got some slightly drunken welding advice from me, photo taken by Nick J who sat and watched laughing.... Fun was had. Sharns were thrown about in numerous amounts by Bart and Will, the BBQ was wheeled in and much meat was cooked, Sam drew some dick pics on my white board, Kevin the cat got lots of cuddles and the fire did roar. The following morning people woke hazily and started to move. Greg moved in the direction of his new toy, it still not having any suspension, steering or wheels. In a blur of groggy movement the wee Datto got its legs back and was loaded on Gregs trailer... Final photo before it left for its new home in Christchurch (the Datsun capital of NZ)... Greg sent me a photo later that evening after a long drive home.. So I now hereby hand the mighty Datsun 120Y resto over to Greg.....

Quite possibly half of it will remain IMP and the other half will become letter box.....

Their profits were flying out the door...

Maybe I had a bad one. It did not impress me for the price.