kiwitina

oooohhh stop it!

Hmm thats a new one. Id have to check. It cost me nearly $300 to get it here. 7kilo parcel. Another $680 for the parts themselves. Its not cheap at all but there just wasnt any other option. Atleast its done now. Its useful to know that there is a massive backlog on their orders so it takes 3-4months to reach the top of the queue. Gives ya plenty of time to save up to pay for it! hahaha no chance. Im guessing that 2 door skins would maybe be around the same size and weight. So as a rough ballpark figure prob around $300....? But cant you just patch up the bit you need? I got these panels ordered because they are quite tricksy in design. folds,bends etc. Seems a little silly if your gonna spend all that money to get a mostly flat piece of metal. That said you might even be able to source some here in NZ?

New guard panels arrived from expressed steel panels ltd in UK These will be grafted on to my existing guards to repair the rusted out rear edges. Filler panels will also replace the buggered ones that run up the a pillar. My order from Burton Power should arrive tomorrow. Like a kid on xmas eve I am!

2 tones mate! Avoid being mistaken for Harry potter!

Been working on my drum backing plates. These are the GT ones which are an inch wider diameter than the standard ones. After a visit to the blasting cabinet There is quite a bit of pitting but I rust treated them with some metal ready then put them under some POR15.

I’ve done another section of the floor. Seat supports will come out later so I can paint that section. Just got to do a few little cover ups and that will be it I think until we hit some warmer weather. Plenty else to do like rebuild and rebush the suspension. Build the engine. I could go on.... Guard parts are made and will be on their way shortly from the UK. The price is a scary unknown at this stage. Its gonna hurt.

Thanks bro. I gave those other hubcaps away for some silly reason so im short four of em. Keen as if you've got some.

Ive done some more work on the next section of floor. Have worked out a process of Strip discs then wire brushes then blasting. Floor is sealed up with this thick black stuff that takes a while to get off. Its slow and boring but its gonna be tidy. Oh and heres an exciting development. Just bought these off the trademe. Sexy fat 13x7's. Thinking whitewalls and original ford hubbies...... Serious pant full of bone right now.

Chur bro. Simons from classic ford mag. Been following that build, would love to see it in the flesh.

Lil Update... I got the rear seat floor section in por15. Because I used a combination of strip discs and blasting I used Metal Ready before the Por15 so it had something to stick to. It seems a bit odd that you spend ages working on a piece of metal and get it all clean and paint free only to chuck this metal ready stuff on and make it look like this. hahaha Did the Por15 the next day and it came out really good. Its not that ideal painting in winter but ill probably push on doing small sections at a time. Already feeling the pressure if i’m gonna have this back on road in summer... Got my engine stuff back from the reconditioners. Lucky to have an understanding girlfriend who doesn’t mind it living in the lounge. This is just a list of a few things I had done. Block cleaned and crack tested New valve guides Valve seat refaced Valve seat inserts added for 91 octane Head cleaned and surfaced Crank reground -10 Cylinder honed Cam polished New Cam bearings fitted Pistons cleaned up (1 repaired) Came out at around $1100 for all that. Probably not that cheap but theyve done a good job so I cant complain. I want to put the engine together myself so I actually learn something. Looking forward to it. So Im putting together a list of the things I need to get from Burton. Its a long list.

im an ass. its blatantly obvious now.

Thats what I thought but then the way it came in the packaging confused me. cheers bro.

Had a few hours this weekend to do some more of the floor. Took the time to seal the joins up on the hose and compressor and it made a big difference. Still a little slow with the blaster but it comes up clean. Still remnants of black sealant in the corners. Annoying shit. This is my rig anyway. Car is on its side so I can blast standing up. Made a little fort to stop most of the sand and dust from going absolutely everywhere. Was getting a bit of moisture coming through so I went and got one of these moisture traps... Anyone know which way around it goes? Does it have to be vertical? Cheers

Got the steering, diff and suspension out of there and the thing can now roll! Stoked. Couldn't quite get the car high enough to where the center of gravity is but its near enough and it weighs stuff all anyway. Excuse the oily puddle on the floor. Pulled the steering box out and left it lying on the ground. All the oil ran back down the shaft overnight. Doh! Popped in to see how my engine is looking and it's amazing. Almost to good to actually use it looks that sweet. Getting them to clean up my cam and put that in before I get it back to finish off. Im a bit worried that its the wrong time of year to be stripping paint off. Its been so cold I think there may be to much moisture in the air to get a good etch on. Your thoughts?

Its around the $1100 ball park figure. Its not very accurate though cos I went through getting 3 heads cleaned and crack checked before I got a good one. Ill let you know once I get the invoice if ya like

Its all mounted up! Got my mounts back from the steel surgeon in Manukau. A week ago I spent a painstaking half day making some mdf mock up mounts. Paying special attention to angles and placement of holes etc. The time I put in all paid off as the steel ones I got back are bang on the money. Stoked. I still have to get the diff, suspension and steering out of the car before I can flip it over but that will have to wait till next week. Ive had the blaster all up and running but need to experiment more with settings. It wasnt working like I thought it would and wasnt very fast so I ended up going at the floor with some smith and arrow strip discs in an angle grinder. Still plenty more work to do in there before it gets treated to some POR15. Went in to West Auckland Engine Reconditioning to see what the deal was with my engine. Out of the 3 heads I sent them I have 1 without a crack in it. They are gonna do some crank grinding, some skimming, some porting, and put in hardened valve seats for me. I should get it all back next week. Exciting. Got an update from Expressed Steel Panels in the UK and its about 6 weeks before I get my guard panels down here. Wow. That felt like a real update. Ka Pai!

looking and sounding good bro!

Built the garden shed to make some work space. Made a whole lot more room to get the car rotating around in. Just need to get some custom mounts fabricated so thats top of my list for my next day off. Also picked up my old engine and carted it back west. Pulled the head off it and sent it and another one off for inspection. Hopefully 1 of the 3 will be good for the rebuild. Chur

Picked up my rotisserie today. Will need some custom mounts made to get the car on it but ill know what I need once I get the end stands together. My garage is a mess so I also went and got a garden shed to move some crap outta there. Theres a tina in there somewhere Stopped by the workshop to pick up my bung head. Looked so nice, clean and flat. But then you look closer and.... aww novus! Looking forward to some time off late next week. Cant wait

Only had enough time today for a little test of the sandblaster and compressor. Made some plywood baffles to help keep the neighbors reasonably happy as the compressor obviously has to go outside. Seems to go well and the vacuum sucks up most of the sand so not much mess. Its not so good for the tight spots though. Historic photo bump.... Failed to shut back door properly doh!

Bad news. My head is cracked and is nothing but rubbish. Bummer cos it was quite worked. Have another 2 heads to choose from but they are standard.

No pics but some progress. - My block and head are in getting inspected/cleaned up. - Replacement Sills are being made and sent up from Invercargill - I pick up my rotisserie on monday!!!! - Bought some POR15 - Bought a kickass Northstar 5.5hp compressor to run my blaster (Is the only honda engine youll ever see in my garage) Maybe not much progress then. But I spent a shitload of cash and had fun doing it and this way I might actually make some progress. Now I just need some time away from work... Chur

yeah man I hear ya. i should learn to weld. its nice to have a single car garage but im already outgrowing it. the car on a frame would be sweet

Hauled my block, head and gearbox up from my folks place. Bought a few engines in pieces from a guy in welly when I first got the car. Never got around to putting it together so it sat in my parents shed for years. My plan is to get it away to be blasted and inspected next week. I was a bit embarassed about the condition I had let it get to so gave it abit of a clean myself. Blasting should get rid of whats left. Hopefully I have enough technical know how to build the engine myself. If not google and youtube will come in handy.. my 711M after a wire brush and a degrease The head has had a bit of work done to it. The only work its done lately though is nothing more than sitting around a damp shed. And it shows Before After Im still waiting for my guard bits Ive ordered to be made.... That is all for now.

So I’ve spent a fair bit of time on the tina recently. Took my guards back to the metal to find the rust in the rear edge is worse than I thought. Been using those purple smith and arrow strip discs that are on trademe. They are most excellent. The filler panels that run up the edge in between the guard and the a pillar are rooted. So Im biting the bullet and buying a new filler panel and rear edge repair panel for both sides from the UK. Maybe I should have gone fibreglass afterall... The stink thing is that the company in the UK has an order backlog 3-4 months long! There is plenty to do and get done in the next few months anyway. Just landed a sweet job on a film so Im looking forward to spending some dough and making some progress. Aiming to have the car blasted and some of the big rust jobs out of the way by autumn. Goal is to have it back on road in whatever state by Kumeu 2013. I will find a way to kick myself in the face if this doesn’t happen....