I've just exchanged my old car for this one its alot cleaner and has more history and just a more honest less tampered example . It took me a while to come round to getting it as part of the deal was to give up Flint grey which i love but i have kept my rebuilt engine so thats good . Moonstone is growing on me but the depth of shine at the moment isnt doing it for me .Yet.

The car itself is pretty clean and standard for 23 and the panels and gaps are spot on way nicer than the previous one . It has been repainted and will need my machine polishing skills to correct defects i may even wetsand/coloursand it as the orange peel effect is very noticeable and is bugging me like crazy lol.

To get the engine up and running i needed to get a new pump and waterhoses which have tidied things up with new clips etc. I've put my airbox in (never used it before) to give the authentic approach, the crappy metal expansion was ditched for my 4x4 plastic one. Its getting there bit by bit and i am on the road

I cant wait to get my hands on it i've already cleaned the engine bay prior to the engine going in , the interior could do with cleaning i have access to a steam cleaner so fingers crossed it can work the magic as the interior is good and a big reason i got the car .

I had mint leather in the old car but everytime i sat in cloth i just wanted it , it feels like i,m in the car not on it slipping around etc . I will miss though as the look of leather in mint condition is superb with black dash.

Lots of plans to bring her up to scratch yet, some teething problems need to be sorted and upgrades will be done . Fuel and fan looms, better springs and a diff rebuild amongst many others .

Unfortunately i cant run my ambers at the moment due to someone screwing holes in the back panel for 4x4 lights
This will get fixed so i can run my ambers again for the 80's theme of course!

Detailing it commences next week i will add more pics.

Mike

 

Wow, looks nice! Love the engine, what colour red is the rocker cover?

 

CheeRS i was told its postbox red when i had it done .

 

Lovely car. Good work.Looks like it has a 909 ford motorsport big wing sump too!

 

That's lovely mate... I'd love to detail that lovely moonstone blue.

 

Thanks guys Lee i think you maybe correct mate !

Yes Matt i cant wait but i do have my work cut out. Parts of it are so peely i think the only cure for it will be wetsanding it .

Just cleaned the windows and noticed they are sratched quite badly and lots of small chips bit of a shame but hey ho . It has covered 92k

 

Sure ive been there as the first picture rings bells .

 

Haha Harris you were bang on the money fella!

 

Little update, Amongst other bits that need doing i started tackling the paint work .
The orange peel in areas is significant and i cant be having it like this.

I've only managed the o/s rear quarter today just to see how things would go.
I've started by preping the whole car via claying now onto wetsanding the peely areas. The actual pictures of the peel areas are actually worse looking than here. A very flat distorted peel with no shine like the pics show.









You can just see the peel .


On the pillar I sanded using 2000,2500,3000 papers the peel wasn't as bad here


Looking better although i could of gone a bit more to be honest its difficult/impossible to tell here.





I've got to this . You can see the window reflection . I'd like this sharper so may go further down but its much better than before. A long way to go still though.


I will go through the whole vehicle , some panels will be fine with machine polishing only .

 

Looks like a tidy example, should be mint when you're done with it.

 

Looks like your doing a good job, looking forward to seeing it done

 

Cheers guys more pics to come later today i should have a nice 50/50 shot of the bonnet today.

 

Looks stunning.

 

Well so much for a 50/50 shot my camera skills and phone wont show much difference especially with this colour
I spent a fair bit of time doing only half the bonnet , 1500 papers right up to 3000 fine grade .
i had to borrow some g6 of the bodyshop next door to remove very minor but visible sanding marks and so far im pleased with the outcome. Its not finished yet as i still need to 'jewel' my work by refining polishing stage.



before


before


before. You can see its mottled appearance.


before


after a heavy compound ive got it to this , once the final stages are complete it will look sharper .


after-

 

looking good mate, sure you will get it to perfection. Can't wait till you do a bit of magic on mine.. Keep the pic's coming.

 

very nice best colour too

 

Hi Colin cheeRS buddy let me know when your ready mate .... Good to see you on here too!

 

Thanks man . The colour is growing on me for sure but i,m used to Flint Grey i love that colour on saphs.

 

Nice car there mate, looks good before you started.
Progress looks great in the pics tho

 

Thanks Jason its had a respray and to be fair the actual paint itself is good and uniform but whoevers job it was to finish their good work didnt turn up that day lol .....Honestly if you could see its true finish prior to any corrective work you'd see what i mean. Posting up the pics i noticed it doesnt look that bad but it is . Its like a misty peel effect and very dull .
I will try and highlight this more as the n/s is the same .

 

Looking great

 

Looking very good. Will be show worthy when you are done, no doubt.

 

Top work matey.Thats looking good.

 

Yes i may do that one day . There is a classic show at Ford Dunton Research Centre tommorow ive yet to attend one and typically i cant make it lol.

 

Thanks Glen i'm hoping for a good finish once im done. Once the refining stages commence and some nice sealant added its going to look pretty good . I see it as i have to do this, I detail seriously for beer tokens and have expectations on myself and im simply nowhere near happy until im done. It comes with its risks for sure , short and long term .

We have to try these things .

 

top notch mate looks like it going to be mint when your finished

 

Great work there fella!

Try 3M Polish, Seems to much better to work with! look forward to the finished pics.

Got to love Moonstone when trying to take pics hey lol I had to buy a SLR Camera in the end

Tarren

 

I've had some delays lately and have only just managed to get some more done . Today i finished off the bonnet and some of the o/s wing and f door. I've noticed that some panels arent quite where im hoping so may re do them over the next few days.
Couple of shots excuse the polish residue. No waxes or sealants added yet.

 

Wow. That looks spot on mate. Fancy a go on mine. Lol

 

That looks the nutts mate good work

 

use 3m green top you will never use another paste with your buffer again it runs rings around any of the "g" products, it works fast and is very easy to use

 

+1 3M FTW

Looks a shitload better op, top job

 

Thanks for the comments guys .
As mentioned the 3m green top polish is a good choice amongst many options . I have actually used that product here but its not something thats totally governed by one product. Im using various ranges of polishes.

 

looking good mate

 

Looks stunning! Also it's the best colour lol

 

Thanks guys more pics soon

 

Posty looks like yer be doing mine when its done
Lol

 

Great job there! !