Got a few things to update you guys on, don't have as many pics this time so will try to fill in with words instead.
So ideally I would of liked to fit the suspension, exhaust and bushes myself, but I do not have a ramp and tools to compress the springs so it went off to a local garage to get that done.
When the front LCA's were removed I asked the garage to let me know before they remove the bushes that were shot so I can give them a clean and a lick of paint.
This is what they looked like straight off the car:
Wire brushed them down to what was seemed reasonable level, cleaned them up with a thinner and they were ready for paint. For these I went with 2 coats of primer, 2 coats of paint and 2 coats of lacquer.
And done:
Unfortunately I cannot get them smoother than that, as they would need sandblasting and an acid bath for that, then ideally powder coating but that is extra cost that I can't see being justified for a piece of metal underneath the car... They are very thick and heavy so plenty of metal in there, the rust was all surface based and this is more to preserve them than a full on restoration of the underside.
Then I went to the garage to drop them off so the new bushes can go on, and while there I managed to snap a few pictures.
Really need to address the surface rust around the components as it really lets the car down imo, but all with due time. The underside is going to be an a$$ to do but it's a necessary evil. I am glad the actual shell is in good state.
Here is the car out of the garage:
I asked them to lower it 30mm all around, but apparently this is 30mm at the rear and 28 or so at the front. Don't know about you but the front looks a lot higher to me, so I will be adjusting that once I get it home. Also yes I know the forum sticker is peeling, I've ordered internal ones as my pressure washer likes to destroy things like that lol.
Anyway, got it home and as I parked up I noticed this heresy on the sideskirts:
Not sure when that is from but a week prior when I was polishing it, it definitely wasn't there.... Ah well, just my luck. So off they come:
Wtf are bird feathers doing there...
For those of you who have not undertaken such job, be careful with the removal as it's pretty delicate. You need to do the following:
1. Remove the two self tapping screws at he front (many guides mention 3, but the 3rd one which is at the bottom right, in no way connects to the side skirt so not sure why you need that off)
2. Remove the 2 clips underneath the side skirt that hold the 2 plastic brackets to the chassi
3. Slide the skirt forwards (this takes a bit of force if you have never taken it off) and it should pop out. You will hear a loud click/bang but don't worry you haven't broken anything.
Then to remove the clips off the sill, what you don't want to do is grab them with pliers and pull like the idiot I was... :lol:
The correct way of doing it is simply rotating them anti-clockwise (even by hand) and then pull slowly. They should gently come loose and pop out. Heres pics:
So the skirts are off, the sills will be cleaned up, sanded and given a lick of paint underneath as I can see some rust starting to take place mainly towards the rear arch. Not sure how I am going to go about repairing the skirts yet, I hope they will go back to shape with a bit of heating in the damaged spots, as it looks like it was caused during in-proper placement of a jack... But thankfully has not cracked the skirt, only dented it. Will update more on that as I progress further.
Now here is a bit of an odd issue, so you might remember that I bought a new wiper for the rear windscreen. Well there was two issues there when I installed it.
1. The spray nozzle seemed different from the original, and wasn't spraying properly. I cleaned it up and squashed it a bit to get it to spray higher and in a more uniform "mist" style, which sort of worked.
2. The wiper does not seem to hold itself in place, I am pretty sure I am missing a plastic piece there, as when I left the arm the wiper can simply slide off. here are a few pics that can hopefully explain what I mean:
And here is the custom nozzle
Anyone know if I am missing a piece? Ideally a picture of how yours sit would be great, I know the nozzle is different so I can find that from a breakers, but he wiper must somehow lock in place and not fall out as easily...
Any help with the above would get you a pint and my thanks :smt023
