67 Mk1 GT6 restoration

[byakk0]

This one is not rotoflex. my calipers on the front do have a small rigid pipe, but the rears do not...I'm hoping to dig into them further in the morning and see what I really have/need. Chances are looking great I've installed the wrong hose.

[byakk0]

dug into it deeper today and discovered I did indeed have a front hose on the rear. Trimmed them down to a proper length and converted the hose. Got all the connections tightened up and took it for a short drive. Brakes worked fine. Wanted to go farther but with no lights the hands signals were a pain. No MOT yet anyway, so I didn't want get the attention of anyone wanting to hand out little slips official paper causing extra expense.

[junkuser]

May help explain Hazen.

[byakk0]

Thanks Mal. Helps loads.

You'll want to know I got the brakes sorted. Took it for a short drive to test the new system and had complete success. Was a little annoying, though, as I had no electrics beyond the ignition installed, so I had to use hand signals.
I shot a video of it, but it didn't quite turn out how I anticipated. I'll go for another drive today or tomorrow and get better footage.

[byakk0]

Wired up the front turn signals. Cant' find the wiring harness but it is just a couple lengths of G/W and G/R wire so I pulled some from a discarded loom.
Went to add the rear signals and realized I still need to cut the holes in the aftermarket valance.

No pics today, but you've all seen wire before.

[byakk0]

Marked the backend/rear valance for cutting the holes for the various lighting bits. Didn't get a chance to do much else.

[byakk0]

No worries, I haven't forgotten about my car. Just been way busy and the weather has been bad. Below freezing for 2 weeks, so working in the driveway is a pain. Yesterday was over 50 F (lets see, 5/9*50, or is it 9/5 /50 or....   Heyyyy, google!  ...that's about 10C)

Anyway,
This is how the backend looked a couple years ago.


and after I made a patch panel on my wheeling machine:



but I'm not satisfied with the gap, I took after it yesterday and cut a relief slit so I can move the metal where I want:



It's still not quite there, but closer. It needs a little more fettling.

I also cut the holes in the rear valance for the lights. I must have done something right as they fit.


I finished off the workday by dismantling the drivers side door and removing the skin. Looks like the innards need to be removed to get rid of the surface rust, but it looks much better than I anticipated. This door requires no metal replacement.

[Jonny-Jimbo]

The joys of living in a country where it doesn't rain all the time and they don't cover the roads in salt all the time. Mind you, they don't in the UK so much, but that's mainly a budget thing.

Looks good work on that rear panel. Nice that you did metal work on it, most people would have just dumped a tub of Bondo in there.

[byakk0]

Thanks!
We do get some rain here, in fact it had been raining most of the morning. Stopped long enough for me to play
(freezing temperatures with snow last week, warm temps and rain this week! like we say in Idaho, don't like the weather? Wait 5 minutes!)

I removed a lot of bondo from the backend so I can set it right. Sadly, my skills are nothing like either of the Johns around here (John Bonnet and John Jenkins), so in the end it will probably have a little filler.

[Jonny-Jimbo]

All cars end up with a little filler, unless they're bare metalled of course. It's very hard to get round that really, and a light skim to take out the imperfections is no bad thing.

[byakk0]

Very true. I'd like it filler free, but that's not gonna happen. However, it will have much less than when I started. I had areas thicker than 1", though on the rear valance I think 1/2" was the thickest I found.

Quoted from Jonny-Jimbo

All cars end up with a little filler, unless they're bare metalled of course. It's very hard to get round that really, and a light skim to take out the imperfections is no bad thing.

[byakk0]

I have been refurbished the wiring loom this past few weeks. Some PO had cut nearly every wire behind the dash about 2 or 3 inches from whatever end connection and crimped them back together. Not sure why that was done...but I reversed the damage as best as I am currently able. Removed the crimp connectors, soldered, and heat shrink tubing.
Some of the connections had broken and others were barely hanging on by a single strand or two.
Here is an example of one end I replaced-see the 3 solderless connections? ugh. It was replaced with the wire next to it.



I'll be saving up for a new loom, but this will work for now.

[JohnD]

Those bullet connectors got Lucas its "Prince of Darkness" name.    Unless you are a fanatic for originality, best got rid of.
If you observe moderns, multiways are universal now, and behind the dash, using multiway connectors allows for much easier revision and repair later.
For instance, here's my speedometer wiring before and after 'multiwaying'
Instead of groping in the dark to plug in a dozen connections, it's just one plug.
John

[John Bonnett]

Quoted from JohnD

Those bullet connectors got Lucas its "Prince of Darkness" name.    Unless you are a fanatic for originality, best got rid of.
If you observe moderns, multiways are universal now, and behind the dash, using multiway connectors allows for much easier revision and repair later.
For instance, here's my speedometer wiring before and after 'multiwaying'
Instead of groping in the dark to plug in a dozen connections, it's just one plug.
John

I totally agree John and that's what I've done as far as possible.  However, I've not been able to eliminate bullet connectors entirely mainly on the lamps where the the wiring passes through small small diameter grommets (headlamp bowls etc) and withdrawing the wiring is only possible with bullets on the ends.

[byakk0]

Thanks for the ideas Johns 😉 .
I've been considering that too, after having seen a number of folks do the same. (Perhaps I should have considered it a little harder before I put all the time and effort into the repairs I've done... )
Perhaps its simply just what I have on hand for now.

[byakk0]

Been a while since I updated...but it's been a while since did any work worth reporting. Cold weather and university getting in the way...

But, it felt good to get back to work on my car again. Been too long with school and cold weather.
After all the metalwork, and after I painted the bulkhead no less, I discovered the donor bulkhead had the hole for the fuse box in the wrong spot, so I repaired that today and started re-installing the wiring harness. My little helper had to work on her car and inspect mine.

Here's the before. Can't believe I didn't notice it last time I had the wiring harness in.


My original firewall. It's extremely rusty (the underside is wayyy bad), so it got replaced. (evidence of my first attempt at welding visible. yeah...I did get better)


Copying the old location and size with painters tape


Transferring the location


Patch piece in place, held from the backside with magnets


Old Filled, new cutout.


Almost can't tell.


Completed and back together


Working on her car


Checking out mine

[byakk0]

I started running the repaired loom early today. No pics, sorry.

However, to back up 2 months, I did some work on my driver's side door.
Because of the rust I removed the rest of the workings.
After a good soaking for 2 hours in TSP I hit it with steel wool. Quite a difference.
I'll finish it off with a wire brush on my angle grinder later.







You can also see I need to rebuild the tabs for the check strap.


I've since gotten it nearly ready for paint and reassembly, but I still need to rebuild those tabs.

[byakk0]

Ordered the windshield and tailgate glass seals, along with a few other little bits, including a much needed horn brush.
I've never had the correct setup on the hoses for the PCV valve, and the diaphragm was brittle and split, so I installed those last night. Thought I'd ordered a shift lever re-bush kit, but It wasn't on the packing slip. Guess I'll get it on the next order.

I also got some wiring gremlins figured out, so I can continue installing the loom.

[John Bonnett]

You're getting on well now Hazen; well done. I am interested in the windscreen and tailgate seals you've sourced. Frustratingly, I cannot get the after market windscreen filler trim to stay in and it won't go in at all in the tailgate. I understand from Bill Davies that this is a known problem with no solution.

Please let us know how you get on.

rgds

John

[byakk0]

Will do, John. I haven't sourced the trim yet.
As for the seals themselves, I picked up the windscreen from British Parts Northwest, and the tailgate from Spitbits (not the breaker spitbitz). I need to get them unpacked and let them start returning to their natural state instead of the twisted mess you see.
I needed the bits for the PCV valve and have a nice chunk of cash left from a recent vacation so I splurged on myself. Next up is a headliner.

[byakk0]

Made an attempt to start it again this week.
Attempt one was a failure as my fuel pump failed to work. I didn't have time to dive into it. I only had a few minutes and was hoping for a success story. Didn't turn out that way, so I had to wait until today.

So far, I have had the fuel line running temporarily through the bulkhead/transmission opening into a temporary tank in the passenger footwell (Driver's side for you who insist on driving on the wrong side of your roads).

Today I realized I needed to get the pump primed, so I fashioned a gravity fed mini tank out of a soda bottle and a 1/4 hose barb fitting. I'll put up a photo later.
This allowed me to not only suspend the fuel higher, but also squeeze the bottle and force fuel into the pump. Once I had the fuel there, the priming lever worked great. Wish I would have thought of this last year when I was having similar troubles-could have saved me a lot of time.

So, I connected the battery, hit the switch...and nothing more than a weak click. Dead battery.
Need to get a charger and try again.

[byakk0]

Ok, here's the pics I promised.

Soda bottle with a 1/4" hose barb through the cap. The other end is 3/8" MIP with a 3/8" union. (sorry, I am not sure of the UK standard)





At first I thought I'd cut a filler in the inverted bottle, but decided not to as I could squeeze the bottle and force the fuel to the pump. Worked great, as the now primed pump worked as it should. Makes me wonder back when I first was having pump issues if this was all I needed to do.

I bought a charger and let it have a go on the battery for a day I got it start only momentarily. Thereafter I only got the solenoid to click. Nothing from the starter at all.
Bad solenoid after all these years of sitting? It's worked fine recently though...Need to explore it and the wiring connections before I try again.

[byakk0]

My attempts at starting it is so I can easily get it in and out of the garage so I can look at the gaps and body lines for further away than 6 inches. I'll get back to it later, maybe I'm getting the cart before the horse at this point.

Anyway, back to the door.
I tore the skin off and ripped the insides out back in Dec '15. Time to wrap it up.

The connection for the check strap was broken off sometime before I bought the car. Now, as I have to re-skin the thing, I could just as easily use one my other doors, although 2 of those are from a 69 GT6+. The other's look to have some rust issues and may need metal work to clean it up. I think I'm better off replicating the check strap connection-That and this shell is original to the car. As much metal as I have replaced, I'd like at least some of it be original.

Here you can see the missing connection. The area is a little beat up too. Needs flattening. No idea what happened.


Inside view.


Insides removed, complete with shavings.
I contemplated leaving these intact and just making the tabs longer. But, the more I thought about the more I knew I needed to remove the rust I'd find. That and I made the tabs before I removed remains, and I didn't make them long enough. I could have adjusted them, but it was a good excuse to do it right.


A shot of the sample I copied.


Abby crunching numbers for me.


layout of the new ones


bent


shaped


test fitting


inside shot after welding (and painting)


and the door insides painted



and a quick attempt at locating the holes.

I covered the end of the door in painter's tape (a trick I picked up from the myriad of restoration shows!), trimmed the edge to match, and cut the holes from the inside with a sharp x-acto knife. In theory the measurements should transfer directly, but the edges of the door skin are eased-there's not a sharp edge to get an exact measurement from. This will take some thinking, or offers of help from anyone.
Thus, this is as far as I got as I not only didn't have the time to drill holes, but also I want to be sure they are placed properly before I go to town with a drill on these new skins.

[John Bonnett]

You are making a nice job of the door Hazen. Looks really good. I had the same problem with one of the lugs for the checkstrap. I cheated and transferred a good one from an old door. Your method of marking the holes for the door handle and the lock are more accurate than mine. I just did mine by dead reckoning and actually they are not too critical and all was well. On the door handle there's a threaded stud so that when you operate it it acts on a flat lever with plenty of "Land" to release the catch and the lock also has plenty of leeway. And the great thing is that you can't see both sides at the same time so a bit of difference can be hidden.

[byakk0]

Glad to know it doesn't need to be exact...
Not sure why, but something you said reminded me I plan on welding in some backer behind the handle.

Also, This interesting bit was brought to my knowledge.
Paddocks has lock barrels with threaded bolts to replace the awful spring clip that holds the locks into place (that I knew and was contemplating) http://www.jamespaddock.co.uk/parts.aspx?searchtext=door%20lock

However, MOSS motors has an interesting solution that one could fab up on the cheap. (they want $17.99-2 grub screws and two washers, essentially. )
http://www.mossmotors.com/graphics/products/PDF/402-195.pdf

Either option is extremely tempting to me as I recall my door locks being very loose and not extremely secure.