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Mark 3 GT6 restoration - here we go!


Rubce

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Hi All

Well winter is rapidly approaching and its time to start work on our GT6.

We have had the car 4 years in 2008 and 3 years ago (2009) I replaced the drivers floorpan, panel under the rear bumper, fitted repair panels to the rear section of the rear wings, swapped the bonnet, fitted new carpets, new dash and full respray. The front seats, rear suspension and propshaft were overhauled last year and the front wheel bearings this year. Other than that the chassis and running gear is as bought

The car is used all the year round several times a week as a daily driver and the 2009-10 and 2010-11 harsh winters did not do it any favours underneath. Most of the paint has come off the chassis, and the passenger side floorpan has very poor underseal. There also a few rust patches and two holes around the ends of the sills and on one front wing.

So the time has come to take it back off the road to:-

sort out a few body scrapes that it has picked up in supermarket carparks etc
investigate the rust/holes
take the tub off and do a full resto of the chassis and all the running gea
total re-wire from scratch (did this on my Stag and was well worth it)
respray (retain the Jasmine yellow)
new clutch
new headlining
new interior trim in the rear

The downside to all this apart from the cost of materials is that my Stag will have to live outside over the winter whilst the GT6 occupies the garage   :'(

Attached are two photos from when I finished the work on the car last time in 2009.

Anyway, all encouragement and advice gratefully received as I keep this thread going over the next 6 to 9 months.

Regards

Bruce

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1903 wrote:


Did you make the wiring loom yourself, or did you buy and fit a ready made one?
Interested to hear your thoughts as a  friend of mine did his own wiring, he said it was a very time consuming, but made a huge difference


Hi

Yes I made the Stag wiring loom from scratch. This allowed me to re-route the cables away from the exhaust manifolds, set up the headlights so all four worked on both dip and main beam via relays, move the fusebox and electronic ignition into the cabin, use modern spade type fuses, modern relays etc. And yes it was time consuming! At least the wiring in a GT6 is much simpler and access so much better so it shouldn't take as long to do. ;)

Cheers

Bruce

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Bruce,

She looks nice as she is now, but you never see the hidden problems.

I like the dash, is it walnut?

We have an old walnut tree in our garden, and I will cut it down one day, and part of that will make a new dash for the mk3 when that gets restored!  :)

Look forward to your resto thread



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Hi Shaun

Those two photos date from 2009. These days she still looks tidy until you get up close, probably a bit like a lot of us! ;D

Yes the dash is walnut and was done by a family friend who is part owner of Nantwich Veneers, Nantwich, Cheshire. I went along to their workshop and selected the piece of veneer that I wanted him to use for the dash. Looking at a tree stump which has been sliced like a loaf of bread was interesting. Their company supply Bentley and do a quality job.

I intend to start dismantling the car tomorrow afternoon with the first job being to remove the interior. The Webasto sunroof has leaked in the past and I am wondering what the steel roof is like behind the headlining :-/

Regards

Bruce

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With the sun shining today I started work dismantling the car. First to go was the interior together with front and rear lights, webasto roof and various other bits. All in all a productive start but I doubt it will go back together again as fast!

Cheers

Bruce

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4058 wrote:
Bruce,

She looks nice as she is now, but you never see the hidden problems.

I like the dash, is it walnut?

We have an old walnut tree in our garden, and I will cut it down one day, and part of that will make a new dash for the mk3 when that gets restored!  :)

Look forward to your resto thread





Well worth selling the walnut tree and asking purchaser for the pick of the veneer  once it is sliced up. I am not sure but a solid lump of walnut may have a tendency to warp.

Amusing Story.
A work colleague had a walnut tree in his garden and had made arrangements for a chap to purchase it from him with the view to using it for veneer and a price of £1500 (20yrs ago) had been agreed. The purchaser had removed the limbs from the tree and arranged to return to cut the tree down a couple of weeks later. My colleague then went on holiday and his son who was trying to earn some brownie points told him he'd had a clear up in the garden and cut down that old tree stump and burnt it. To say that my colleague was incensed was an understatement but gave us all at work a good laugh. "Kids! you've got to love 'em" was a phrase often bandied about for the next few weeks.

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Hmmm, after spending an hour this afternoon attacking the car with an angle grinder and a knotted wire wheel, a few holes have appeared.  :'(

The nearside sill has a whopping hole in it at the front.  
The nearside sill front closure plate is only half there
The offside sill has several holes holes along its length and a large one at the rear end (signs of previous patching repairs)
The nearside front wing has multiple holes
The bonnet has a nasty hole at the rear just above the bonnet handle

So, it would appear to me that the car requires:-
2 x new sills
2 x new sill front closure plates
1 x front nearside wing
Corrosion along the top rain gutter of the rear tailgate

How big does a hole need to be before a sill has to be replaced instead of simply patched?

Thoughts and comments all welcome.

Regards

Bruce

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The thing is, if there are small holes appearing, and as you can see with the seams, there is rust there also, then what is the rest of the sills/panels like that you can't see?

I personally would replace the complete panel, do it once and do it correct, you can patch but how long will it be until the rest goes bad, and even more heart breaking if you had a nice new paint job!

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184 wrote:
It depends on your budget but I did a lot of patching and found myself replacing panels in the end. It's often easier, less time consuming and more importantly - much less soul destroying.

We all feel your pain.


Fully agree with Craig. Replace the panels. The bonnet is a huge area, one that is looked at with attention. When the car is painted, you'll be glad you did.

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Hi All

One week into the project and work has been progressing steadily during the evenings this week culminating in the engine and gearbox coming out this afternoon and being split apart. The fuel tank was also drained and removed leaving just the dashboard and facia to remove from the interior. I am hoping to start excavating the first sill tomorrow as the new ones arrived in the post today.

Regards

Bruce

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I think your thread title is perfect - Here We Go - that's just what I thought each time I started on a new panel and found more and more of that nasty red stuff called rust. I won't list all the panels that I replaced - I've seen better tubs on sale for less than the panels I bought! Still, it's all worth it when it's all back together and looking like a car again and I'm sure you'll enjoy the process on the way there. I did patch a few areas, but as others have said, in reality it's better and more rewarding to replace where you can. At least you then know that the whole area is sound and can take the necessary steps to protect it for the future. Good luck!

Are you up against a deadline, or do you have the luxury of taking your time?

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3310 wrote:

Are you up against a deadline, or do you have the luxury of taking your time?


Hi

No I am not up against a deadline but neither do I want it hanging around in bits in the garage/garden/house. My goal (more like a wish) is 6 months to complete the entire job. That is not based on any hard facts, simply a desire to have it back on the road and in use for next spring.

Regards

Bruce

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Took the nearside sill off yesterday and discovered that somebody had been there before me! The outer sill I was cutting off was not original and neither was it actually attached at the bottom to the inner sill

Just goes to show you don't know what is under the skin of a classic car until you have dis-robbed it!

Bruce

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;)6 MONTHS Blimey that will be going it! Good luck.........

At least it looks like the inner sill is salvagable, hopefully that trend continues.

I started my rebuild 23months ago and have just got the engine back in. Still got to get it running though, then replace all the interior and glass, etc. Winter's coming so dark nights means more opportunity to spend time in the garage. My goal is to get it on the road by next Spring, so maybe at about the same time as you.

Cheers              John

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