Well here I am again, Billy No Mates but who needs help? The Herald is sailing along.
The mate never replied to my last tentative query about spraying the Herald, so that's that. He'll no doubt apologise profusely about having a new baby and being busy etc but an apology and £2.30 will buy a coffee these days. No £2.30, no coffee, so that's what an apology is worth.
So: how hard can it really be to paint a Herald? Under all that grease and gunge there's relatively solid metal. Looking logically at the setup it's a) only the underbonnet bulkhead areas, b) if I leave the vertical panels black it's less to spray and c) if I make a hoo-hah who will ever see, if I keep the bonnet closed? Suitably resolved, off I went, stripped it all down, cleaned everything, rubbed it all back; the bits that the sander couldn't reach, well, the drill and wire brush got in there. Tons of masking tape and a month's worth of newspaper and off we went.
It started off like this:
Went to this stage:
The only slight problem there being that I lifted a tin of high-build primer off the shelf by mistake, so had to wait for it to harden and then flatten back before reverting to the proper grey primer. Once I was happy that all the intended areas were covered, no drips sags or runs - no idea how - then let it dry for a day or two before the top coat of brilliant Delftweiss.
And this is the result:
I'm immensely pleased with that. Sadly the door wouldn't come off; someone has replaced one of the bolts with a large countersunk setscrew and I just couldn't get it to shift, otherwise that whole area at the hinges would be white too. Still, it's almost pristine. I think, as a relative novice, I took more care than I needed to, but the end result is a real morale-boost. As you can see, the parts have started to appear back in place, with a large-reservoir brake cylinder on which for some amazing reason the rubber boot fitted first time. That's never happened before. This afternoon had the clutch cylinder fitted, the control box, and a new rubber grommet for the wiring loom, which needs rewound in places but that'll be wee buns now. Onward and upward as they say.
Next step was the front suspension; both turrets blasted and repainted, and all suspension components already refurbished and ready to go.
There was one slight foo-pas when I reckoned that the shock absorber and trunnion bolts were rattling in the wishbones, so thought maybe the holes were ovalled, but I found later on that I had used 3/8 bolts instead of 7/16. No worries, they're only loosely fitted. One thing I have found is that the supplied bolts - the usual 'front suspension nut and bolt kit' from many suppliers - are often right on the length limit. This means that on tightening they barely reach the end of the nyloc nut, and it was an MOT Inspector many years ago who pointed this out on my GT6 and told me they like to see threads protruding out of the end. Consequently where it says 2 1/4 inches I'm using 2 1/2, the 2 1/2s are getting 2 3/4s and the 2 3/4 are getting 3 inch. That extra 1/4 inch just gives peace of mind.
I've also gone for polybush trunnions rather than the old plastic / tin shield / rubber ring setup. Two minutes to fit and only two hands needed.
And yes I did clean that trunnion up before fitting...
Next step is my favourite job - brake pipes. You know the one that goes: right angle, under turret, right angle across chassis, right angle under other turret, up side of turret, bend, bend again, bend down... yes that one. Why does it always kink on the last bend and then what on earth happened to the female flare on the replacement? It's like a top hat gone wrong... third time lucky; it went well, followed the bends, didn't kink and the last flare - done on the car when all was cut to length - flared perfectly. Job done, on that side at least.
The other side being shorter was easier; for a start it doesn't go under anything, but it still ended up at a profile I'm not happy with. I'm not. It fits well, doesn't rub off anything, doesn't get in the way... but I just know that by Monday I'll be replacing it for a slightly longer one that gives a more acute bend against the turret. It's just me. I don't like the jaunty angle that the four-way connector sits at, either, but the bracket is completely level to the chassis. A little bit more inspection required.
So that's the progress this week, and huge leap forward, too. I've completed the stripdown of the interior, which is now a bare shell, and found these interesting spacers under the carpet, below the seat runners.
I suppose that's one way of raising the runners when you have no metal spacers. I'll have to come up with something more.... aesthetic... and less of a fire risk. On the subject of wood my replacement dashboard arrived - £25 on eBay - and it's interesting. No varnish at all, maybe even no veneer, but most importantly no damage. It's a great starting point for a restoration - solid, undamaged and bare.
I won't get near it for some time but it'll make a nice project. I'll read the very interesting thread on the forum about reveneering dashboards and then see what finish I want, and work from there.
That's it for this week; if I had suitable washers I'd fit the other side of the front suspension and have the car back on all four wheels again. Next step is refitting the engine and gearbox which to be honest would be easier if I removed the bonnet first. Not a job I can do myself though... must phone the mate again. He's got to be feeling guilty by now...
