Rebuild update

[shandyhaggis]

Thanks Dave

I used a hairdryer to heat the stuff up and it seems to have stuck ok. I might go over the the bits at the rear with something else as there seems to be a few bubbles.

Marks come back to me with the fitting advice. It seems the seal should have a metal strip inside (as suggested) mine hasnt so either I have an early one without or Ive a bit somewhere else which needs to be inserted, or the insert just hadnt been sent. Ill have a look to see but Im sure I havent got anything else for it

Cheers

Andrew

[rhd racer]

thanks I think Ill use copper pipe as well for the centre tunnel.

Just ordered a power spark coil to go with the power spark ignition bits I have and a FF015 fuel pump.

What sort of flange did you put on the copper line? A bubble like the brake lines?

thanks

Sorry Andrew, just catching up. Car looks great BTW.

I didn't actually put a flange on them , I just fed them down a couple of inches and used jubilees. Having had a co- competitor get badly burned with a non flanged water pipe, I would flange them if doing again. It doesn't need much, so if doing again I would use my brake flare tool on it.

Keep going, really great progress
ATB
Wayne

[shandyhaggis]

thanks Wayne

Im certainly happier with progress, its all coming together. I dont quite had the A team music playing in the background but that is a thought.

I put the targa roll bar padding on a couple of days ago, I think I'll put the side pads on next and maybe the dash board before looking at the pump and lines etc.

Just on the roll bar pads would you chaps use any of the black gunk tape stuff to hold them in place or just the self tapping screws?

If you recommend the gunk stuff then I'll do it towards the end to make sure I dont need to take anything off before I finish:-)

Cheers

Andrew

[shandyhaggis]

morning all

I popped in one of the targa catches yesterday, my god that was fiddly. A thread somewhere says install the pad first then pop in the catch. Honestly I needed fingers of a five year old with magnetic tips. One in the other to do.

I refurbed a roll bar pad from an earlier car and the plastic covers aren't the same, I think Ive got the other ones somewhere.

Presumably the plastic covers slide into the top then screw in (I remember the screws) after the catches are put in place. Lord knows how youd do it otherwise....

Thanks

Andrew

[Mr Pharmacist]

I'm sure i installed my catches before the pad Andrew. Its sometime since i did it but I remember fitting the roof without the pad in place.

[shandyhaggis]

Thanks Stuart I think your right.

https://914electric.wordpress.com/2011/ ... arga-trim/

The attached post led me astray:-)

Its not coming off though, not unless I have to...

[Darren C]

I fitted the catches first Andrew, then the pad. Tightened the M6 bolts up on the catches and the self tappers on the "L" slot plastic insert to pad, then fitted the whole pad. The hardest bit is getting the pad self tappers to find the holes in the bodyshell.
Take your time and it should all go back nicely.

[shandyhaggis]

thanks Darren the self tappers did take some time, and now they are on Im trying not to take them off again.

Ill keep fiddling, I might find away

thanks

Andrew

[shandyhaggis]

Afternoon

a bit of progress. Roll bar pad I re covered a couple of years ago. Looks ok. Still not fitted the plastic latch cover properly yet. The addional layer of vinyl and glue makes it a tight fit. Ill get the roof fitted first and then worry about these bits later.



A bit of foam and vinyl to make the dash top pad before putting the dash board in. Theres a bit if dimpling there if I was being critical, maybe from the foam.



The dash pad I recovered a couple of years ago fitted. Im quite happy with that. If doing it again Id use a different vinyl and there are bits Id approach differently but as a fairly cheep first attempt Im quite happy with it.


Ill look at the fuel pump and fuel lines next

[defianty]

All looking really good Andrew.
My car is almost in the same state of yours now except I'm taking everything apart!

I'm interested to hear about you recovering your rear targa bar. Mine is cracked and I'm looking to repair it at some point. Any tips would be appreciated.

[LMR]

That looks brilliant! I am looking forward to the point mine starts looking like it is going back together

[shandyhaggis]

I dont know if anyones renovated an old house, but its a lot like that (apart from parts for an old house are easy to get). You spend most of your time gutting and dealing with the horrors of age and it all looks awful till the wall paper goes on and the carpets are fitted. Mines taken 5 ish years to get to the point where Im putting stuff back and hoping its not going to come off again. Id like to say Im on the home straight, I probably am, still feels a long way off till I turn the key and get an MOT. At least these bits are quite enjoyable

[shandyhaggis]

All looking really good Andrew.
My car is almost in the same state of yours now except I'm taking everything apart!

I'm interested to hear about you recovering your rear targa bar. Mine is cracked and I'm looking to repair it at some point. Any tips would be appreciated.

Ive just looked for photos and Ive taken shots of just about everything else, Dashboard recover, door panels etc but not the roll bar. I can only assume I was getting reasonably proficient at it by then so I just did it quickly.

Stuff I used:-

- vinyl (4 ways stretch if you can, I used 2 way and it was ok just harder to work with)
- pot of upholstery glue and brushes (glue both the pad and the vinyl)
- pot of glue solvent (cleaning brushes and just starting again if it goes wrong)
- stanley knife (cutting out around the cracks)
- bumper filler (for filling cracks)
- handheld sander
- hair dryer (for softening vinyl to push it into shape)
- various bits of wood/ round / flat tools to push the vinyl into nooks and crannys
- good pair of sharp scissors

I had a bit of practice before I did the roll bar. It helps to play with the hair drier and the glue to see how long it takes to soften and also how long it takes the glue to melt. Sometimes the glue needed to be dry to bond on impact (most of the straight bits) and sometimes it was better for the glue to be a bit tacky so that you could bend the shape of the vinyl into a hole or inward curve.

If it all goes wrong you can just rip it off and clean up with solvent and have a beer then try again.

I cut the vinyl into the approx. shape Id need. Obviously cut out anything thats cracked or would show throw the new vinyl. Take you time with the bumper filler and build up the cut out cracks, using the sander to flatten back anything that not flat. I took ages just getting the filler nice and flat. Once your happy with that, clean it all down with, I think I used wipes or I may have used the glue solvent. Cant remember.

Do the pad in stages.

In terms of the gluing order (I might need to get an old pad out and work it through again to get this right):-
- I glued on the back of the edge that sits under the targa roof first to give the vinyl something to stick to. I think I started here as it was a straightish edge and an easy bit to make a good start. You can do the fiddly bits then with out a lot of vinyl flapping about
- The vinyl will then roll around on to the face you can see thats sits under the drivers head. Glue the face dont worry about the sides and the holes where the latches go, you cut them out later. Use the hair dryer to help stretch the vinyl to cover with out lumps and dry the glue, as soon as your happy that its ready then stretch and place at the same time smoothing out. It you mis place then just stop and pull it off, you might need to start again, you might be able to apply solvent to the back of the vinyl and the pad to remove the lumps to try again.
- Let it dry and then glue the front of the pad (that you look at when its fitted to the car). This bit is a bit more tricky as you have the curves and holes to contend with but if I remember correctly I stuck the vinyl on the front and left a bit to stick to the back of the bad to finish later.
- glue the ends and use the hair drier to pull the vinyl around the tips of the pad
- trim the vinyl so that you have an inch or so that will fit round the back of the pad and glue it in place
- now the fun bit, the latch plates. You need to cut these with a X and trim with a stanley knife. Apply glue to the underneath and use the hairdryer to push into place. It took a while to get this bit right. Im not sure Ive done this bit right as Im found it hard to get the plastic latch plates to fit. Im sure I can get them to sit properly. I may even suggest not to vinyl underneath the latch plates as they are all covered anyway with the plastic covers.

Anyway, might be difficult to follow without pictures but I dont mid digging out an old pad and working through the main bits with pics and arrows when the time comes. Actually I dont mind doing this sort of thing for folk if they want help, I quite enjoyed it. Need to finish my car first though:-)

A

[defianty]

Thanks Andrew. Despite the lack of images I could picture each stage fairly well. I'm sure this will help and I've saved this for future reference. Thanks again.

[shandyhaggis]

morning all

any thoughts on fuel pump location on my 76? It should be in the front under the fuel tank tucked away in a removable cover you can access from the front boot. I cant seem to find any reference to the bracket or the cover in the PET or any pics on the internet. The only thing I can think of is drilling a few holes in the cover, covering the pump in a sheet of rubber and tie wrapping it to the inside of the cover plate. I could mount it to the body underneath the tank but it becomes difficult to get out if theres a problem.

Im sure there are other options, Im sure Ive seem pumps mounted on the inside of the front boot.

Any ideas on wheres best?

thanks

A