Mk 1 Project Zippy. Looking Like a Car.

[MrBounce]

Paint is on hold for now due to the temperature having dropped off again. However whilst round at Tink's, having helped him clear out, modify and generally sort out his garage, we started sorting the gear selectors. For those that don't know, the rods are extended by 3 3/4" due the Midas being longer. I already had the sleeving cut to 4 3/4" in order to put 1/2" of selector rod inside each end.

Out came the hacksaw, and the change rod was suitably split. Using carefully placed clamps, we tacked the sleeve to the rod at both ends, before welding it properly. I will attack the welds with the Dremel to smooth them out a bit before some paint. Although I have cut the steady rod, we havent welded it yet due to running out of time. Each welded extension is at opposite ends to avoid the wider rods clashing. More will follow soon. Apologies for the poor photos - I only had my phone!

Selector rod completed. Welds yet to be attacked by the Dremel.



Steady rod clamped awaiting attention from Tink's big MIG.

[MrBounce]

I finished off welding the gear selector last Thursday round at Tink's. It was a 5 minute job, just needing to tack it in place then weld all around each end of the extension to the upper steady bar. Just need to tidy it up with the Dremel before giving it a coat of paint.

It was Bank Holiday weekend, and surprisingly, the weather was good. So out came EVERYTHING in the garage and I set to with the staple gun and the large polythene sheets that Shaun had got for me. No more overspray on stuff! Once inside, Zippy was given 5 coats of RAL 2008 bright red orange and although there's a couple of small imperfections, 2 drips (in virtually unseen places) and a couple of bugs, I am pretty please with the outcome. It'll never win a concours or be given good marks by a professional, but hey - it's not a show car - and it's ALL my own work. The bonnet and doors will be done at a later date as I will need to lie them down to do them and there isn't the space - plus it's too cold and a bit damp today. I am, however (much to the relief of Mrs Bounce) VERY happy.

Extended gear selector, just needing a tidy-up before paint.



Zippy appears to have strayed into Dexter's lab...



SO MUCH ORANGE!!!!

[MrBounce]

Looks good from this side too!

[MrBounce]

Typically, I set aside a really nice day to put what I hoped were the final coats on the bonnet and doors, and after 3 light coats (not enough as some of the primer is still showing through), I ran out of paint... I will get some more and finish them off but it's still frustrating.

So, in an effort to "turn a frown upside down", I decided that it was time to bolt a couple of bits on to the shell. Why? BECAUSE I CAN NOW!! First up was the heat shield for the bulkhead. Given that the one that was on there when I bought the car looked like an old piece of carpet which had been stuck on with silicon sealant, I thought something a little more suitable would be required. After some advice from a Midas forum member (thanks Roy!) I picked up some adhesive heat shielding from Europa Spares and after cutting it to shape, I gently laid it on. I did get one crease in it (which looks far worse in the picture than it actually is) but it won't be seen much and once this stuff is on, it does NOT want to come off...

I followed this up with my captive bolts for the pedal box. I had constructed this from the old cut-down bolts that held it in place originally and a broken disc shroud from the spares box. I hammered it flat, bent it to shape and welded the bolts on before painting it. It slid into place really easily and attaching the pedal box was simplicity itself from then on.

I was on a roll. My next thought turned to the brake master cylinder and the PWDA valve. I popped the master cylinder roughly into place and next up were the brake pipes from the cylinder to the valve. I'd bought these from Mini Spares rather than make my own as they're an odd size, so they came ready bent to shape. I fitted them to the valve first before offering the valve up to the bulkhead. The previous braking set-up was a mixture of single line and utterly knackered so this was all binned and replaced with dual-line. This meant that the PWDA valve needed a home on the bulkhead, and typically this was exactly where the throttle cable used to sit. Modifications are underway to alleviate this issue.

Finally, in went the bracket which the steady bar bolts to. Again this was a simple case of popping a couple of bolts through the bulkhead and connecting them up, albeit with a strangely contorted body upside down in the footwell in brutally hot sunshine. I will bolt some more stuff on soon!

Heat shield on. Ignore the crease - it looks a lot better in the flesh!



Captive bolt bracket for pedal box attached. Garage ingenuity made this!



Bracket for master cylinders. It's starting to come together...

[MrBounce]

Reconditioned "Yellow tag" m/c, PWDA valve, those nice looking pipes from Mini Spares and the steady bar bracket all in place and ready to go.

[fozzza]

Thanks for the mention, Im glad to help.

[coh1952]

More on removing the flywheel:
I made up a locking bracket from bits of old starter ring and steel plate. It bolts on in place of the starter motor.
On one occasion I had to get 100kg of aged parent to jump on the end of a 6 feet (oops. showing my age) 2m long tube around the rigid socket arm. The issue then becomes how to react those torques, especially if the engine is out of the car.

[goldeneye]

bolting bits on, that is the most fun part! (expect when nothing will fit sometimes... )

[MrBounce]

A couple of weeks ago, I finished off painting the doors and the bonnet. At least I did up to a point. I had got everything out of the garage and popped the bonnet and doors on three separate tables. All went swimmingly, until the last pass of the gun on the bonnet. I hadn't realised that I had not tightened the lid on the gun's container properly, and as I did the last pass with a flourish, 5 paint drips happily landed right in the centre of the bonnet. Oh goody. They say bad things come in threes. They do. I managed to knock one of the doors and chipped the edge. And as I was putting the stuff back in the garage I caught the side of the front wing with a metal box. This made me angry.

As it's always a good plan not to do things when you're angry, I left it a week or two before sanding everything down (AGAIN!) and then giving them a blow over this morning before the rains came down. The bonnet is much better, and the door and the wing will stand up to a 10-foot check. 3 bugs did land on the car though. However, there will be other bug splats in the future so they can stay there until the paint's dried properly!

Painted (hopefully for the last bleeping time!!) and lookin' good!

[MrBounce]

Managed to grab a couple of hours over the last couple of days. I need to get under and do the brake and fuel lines, but this can wait until I have the time to throw everything back out of the garage so I can get the car high up on stands. In the meantime, I painted the extended gear selector rods (mainly to stop them rusting) and then set about de-rusting a few brackets and bits. The door glass holders had a bit of surface rust, as did the gear selector bracket and the engine mount bracket.

I found my pot of Bilt-Hamber De-Ox gel and gave them a good coating having given them a wipe down with white spirit. After half an hour I gave them a good wire-brushing and most of the rust came off as sludge. This stuff is amazing. No pictures of the result as they look much the same, just with not much rust. I will give them a coat of paint in due course. I will also give the gear selector housing a new coat of silver - once I actually get some fresh paint...

Rods won't rust as easily now.



Brackets covered in De-Ox Gel.