Nice one mate, it's a great feeling to get something back on the road, isn't it?



Why not start another thread called "living with the car" or something like that like I did with Belinda, because there's always something else you're going to want to do once you start driving it.

Its been a great thread to follow so far, and the end result truly stunning, thanks for sharing the whole process with us all. Please keep up the posting like Bertie said and I really hope we'll bump into each other at one of the meetings this year so I can show my car what perfect paintwork really looks like.

I even remember back around April I happened to hear a weather forecast say it was raining in the NW that day, and my first thought was, ah boo no updates from Mr Old-Nail on the painting tonight then!

Keep us posted on the indicators and the MOT and the driving with big grin and the stunned responses of the general public.

Dont put yourself down mate
"professional restorations" with masking overspray on the window rubbers, seam sealer and tack panel fitting back to front shocks woodscrews holding the wings etc all come in to that category

what are you going to do now? bet your bored by next week

Sean

Well I might still revisit one or two parts and improve on them.

When I started out the intention was just to make a scruffy car tidy again, so although I was very thorough on the mechanical side of things I didn't go mad on the cosmetics. That sounds like a daft statement given the attention it's had but what I mean is that if I had bumped or bent panels originally, then apart from straightening them out the best I could and painting them, then bumped and bent they are.

Same with the boot lid. I didn't prep it well enough, so when the cellulose paint shrank as it inevitably does there are scores of..er... well scores on there. The sanding scratches now show through noticeably.

I've still got plans to fit the coloured speedo face which while only a small detail will have quite a big effect I think, but as it will now be my daily driver stuff like that will have to be done as weekend jobs. As for chronicling future developments I'll certainly let you know if anything fails or drops off, or if I find that I wish I'd done something different, so that my experiences can help those that might follow.

The Chinese have a saying; "May you live in interesting times", it's a saying that is delivered with a smile but is actually an insult. 'Interesting' being a Chinese euphemism for 'troubled', and I do have the knack of finding those 'interesting' times! In fact you could say that I've lived an 'interesting' life, brought about in part no doubt by my maverick personality, so one things for sure, and that is as they dryly say up here in a northern version of the Chinese saying. With me - "There's never a dull moment!"

With regards too the paint job and finish.....I reckon you will always be more critical as you know the car soooooo well...

Also, really over-restored paint finishes are nothing but a pain in the arse.....you can't use the car the way you should, you will panic about leaving it in a crowded car park and god forbid if you ever scratch/ding it, it will stick out like a sore thumb and you will have to redo the whole panel.....

I reckon you did the perfect job for the car !.....plus if ever a problem arises you can sort it.

Fantastic job. Looks really lovely. Looking forward to hearing how you get on with driving your beautiful car.

Freshly MOT'd today! (after a week of waiting to get a booking).
There were no hitches, and I was complimented on the car by the tester - can't be bad. Isn't it funny, seeing the MOT pass certificate being written out after all that work made me feel like a proud dad, if I'd have had any cigars I'd have handed them out.

Three snags to report so far:

1/ The choke works itself back on again slightly, even after having been pushed firmly back in place not only by the cable, but by opening the bonnet and doing it manually.

2/ The speedo cable is a little jerky, it's a brand new one so I'll take a look at the routing when I fit the coloured speedo face later this weekend perhaps.

3/ The passenger door shows more daylight at the top than I'd like from inside, so hours more fun meddling with the hinges in store. Other than that, it's all smiles.

Great news!! Well done, it's been great watching the car come together, now, go enjoy!

Brilliant news, Old-Nail! I'm glad it's all sorted, although there was never really any doubt.

Happy 2cving!

Great news!! Have fun driving it around!