A Californian drying out in South Africa

African Imp · Post by **African Imp** » Fri Mar 27, 2015 1:02 pm

Re the Door Card pattern??

They had no welding gear so its all machined stitched to mimic a weld pattern.

African Imp · Post by **African Imp** » Fri Mar 27, 2015 2:43 pm

The seat back has carpet on it, the same charcoal grey the Rob chose, it is a Landrover colour he told me.

The carpet dips to the shape of the seat back, so some 1/8" hardboard backers need fitting under the carpet?

I have the same issue at the rear of the front seats, I removed the black tar infill, now its a washboard surface, I must have nice flat carpets, so more hardboard inserts need fitting??

Not there yet am I

African Imp · Post by **African Imp** » Sat Mar 28, 2015 7:51 am

The two side trims to the headliner are shaped ok now I think but one is not that strong due to the quality of the 3mm hardboard I used.
So off to the shops and spend that R128.00 I was trying to save

I will now make a pair of new ones and keep what I have made this far as templates for the next coupe restoration, there is one more Coupe in South Africa that I know of

African Imp · Post by **African Imp** » Sat Mar 28, 2015 8:55 am

Who Knows Where The Time Goes (joni mitchell)

This headliner thing is sure gobbling up hours and days of my attention, then again the poor fit of the head liner someone had fitted before I got the car over twenty years ago always let the car down.

Using the trims I made and intending to use as the actual ones to be fitted but with new 1/8" hardboard gives me and Noel who will fit them the very best chance of a correct fit

allthingscars · Post by **allthingscars** » Sat Mar 28, 2015 9:21 am

Hi
I am restoring a stiletto and looking though the set of second hand roof trim panels that I have bought for it,the part that fits over the windscreen is a steel pressing that is held on with four self tapping screws.
Just thought I would mention it in case you didn't know
The car is looking really good and a credit to you
Kev

The Nun · Post by **The Nun** » Sat Mar 28, 2015 10:54 am

Headlining front header (metal) pt no. 77209269

4 x fixings for above pt no 9131450, button head drive in type expander (this type is normally metal)

001.JPG

The Nun · Post by **The Nun** » Sat Mar 28, 2015 11:38 am

Cant remember now Roy, its over 25 years since I did a Stiletto headliner

You need the man with one to take a few photos for you to see exactly how it goes I think?

Are you going to treat the surface of the roof before you fit the new trim? is that glue remnants or surface corrosion??

African Imp · Post by **African Imp** » Sat Mar 28, 2015 11:59 am

The Nun wrote:Cant remember now Roy, its over 25 years since I did a Stiletto headliner
You need the man with one to take a few photos for you to see exactly how it goes I think?

Are you going to treat the surface of the roof before you fit the new trim? is that glue remnants or surface corrosion??

I have asked for a picture and do really hope I get one as that is my missing link in the exercise mystery I have right now.

The inside of the roof has a 2mm sound deadening stuck on, I disked it with a very rough 9" disc in my polisher, the mini grinder route is too dangerous.
What you can see as brown is the old contact glue, its not rust!

African Imp · Post by **African Imp** » Sat Mar 28, 2015 12:15 pm

The new long side trims are now re made and with new hard board, they are the ones without Moon clips in them.
I will epoxy the holes to add some strength and keep any moisture out.

African Imp · Post by **African Imp** » Sat Mar 28, 2015 12:55 pm

If I now accept that I have an important trim base missing, I need to move forward and use whats there or replace whats not there?

What I have done is use the Superform bending ply panel I made as a template, then expand that onto the new hardboard and extend it backwards where it will marry up with the foam headliner

I need to move on and get this week behind me, with whats fitted now and when the sun visors and rear view mirror is fastened in place I can now see that while what I have fitted will be deeper than the original it will tie in fine with the general trims.

The hardboard is stiff enough to support itself and one the screws at the end and center fittings are in place the cross panel will require no further fasteners

allthingscars · Post by **allthingscars** » Sat Mar 28, 2015 4:31 pm

Hi
I see that you have managed to over come the lack of front strip I have taken some photo's let me know if you need them
Kev

African Imp · Post by **African Imp** » Sun Mar 29, 2015 6:44 am

An unexpected bonus came when I folded the sun visors back and up to the roof, they fit neatly with the depth of the trim I have fitted

As with the longer side trims I think this one will become a template as one or two adjustments can be made and its as easy just to cut out another one.
I served my time as a Joiner with Tysons of 5 Dryden Street, Liverpool.

http://ckdboats.blogspot.com/2009/02/ty ... rpool.html

African Imp · Post by **African Imp** » Sun Mar 29, 2015 10:10 am

I know why I have struggled so much with the front head liner cross member, an Important part is missing on my car

Fancy loosing such an Important piece of the jigsaw.

Thanks to Kevin for sending me these pictures.

African Imp · Post by **African Imp** » Sun Mar 29, 2015 1:35 pm

With the front head liner trim fitting sort of worked out, the next issue was how to retain the sun visors, as only one captive screw hole fitting existed on either side of the car.

I was going to press a block of plywood in, bonded with epoxy it would work, then I thought about my collection of captive screw hole fittings, they are different but in effect do the same thing.

The longer one was the correct size but I only had the one, so the standard size type has had the corners ground off, the missing corners allow the plate to slide further in and the plate hole ends up in the right place.

The Nun · Post by **The Nun** » Sun Mar 29, 2015 1:53 pm

Yes good idea, as long as the sun visor shaft still goes in its hole ok?

African Imp · Post by **African Imp** » Sun Mar 29, 2015 2:17 pm

The Nun wrote:Yes good idea, as long as the sun visor shaft still goes in its hole ok?

My two sun visors are fitted and by grinding the corners off and allowing the clip to slide in deeper opens the center hole and will allow the sun visor mount shaft and its spring to enter

After seeing this clip fix, Rob will use the same idea on his 1971 Imp Deluxe, his wife will collect the required clips from me when she next drives into Cape Town

viewtopic.php?f=12&t=27433&start=160 wow, what a fabulous car!

African Imp · Post by **African Imp** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 7:42 am

Can I make one of the metal trims but in wood or veneer?

I guess I can but the time it will take is not worth the effort?

Thanks to Kevin on his pictures supplied

Why was this Important part of the cars interior lost, on my car the re trimmers just stuck foam backed vinyl over the area, it did not look at all finished.

Thinking of the future, can anyone supply me with one? as I have someone who can bring it out here around April.

African Imp · Post by **African Imp** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 11:06 am

Fixing the floor will have to happen before I can etch primer it and then apply the black stick on infills

There is significant damage to the forward mount holes for the drivers seat.

I have found a suitable nut with a top hat type washer as part of it, this sits in the hole just fine so I can braze or silver solder it in.

I will use the two rear bolt positions as I am long legged but the forward holes must still be an option for those with shorter legs?

African Imp · Post by **African Imp** » Tue Mar 31, 2015 6:20 am

This was a dirty job, noisy at one stage also but the final finish seems to be working out ok.
I will lift whats laid to etch prime the floor prior to final laying of the sound seal.

The application will work on two counts, one it replaces the black sealer that was poured in place, two it levels the floor which is the idea

African Imp · Post by **African Imp** » Wed Apr 01, 2015 1:26 pm

Whats happening today?

Not a lot as I am busy with other stuff but I did clean off the drivers side floor with a suction cleaner and I have just applied a nice coat of a favorite etch primer,its acid cured and bonds to most substrates.

Next I will over coat with black, tomorrow? No, read my comment in the next posting below.

The car is turning out to be better than I had hoped, ok its not perfect and we know that but checking the way the green etch primer has upgraded the floor space sure cheers me up some

I ran a suitable tap into the six threaded holes to bolt the seat down with, oiled they now have spare bolts inserted to keep the threads free of paint.
I will fit a suitable pan headed machine screw into the forward seat fixing holes to keep them clean and rust free, the new carpet (loose fitting) will then cover them over.

African Imp · Post by **African Imp** » Wed Apr 01, 2015 1:27 pm

Whats happening today?

Not a lot as I am busy with other stuff but I did clean off the drivers side floor with a suction cleaner and I have just applied a nice coat of a favorite etch primer,its acid cured and bonds to most substrates.

Next I will over coat with black, tomorrow?

Not sure why but we have a duplication of the same posting.

As we can see the couple of days spent cleaning and scraping, plus the nice air powered chisel gun has given a nice surface to lay carpets on.
The floor underside will be done the same way one day?

its nasty working under there .

The light green finish is so nice that I will just apply a second coat tomorrow and that will be the final finish.
For one its a whole lot nicer to work in the lighter and brighter space than a blackness

African Imp · Post by **African Imp** » Wed Apr 01, 2015 3:47 pm

Now then, all I did today was paint the section of floor I was working on the last two days but it has transformed the car?

I will paint a second coat in the morning, then I need to turn the car around to do the nearside of the car, that will be at least another two days work if not more

African Imp · Post by **African Imp** » Thu Apr 02, 2015 11:56 am

The second coat of etch primer looks even better and almost too nice to fit the new carpets

The Nun · Post by **The Nun** » Thu Apr 02, 2015 10:25 pm

I believe thats what they call butterscotch

oli · Post by **oli** » Fri Apr 03, 2015 7:29 am

I may have a spare coupe front interior trim panel in my storage - I will have a look over this weekend.

African Imp · Post by **African Imp** » Fri Apr 03, 2015 1:44 pm

With the side lane garage cleaned and sort of made tidy I was still able to apply another coat of the green etch primer to the rear parcel shelf.

Some 1.5mm black sound seal will be donated to the cause around mid day on Sunday, that will be just the right stuff to cover the primer over and add even more sound proofing, there will be a carpet finish when the jobs done.

The paint is still wet in the picture, I filled all the various surface cracks with Painter Mate, worked a treat and cost very little.

another thinner coat and that made the finish as good as I need, next is the addition of black sound seal 1.5mm thick.

African Imp · Post by **African Imp** » Sat Apr 04, 2015 4:10 pm

The car needed turning around so that the nearside floor can be stripped and cleaned, the carb nearest the transaxle is giving more problems and needs to be removed again

Jean gave me a short tow and the engine was soon running on three cylinders.

All a bit odd as one plug was clean but wet with petrol when removed, then when tested it gave a nice strong fat spark out, as I say very odd.

So my Easter sunday gives me two bites at this cherry, remove the carb (again) or start on the passenger side floor?

I think the carb should be done first and Easter Sunday is no day to be using an air driven power chisel

Then again I do have to fit the front hub seals on the Singer Chamois for Martin he has brought down from Johannesburg with him

African Imp · Post by **African Imp** » Sun Apr 05, 2015 8:01 am

Gifts come from the most surprising places.

This and a Fraser race Imp were found in an auto jumble near Johannesburg by Martin who arrived yesterday to load the Singer Chamois.
I now have two as one was in my display cabinet already

African Imp · Post by **African Imp** » Sun Apr 05, 2015 10:12 am

The passenger side floor was an issue and some years back I just made the problem hide away by applying some glass cloth and resin over it, epoxy? I am not sure but probably.

Now I need to re repair it and keep the pressed metal shape, this will not be Impossible but will take me some time I guess, so watch this space.

While the picture shows a lot of problems things could be far worse as much of the basic layout still exists, so while things are bad, its not all bad

The way forward will start with a long period of soaking the rust with a solution of a liquid metal cleaner I have that eats into rust, this will take some days but while that is in process I can make the patterns I need to form the floors original pressing shape.

Deoxidine® 172A™ Spray phosphoric acid detergent-type metal cleaner and surface rust remover that removes rust and light deposits of mill oil and destroys corrosion stimulators. Acid cleaners, wear protective clothing and eye cover when applying !

Why not order a new steel pressing from the Imp Clubs Spares Dept?

Well two reasons to start with, the SA Postal Service is pathetic and parcels are not arriving, plus we are again 7000 miles South of Warrington, England and it will take months to arrive, even by air and if it arrives ever at all ?

African Imp · Post by **African Imp** » Sun Apr 05, 2015 11:11 am

This mornings picture and before I started on the passenger side floor repairs

Dave ' Linwood ' Lane · Sun Apr 05, 2015 3:55 pm

Tube type is really good if you like slamming the door or throwing the door at the car from 10ft away just to shut it

African Imp · Post by **African Imp** » Mon Apr 06, 2015 6:26 am

As the instructions on the plastic container indicated, the acid was left to do its job, then washed off with water, I used some Orange Teepol too, then power washed it using the air line from the compressor, the acid looks to have done its job

What was a rusted floor is now pale gray steel!

Acid cleaning rust 004.jpg

African Imp · Post by **African Imp** » Mon Apr 06, 2015 7:16 am

As I said, the floor is bad but not so bad it can not be repaired?

On the bright side I have a matching floor, its the wrong side of course but it allows me to make nice profiles and on the bench, once shaped they will be installed under the car and the epoxy and glass cloth work can begin

We have to be optimistic at times?

My idea is to have the underside of the steel floor pan repaired to look as it would when it was steel, the inside will have a similar shape but will be about 1mm higher due to the thickness of the epoxy and glass cloth, hidden by the under felt and carpet this will not be noticed.

oli · Post by **oli** » Mon Apr 06, 2015 7:23 am

Not found the interior trim panel yet - but I know I have one. Will be in touch once I have found it, hopefully soon.
Oli

African Imp · Post by **African Imp** » Mon Apr 06, 2015 7:41 am

The Nun wrote:
African Imp wrote:Door sealing strip?

The Nun asked me some time back was I going to use the tube type or the blade type?

Rob has just sent me a short sample of the latter which he Imported to fit to his 1971 Imp Deluxe, I have never seen this type before.

Who sells it other than the guy who likes trains?
You could try sealsdirect.co.uk, but i got it from the train driver

Thanks,

Looks like it is part number ETS60 and costs GBP4.85 per meter, so about GBP 36.75 per two doors, that includes your 20% Vat I expect?

bazzateer · Post by **bazzateer** » Mon Apr 06, 2015 10:14 am

Are you going to replace that section of floor with a composite panel or steel?

African Imp · Post by **African Imp** » Mon Apr 06, 2015 1:10 pm

I had expected to be able to glass over the ply shapes today but it works out that to level the basic area out with epoxy paste first is the better route.

The holes are now gone the ply shapes are in place and will I hope, ensure that from under the car the pressing lay out looks close to the original one.

The day went ok really, I also fitted new hinges on a fanlight in the spare room shower and then lubricated a whole series of window and door hinges to be ready for winter which will not be far away for us now

The props are pushing the steel down, not much but enough to matter, the ply strips are held in place under the car with a pair of jacks and a stick or two

African Imp · Post by **African Imp** » Mon Apr 06, 2015 2:26 pm

How to wind up the work list today?

Well Rob of fame for the Blue Imp Deluxe donated some sheets of 1.5mm thick sound seal yesterday, so why not apply that over the engine/ parcel shelf, this will
cut down the engine noise a lot?

There will also be some under felt and carpet on top of it, makes for a very smooth surface to lay the carpet on, I left the original Rootes applied sealant there.

Back to the nearside floor tomorrow but shopping for ply wood to make an Optimist dinghy from comes first

http://www.ckdboats.com/optimist.html

As long as I can grind the epoxy paste to the right hight and profile and have it glassed by the afternoon that' s all I can do in that area until the next day anyway.

African Imp · Post by **African Imp** » Tue Apr 07, 2015 6:32 am

7am, I removed the jacks and the plastic covered shapes, the idea has worked and I have a car floor with no large holes in it, just a few small ones still

The profile under the floor feels good and is the same smooth finish as the plastic and of course repeats the shape the epoxy was laid on.

As the picture shows the floor pan pressing shape has been retained, I can beef the epoxy paste inside with a layer of 6 oz woven glass cloth and epoxy without
affecting the underside. I have now disc ground the epoxy paste of yesterday and applied a second filler coat to level things out.

With a 260 watt heater panel under the car which will speed up the epoxy cure time, I will be able to grind the paste down around noon and apply the glass cloth.

Its nice when a plan works

my nice re car will be finished one day, then what, drive it?

pbergs · Post by **pbergs** » Tue Apr 07, 2015 7:55 am

That is an exceptional fit, Roy...looking good.

African Imp · Post by **African Imp** » Tue Apr 07, 2015 2:15 pm

Heat is the key with many bonding systems, as I wanted to complete the repair today, I introduced some heat and went out to do some
shopping and visit a client.

He is building a 37 foot sized Hartley sailing yacht, I ended up buying his very nice 1968 Austin Mini, it has the wind down windows, I think its a 998cc too?

The licence disc tells me it only weighs 577 kg, should be quite quick?

Its a project and will be for sale

African Imp · Post by **African Imp** » Tue Apr 07, 2015 2:20 pm

The glass work went well and the epoxy will be well hard by the morning, so I can then clean it up, apply the Butter Scotch primer and then lay the sound seal, job done.

The glass cloth is only 6oz weight so sort of becomes one with the clear epoxy when saturated.

The process has retained the floors profile top and bottom, more so underneath which was the intention and less so inside but once a layer of sound seal is
applied I will end up with a smooth surface for the carpet to lay on.

6.15pm, the epoxy has set, the floor will be quite usable by tomorrow morning

African Imp · Post by **African Imp** » Wed Apr 08, 2015 11:09 am

With the 1967 Singer Chamois collected and loaded and on its way to Johannesburg, my time was freed up to finish the near side floor on the 1967 Hillman Californian. I first needed to silver solder one of the front seat mount threaded holes, sand the epoxy and glass work of yesterday, then apply three coats of the etch primer that was used on the floor on the other side of the car.

When the paint is dry and with a temperature of 32c predicted that will not take long I can then apply the black sound seal on the floor and move on to whatever comes next.

Progress

rhydian_mason · Post by **rhydian_mason** » Wed Apr 08, 2015 12:09 pm

Great work - and an inspiration for those of us not confident as welders!

rhydian_mason · Post by **rhydian_mason** » Wed Apr 08, 2015 1:02 pm

Well, many new cars are 'stuck' not 'welded' together, and from what I can see the work you've done with the stuff is second to none. Far safer than bodging with filler, which, despite the best intentions is not an adhesive.

R.

African Imp · Post by **African Imp** » Wed Apr 08, 2015 1:44 pm

After many months and the sale and collection of the Singer Chamois today I have removed the cars picture from the forum header and replaced it with the Hillman Californian.

The Californian was not on the scene when I started posting on the forum, which will have been about one week into the by now famous JoLon Imp saga

African Imp · Post by **African Imp** » Thu Apr 09, 2015 7:42 am

IMG_6275.JPG

We have another warm day, it will be 32c again they say?

The floor hole forward for the passenger seat also needed silver solder, I stopped the heat transfer with a wet cloth rolled up

African Imp · Post by **African Imp** » Thu Apr 09, 2015 10:47 am

The sound seal starts today

It also ended today but with an unfinished nearside floor as I ran out of the black sticky stuff

African Imp · Post by **African Imp** » Thu Apr 09, 2015 10:50 am

Luke likes my bench vice at least as much as the car behind him?

Dave ' Linwood ' Lane · Thu Apr 09, 2015 11:09 am

None of these repairs are legal here in the UK , does look very neatly done though