Stan's Newest Adventures.

617sqn · Post by **617sqn** » Sun Feb 15, 2009 5:19 pm

At last there was a decent break in the weather, which has allowed me to start putting top coats on Stan, after the welded repairs done many moons ago by Colin Rooney. The biggest shock at the time was how much needed to be done, despite the car looking pretty good prior to commencement: basically it was only to be the offside front wing changed for a new one, a small arch repair and the front nearside lower wing to be attended to. Some six million hours later the list had grown to the point where both Colin and I were too embarrassed to mention the spiraling costs !! Still, after an equally long time fettling his efforts, spreading the filler, rubbing down, priming etc I'm now able to put on the colour. All I need is a few more weeks of decent weather, and it'll be time for laquer !! haha.

Andy G.

moose · Post by **moose** » Sun Feb 15, 2009 5:31 pm

Nice one Andy, if i may just offer one peice of constructive criticism (please don't get upset) but i feel the workmanship on the drivers door as seen in the 7th photo is below the rest of the high quality of work carried out

i would have used metal and glass.

regards mike

617sqn · Post by **617sqn** » Sun Feb 15, 2009 5:35 pm

Hhmmm....on reflection, I think you're right. I was going for a look with closer door-line shuts than the original 4 foot wide gaps. But in hindsight, it really hasn't worked has it ? I'll get me coat..................

And fit the proper door back on.

Andy G.

moose · Post by **moose** » Sun Feb 15, 2009 5:45 pm

not that i am an engineer or anything but i think a lack of masking tape on the centre section is to blame.

ImpManiac · Post by **ImpManiac** » Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:03 pm

^^

Nice work, Andy!

It is good to see how it should be done!

IM

colin rooney · Post by **colin rooney** » Sun Feb 15, 2009 7:11 pm

Looking good mate .Now i know where that spare door i have at my place came from

col

pure~hillman~imp · Post by **pure~hillman~imp** » Mon Feb 16, 2009 1:29 am

Ahhhh excellent work, and I really apreciate the first photo, now I have some work to do on mine, I wondered what was behind the 'sill' of the rear wing. Does the inner sill run the same all the way to the door shut?

617sqn · Post by **617sqn** » Mon Feb 16, 2009 7:40 pm

Best to ask Colin about that, (in the second picture I believe), but I think it goes full length right to the front. Hinge panel below the A post, with a 3rd panel inboard of that, carrying the heater hose. And cables in my case, eh Col ?

Wish I could have got a bit of time again today, as the weather was nice. Damn and blast having to work

Andy G.

colin rooney · Post by **colin rooney** » Mon Feb 16, 2009 9:02 pm

Yes centre and outer sill run from front to rear wheel tubs .Also for anyone looking for good quality rear sill extensions the drivers side of this car is fitted with 1 of Jeff Days panels which as you can see from pictures is excellent ,thanks again to Jeff for the panel with very short notice

col

pure~hillman~imp · Post by **pure~hillman~imp** » Mon Feb 16, 2009 9:25 pm

Question two coming up!

Where did you get the inner and outer arches from for the passenger side? And prices, if you dont mind?

I also need a sill extension, I was going to try fabbing my own one but as Colin has reccomended Jeff I think I shall give him a call tomorrow for a chat on prices.

cbcen · Post by **cbcen** » Tue Feb 17, 2009 1:02 am

I saw Stan on Sunday and the cars looking very good, it would be very difficult to spot any repairs once the paint is finished. Lets wish for some good weather so it can get finished and back to its former glory, not to mention I need to do some painting of my own too!

Chris

617sqn · Post by **617sqn** » Tue Feb 17, 2009 7:53 pm

I saw Chris on Sunday, and Holly's looking very good

Thanks for the surprise visit, old bean, and the present. I'm gonna hang it up on the wall by the front door. And thank you for your kind words.

Andy G.

SuperSport · Post by **SuperSport** » Wed Feb 18, 2009 9:30 am

617sqn wrote:Hhmmm....on reflection, I think you're right. I was going for a look with closer door-line shuts than the original 4 foot wide gaps. I'll get me coat...................

Andy G.

Well that is what New Year's Resolutions and Diet Books are for mate

Ian

SuperSport · Post by **SuperSport** » Wed Feb 18, 2009 9:34 am

Andy,

Serious question now - are you doing the spray work yourself ?

Ian

colin rooney · Post by **colin rooney** » Wed Feb 18, 2009 3:33 pm

The outer arch came from Malcolm and the inner arch i made as i went along if you look on uncle malcs site the prices for panels are there, jeff also does arch panels i belive ,Stan is 1 of the last imps i will have my name to as i am pulling out of playing with these little pocket rockets except for my own cars that is

col

617sqn · Post by **617sqn** » Mon Feb 23, 2009 8:29 pm

Some decent warm(er) weather at last. Got a few coats of base colour done, and the door back on, having attended to the surface rust on the underside of the frame. Made a couple of 2 mm thick spacers to go behing the hinge plates, thus evening out the shuts. Replacing doors is NOT an easy job to do on your own, and much delicate to-ing and fro-ing ensued. Considering that the original problem with Stan was a nasty crease up the off-side front wing caused by an errant door, I wasn't keen on repeating the feat !! Having got this far, I was a little miffed to discover that my local paint-shop had mixed me up the next Talbot colour in their list by mistake: Turquoise instead of Aquarius. Good job I hadn't got as far as the lacquer coats. I now have a supply of the correct colour, thankfully.

Andy G.

cbcen · Post by **cbcen** » Mon Feb 23, 2009 8:44 pm

Looking good mate, real shame they mixed you the wrong colour, do two c's mean anything to you

? I see youve gone all out now on the spraying, im guessing your doing everything apart from the roof, bonnet and engine lid? Keep up the good work, you could have borrowed my compressor as i see you have a generator, might have lessoned the workload a bit!

Regards,

Chris

617sqn · Post by **617sqn** » Mon Feb 23, 2009 8:50 pm

Yeah, 2 C's

At least I've got more base coats on to flatten down. I will be doing the roof too, although that only really need to be keyed up. Engine cover maybe, depending upon the final match. The bonnet was a professional spray following the minor mishap with the motorcycle, I was never happy with their colour ....too bright. Was considering the 70's matt black for the bonnet. What do you think ?

Andy G.

colin rooney · Post by **colin rooney** » Mon Feb 23, 2009 9:17 pm

You want to spray that front grill the same as the rest of car while you doing it

col

cbcen · Post by **cbcen** » Mon Feb 23, 2009 9:48 pm

617sqn wrote:Yeah, 2 C's At least I've got more base coats on to flatten down. I will be doing the roof too, although that only really need to be keyed up. Engine cover maybe, depending upon the final match. The bonnet was a professional spray following the minor mishap with the motorcycle, I was never happy with their colour ....too bright. Was considering the 70's matt black for the bonnet. What do you think ?

Andy G.

I think the matt black could look quite cool with the wipac fogs as well, getting to a rally look. And plus its a piece of cake to do matt black so why not try it first anyway if you plan to respray it.

Heres a quick mock up from holland (or possibly belgium)

johno · Post by **johno** » Wed Feb 25, 2009 8:35 pm

Here is a pic of my old Sunbeam I only sprayed the centre section of the bonnet. It looked pretty good.

4493

Dave ' Linwood ' Lane · Wed Feb 25, 2009 8:44 pm

Love the black bonnet look ,suits yours better than mine .

gnatman · Post by **gnatman** » Wed Feb 25, 2009 9:06 pm

Black bonnets look really good IMHO never thought of just doing the middle but it looks good. Might try it out on mine...

617sqn · Post by **617sqn** » Sat Feb 28, 2009 8:04 pm

Ok James . I might do that. I've also got access to one of those ladders which have 4 folding sections. This may even span the car enough to reach over all of it

. Should have been out there today, but I've had a really tough week slinging engineered oak fire doors around, and working this morning has just about done me in

Hasn't helped with my mystery back problem either. Never mind, I'm going to win the lottery tonight so work won't come into it

Andy (cream crackered) G.

colin rooney · Post by **colin rooney** » Sat Feb 28, 2009 8:22 pm

Ah to do the roof you need a step 1st so as to get on the ladder with them little legs

madpaddy

617sqn · Post by **617sqn** » Sat Feb 28, 2009 8:53 pm

Hey...........

All the best t'ings come i small packages, man.

Andy G.

moose · Post by **moose** » Sun Mar 01, 2009 7:49 pm

sorry to appear to be picky with your car but you have made another mistake, the door seems to fit correctly with decent door gaps this is not how they left the factory

when my mate spayed my imp he was doing the roof and we had the car on a 4 post ramp and raised the car up a few feet so he could see the lower have of the car without having to bend down, as he wafted the gun over the roof i took it upon myself to inspect the work mid job and climbed a ladder on the opposite side of the car as my head popped up he hit me in the face with a fine spray of oxford blue! he informed me that i looked ok it was only as it started drying i knew he had lied. Here's a tip for you washing your face in thinners is not good for you and people in the pub will laugh when they see you 3 days i was like that with the paint only coming off on the pillow at night i was popular. keep up the good work.

regards mike

617sqn · Post by **617sqn** » Mon Mar 02, 2009 7:42 pm

Talking of mistakes:-

when my mate spayed my imp

Anyone who has had female cats or dogs will know that "spaying" is the technical term used to describe the removal of said female animals internal girly bits. I'm fully aware that some people are under the misguided impression that Imps are female, and therefore capable of reproduction. This is NOT the case, and so it follows that they cannot be spayed. Imps are male, and will therefore need to be castrated in order to prevent unwanted litters. Pedantic, I know. But you now stand corrected.

Andy G.

617sqn · Post by **617sqn** » Mon Mar 02, 2009 8:03 pm

it just seems to get better

Why, thank you Simon. I try my best.

Now look what you've done ->

(gorsh.....)

Andy G.

bazzateer · Post by **bazzateer** » Mon Mar 02, 2009 8:55 pm

617sqn wrote:I'm fully aware that some people are under the misguided impression that Imps are female, and therefore capable of reproduction. This is NOT the case

Errm.............................I think Tim M may disagree.......................

617sqn · Post by **617sqn** » Sun Mar 15, 2009 5:42 pm

Well I managed to get a few hours in today (sunday) on the paint

I've only got the scuttle panel and roof to attend to now, as far as the base coats go. Then it's laquer time. I ran out of my usual masking tape, having used it all at work when laying a nice Oak floor, so decided to pop into B&Q this morning for a roll or two. Looking for the type which is kind to new paint, I bought a roll of a white one, 25 mm wide, noted as being low-tack, and a 50 mm roll of yellow stuff which also claimed to be for delicate surfaces. And they were both bl**dy useless

I shall now forever stick to the professional tapes sold by my local (Brewers) decorators supplier. Shame I didn't look at the weather report prior to the weekend, then perhaps I'd have stocked up with the correct materials. Idiot

Andy G.

617sqn · Post by **617sqn** » Sun Jul 03, 2011 1:40 pm

I was over at Mr Rooneys again yesterday. This time the plan was to drop the front suspension, refit the newly powder coated wishbones, along with a set of Rob Immers stainless steel center nut Fiesta ended track rods, and Nissan disc conversion kit, plus fresh copper brake lines across the front of the car "while the opportunity was there". All was fine until Colin noticed that the steel fuel line looked a bit "iffy". Further investigation after removing the gear linkage cover panel revealed a fuel line in very poor condition, which virtually broke into bits when Colin removed it

, and the long brake line showing signs of deterioration too. This is my second lucky break this week :-

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=18747

A total of twenty hours was spent by the pair of us (ten each that is

) including a break for a very welcome Rooney Special burger-sandwich. I'll report my findings later on , but the trip home was of little drama , and the terrible wheel shake has now diminished to a very minor vibe, which could be down to wheel balancing and the need for proper tracking to be done. Thanks Colin

Andy G.

colin rooney · Post by **colin rooney** » Sun Jul 03, 2011 2:52 pm

It was a pleasure to help you and just a shame that we didn have time to track it but as you know if you wish to pop back on saturday or 1 vening this week we can do it

madpaddy man

617sqn · Post by **617sqn** » Mon Jul 04, 2011 8:50 pm

Thanks Colin, but I needed to go into Horsham today to pick up some specialised varnish, so called into Elite Tyres, having phoned them first. Waste of my time there ; After the usual "i used to have one of them, fitted a 1600 cross-flow in it" type cobblers, they decided that, as Hillman Imp didn't come up on their system they wouldn't touch it. I tried all sorts, including signing my family away, to convince them that I knew the data and could re-tell it to them and, No, I wouldn't sue if It's not correct etc. So I called in at Queensway garage on the off chance and, after a long drawn out discussion where I was describing the work that had been done, the original format of the Imps track-rod system and how "yes, I really really did want them to start with the steering wheel 45 degrees out", they finally relented and let loose a young technician with the laser tracking gauge. As I sort of supervised, watched, cajoled and advised, he set about a thorough check on all 4 corners, and adjustment from the 14 mm toe-in I drove in with to the 3 mm toe-in I drove out with. The rears were found to be within tolerance too, so I'm very happy. And the new disc brakes are improving with every mile.

Andy G.

Dave ' Linwood ' Lane · Mon Jul 04, 2011 9:02 pm

617sqn wrote: 3 mm toe-in I drove out with.
Andy G.

I have a friendly garage and do my own , I set it to 1/2 degree toe in plus or minus a 1/4

Meltdown · Post by **Meltdown** » Tue Jul 05, 2011 6:38 am

Noddy wrote:
617sqn wrote: 3 mm toe-in I drove out with.
Andy G.
I have a friendly garage and do my own , I set it to 1/2 degree toe in plus or minus a 1/4

So that's a 30 minute job give or take

617sqn · Post by **617sqn** » Tue Jul 12, 2011 8:38 pm

Two of the new photos required for the agreed valuation with Hagerty's insurance :

Andy G.

ImpManiac · Post by **ImpManiac** » Wed Jul 13, 2011 9:34 pm

Looking good, Andy.

And the car's nice and clean too.

IM

Meltdown · Post by **Meltdown** » Wed Jul 13, 2011 9:46 pm

Love the colour

Is it me, or is the front reg plate a wee bit on the small side?

617sqn · Post by **617sqn** » Thu Jul 14, 2011 8:05 am

is the front reg plate a wee bit on the small side?

Nah, it must be you.

Have you had an eye test lately ? You could be suffering from regplateminimise-itus. If so you'll be under the illusion that the rear plate is motor-bike sized too

Andy G.

617sqn · Post by **617sqn** » Thu Apr 24, 2014 5:03 pm

Took Stan for an MOT today down at Trev's (our ACO) following a good deal of "dry-dock" work, with all new parts

The list includes: steering arm bushes both sides, stainless steel king pins and new bushes/rubbers/thrust washers both sides, rebuild of the Micra calipers both sides (obviously), new HEL stainless braided hoses (front both sides, rears done last year), new bolts all round to both stub-axle carriers, polybushes to both rear wishbones, new rear wheel bearings and grease seals both sides, transaxle output shaft seals, Lotus doughnuts both sides (replacing a pair that were 6 years old and showing signs of wear), paint, stone chip coating and wax injection to all suspension box section components, stainless clevis pins to handbrake levers, new rear brake linings ala "moose". Plus still to go when I get time, quarter light seals, rear side window seals, window channel rubbers and the glass wiper on the near side.

Phew !

Andy G.

p.s forgot to say he passed

Dave ' Linwood ' Lane · Thu Apr 24, 2014 5:37 pm

Been a busy little monkey havent we , good news its passed

67cali · Post by **67cali** » Thu Apr 24, 2014 6:50 pm

Great news andy.

The Nun · Post by **The Nun** » Thu Apr 24, 2014 7:20 pm

617sqn wrote:
is the front reg plate a wee bit on the small side?
Andy G.

Its a Ferrari numberplate, they put them on those as theres no where for our normal HUGE uk ones to fit them.

617sqn · Post by **617sqn** » Thu Apr 24, 2014 8:32 pm

Thank you, Peter. Now I have a ready-made excuse if I get stopped

"It's like this, Officer, these performance vehicles aren't made for big plates . . . ." I'm sure they'll see sense

Big thank you to Trev for going the extra mile to fit me in this lunchtime. You're a Pal ! Thanks also to Uncle Malc for the rapid response when I needed it, and thanks also to Noddy for the continued inspiration.

Andy G.

Dave ' Linwood ' Lane · Thu Apr 24, 2014 8:56 pm

617sqn wrote:, and thanks also to Noddy for the continued inspiration.

Andy G.

No idea what ive inspired but thank you anyway kind Sir

ImpManiac · Post by **ImpManiac** » Fri Apr 25, 2014 9:27 am

That all sounds good, Andy.

Can you notice the improvement in the way that Stan drives? I would think so.

IM

617sqn · Post by **617sqn** » Fri Apr 25, 2014 11:33 am

No idea what I've inspired

The inspiration to keep IMProving one's vehicle, Dave. It's easy sometimes (as I'm sure you know) to let one's mojo slide, and it's at those times that I appreciate your inspiration.

notice the improvement in the way that Stan drives?

He's always been pretty smooth and "tight", so maybe the newness isn't as marked as you might imagine. But the list of things I've done was, to my mind at least, a good exercise in preventative maintenance. As has been said before, I'm not an "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" type

Andy G.

ImpManiac · Post by **ImpManiac** » Fri Apr 25, 2014 4:42 pm

617sqn wrote:...I'm not an "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" type

Me neither, Andy.

I'm the same with my modern car too.

IM

617sqn · Post by **617sqn** » Sun Apr 27, 2014 12:37 pm

I've also rebuilt an instrument panel complete with a Sport type voltmeter (as per another thread) and new blue LED backlighting, new speedo cable, a pair of new transaxle mountings (fitted with everything in situ, as per another thread and other peoples guidance).

Andy G.