GRIZZ’s ‘79 - 2WD BLAZER Challenge over in London, England. “~It’s not a Project~”

[Grizz1963]

Well…..

Surprise…!!!!

Not dressed up like this for a while.

Had an invitation on Thursday to go do some training in Woolwich.

So no shorts n flip flops.



By 6.00pm it was back to normal in shorts, though I must say, it was Awesome being out and interacting with real humans. They were happy to see me as well.

Sally brought a load of high density plastic/foam pallet spacers from work.

They are used to separate layers of glass bottles used by one specific customer.

Her company sees scrap for the skip, I see materials to use for all sorts of tasks.



Friday was a busy day for work.

@pauly came over by around 4.30pm to collect some items for Woody, his C10 build and to deliver a plastic Jeep fuel tank and its steel cover for the Rezin Rockit that only needs a “Tophat” to complete it, and also a blasting pot for me to use to media blast the chassis, front and rear suspensions, as it seems a good idea to do that before painting and starting to do the rebuild of the suspension parts etc before getting a motor in here. As always a good visit and this time neither of us were crawling around under a car at 5’C as we usually do when he visits. Though there is still some time to,fix that. S10 needs lowering 😈

And in the evening Sally came over and chatted with Paul before he left in the Super Fiesta to go face evening traffic on the M25 and Dartford Crossing, headed home to Essex.

Sally, clever girl that she has become, had scavenged some stainless steel in the rubbish pile outside work, for me to go sell for her cooker fund

I gave the pieces one look and posted them onto FB Marketplace at £15 each or £25.00 for two, after checking them out online, prices range from £120.00 upward each.

So someone would have a bargain and I did not have to go weigh the stainless in.

A buyer appeared and fetched them from Leigh on Sea in Essex at 06.00 this morning, happy buyer, and cash in the kitty.



Saturday had been booked out to mate @Craigrk to help him get to some of the tasks he needs to get to before moving home to Shropshire.

Got there early, coffee, chats and catch up.

Then onto the first task…….

Try get the Chevy started.



Dismal failure, starter motor suspect.

Then we moved onto task no 2

Get his bargain at £180.00 delivered, DEAD Ride on mower going.



So drained 3..5 liters of petrol from the crank case, and when I pulled the plug, it glugged more petrol out there, then cranked it a few times to push more fuel out the head.

CLICK LINK FOR VIDEO

https://youtu.be/FLl1kHaNdlc

Craig disassembled and cleaned the carb, then reassembled it all.

Jump started from the car as the battery it came with it mullered…….

CLICK LINK FOR VIDEO

https://youtu.be/uMPqihaEJH0

After parking the mower we went in to have an awesome deli style lunch Craigs wife had put out for us.

Followed by a regroup and packing all the mechanical tools away, it was raining intermittently all day.

So we decided to rip a bunch of 4.5 meter long 2x8 inch boards Craig had scored in order for him to make up new trusses for his bike shed that is being widened by 1 meter.

All the lumber was free from a building deconstruction site where he had been fetching a load of wood from, like I did .


CLICK LINK,FOR VIDEO

https://youtu.be/ZSYDOYl3dgk


By 5.00pm we were done with the tasks I could help with so I got in the car and headed home for the 75 minute trip.

During the afternoon I posted the free bike in FB Marketplace as well for £400.00

By this morning it had over 1500 views, and about 40 enquiries.

I suspect it was “too cheap” but if Sally gets some cash and someone a cheap bike, thats nota bad thing.

Amazing how many guys offered more and wanted to collect immediately.



And this one.



I have been gazumped before and once I agreed to selling to a guy, that was locked in, in my world at least.


So waiting for the buyer to come and collect the bike today.

Fingers crossed.

[Grizz1963]

So @pauly came and spent a couple of hours, for a change, not freezing his nuts off, though there is still time. Nice to chat, chew the fat and plan the future and world domination.

One of the things he had done in his usual style, was to convince me that media blasting would be an improved method vs the hatchet job I was doing.

Buggerrr.

Really had not planned that complexity or level of detail, though I will not regret it in the long run.

So Paul convinced me to order 125kg of glass blasting media as he had used when doing Woody, his 66 C10’s chassis.





So when Paul arrived in the Super Fiesta (tm) he came bearing gifts.

A plastic Jeep petrol tank, along with its steel cover. Needs a “Tophat” whatever that constitutes.

So rather than lug it down to the garage, the wheelbarrow came in useful to Pauls amusement , and quick pics.





Pauls highly modified and fine tuned blasting pot and accessories.



While I was out at @craigrk ‘s place my media got delivered.

And Sally moved the 25kg parcels down to the garage and out of the rain.




When I got home, I just moved them deeper under the carport.

Bloody heavy @ 25kg each.

[Grizz1963]

No bootfair today.

An incredible rainstorm at 04.30 then left us sleeping late to 7.30

The buyer for the field bike arrived at 11.30 and was gone by 12.00, happy.

Sally and I had lunch around 13.00 and I really struggled to get out the house to go start the final strip down phase of the Rezin Rockit.

So by 3.30 I crawled down to the shop, followed by sally with her embroidery. Just to keep an eye on my, in case an ambulance was needed.

Got started.

One loose nut.















And close shop.



Next job will be next Sunday as Saturday is bathroom refurb day at Sallys house.

Sunday, weather permitting I need to create a catch ent area for the blast media to land and be collected.

First the frame, then the front and rear ends.

Weekend over.


Thanks for checking in.

[Grizz1963]

Found this…..

Remember the gokart, destined to be a barstool racer?

Why not a pickup bed out back.





Seems the skip that keeps giving, keeps giving.

Fold up stool.

Garden kneeler or garage For Sally or Mickey.

[Grizz1963]

Having taken Friday off to sort Sally’s bathroom, in order to get going on the blasting the frame and cross member and axle plus their bits…… I decided to listen to @pauly and the rest of you.

I hope these two items will be worth the £31.00 paid for them, mask and goggles are hopefully correct and decent spec.

I do not often do this part of the job right.



Maybe even a hoody and overall to try keep the sand out of my crack.

[Grizz1963]

Remember the steering rag joint?

I found a small (possibly Ford) UJ in my stash, had tried to give it away before…..

Now I may need it myself.

Advice time I guess.

What we have .





Splines look to be different size, but I think it is an optical illusion.



What I found.



Cut off the rag joint, reshape the shaft to triangular, bolt on the UJ?






Then there is this advice option.

Thanks to mate Edd @boidieanbdoyle for this.

Or a new rubber for 15quid? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ford-Cort...-127635-2958-0

So grind/drill out rivets and bolt in replacement.


Conundrum?

[Grizz1963]

Amazing how clever the internet is.



[quote author="@kevins" source="/post/2694528/thread" timestamp="1629986367"]If you went the route of using the u/j you would have to be careful to get the phasing with the joint on the other end right otherwise it will feel lumpy.[/quote]

Good call on the phasing, another bit of good advice from mate Edd.

Well I'd personally order a rubber, less chance to slip with the grinder. But if you do cut it, read this https://www.drivelinesnw.com/part-tr...lysis/phasing/

[Grizz1963]

NOT SO UNPREDICTABLE CHANGE OF DIRECTION.


so after quite a bit of thought, and chatting to various people, including those who spend my cash regularly, and a dose of my own opinion and ideas, I decided to see if a £500.00 MX5 Donor could be found.

And then ot happened…….. a certain member I have known for 15 years or so, offered me a deal I wanted to, but did not resist.

Stored about 4 years in a barn…….

Dusty.

Complete, except for the catalytic converter……..

And 283 miles from me.

Delivery in exchange for a cuppa tea and cookies and an hours chat.

So a price was agreed, and two photos came my way.


First pic absolutely sold it for me




Second one meant that I could check the MOT history.


Slightly better award winning photography.





So I checked the MOT history.


Note the low mileage. 68190 miles. Car was registered end of December 2000



A quick search, based on the registration showed it to be a 1600cc engine.



Delivery has been scheduled for Sunday, given that all the planets align.


I am sure those of you in the know will recognise who the seller is, based on the origin of the delivery road trip. Our very own KFW.





So tomorrow morning I will have to cut down the body table and add wheels to it, to make it mobile as the plan is to park the MX5 under cover.


PS. I always wanted a canary yellow car or truck.


Wish about to be fulfilled.




.

[Grizz1963]

Who needs Enema’s

Friends like this, love it.

Originally Posted by sparkplug

Was fully expecting the write up to be here already by the time I got home

I won't spoil the surprise too much - only to say I had a cracking day with a great mix of serious work and some childish messing around.

Smiles all round :thumb2

Grizzmas presents were exchanged and aside from some works which slowed me down by 15 mins on the way down before the Blackwall Tunnel and the miles and miles of stationary traffic before, during and after the Blackwall tunnel coming home there wasn't too much drama.

I 'lost' another 15 mins on the way home as I stopped for a couple of bikes on the hard shoulder. Unfortunately one of them had a puncture and it's the one thing I didn't have in the van. They'd been waiting 3 hours for the AA and still had a 3 hour ride back to Lincolnshire. Nice lads, grateful I'd stopped. Left them with a bag of peanuts and a bottle of water each which put a smile on their faces too.

My only 'spoiler' has to be my revelation as to why Grizz has the back problems that he does.



A broken broom handle just means a shorter broom handle. Still has plenty of life left in it and until he finds a long handle with no brush head on it in a skip this one will do just fine

The rest of the story is Rian's to tell, as it's his thread and he has enough suitable ammunition to poke a bit of fun back at me so....

[Grizz1963]

So mate Fil came down from Cambridge this morning at 10.00 to play and possibly sleep over, though he had a work appointment at 09.00 tomorrow.

Seems yellow is the operative colour at this point.



Of course it was Grizzmas too…….

Gifts.



He also brought some industrial flooring for the S10 which he originally named as the Rumblegrizzkin.

Some money was exchanged for top secret parts with Sally.

These small grids weigh 15kg each…….



And then he unloaded the Sip welder NeilDD had gifted the two of us with.

And with my welder temporarily out of action (we hope) and the Rezin Rockit chassis needing a small patch, and some gussets welded in, it was just perfectly time.



The generosity of this amazing community never ceases to make me feel humble and fortunate, or blessed, whichever way you want to see it.



I will update the work Fil and I did today in the morning, after bootfair.


In the mean time, the Canary is out of its cage.









Excited, YES.

.

[Grizz1963]

So, on with reporting the rest of yesterdays work.

I really went at a reasonably slow pace, deliberately as it is great actually visiting with friends and getting stuff done, rather than the usual flat out pace to just get a job done.

Fil is great company and comes up with some great ideas, like the voices in my head.

After all, he named the S10 as Rumblegrizzkin.

So the first job that needed doing and needed two sets of hands, was to remove the body table we put the Jeep body on two weeks ago.

Lift rear, fit taller box under floor to then free rear of table, lift front, fit a pair of axle stands either side, and a 2x4 on them, put body down, slide table out.

Easy Peasy.

So while I did some other stuff like gathering tools, finding coach screws, Fill cut the four legs off the table.



Then drill pilot holes for the,wheels, zip in the coach screws with Mr Rattle gun.



Once the rolling table was done, we got the body back onto it, tried it out with the two steering trolley wheels in,front, moved it about to test……



Then things got silly just before we went in for some coffee and toast.

Fil fetched Glen’s spare glassless screen frame and we grabbed a broomstick, the RX8 drivers seat…..….. oh, and some wheels and hey presto.



Got in, cautiously



Steering wheel needs to be lower and a touch further away from the driver.



Then Fil got a turn to sit in the drivers seat, and we tilted the screen back a bit, as the plan was to cut it shorter and fit new glass, but this may work, depending on how the ex-56 Chevy roll cage/hoop from @pauly may force my hand on the aesthetics department if I cannot tilt it back to follow the body/B-pillar, screen and seat line.






Next job was to get the canvas ready for the sand blasting of the frame, and then moving the frame onto the axle stands, on there.

Planning.



Once placed, the wheels came out again.



Tally-Ho Mo-Fo’s !!!




And finally ready to start blasting as soon as the air dies in the morning.



Wish me luck with the compressor and enough air volume.

[Grizz1963]

Public holiday today, means we had a long weekend, which means two bootfairs, one yesterday and one today.

Yesterday was massive, and delivered nothing for me, a few ornamental plates for Craigs new house and Sally got a very pretty teapot and milk jug and sugar pot for her own use.

Today she had gone to do overtime.

I was awake at 03.50 and ended up chatting with Dennis as I could not get back to sleep.

Bootfair was much smaller, and again not really anything spectacular as I was really just looking for a Cherry Bomb exhaust, as I have seen at least two over time, usually around the £5.00 to £10.00 mark

However, I did find a super sized wheel spanner/ or wheel brace for £2.00 that had to come home, as I have a new home in mind for it.

And six new, unused coffee mugs, 50p each or £2.00 for all of them. Guess I paid £2.00 then.

Same guy had the massive dice or is it die and the pretty wooden box.

Box for Sally, and dice may become a gearknob on the Rezin Rockit.





.

And in other News, while rummaging in the big shed (large tools like engine hoist, engine stand, metalfolder, cab trolley etc) to get the canvas out for the media blasting on the Rezin Rockit chassis, a rather heavy part of the cab trolley steel slipped where I had it propped on top of another item and bypassed the patented Grizz Toeteckters. Thankfully a drop of no more than 200mm

Not at all sore or debilitating, guess I got lucky. This time.



And then much more importantly, I am awaiting with much excitement the delivery of a canary.

Think back to the miners who carried a canary into the mines to monitor noxious gasses underground.

In effect, the canary was SACRIFICED to save the miners lives.

Nothing that dramatic here.

But our own KevFromWales is hopefully on his way in a 300 mile delivery trip to bring me a donor for the Rezin Rockit

Story here: https://forum.retro-rides.org/thread...-rockit-yellow

I always wanted a yellow car…….



Today will be a slow/fast day.

.

[Grizz1963]

So yesterday was not wasted.

But it certainly will be filed under Fail.

I used more PPE than I have ever done, including gloves, hoody and shoes.

What’s the world coming to?



Using the blasting pot that @pauly had lent to me, after struggling an hour to find the right hose connector it soon became apparent that a combination of “lack of,air” and a very thick layer of sprayed on under-seal and two layers of red oxide and some strong paint, meant that I was not getting a fast outcome.



Leaving me with this sort of result, a really good clean steel surface,,alternating with underseal that it struggled to knock off.



You can see how thick it is applied.



It Necessitated this old guy, along with safety eyewear and gloves.



To,scrape off as much of the thick layers of paint and sealer. In some places the paint is not,shifting,very easily either.

Hopefully the blaster will help.



This is a slow, laborious job, but I think it will be the right way to do it.



Loads more to,do, but it too will come to an end.


.

[Grizz1963]

Forgot add this

https://youtube.com/shorts/XBkRSdpQXHo?feature=share

What it looked like.

[Grizz1963]

[font size="7"][font color="e619de"]ONE YEAR OF REZIN ROCKIT ALREADY [/font][/font]

I was amazed to see this thread was started August 28th.last year.

So today KevFromWales as he is known, or Kev delivered the Canary to be sacrificed all the way from Wales, bringing it 290 miles.

We spent three hours inspecting various parts of my shop,

Unloading the MX5, messing around and eating dinner that Sally had gone and cooked for us as she saw we were having a great time catching up, it’s been a while.

So photos.

From upstairs.



Zoooooommmm….Zoom




Up close it is rough as a badgers butt.

Perfect.





There was nothing wrong here, Kev just wanted to show me the simple wiring loom and where it ran.





Then untying the car, as a qualified Tat-Hauler and trailer driver, Kev had this thing so strapped down, you could not shake iff in a week of Sundays.

Do note the rear lights and bumper, accidental damage while getting out of its barn resting place.





Rust? Who said rust….?

License plate lights, a tad loose.



Paint?



Close up.




There will be a few bits for sale if any interest.

Heated rear glass roof, has damage to thecanvas, but maybe the glass can be transferred



Internal wind deflector, these work real well.





We also made a movie…….

Includes a moment of madness and a small burnout.

CLICK THE VIDEO LINK.


https://youtu.be/YgX-rsBErjU


Once done in the street, the canary was brought through into the back yard, followed by the S10 .





So a 4 day weekend, where I did very little today, but overall, the weekend delivered.

Back to work tomorrow.

[Grizz1963]

I forgot to mention, the super sized wheel brace I got at the bootfair and a large, magnetic Green Doctors strobe light managed to find their way into KevFromWales 525 diesel.

One for drifting, one for trucking.



When he left, trailer in tow, the wheels seemed to be rotating like a cat on a slippery floor that had just clocked an angry Chihuahua

And a plume of black diesel smoke that darkened the already darkened sun some more.



Both front wheel arches look like this on the Mazda.



And the rear is worse, showing a previous MOT standard repair, rotten through again.



I also washed the car this morning, as dirty is less attractive in a car, than a hot date.

Back to work today, full steam ahead.

More later.

[Grizz1963]

So this morning I went and took a proper look at what I had bought as a donor for this build.

It seems this was a California, limited edition then.

The interior is a mess, with the good, original seats having been swapped for a pair of worn items, not bolted down, just thrown in there.

Perfect for when it comes to stripping looms etc.

Checked the engine fluids etc, all good and the oil seems very clean.



Not yet looked at the owners service book etc, which is actually in the car, it will be nice to add to the build as part of the history.

So, I decided it was time to wash it, before 08.00 using a broom and some Domestos toilet bleach gel.

Rear end is mullered as it was rear ended by Kevs truck, pushing it.





Front end improved from yesterday.





Better for sure.



Late afternoon, after work I went to sit and started the car up, after adding 5 liters of lawnmower fuel into the very empty tank.

So I decided to do a walk around and check lights, indicators, oil pressure, temperature etc.

Click video link:

https://youtu.be/-IA9yyN-ADI


I still need to look at more of the car as I get time.

Still happy this will be good.

Though the 1600’s 109bhp compared to the 138bhp of the,1800cc engine makes me wonder if I,will,be happy with that, or need to fit a Turbo……

Loads to do before that though.

[Grizz1963]

Scrape

Scrape

Scrape

SCRAPE……


VIDEO

https://youtu.be/rlGTtdPWPBI


It would seem I am spending 2-3 hours scraping that bloody chassis every night as the blasting was not shifting the hardened combination of red oxide, some very tough grey paint and the hardened underseal all over it.

I am sure a commercial blasting unit, with large, heavy duty blasting system would clear it in a couple of hours, but that would involve a trailer, towing and delivering it and the front and rear running gear and a small hand full of cash. So not happening.

Of course, typically, there are so many nooks and crannies and the texture keeps changing.





Also removed the brake and fuel lines in order to make progress a bit smoother, another angle grinder job as half the screws holding the saddles in place were rusted solid, or closed the heads up with rust, some responded to hammer on the screwdriver, which I managed to destroy.



Inbetween I have also been looking at other things and started to remove bits for others.

Roof did not seem to want to open more than this, what a ball ache to remove the wind deflector from behind the two loose seats, without forcing or damaging the roof with it’s heated rear glass.



Out.



Madness though……

By 7.00pm last night, I had only managed to strip back about 1/3 of the chassis on three sides, once the top is completed, it needs to be turned over and the underside done.

Followed by blasting and paint with the primer Kevin gave me.



And then the fun part……..

Clean this lot before rebuilding.



Friday, day job, then two days of weekend, where I hope to get on with this job.

[Grizz1963]

[quote author="@misteralz" source="/post/2695927/thread" timestamp="1630754166"]Noooooo! Flap wheels are too good at removing metal as well. Stick with the knotted wheel. [/quote]

Too late.

I have two going into battle.

115 mm

125 mm

And a ton of 125 discs in coarse humour.

Will try to modulate and not annihilate the chassis.

Andyes, I just removed the protection as it may allow some easier access.




So I tried to use the flap disc, not ideal in this case.



The heat and frequency/speed of the grinder just melted the underseal…….



So I switched to @pauly ‘s Knotwheel of truth tm



Soon it looked like this, I pulled a few spikes out of my wrists, flung into my skin at 12000rpm



The only rust I want to cut out on the frame (most people will pass it by, but I think getting it done is a better option)



Next up was a late linch, and I ran down to Tool station, only to be told hey had no knotwheels but if I drove another 10 miles or 16km there was stock.

Screw that was my response, so I went to two other shops, including a builders hardware where they did not even know what I wanted.

So I came home and asked my one lodger to use his Amazon Prime to order me £30.00 worth of knotwheels in flat and cup shaped .

Then I went out to carry on and used my last cup shaped wheel.



These knot wheels certainly work better and faster than the scraping, and do not get into all the tight spots.

Leaving me with another dead one and a total of 9 pricks in my skin.



Bootfair in the morning, maybe I will get lucky and find a knotwheel or two….. that would be cool.

.

[Grizz1963]

Bootfair was slim today, loads of junk that should be taken for lanfill.

Craig got another Ninja Turtles VW bus for his random VW aircooled collection, as well as the Coca Cola drum. £3.50

Sally got an unused, like new picture frame and some motorbikes for Harry total £1.50

I got her a pair of coat hooks for £1.00

And I got myself a large naval flag for £2.50 (not yet sure what to do with it)





.

Just had coffee and toast.

Decided to take the day off the Rezin Rockit as I do not have any more knotwheels until,Amazon delivers, and spend it with Sally the patient saint.

With the harvesting recently the S10 had gotten as dusty and grubby as anything, as has Sallys car.

So first thing is wash both cars, then vacuum them out.

Then we can go out in the truck, looking forward to a nice drive in that.

And go look for a super sized range cooker for her and replacement washing machine for my house, this ones bearings are grumbling a bit, so it will be consigned to scrap or if someone can use it in a workshop for overalls, rags etc, then that would be a good place for it.

[Grizz1963]

So today I took the day off with Sally.

Bootfair, followed by washing her Corsa and the S10. Then off to the appliance store.

I need a new washing machine, my typical brand is Beko, and I tend to stick with simple function 8-10kg machines.

Tha last one lasted over 10 years, and still works, only problem is the handle on the door has become partially resistant to opening, and my lodger nearly has a melt down when he has to do his laundry.

So I tried to order one instore…….. NOPE no stock.

Sally spent her motorbike and recycled stainless steel finds, buying a new cooker for £740.00 delivered, ouch. But she is happy.

We were home by 13.30, lunch, then Sally put a chair out in the sun and I grabbed a couple of bonus hours on the Rezin Rockit.

But not before her youngest came to show off his freahly MOT tested Corsa.

I like small cars……..



So down to the garage and onto the rear axle, plan was to scrape old paint, rust off.

Messy.



Eventually ready for a bit of media blasting.





David, the current longer term Lodger was having a cigarette in the garden and took a short clip too.

I have a shortage of air, and I suspect there may have been a blockage in the line that @pauly will explain later.

https://youtu.be/P-1YH6wbwww

Once again, weekend over, and to be honest, though I got a lot less achieved than intended, it was a good weekend.

Week ahead is a touch busy, so little progress expected.

[Grizz1963]

So today I managed to get some paint on after work.

Plan was a bit of red to go with the black out back, or even grey/gray but @pauly said it was too 80’s



And this tag for those who read and decipher tags.



In the end, I decided to go black all over.

Happy so far.



Tonight I also found my Amazon order out front, part 2 to be delivered later this week.\



I now need to order a set of bushes for the front and rear.

Found these, and they seem to cover pretty much everything, except the rear Anti Roll Bar bushes in the selection

At £150.00-ish probably a decent price for Poly Bushes, but I am wondering if a full set of original rubber parts can be found.




So some progress again today, unexpected as it was.

Next up, front suspension…….

[Grizz1963]

Made some time after work tonight to get going on the front end scraping.

What a horrible job.



Very messy too, and looks like it is badly damaged.



Actually not too bad,



Closed shop at 7.55 as bad light stopped play.

Hopefully get more time tomorrow night, weather permitting.

At least it has progressed.

[Grizz1963]

With running out of daylight last night I was ready to start again at 04.00 but of course decent light only comes at 6.30-ish

So I was out there by 07.00 and spent about an hour finishing the tops and front/rear surfaces.

Today I have two big training meetings and also have to do the day job.

I am also expecting a visitor from the deep South near Southampton with a gift offered me in September/October last year.
So @alpina99 will be headed here thos afternoon after work to drop off said gift.
With the Canary sitting waiting to have its heart torn out for the Rezin Rockit Resurrection it will probably be easier having an overhead gantry and block n tackle.

Once done with the day job today I will go flip the whole crossmember over, clean the underside followed by a quick run over with a wire brush and airline.
Followed by a coat of black Hammerite paint on one side, then flip it over and do the other side.

I will not be doing or cleaning the springs or shock absorbers as they need to be replaced outright with better and shorter items once I figure how short we can go.


Morning progress





And of course while down there cleaning, I was reminded thatboth front and rear brakes are damaged and missing things like a calliper and backing plate here, who knows what else.

The rear end is no better. With a hub and possibly brake parts missing off one side.





Fun. Real Fun this has become.

Just takes time.

[Grizz1963]

So during the late afternoon Nigel @alpina99 popped in, as you do, from Southampton (well nearby it)

He came up to visit and to drop off the carrier for the block and tackle he offered me for the carport, and to use when the MX5 engine ends up being torn from the canary.





We spent some great time together, mostly sitting chatting down at the carport which proved to be a great reception area, which still would not have been enough, had we been given 10 hours, discussing all sorts of things, from life and death to Spain, America, Karma and being kind to others.

Eventually he had to leave on his trip home to Mrs Alpina99 and I went out to inspect his current new to him, whip, an E39 BMW or as he explained to me, a 5 series. As I am not good with this numbered car thing.

As a retired prison officer of 30 years, he certainly makes the car look like a 3 series.

A few subtle upgrades make it just right.



I have to say, I was totally smitten with the wheels, and had we had more time, I would have wanted to try them on the S10 truck.



After work, I went down to carry on with cleaning the front subframe and suspension.

Again, I did not clean the springs or shock absorbers as they will be replaced.

It took a long time too, finishing what I had not managed to complete this morning, followed by flipping it over and starting on all the under side and invisible paint.

Hell, I hated this job.

Top side eventually done.



Flipped over



Before



After



And at 7.00pm tonight, thankfully Sally had come around and cooked dinner, allowing me to finish.

I started the compressor up and used the blower nozzle to really blow all the scraped paint and rust and dust out of all the nooks and crannies.




Happy with that finish.

Paint next.