“Here we go again” 1275GT project NOW FOR SALE

[mini_surfari]

Fast work as always! Really coming along well

[Dearg1275]

Fast work as always! Really coming along well

I don’t know that “fast work” is the right phrase. Bloody minded persistence is more the order of the day.

Your encouragement is Nonetheless much appreciated.

D

[mini_surfari]

Fast work as always! Really coming along well

Bloody minded persistence is more the order of the day.


D

That it is probably the only thing that gets any of these projects finished to be fair

[roger mcnab]

hi d
do you think that it might of been better to reshell this project or do you prefer the challenge or is there no shells available
the pic of it on the trailer is misleading or did you suspect that it was a bit of a dog your salty roads sure make a mess of car bodies
does the local councils have shares in the steel works
cheers roger

[Dearg1275]

hi d
do you think that it might of been better to reshell this project or do you prefer the challenge or is there no shells available
the pic of it on the trailer is misleading or did you suspect that it was a bit of a dog your salty roads sure make a mess of car bodies
does the local councils have shares in the steel works
cheers roger

Roger, early round tunnelled 1275GTs (or even ordinary clubman’s) are very thin on the ground. The new heritage shells only come in square tunnel format. You loose your original chassis number when registering a car with a new shell. In effect you loose its identity. These are my main considerations in repairing shot shells. I also enjoy the process. It’s the same as the difference between a fitter and a mechanic. There is art in restoring a shell. Buying a replacement is just playing with Meccano.

The problem with our winters in the UK is they are not cold enough. The temperature hovers around freezing. With out the salt what is a wet road in the afternoon becomes sheet ice as the temperature falls. Salt takes the freezing point down 4 degrees centigrade so keeps most roads safe most of the time. Also an awfully large percentage of UK drivers have no idea how to handle true winter conditions. No salt = big learning curve = big accidents.

D

[Andrew1967]

If you think David’s shell is bad Roger, you should see my mates 70 GT … if you are an MCR member it’s in the 1275GT registrars write up this month !!

Again, it’s the original shell and to re-shell was simply not even considered.

For many of us, it’s the challenge of rescuing a pretty hopeless shell. Yes, we probably are mad

[Dearg1275]

Here is the GT Andrew is talking about. Nasty or what?

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It is a very precious hydro GT. The early GTs had even rarer front hydrolastic displacers than the Ss. They were only fitted to GTs and some police Ss. I do hope they will save.

D

[Andrew1967]

Jeez, I'd forgotten just how bad it actually was before Jack started work on it.

We certainly are going to try to save the displacers David. Testing them on my home made tester.

One needs re-hosing but we are going to use a hose off a knackered Displacer as the re-hosed ones from the usual source just look wrong due to the hose used. Not so bad for the rear but the fronts stand out a country mile.

[roger mcnab]

hi
where did they find that one hiding in the harbour as a boat anchor
when i bought my clubman it had the front cut of and also the vin plate had gone missing so this will cause a problem when it goes if ever for rego but not impossible as there is a body number stamped on the inner guard so fingers crossed
what was the idea of changing the tunnel shape
a lot of drivers do not have any idea of how to drive responsibly at the best of times
back in 99 we lived in orange in winter now the main street is down hill when the lights change you have to wait for the cars to stop sliding through the red light as the frost is bad news
well keep up the good work
cheers roger

[Andrew1967]

Apparently it was in a hedge in a garden for 20 years Roger …

A ‘via ebay’ purchase that at the time seemed to slip the usual watching eyes of the forum, apart from me and Jack, as it wasn’t featured on the WTH thread

[Peter Laidler]

Thanks for that David. Am following this rebuild with interest*. Davids picture of the as-found 1275 GT is the perfect example of something that we all forget, including me...... And that is JUST how important it is to protect the INSIDE of the box section front bulkhead cross-member. Never seen anything as bad as that and BMC/BL certainly didn't get any paint into that long box section.

I only got oily Supertrol into the box section of my Mk2S while the steering. clutch, brake systems and heater hoses were stripped out a couple of years ago. But it has certainly told me in no uncertain terms to set about protecting my 2000 Rover RCSport this week.

Question time.....
Is there a short-cut way/place to insert a 5 foot long flexible probe into that box section without having to partially strip the inside front bulkhead to get to it.
Do the front shocker mounting screws enter into this long transverse box section?

Have a great weekend one and all

*might be embarking on something similar but not half as bad if I can prize Mk2 Cooper out of idiotic hands....

[Andrew1967]

The shock mounts are on top and underneath the crossmember on small tapped blocks.

Apart from the speedo cable clip hole, I can't think of any other access point other than inside the car. Taking the subframe tower bolts doesn't do much as there are reinforcing baffle plates either side .

[Dearg1275]

It’s all a bit holy this morning. Hole transfer. Templates retained.

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So much easier before fitting the panel. No excuse now to not trial fit the front end. Now where did I file that front subframe?

D

[Dearg1275]

Another hurdle crossed with a little help from my pushy friend. The right hand inner wing just did not want to line up with the cross member holes. After a deal of head scratching I noted that while the bottom pair were lining up the top pair seemed too far back. Looking carefully at the cross member and the bulkhead it was apparent that the top of the cross member had rotated back ever so slightly. A sustained push with the porter power just under the parcel shelf de-rotated it nicely whilst barely moving the position of the lower surface of the crossmember. i.e the exit holes for the subframe tower bolts had not moved.

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After that the subframe slotted into place with no issues and the front end went on just fine. I slung the scuttle on roughly together with right hand (this was the accident damage side) wing and A panel just to see if it was all going to hang together properly. I think I have a result.

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Now that I’m sure the inner wings are OK they can be welded in. So it all has to come apart again to put plug weld holes in all the right places.

D

[Andrew1967]

Looking great David ..

[GraemeC]

So pleased you retained the plate with the two captive nuts for the servo bracket - so many people don't seem to bother with it (especially on the log book rebuild GTs).

[Old English White]

What fantastice progress! Gosh David: You DO like a project don't you

[Dearg1275]

What fantastice progress! Gosh David: You DO like a project don't you

I think that is code for saying I’m a bit mad?

So a bit more madness. Both inner wings are now solidly welded on and it is time to get the scuttle panel sorted. The new heritage panel matches the mk3 original pressing pretty nicely and the width is spot on. That’s not something I have always found with earlier cars. Tool drift perhaps. However, but etc….

When it comes to offering up the original bonnet two problems present themselves. The curve of the rear of the bonnet is somewhat tighter than the new scuttle. To a degree this can be improved by flattening the rear of the bonnet and holding the scuttle a touch higher in the middle (whilst checking the screen aperture high isn’t getting too tight). The other problem I can’t see a fix for is the gap between the bonnet and the scuttle.

The gap in the middle is distinctly wider than at the corners. To put some numbers on that. With the corners set at 0.055” clearance the middle is 0.175”. A difference along the gap of 1/8” . Is there a solution or is this as good as it gets?

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That’s three cards in the middle and one at each end. Has anyone any light bulb moments to share?

Other than that I’m well please with how it’s shaping up.

D

[Dearg1275]

I think I prefer round fronted minis. These square ones seem to need much more persuading to go together right or perhaps it is just the Heritage panels. There was just such a lot of bits that needed trimming or relieving to get things to sit together properly.

This how thing stand at the moment held together by a few self tapping screws. There is room for improvement now that I have worked out what needs to change in one area to improve another.

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I have no idea what the factory panel gaps around the bonnet were like but it is a struggle to get them reasonable. I may ask in another post for some feed back on that.

More welding ahead.

D

[Dearg1275]

The first splash of colour! Cart before the horse you might say but it gets to those places difficult to cover once the scuttle is on. Two good coats of epoxy primer then straight on with the Blaze. It will get tidied up further later but it has protection now.

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My goodness. I had forgotten how bright Blaze was. Wow.

D