Feb 64' Austin 1071 Cooper S

[SteveG]

Scott, its a private joke mate.

Hes laughing because I painted it myself. I had every intention of a professional job at first, but our 3rd child is due in less then 3 weeks time and I simply can't justify the funds at the moment so set myself a target of having it painted before the baby arrives!

When I made that call it was still in bare metal and probably only April.

Al (66s) laughed and has since called me Superman for attempting it.

Well, Mr slow, I did it! well not yet.. still have the boot lid, doors and bonnet to go! I'm working hard every night on these. Tonight I have one of the doors in primer, the boot lid in primer, the bonnet in primer but the drivers door is taking time. It had the lower skin replaced by the welder as it was rusting out. He did a good job but a couple of the welds were a bit high even after grinding back so I have been carefully tapping them back in and putting a sliver of filler over. I almost have it.

I plan to paint the above this weekend but we are forcast the worst snow in 30 years and -6 on saturday so it could be tricky even with my 3 heaters in the garage!

Joking Aside, Al was true to call me nuts and not to rush it. It has been a mega effort the last 3 months on the body work. Apart from the welding i've done it all myself. The kids cant remember what I look like.

You have to be just a little bit crazy to take this job on.. I don't really plan to do it again. The about of sanding involved is just crazy... and the black bogeys are very nasty!

The shell has come out quite good. There are a few small dents still on show when you look close and some small ripples here and there but for DIY and the money it cost i'm over the moon. Its such a great feeling knowing the 'all nighters' were worth it!

I still have the cut the paint back with wet and dry to flat it. This will help with the minor imperfections then I have to buff the shine into it.

I put a clear coat into the engine bay, boot and interior where they are harder to buff out, but the exterior will not have a clear coat. I used Acrylic Laquer as its pretty safe for home use and will get a nice shine with some work.

One day when the kids are a bit older I will get a professional job done. For now, I know the kids will scratch it so its pointless having a mint paint job!

[guru_1071]

steve

don't be embarrassed at your efforts

I had to zoom really close in on the photos before I could see the brush marks.....

[66S]

But he used a roller on the flat panels Bob !!

Actually, Steve has done a wonderful job in the limited time he's had. I'm right to call him Superman (first name Dusty !!). Keep going Steve, not far to go now.

Al

[Tim]

...I plan to paint the above this weekend but we are forcast the worst snow in 30 years and -6 on saturday so it could be tricky even with my 3 heaters in the garage!..

You'll work something out, you restored the last one through two major earthquakes!

Tim

[SteveG]

Rich, you are one funny kid!

Joking aside though, can you really see the brush marks? hehe

No no, I went to great lengths to build my own spray booth in the garage. It was air tight and plenty of decent heaters. Quite impressive really


Tim, true mate! A bit of snow is nothing compared to what us Christchurch folk have been through.

[java gt]

Wish I could get a finish even close to this,so far I have confined my spray gun antics to the inside and the underneath.

[SteveG]

It should have a better shine but i'm not worried as its got to be cut back with 1500 wet and dry yet then buffed with compound.

Yesterday I tackled the doors, boot lid and bonnet along with all seam covers and hinges. It went pretty well until the last coat where I was going for a 'wetter' finish and moving the gun a bot slower. I got the first runs in the whole job on the very last coat which was disappointing but will sand out OK. They are on one of the doors below the hinge area. Not easy to see.

I got 7 coats on these items which matched the red on the car. Today the sun came out so everything went outside for some nice sunshine to help the gases escape.

I then cleaned up the garage and the good wife is now able to park in there again for the first time in about 4 months!

Its a great feeling finally finishing the painting after so many hours in the garage.. many times I almost threw in the towel and take to a painter. The money I saved has helped me afford things like getting the booster reconditioned so i'm very happy.

[Austin Costin]

How are you getting on with this Steve.

[SteveG]

The short block has been away for 8 months! a few dramas but got it back last week so back into fast progress once again.

Tonight the engine went in! Always a nice moment. Getting very exciting now after no progress for several months.

[SteveG]

Tonight was nice. We have oil pressure on the rebuilt engine.

[KA2S4]

Steve, showing us how many forward gears he has and also how many friends.

[KA2S4]

Steve and "Timmy The Dog"

Oh Timmy! ...

[SteveG]

You only need 3 gears!

That is clearly not me!

That is not my Dog!

You are a Tosser with too much time!

[KA2S4]

Why so defensive?

I also found that coil/dynamo bracket you wanted.

[SteveG]

Like

[Austin Costin]

Looking good..................The car, not you

[SteveG]

I think both are very sexy Paul

[SteveG]

Took her for first drive today.

More gremlins then the Lotus F1 car! Overall very happy though. It has a 'modified' 544 cam which had done only 100 miles in a 970s. I was assured it would be perfect in my 1071. Time will tell but early signs are good.

I have a clutch issue as in not wanting to select gears (which is quite an issue). I've just read somewhere that the new Clutch master cylinders have a shorter push rod. Mine has one of these fitted. Could that affect things?

Not too many jobs to do.. the never ending list is finally on a A4 page.

[SteveG]

Road Legal again today after 12 years.

I have lots of issues to sort (some nothing to do with the car!)

Run is not running well. Could be timing, could be carbs. Mechanic thinks its the Camshaft. I need to go over everything.

Its bogging down bad right up to 3k revs then it feels good. Worst is 1st and 2nd Gears.

After 1st proper 30 mins drive I have water and oil on drive (separate piles thank god) Oil could be front Pulley seal although i've not had a good look yet. Water I'm not sure.

I also developed a exhaust leak which made the car sound like a tank. Was amusing going past the cafes on a sunny day. You could see them turning in their seats to see what the noise coming was.

Other then that i'm dead chuffed.. When the Cam kicked in at 3k it was smiles for miles.

Photo is next to my mechanics very nice AG S replica 1967.

[SteveG]

Quite a bit of progress. I spent a few weeks back on the paint after stripping all Chrome off and masking up windows. I rubbed paint back with 1000/1500 then 2000 grit with soapy water. It seemed to go well. I then borrowed a variable speed buffer and bought some new foam pads. After researching it on you tube I went for meguiars ultimate compound. I did the bonnet and was pleased with the results. The finish felt smoother then my 10 month old baby's bum (and smelt alot nicer also)

The next day I pushed it out into the sun for a better look. It was bugging me that on very close inspection I could still see some orange peel. I thought this could be 2 things. Either I had not done enough passes with the buffer or I had not sanded enough. I worked out it was probably the sanding. Thank god I had thought of this when painting and put plenty of coats on. Its painted with acrylic lacquer which is very thin. I was advised to do 4-5 coats but I did 7 to allow for buffing mistakes. When painting the panels I always ran up and down the edges first and then covered everything side to side including the edges. This helped at the sanding/buffing as I read its very easy to sand the paint off when the buffing pad (mop) 'bites' into a edge.

Having already buffed the bonnet to a ok finish I re-sanded the left hand side of bonnet with 1000 grit. This time I used a much harder block and was more aggressive. I again went to 1500 then 2000. Then buffed and was very happy with the new finish. All orange peel gone and a more mirror like finish achieved.

I then spent another day sanding the whole car again and next weekend buffed the whole car. I was very happy with the results. It feels so good after spending a number of lonely months in the garage rubbing down / filling / running down / filling / cleaning black bogeys out / rubbing down / filling / cleaning bogeys out etc etc. Many nights I was in the garage till 2-3 am and working the next day.

I still have to do tricky areas by hand where the buffer pad could not get to but I've found a very good finish is possible by hand also on a small foam pad and elbow grease.