Time lapse full metal Broadspeed GT restoration/transformation

[UHR850]

Also have seen these on a Japannees site usesing the original mirror bolt hols

Kees.

https://piccadilly-house.com/news/

[mk1]

Great work as always Doc. I thought my rear quarter issues were difficult to sort out on my Sprint. The lengths you had to go through with the GT are 100 times more difficult.

As always, a great solution in the 3nd though.

M

[Dr.Mabo]

During one of my test runs of the engine, I had to learn that it is not really clever to connect the engine breather hoses directly into the intake manifold. Unfortunately, with the twin H4 carburetor, the engine breather cannot be connected to the carburetor in front of the throttle valve. And on the other hand, only 1 hose can be connected to the PCV valve for mounting on the intake manifold. But since I have two engine breather and am not a fan of manifolds and hose clamps, I had built this T-piece. Especially as the function of the PCV valve was not really clear to me until then.

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How did it work? The engine was drawing plenty of oil into the intake manifold via the engine vents and burning it. I was worried that the neighbours would call the fire brigade.

So the goal was to connect two hoses to the PCV valve. I found a small 90° piece of pipe in the DIY store, drilled the appropriate hole in the housing and inserted it with 2 pack glue. It is important to stay in the same pressure chamber of the valve. And so two hoses can also be connected.

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[Fanfaniracing]

Clever solution

[timmy201]

I suspected that might happen with the breathers connected to the manifold

I learned the lesson with PCV systems that they need to be setup very specifically. If you have too much air coming into the system (eg wrong oil cap or leaky seals) the pcv will let in much more air at idle and idle very high.

[mk1]

Another beautifully elegant solution.

[Dr.Mabo]

Although I already had a nice Les Leston steering wheel for my Broadspeed, I wasn't entirely happy with it. It was in good condition, but didn't really match the rest in terms of quality. And as I mentioned before, the connection between man and machine is extremely important to me. I had another LL wooden steering wheel in my collection. However, it had bent spokes and the wood had various cracks. So it was ideal for a thorough overhaul to meet my requirements. The spokes were quickly straightened, so the first photo is the before-condition but with straight spokes.

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First I sanded off the various layers of paint from the last decades down to the wood. It is always important to isolate the transitions between the wood and the aluminium spokes, regardless of whether you are working on the aluminium or the wood. Then I sanded and polished all the scratches and dents out of the spokes. The LL steering wheels used in Porsches and Jaguars often have a brushed scale pattern. I find this extremely luxury. Obviously others do too, as these steering wheels are often offered for between 2000 and 4000 Euros. I thought I could do it myself. With a small felt attachment and a little sanding paste, the pattern can be applied to the spokes with a little patience.

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I filled the cracks in the wood in several layers with wood glue and then sanded them down.

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I also find a darker wood tone more noble than the relatively light original wood. So I stained the wood darker. Finally, I painted the wood with 7 layers of 2k clear coat and afterwards I sanded and polished it again with 2000 grid sandpaper. Now it can remain in my Broadspeed.

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[Fanfaniracing]

Very nice result!

[UHR850]

Absolute a great job, big compliments.

Kees.

[mk1]

Fantastic attention to detail. . . . . As always!

[Dr.Mabo]

After the quarter light frames were TIG welded, the hard work began. Sanding, more sanding and sanding again plus the final polishing. But the result is satisfying. I can only recognise the welds myself when I look inside the profile. So now the new glass panes were ready to move in. I bought a suitable rubber U-profile by the metre. From a purely mathematical point of view, it should fit. In practice, of course, it doesn't.

I have read many stories about how to fit the windows with new seals. In some cases, it was also recommended to use black sealer. But that didn't suit me at all. With a lot of liquid soap, it should work. But to get everything to fit, I had to pull the rubber properly. The rubber then became thinner and more supple and slipped into the frame relatively easily together with the window. I then cut off about 20 cm of excess seal at the joint. But so far everything has stayed where it should. After the frame was screwed together, I cut off the unevenly protruding gasket edge. Then the quarter lights were ready for installation.

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[Fanfaniracing]

Very Nice Doc!

What are the dimensions of the Rubber profile you use?

I have used bicycle tubes in the past, sometimes with and sometimes without success...

[Dr.Mabo]

The profile I used has the dimensons shown on the photo. Costs are 1,50€ per meter

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[mk1]

Hi Doc,

I didn't think you one second that you would have used my gash sealer method of fitting your windows. You are far too much of a craftsman for that

Excellent work as always

[Dr.Mabo]

In the meantime, the foldable back seat has also been upholstered to match the front seats. The result pleases me so much that I would almost prefer to sit on the back seat. But as a 2+2 coupe, that means very limited headroom . So I make myself comfortable in the Microcell seats in the front.

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Likewise, it was now time to install all the side windows to keep the fine interior protected. After a sliding window pane fell off during an earlier restoration and turned into crumb glass on the floor, I always pad the painted areas as well as the floor as generously as possible. If you don't need it, it's all good. But to this day I am still annoyed about the loss of the original pane with matching production date .

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[mk1]

Exceptional work, as always.

[phil82]

Outstanding!

[hanlminiman]

Many years ago a Consultant trainer asked me to describe "What does good look like?" At the time I replied "No comment." Because I could complete an office refurbishment job on time, within budget and out of hours with no financial loss to the business. The result without fail was no response from the instigators of the project! ie "No Comment."
After seeing the Doc's work I would refer the consultant to this thread as this project really is "What good looks like."
Thank you Doc for all your updates. I hope I will be able to see it up close some time soon.
Cliff

[morris-miner]

Doc, you are an inspiration to us all.

[Dr.Mabo]

Now the time has come. From my point of view, the restoration and conversion of the Mini Saloon into a Broadspeed GT is now complete. All the work that now remains to be done is of an administrative and cosmetic nature. Maybe a few technical corrections or adjustments here and there, but in principle I call the project finished.

This is also urgently necessary, as in 3 days the Retro Classic exhibition will start in Stuttgart https://www.retro-classics.de/en , where the Broadspeed will have its official roll-out. Have fun with the photos, I definitely have it too. If you want to see my project in the original, I'm looking forward to a lot of visitors and nice conversations at the Retro Classic. Then the missing white Go-Faster stripe will also be on it.

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