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Special Series 1300 Restoration

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9 years 9 months ago - 9 years 9 months ago #36398 by Jeremy
Replied by Jeremy on topic Special Series 1300 Restoration
Your doing better than I am! It's taken me all winter to get around to repairing the rear valence and rear corners of the wings on my car. The rear is in a similar state to yours. My car was restored fairly well back in 1993 when it was only 8 years old! its faired really well a[art from some over plated repairs on the rear which just covered the rust up and made it worse in the long run.

My problem is I have two old project cars so they both progress at a snails pace! Not helped by family life with two young children to tend to.

sounds like a good birthday trip!
Who needs 4th gear anyway...
Last edit: 9 years 9 months ago by Jeremy.

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9 years 9 months ago #36412 by David Fisher
Replied by David Fisher on topic Special Series 1300 Restoration
That's looking rather good Andrew, cant wait to see the finished product. I'm pretty much of the same mind as you I love reading other threads and drawing on other peoples experiences. It kind of keeps me going as I do have the odd period when I wonder why I'm doing this...but it's all good in the end.

Keep em coming.

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9 years 9 months ago #36430 by A BC
Replied by A BC on topic Special Series 1300 Restoration
Lot's of inspiration for me in here, keep it up!

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9 years 9 months ago #36459 by Andrew Sinclair
Replied by Andrew Sinclair on topic Special Series 1300 Restoration
Ended up working all last week unexpectedly (I'm a pro musician... often an unpredictable job) and so I did nothing on the car...
However... what I did do was buy another one!! Yep... I know I said I wasn't looking on ebay but... I lied. Lol.
It's a 1500, restored 6 years ago, and it's gleaming :) I'll post some pics on another thread when I get a chance to.

All this sunshine was frustrating me with no roadworthy X to enjoy! So I now have the best scenario possible- an original 1300 to restore correctly, and a gleaming 1500 to enjoy this summer which will inspire me to finish my 1300 to as high a standard as possible.
I definitely will not be keeping both... seriously... I won't! :lol:

Next job on the 1300 resto is the cylinder head strip/inspect/rebuild which I've been trying to get on with for a couple of weeks now but my work has to come first... I'm hoping to find a day or two to myself this week.
I'll post pics of the head when I get to it.

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9 years 8 months ago - 9 years 8 months ago #36497 by Andrew Sinclair
Replied by Andrew Sinclair on topic Special Series 1300 Restoration
Had a whole free day to myself today so, as the bottom end of the engine is all finished, painted and awaiting it's head, the plan was to begin stripping and cleaning the cylinder head... which was when I noticed that my son hadn't returned the valve spring compressor... :angry:

Anyway I concentrated on other little jobs- cleaned up the cam housing and cover. I removed the cam; hardly any visible wear but it will be getting replaced with a Kent Fast Road Cam anyway. I spent a few hours with a brush and some gunk... this engine ran well enough but My God is it filthy!
My main concern at the moment is the thermostat housing. I'd always suspected the stat was stuck open as the car generally ran slightly cool and what I found confirmed this- it was full of crap and I had to virtually chisel the stat out!
There is quite a lot of corrosion on the hose connection bits- the cover has actually holed. Anyone got a source for new ones? Or anyone suggest a repair process? I'm thinking JB Weld or similar which I have used before, excellent stuff.





Also, just out of interest... what is the little short bolt for on the bottom of the stat cover? Some kind of bleeder?
Last edit: 9 years 8 months ago by Andrew Sinclair.

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9 years 8 months ago - 9 years 8 months ago #36505 by Jeremy
Replied by Jeremy on topic Special Series 1300 Restoration
I have just used this alloy 'brazing' filler repair rod to repair a hole in aluminium bodywork and it seems very good. Called 'Alu-Build 300'

Ebay item: 172213887429

Just needs blow torch and something to fit under the hole to support the molten alloy while it sets. The melting point is lower than the aluminium housing so it should not damage it. Comes with good instructions
Who needs 4th gear anyway...
Last edit: 9 years 8 months ago by Jeremy.
The following user(s) said Thank You: Andrew Sinclair

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9 years 8 months ago #36506 by Andrew Sinclair
Replied by Andrew Sinclair on topic Special Series 1300 Restoration
Thanks for that Jeremy, that stuff looks great! I've ordered some to try it out :)

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9 years 6 months ago #36937 by David Fisher
Replied by David Fisher on topic Special Series 1300 Restoration
Hi Andrew,
Just checking on your progress, how are things going with the resto.

Dave

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9 years 6 months ago #36971 by Andrew Sinclair
Replied by Andrew Sinclair on topic Special Series 1300 Restoration
Hi David,
Slowly... is the answer. Lol.
Once I realised it had no hope of being ready for the summer I was gutted that I was going to miss out on summer driving in an X (summer...??? Pah!) so I bought a 1500 off ebay. Previously restored and looking very lovely, I've been enjoying driving it in the lakes whenever I can as the nearest lake to me (Loweswater) is only 10 miles away from my house. All those lovely twisty roads... perfect X1/9 territory. So my 1300 resto has been put on a back burner for a couple of months. The engine has had the bottom end all rebuilt, I'm half way through the head. The gearbox is at the local reconditioner. The bodyshell is mounted on the rotisserie and welding will begin in earnest in November. It's daunting but I'm looking forward to it. SO much welding to do but... it'll be fun!
How's yours going?

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9 years 6 months ago #36995 by David Fisher
Replied by David Fisher on topic Special Series 1300 Restoration
Hi Andrew,

Good to hear you have only put it on the back burner rather than putting it all away. I guess it is nice to have an opportunity to drive another X around the lakes. I have still got a way to go with mine...I have started the painting process I'm doing it in my garage a bit a a time this might seem a bit strange but i'm very pleased with finish so far...I'm painting it with 2pk paint so I have to be very careful with that. So no chance of driving it yet, but I still have my SLK to drive which is a good substitute for now.

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9 years 6 months ago #37002 by Andrew Sinclair
Replied by Andrew Sinclair on topic Special Series 1300 Restoration
All sounds good!
I'm a time-served spray painter so if you need any advice, ask away.
2K is amazing stuff and very forgiving. Just don't tell the neighbours as it's completely illegal to use it in your personal garage...

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8 years 10 months ago - 8 years 10 months ago #38065 by Andrew Sinclair
Replied by Andrew Sinclair on topic Special Series 1300 Restoration
A carrier bag full of Fiat X1.9... lol. Major progress on the car at last- LOTS of welding done over the last few weeks.
Pics will follow when time allows :)

Last edit: 8 years 10 months ago by Andrew Sinclair.
The following user(s) said Thank You: Andy Rowley

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8 years 10 months ago #38117 by Andrew Sinclair
Replied by Andrew Sinclair on topic Special Series 1300 Restoration
So... The Weldathon has finally begun!
Now, I'll be honest here... I couldn't really weld a couple of months ago... I bought a crappy little SIP/Cosmo welder years ago but, although I could get the metal to weld ok it was a long, drawn out process, not helped by the fact that the welder's wire feed kept jamming because it's just so cheap n nasty it's hardly even 'fit for purpose'... so I never did much welding because it was a painful process. I decided in January that, faced with this project, which is/was hugely daunting, I needed a new welder if I was to do a decent job. I treated myself to a GYS Synergic mig. You don't want to know the price... I almost cried... But, I have to admit, it may be one of my best investments ever. I find I can now do decent welding. It's not exactly bike-frame-beautiful, but it's strong, with perfect penetration and nothing that a grinder can't make pretty ;-) .
Those of you who remember this thread will recall I mounted the shell onto a rotisserie last spring and... bought a 1500 to enjoy the summer in! Lol. The 1300 has been sitting in the air on the frame... patiently awaiting me to get started... but every time I looked at it, it frightened the life outa me! SO MUCH RUST!! When I put this car on the frame it still had 6 months mot on it... bloody frightening...
Anyway, in February I began practising my welding on some new steel and after a few hours I was getting good enough to start on the car. So- out with the cutting discs and off with the rust. No plating over anything on this job; all rust is being cut out completely. All remaining metal is being treated on the inside with FE-123 Rust Convertor, which is incredible stuff, highly recommended by Fuzz from Car SOS. This will take care of the surface rust that is inside the floor box sections and inside the sills, before painting and waxing. I'm being extremely thorough.
I've been at it for a month now so I'll post a few pics. Here are some shots of the floor with the rust cut out and some welded repairs.

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8 years 10 months ago - 8 years 10 months ago #38118 by Andrew Sinclair
Replied by Andrew Sinclair on topic Special Series 1300 Restoration
Some shots of the other side of the floor, this time with 'before' shots of the rust!! This was an motd car, remember! Frightening. So much gloopy filler and underseal... not the mot tester's fault at all, even I hadn't spotted it until I got it upside down and began prodding with a big screwdriver. Hopefully now you can see why it has sat for months... I really didn't know where to begin! I've renovated cars before, but never anything so rotten. And I've always had welding done by a pro, leaving me to concentrate on what I know- bodywork prep/paint.
Anyway, I figured the best place to start was in the middle; make sure the car has structural rigidity. The ends of the wings were removed and the sills inspected- the middle sill sections (door sill if you like) are mainly fine, only needing a couple of small patches. The sill ends... that was a different matter! Inner and outer rotted to hell.
I began with the floor, moving on to the inner sills and then outer sills. More pics to follow.

Last edit: 8 years 10 months ago by Andrew Sinclair.

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8 years 10 months ago - 8 years 10 months ago #38119 by Andrew Sinclair
Replied by Andrew Sinclair on topic Special Series 1300 Restoration
More pics.
Last edit: 8 years 10 months ago by Andrew Sinclair.

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