Heatwave 76 Gina I got a Cortina...................

[8BAK465]

Sorry for the long AWOL guys Ive had the Flu

After that blistering hot summer heatwave like many I was out carefree in the torrential downpours and got drenched so now I am paying for it

Nearly out the other side though now

Luckily just before I come down with I managed to get all the major bits id stripped off to bare metal covered with Red Lead so they should be fine now for the winter





The first couple of inches of the bonnet are still in Jelonite as I need to bare metal around the pinholes to either Fibreglass them up or Lead them.



My Grandad swears by Leading and is trying to encourage me to have a go





This side has the most but its still not too bad



Next was to get the bottom door sections finished up and covered up





As you can see I haven't filled in the hole in the door as it was suggested I cover it with Red Lead and just let it breathe as covering it up It will just rust even more over winter



However there's another hole on the rear door that's been fibreglassed,it will be getting removed after winter but been told it cant rust so cover the area well with paint and do it in spring



The rest of the door bottoms are solid apart from tiny pin holes and its had a scrape in the past but ill fill that once all the welding etc has been done



And the nearside rear arch dogleg still has the hole in it but again was advised clean it up get plenty of red lead on it and leave it open so moisture can escape So I did



Then onto rear side valances under the rear bumper



Not too bad a small hole



And some pinholes



The last thing I started doing was talking the front down to bare metal and the scabbly slam panel,unfortunately I ran out of film after these but rest assured its all painted now and there will be photos once I am feeling better

Note the large pile of rust on the floor under the valance ill tell you more about that next time





So to end this the Elephant in the room The Front nearside wing

I feel that I wasted the paint a bit there as under further investigation the wing is bent and rippled



Has gouges in it from a previous accident.





Has a couple of nasty patches and various holes oh yeah and no bottom!







So just before I come down with the plague I went to the Scrappy

They had two Cortina's in.

The Blue one the front wing was full of filler on top and around the light

The Green Estate the front nearside was solid but the bottom was gone same place as mine



He wanted £10 for it! I knocked him down to £8 because the bottom had gone then he pointed out the bottom on the Blue one somehow had survived but for a pinhole so ground the bottom 6" off that one and charged me £2 for that so he still got his £10

Photos to follow once im feeling more human again

[8BAK465]

Quick get the Cine 8 it’s Running!

[8BAK465]

So not been here a while because of family matters but a little update of where we lie.
Practically all the the panels have been obtained now the dash wiring loom has been removed for repair and to add a fusebox. I was going to add either continental or glass fuses but the guy in the motor factors showed me a bulletin about a new fuse format called blade fuses

They came out last year apparently their first usage has been marine so he told me to go and speak to a boat builders down by the river,so lets see if I can protect some of the wiring circuits

Ive found some of the switches have burned out and the column indicator dip switch has snapped inside
I priced them up at ford and ouch!

I had been to the scrapyards but every single one had the same issue as mine. I did a little cross reference and found Land Rovers use the same one of course they were just as pricey at the dealers but the spares guy took me to one side and told me of a farm suppliers and I have got one on order 60% cheaper

I will post some photos in the next few days

But yes its running my neighbour helped as there was no dash wiring loom a coil wire was bridged across from the battery and the solenoid shorted out.

From standing and then trying to get it running last year and failing the plugs stank of fuel and were very sooty

Of course the points needed cleaning and adjusting and the choke was seized solid and it didn't want to fire with it fully open

So that was freed up,plugs and points cleaned and then we had spark

So it fired again from a few sprays of Bradex down the vent tube after 5 years sitting and then died again

We then disconnected the pump as it wouldn't hold pressure and gravity fed it from a can and got it to idle

Then another neighbour turned up who is a plumber and said i can fix that pressure problem on the pump and come back with this plumbers tape stuff

Hoorah the pump was working so we full a can of 4 star in the tank but fed it into an empty oil can and all this gunge come out at first then it ran clear

So we put the fuel line back on the carb and it fired first time and idled

So next step is get the loom sorted oh and it has no brakes

And the gears are out of whack

We jacked it up and when it fired up good job we did as it went straight into reverse!

So that's about it for now photos soon and more updates,hope to have it back on the road for April,been using Dads mk3 which is lurvly he laughs and says you will have a shock when you drive that old banger

[8BAK465]

So the Wiring loom is out and I need to make a few repairs to it and add a fusebox!
So if you remember I found that the rain had been coming in through the screen rubber and rotted out the corners of the dashboard

So as the loom and the instruments heater and wiper motor have now all been removed and access up there is pretty good i decided it better derust the under dash area before everything goes back

So I consulted a friend and he suggested Science!



Seriously I read an article in Practical Motorist that Vinegar could be used to dissolve rust

I already knew this as I have done this in the past with Rusty Bolts but getting it to cling upside down underneath a dashboard

The article suggested boiling some vinegar over a low heat and stirring in some cornflower to make a thickened gel that would cling it also suggested Molasses for removing rust

I planned to do this the next day then as mum plonked down my sausage egg and chips in front of me for tea I reached for the Daddies sauce and as I am tucking in I thought hang on this has vinegar in it

So looking at the ingredients yes it clearly has a high Vinegar content as well as Molasses!

So I put some in a paste jar and dropped in a rusty bolt and after 24hours it removed some of the rust,the article had suggested brushing on their Cornflower/Vinegar gel them wrapping in cling film. so I tried again dipped in Vinegar,brushed over that Brown Sauce and wrapped in Cling Film and left it for 3 days when I rinsed it off the bolt was like brand new

So yesterday I filled some old jam jars

One with Vinegar

Another with Brown Sauce but added extra vinegar into the sauce and stirred it in well

And I coated all of one side of the underside of the dash first dipping the brush in neat Vinegar and brushing that directly onto the rust then went over the top brushing on the Brown Sauce before sticking the cling film over the sticky surface and pushing it firmly down with a rag as I was now covered in sticky Brown Sauce/Vinegar mixture.

And here is my science experiment













So its just a case of waiting a few days and washing it off and seeing if its had any affect?

Not quite sure how ill do that yet as I cant run my car under the tap? Thinking of a bowl of hot water with Bicarbonate of Soda diluted into to neutralise the acid in the Vinegar as it mentioned that in the article and just brushing it off and drying it as I go along?

Nothing ventured nothing gained its worth a try

[8BAK465]

Long time since an update
Going to bring this up to date to simplify things,yes Kodakcolour is very nice but anyway

I stripped the floor pan to bare metal its all good









It really is that Solid!!

Just a wing to replace bottom of the other wing end of passengers side sill not even all of it and the bottom of the inner A plates that attach to the Wings then part of front valance

After that just a few non structural bits bottom of doors bonnet lip etc its a really solid car to be fair

[59Impala]

Good to see this thread again, welcome back! Very solid floors which is kind of a nice surprise as they used to rust away especially if the windscreen leaked, my first car a 1962 Anglia back in 1972 had a hole in the floor on the passenger side where water had been coming in. I only found out when I pulled back the delightful household carpet that had been hiding it.

[mercrocker]

Yeah, those floors....! Good to see work progressing and what a solid base to go from.