Dan's Crapi project.

[Hooli]

Hurrah for carpi updates

[Danthecapriman]

Got the seat belts & stalks back in properly too.
No idea wtf is going on with the belts tbh. The clip should be facing into the cabin not as it is here into the pillar, and the label on the bottom of the belt should be facing towards the pillar… I’m 99% sure the reels won’t fit on the wrong side of the car so fuck knows.
They do work fine as they are though!

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Chrome trims on the doors is now back on along with new window seals. The passenger side door on this car has a genuine Ford skin, this comes complete with pre drilled holes for the chrome trim & weather strip retaining clips to rivet on. The drivers door is a reproduction though and doesn’t come with holes so I had to measure it all up and transfer the measurements over.
The window seals are slightly different to the original ones, they seem a bit wider and flatter than I remember.
All the rivets for the clips were dipped into a tin of Waxoyl first, so when the rivet is compressed it squeezes all the Waxoyl tightly into the hole and stops moisture getting In.

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I found the metal bracket and seal strip for under the bonnet. I think this is just there to reduce wind getting in under the bonnet. I’ve not seen these on other mk2’s though? Maybe they just get removed over the years??

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[Danthecapriman]

I also spent ages pissing about with the tailgate!
It’s been a twat to close fully on the latch. I’d assumed this was down to the new tailgate rubber seal (same problem I had on the doors) but if you forced the tailgate down it became obvious it was lined up right.
There is actually a measurement for this, the gap between the edge of the roof and top of the tailgate over the hinge should be 7mm + 2mm maximum. Mine was considerably more! It took ages loosening the hinges and shoving the tailgate around to get it to finally work. But the seal is now pushing the tailgate hard so I’ve had to leave it as it is to let the new rubber settle before I can readjust it again.
This is also the case for the doors - they’re close to being right but the rubbers are just stopping them sitting perfectly for now.

The exhaust was blowing on the centre joint too, old pattern part! I can’t stop it blowing as the metal at the joint is just so bent and loose, so I’ve mixed up a bit of chemical metal and forced that into the gap! It’s set rock hard now and doesn’t blow!

Put some stickers on the slam panel and inner wings too!

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No idea what the two Ford stickers are meant for? They’re not for the sill tops as these are way too big. The 1600 HC one is a double of one I’ve already got on my cam belt cover.

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Shot loads of cavity wax has gone into the bonnet leading edge and frame, bonnet hinge mount areas and up under the scuttle panel and vent area. It started pissing out the drain holes so I’m assuming they’re full!

[Danthecapriman]

Naturally all that beautification work must mean it’s close to being finished? Yes?

Well, one remaining job is to glue the carpet to the drivers side inner sill, trim it down and refit the stainless sill trim. But doing that where the car is risks scratching the door on the fence so I need to turn the car around so I can get that door fully open…

So, maiden voyage!

[Hooli]

Your attention to detail is damned impressive

[Danthecapriman]

I didn’t go far though. It was only a quick drive up the street to a big junction, turn around and back again.
But the car handled it perfectly well!

Even this short first trip showed a few issues though.

*Steering. Works fine, doesn’t pull, but as soon as I turned onto the road and straightened the wheel the steering wheel was no longer lined up straight. I think it must have made everything settle so I will need to get the tracking etc done properly.

*Theres a bang occasionally in the boot. Happens on bumps in the road so I think it’s the spare wheels bouncing around as the retainer bolt is missing at the moment. Will check though!

*Fuel gauge still not working. More investigation required here.

*Clutch. Works perfectly, but the pedal is quite a bit higher than the brake pedal so it needs a bit of adjustment.

*The car desperately needs a wash! It’s very very dusty, covered in cobwebs and now a layer of yellow pollen dust!

I still need to fit the badges too. I’m going to remove the metal pins on the back of the badges as I think this was a shit way of securing them tbh and just invites corrosion to start where the holes are. So I’ll shave off the pins and use modern double sided trim tape to stick them on. It works on much newer cars so it must be good. And it won’t allow the panels to rot!


It’s finally about done! I really enjoyed driving it, even though it was only about a mile! But that’s proven the car is now usable and I think it’ll definitely improve with use too. It’s been essentially sat unused since 2016. It looks good on the road too imho from the video’s!

[Danthecapriman]

Your attention to detail is damned impressive

It’s got to be with something like this I think! My aim was to do it once and do it right. Last thing I’d want is to do everything then have to re-do things or see it deteriorate because I couldn’t be arsed the first time.
The little details really do make a difference long term.

[Danthecapriman]

I didn’t go far though. It was only a quick drive up the street to a big junction, turn around and back again.
But the car handled it perfectly well!

Even this short first trip showed a few issues though.

*Steering. Works fine, doesn’t pull, but as soon as I turned onto the road and straightened the wheel the steering wheel was no longer lined up straight. I think it must have made everything settle so I will need to get the tracking etc done properly.

*Theres a bang occasionally in the boot. Happens on bumps in the road so I think it’s the spare wheels bouncing around as the retainer bolt is missing at the moment. Will check though!

*Fuel gauge still not working. More investigation required here.

*Clutch. Works perfectly, but the pedal is quite a bit higher than the brake pedal so it needs a bit of adjustment.

*The car desperately needs a wash! It’s very very dusty, covered in cobwebs and now a layer of yellow pollen dust!

I still need to fit the badges too. I’m going to remove the metal pins on the back of the badges as I think this was a shit way of securing them tbh and just invites corrosion to start where the holes are. So I’ll shave off the pins and use modern double sided trim tape to stick them on. It works on much newer cars so it must be good. And it won’t allow the panels to rot!


It’s finally about done! I really enjoyed driving it, even though it was only about a mile! But that’s proven the car is now usable and I think it’ll definitely improve with use too. It’s been essentially sat unused since 2016. It looks good on the road too imho from the video’s!

Also, the brakes!

I’m not sure if they’re just a bit weak and spongy because they’re cleaning off all the dust and surface rust from the drums/discs or if there’s still a bit of air in the system somewhere. The brakes were never the best on these but it just felt ‘off’ on that run.
I’ll check them and try bleeding them again I think.

[mercrocker]

If those are the niggles for a first mile out it is pretty impressive....You've essentially hand-built a production-line car from a combination of original used and new replacement parts with a potential age difference of half a century. Shaking it down isn't going to be a 5 minute job but you'll be driving a car that will improve with use and fettling.

Looks damn nice on the road, too, all the better for being a sub-Ghia/S pack in a nice period showroom colour....

[Hooli]

Your attention to detail is damned impressive

It’s got to be with something like this I think! My aim was to do it once and do it right. Last thing I’d want is to do everything then have to re-do things or see it deteriorate because I couldn’t be arsed the first time.
The little details really do make a difference long term.

Aye I've learnt that myself on smaller projects over the years. You can be proud of this car with what you've achieved.