[73GTVJim]

I've not posted much thanks to Christmas but I have been pottering about in the man cave.

The home made veneers were reasonable colour with a solvent clear gloss but too shiny and a bit plastic looking so I went again with a satin matte water based. It doesn't bring out the depth of natural colour in the wood so much, leaving it a little pale and I've now given it quite a few coats. It might have to do at least for now.

With some assistance this time from Adrian I was able to re-attach the roof gutter trim which runs from the base of the windscreen along to the bottom of the C pillar and hooks in under the roof. It's a bit of a 'mare to do and definitely needs two pairs of hands to avoid scratches. It still resulted in a couple of chips clipping it on. The other trim went over the bottom of the rear window aperture with a new seal.

This weekend I put new rubber gaskets in the rear side window, which is a pain. If you see in the photo the outside "button" pin is secured to the hinge through the glass and held in place with an E clip which is almost impossible to feed under the clamping part of the hinge. It took ages on the other side but I simply couldn't press hard enough and manipulate the clip. After a good 90 minutes I got desperate enough to try a different tack. I drifted the roll pin out of the clamp to separate it from the base. I then carefully held the two sides (and the glass) in my vice and just nipped it enough to expose the groove and insert the E clip. Roll pin tapped back in it was done in no more than 10 minutes!

So the glass went in and the tricky B pillar trims are back on.

 

[swallow]

Jim - you're making some great progress there. Just read through recent posts, all looking very tidy - brought back memories of when I did my dashboard some years back, hell of a job... I must get on with my car, haven't really touched it in an age, work etc getting in the way. But I have just bought a section of the neighbours barn that it lives in - as soon as the renovations on the building are done, I will be able to access the car from my home, so hopefully things will speed up..

 

[73GTVJim]

Rear parcel shelf and both interior rear quarter panels in after covering the ashtray fronts with some leftover leather.
I was sorely tempted to put the back seat in as well, and I may still do so shortly but I was worried I might catch the leather doing these other jobs and when I remove the dash again to fit the veneer fillets.
Glued down the carpet over the driver's sill as I had done with the other side a while ago. It's just neater. I also took the opportunity to cut the driver's side carpet runner for the seat mountings.
I did quite a bit of fiddling with the driver's door as it won't open properly and it still doesn't but you can't see that.

 

[FAssarsson]

Lovely interior. Going to be a true beauty!

 

[73GTVJim]

Not been updating much of late. Mainly because I'd forgotten my password and had handed back my works laptop after my employer went bust at the beginning of February, then we've had all this lockdown. On the plus side I now find myself with more free time. Not that I'm working on Bertie every day.

So what have I been doing when I have been in the man cave lately?

Trying to get the driver's door to open properly after refitting the door handle accounted for a lot of faffing and frustration before I realised there's some play in the hinge pins. I'm not sure if the restorer mentioned this at handover. He might have but I'm thinking it's a bit poor they didn't do it given the amount of work and panels fitted. I've bought a set last week with some other bits and bobs. Mr D has done his this week and makes it sound less daunting than I imagined.

I've started and not completed several jobs so I'll skirt them for now.

I finally got round to fitting the AH uprated front anti-roll bar which completed the rest of the fast road kit I did an absolute age ago.

Dashboard and new vent pipes went in. Bought a new Prototipo steering wheel. You may well not approve of not using this but (a) the original was in a bad state and (b) I like it and it's not a perfect concours car. Also invested in some new seat belts, including adding a rear set in a nice dark grey which sets off well IMO against the red leather.

I'd put the old main F-R hand brake cable back on after lubricating it but it was sticking on and would only release if I gently tugged the lateral cables (either side) from under the car. In the end I bought new. You can see in the photo it turned out to be markedly longer than the old one but actually fit perfectly, even attaching to the brazed clips on the trailing arm. Miraculously it worked perfectly too.

 

[keithyboy]

That interior is beginning to look quite spectacular.

I'm glad the handbrake is sorted. Immensely frustrating being 10 minutes down the road but unable to come and lend a hand.

 

[73GTVJim]

Yes, it's a shame I can't call on the cavalry when stuck or if it's a two man job but I'm sure the lockdown will end sooner or later and we can all enjoy a brew and bacon butty or beer together with the local lads.

 

[73GTVJim]

Just a short note to say I'm not dead and Bertie isn't alive yet.

A number of small, uninteresting bits and bobs have been done. Driver's door is back off. Debating replacing the hard to fit window cable as it's frayed and noisy but does work. Also there's weakness in the bracket at the bottom of the door to which the base of the quarter light/front channel for the side window attaches. This is due to PO having drilled out a very rough, large circle for speakers (presumably in the late 70s or 80s) but it's partly gone through said bracket allowing it to flex which in turn makes the window fit more difficult to get right for angle.

 

[Harvo]

Good to hear the project is progressing and you're OK, Jim.