Christmas has come and is almost gone. Since yesterday was a quiet day I decided that I could do some work on the car, and got to it, ohhh not too early. I started with installing as many rubber grommets as I knew where they went , a quick look at pictures told me where the rest went. Next came the main wiring harness a bit of a challenge but not too bad. The last thing was to install some of the fresh air ducting and heat shielding. This was a very pleasant day and and I got some important things done

Ready to come home

Yesterday Jason and Shaun finished painting the chassis, just a few touch ups to complete the job. Hopefully today the chassis will make it home six months after the project was started I can hardly wait to start reassembling the car. Here are some pictures of the painted chassis

.

Last summer when I started this project I thought just a quick trip to the media blaster then on to the paint shop. A little rust repair into primer then paint and home for assembly to a rolling chassis. HA! Was I ever dumb. As it turns out the way the car is built this is not an option. Now that paint is going on I am a happy camper with a much lighter wallet but ultimately I am far further ahead than had I done it the other way. I can thank Roy Moore and Jason Stoch for guiding me in a proper manner, thanks for the support and guidance I really appreciate the efforts of both of you.

Any way this is a picture of the beginning, lots of rust etc.

After a lot of work and skill the result is the following, with a good paint and of lot effort look what can happen


Yes that really is the original colour from the hidden parts of the chassis, and yes I am painting it that colour for real, with old english white coves. I think it will be very striking and unusual.

Latest update

The last week has been exciting. Jason and Shaun have been busy blocking and sanding the body. I have picked a colour and it is the original Florida Green, very bright but with Old English White coves it will be stunning. The fenders doors and cowls have to come off the chassis for painting , this should happen this week and the chassis and underside of the fenders and cowls will be painted this week also hopefully.


Once it is painted I will bring it home and start reassembling it, this will be challenging and rewarding at the same time. I have most of the front end ready to install and just a few things left to clean and powder coat. As soon as it is painted I will have more photos.

It has been a while since my last entry but holidays involving driving trips to Nebraska and to Seattle will do that. Since then a lot has happened. During the changes it was hard to see the progress day by day that Jason was making, but now that he is almost done it becomes obvious that he has accomplished a lot. The car body is going back together, and is recognizable again.


















While Jason has been working on the body I have been working on the other mechanical parts . I have finished cleaning, and powder coating the heater box and fan assembly for the interior, rebuilding the engine and drive shaft and the front suspension is almost done. I just need to ream the king pins bushings, then I can finish the assembly of the front end. I still need to powder coat lots of parts but most I will do as required. There are more parts to collect too, but there's time for that.
This week I have been out to see the car twice and we are talking about body colour and gloss. Sounds like its almost paint time. I have thought it through and have come to the decision that the original Florida Green with Old English White coves is what it is going to be. It is a colour combination that either you like or hate. I am still on the fence but it will go with my tropical shirts. I also from the beginning wanted to bring it back to as close to original as possible, including the colour. From removing the paint I noticed that the chassis and underside was almost a satin texture the rest was a high gloss. I will be trying to confirm this observation, the internet is so perfect for that, although there seems to be lots of misinformation out there.

Its been a while since I have posted to the blog, I have been diligently working on the bits and pieces for the front end and any other little pieces I can get cleaned and prepped for powder coating.

I have done some research on powder coating and found it is not that hard to do. The general instructions I came up with is CLEAN, (I Sand blasted the parts) prep by wiping with methyl alcohol or acetone, coat with powder, then bake at 425 to 450 deg for about twenty minutes as specified by the manufacturer of powder, then it's done. I used a Craftsman powder coating kit I purchased on line for about $125 to apply the Hot Coat powder I also ordered on line. I used an old Kitchen stove I got from my brother, after he recently moved, to bake the pieces. The first couple of pieces I wasn't too crazy about but now that I have worked the timing out I have not had any problems.

So far I have completed all the front suspension and some of the brake parts. I have also done the heater box, steering idler, and some engine parts including the coil mount.

Jetstream is a Sidney body shop specializing in old car restoration and custom work. Jason has worked on hot rods and and specialties alike, from an early fifties Ford truck to an Opel GT, both were super jobs and was the rational behind using him to do the 100/6. Too say the least I am very happy.

More progress

The progress is going along well for the right side of the care is almost done and looking really good. the inner fender well is repaired the right bumper support is replaces and the door shut is installed the only things left to do is the inner and outer rockers and a couple of spots on the floor need to need to be finished off. It seems that every time the chassis is turned over an other collection of dirt and bits and pieces fall on the ground.
Once the rest of the parts show up then the left side will be started, the repair will be similar to the right side with a little more needing repair on the floor.

It's in Primer and finally protected

I got a look at the primed chassis on Friday and what a difference, it is now protected and won't rust. I also removed the last of the fasteners left over from media stripping, mostly carpet snaps and some cable clips that were not visible before.

I spent all Canada day and the evening of the July 2, stripping the front and rear shrouds, it was an arduous task as there was 1/8 of an inch of paint in some areas and some of it didn't want to come off. I used Talstrip II an aircraft aluminum paint stripper and it took nearly 4 quarts to do the job. I also found that some of the original factory prep was dodgy at best, some areas were shiny and smooth with poor adhesion, however it did last more than 50 years.

Jason spent the last weekend making a Healey rotisserie for it and mounting the chassis. The rotisserie really looks good and will make it easier for him to do the body work on my chassis and future projects. One never knows, I might need it for another project in the future . Wink wink nudge nudge know what I mean say no more.

Return from the Media Blaster

Today I got the first look at the stripped chassis, Quick Strip did an incredible job of media blasting. Generally I think it is a good solid unit and well worth restoring. There are some area's that will be replaced and other area's that will be repaired, all in all not much for a 50+ year old car.



Jason and I looked closely and picked out the parts that are needed, I had already got most of them and the others are available by order from England. Later in the day, Roy Moore, a good friend, and I went out for another look, and checked out several things to make it easier later. A visit to Roy's parts storage produced some other parts that are needed, we made up an order and I left it in Roy's capable hands.

The stripped down chassis ready for media blast!

I visited with John at Quick Strip yesterday and got a couple of shots of the stripped chassis. I also took a few as reference so can I get the car back together the way it started. I am really looking forward to seeing it with out any paint on it. That will tell the story of what has to be done. Once it is stripped it will go to Jason Stoch at Jetstream Custom Auto for primer and evaluation.

The turning point

Tonight was a turning point for me and the 100/6. Quick Strip in Sidney BC came by and we loaded the frame in to the trailer. John will be starting media blasting in the next few days. It was too dark to take pictures so I will try to get some before he get started stripping it. At this point I think I am turning the corner of disassembly and rebuild. I am so excited to be here at this point in the project. I will post pictures as I can.

May 31 2009

Well all the bits and pieces are off the car and I am waiting for the Media blasting firm to say they can handle the blasting. They use walnut shells mostly, and garnet to get the tough stains out. Once the blasting is done it will go to the body shop for review, and part replacement planning then priming.

Once the chassis is out of the stripper I will publish a picture.