second one the sun is out??

radiator has moved!

The chassis is looking much better!
I've also noticed nine other things but that may mean really I should be off doing other stuff instead.

Every stage of this rebuild has been done really well, I think the finished car will be a real credit to it's owner.

I'm still at it.
The garage is pretty cold until the heaters do their thang but I'm still at it.

To free up some room the chassis has been relegated to the back garden.

I'd never get away with this in the summer but I reckon we can be fairly certain by now that the barbeque season in well and truly over.



So it's on with the suspension, starting with the rear axle.



It was quite a rusty mess but I was pleasantly surprised to find that everything came apart easily enough. The brake pipes came off in one piece and the adjusters on the backplates turn freely enough.



An hour or so with a wire brush on a grinder took it back to bare metal then any rust was treated with rust removal gel. Now it says on the tub not to let it dry out and they are absolutely right. The following day it was out with the grinder again to get it off. At least it took the rust with it.



I did a coat of etch primer first and intended to put the black gloss straight over that but for some reason I had problems with it reacting. I did a very thin coat of normal primer in between and the problem went away thankfully.





I got very lucky with a new spray gun and can't believe the difference it's made.

I've been using a gravity fed Clarke HVLP gun for everything so far but a chap I know asked if I had any use for an old spray gun he had in his garage.
I pictured something crap covered in several decades worth of crusty paint but it turned out to be a 20 year old Devilbiss suction gun that had never been taken out of its box.

It's superb.

I've only used it with this black gloss so far but my constant orange peel problems seem to have gone away.
I cracked on with one of the suspension canisters....



....and got this finish straight from the gun:



I'm absolutely, totally and utterly over the moon with the difference.

looks amazing lenny, its going to be a shame to let the bleu celeste be used when completed!!
its going to be like a brand new car!!!

I love to see once rusty metal returned to as new, it feels good just to see it.

You got very lucky with a new Devilbiss JGA, they are a top bit of kit. Even a new old stock JGA 502 is still worth around £120.00, I know I bought one.

Those Hvlp guns aren't much cop without a huge compressor to run them off, the JGA will work really well for you, it's what the pro's used until they were forced to go hvlp. If yours has a 1.8 fluid tip and a number 30 air cap then it's a good general purpose set up which can be used for almost any old thing.

And I reckon that's exactly the problem I've had. Not enough air = orange peel. I thought my compressor would be up to the job of running an HVLP but obviously not.
When I bought the Clarke gun I was under the impression that the 'low pressure' bit meant it would be fine with a smaller compressor. When I got the orange peel issues with it I found out the truth.


I can't see any normal markings on them so I don't actually know what they are. I think the air cap is marked as a Devilbiss No.2 so God knows what it is. I presume there must be something on the internet somewhere that'll tell me but I haven't got around to looking yet, just over the moon at how it sprays!


Well it's not often I get a jammy bargain like this. I tried not to let my eyes light up too much when he showed me it and bought it for less than the price of a round of beers.
It was absolutely brand new, in a perfect box, complete with all labels, instructions etc. The only problem I had was solidified 20 year old grease that took a soak over night in thinners to shift.

This is the one I bought. If yours is the same then keep it spotlessly clean and you'll get £100 for it on ebay when you're done with it.

That's the little blighter.
Can't see me flogging it when I've finished though.
It's such a lovely looking thing I reckon I'll clean it up and display it on the mantlepiece in the living room.
I'm sure my other half will be just as impressed with its elegant appearance as I am.

I keep mine on the bedroom bookshelf. It's too nice for the garage.