Fifi and Friends

[Xantia-nut]

Ay up!

Recent activity in our workshop has shamed me into doing summat with my Pride and Joy.

Shiny, innit?

Porker.JPG (100.11 KiB) Viewed 2336 times

This was an ubershed when it arrived. The paint was shocking pink and very matt - I will post a piccie when I get my hands on the Centre's camera! Now look at it. I had to do summat:

Feel free to say eeuuuuggghh!

Starting Pt.JPG (117.9 KiB) Viewed 2336 times

The dents will be sorted later but 1st I need to see 'em. This car was unwashed for 3 years at one point. The "scut" behind the rear window was weathered matt and the paint an intaglio of little scratches.

Shaun hard at work.JPG (121.44 KiB) Viewed 2336 times

One of our trainees hard at work, putting the final polish on the paint. Looking good!

See the next instalment for the finished job.....

[Xantia-nut]

And now the finished article!

Fifi finished.JPG (110.52 KiB) Viewed 2333 times

Shiny enough for you?

The work was carried out at my new Workplace, Timken Vocational Training in Wolverhampton. Appropriately, we occupy the former Body Finishing Shop of the old Sunbeam works on Upper Villiers Street. And guess who now owns the Sunbeam trademark?

Fifi comes home, in a way.

The Porsche 924S and an old Vauxhall van in the background. These vehicles are dismantled then reassembled by our trainees. They do find the 2nd part of the job harder than the 1st......

[Xantia-nut]

Ay up!

As promised, piccies of the Porker pre-polishing. Try saying that with a stutter! Camera obtained piccies downloaded and modded.

Before.JPG (113.81 KiB) Viewed 2312 times

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After a day's hard work - just final hand polish needed.

Before.JPG (113.81 KiB) Viewed 2312 times

The scrapman has supplied the front bumper today but - it's busted and missing lights from one end.

[Xantia-nut]

Ay up!

Meet another of Fifi's friends - Shaun's Peugeot 306 cabrio. This had a loud, gruff voice caused by a major leak at the downpipe joint which we sorted.

Shaun hard at work.JPG (113.6 KiB) Viewed 2304 times

Shaun removing the downpipe. Luckily not a vid - it would have got me banned! The ball-headed bolts were seized solid and sheared off. We then had to tap the cast iron "bowls" from the manifold. With a 4lb hammer, deep impact socket and a long extension bar!

The problem.JPG (116.91 KiB) Viewed 2304 times

And there you see the prob. A previous owner had slackened off the manifold bolts to give it that "Bad Boy" farty sound but was too tight to buy a "performance " exhaust. The constant vibration had worn away the cup.

Anyway, this was welded up and ground smooth using my modeller's rotary tool and mounted grindstones. Thing is, I now need a new set of mounted grindstones!

One more for the moment: Fifi at home, all shiny and clean. Now raindrops cascade from the roof under braking! Haven't had that for a while....

Fifi at home!.JPG (123.59 KiB) Viewed 2304 times

[Xantia-nut]

Ay up!

We have a new addition to our workshop fleet - a Daewoo Matiz. I drew the short straw - I had to drive the thing back to base.

However, I got a suprise. I was determined to hate it. Small, lacking charisma with 800cc of raw chutzpah! I found instead that it was as much fun to drive as a Mini, fairly comfy even for my rather corpulent 6 foot 3 inch frame (the vendor suggested a shoehorn!), cornering as if on rails and, provided the revs were kept up, pretty nippy. And amazingly rorty, sounding like a V12 when it hit peak revs! Kinda like a cross between a Mini and a Fiat 500.

Piccy to come later - guess who didn't have his blithering camera on him!

[alfaSleep]

Ay up!

We have a new addition to our workshop fleet - a Daewoo Matiz. I drew the short straw - I had to drive the thing back to base.

However, I got a suprise. I was determined to hate it. Small, lacking charisma with 800cc of raw chutzpah! I found instead that it was as much fun to drive as a Mini, fairly comfy even for my rather corpulent 6 foot 3 inch frame (the vendor suggested a shoehorn!), cornering as if on rails and, provided the revs were kept up, pretty nippy. And amazingly rorty, sounding like a V12 when it hit peak revs! Kinda like a cross between a Mini and a Fiat 500.

Piccy to come later - guess who didn't have his blithering camera on him!

How was the change?...... Linkage on the box is listed as being [almost]..NOT.. quite 'rifle bolt'

That said..... I was quite happy with a 'local' renter who supplied a 5door, c/locking... ..., when I needed wheels whilst having the head off my 2.0 LPT 9000 skimmed.. So fast - So thirsty.. .. a few years ago now..'only in dreams' these days, sadly....

alfaSleep

[Richard Moss]

The work was carried out at my new Workplace, Timken Vocational Training in Wolverhampton. Appropriately, we occupy the former Body Finishing Shop of the old Sunbeam works on Upper Villiers Street. And guess who now owns the trademark?.

I know the area - there are loads of great little businesses in that area. I used to live in Castlecroft.

[Xantia-nut]

Ay up!

The 'change was as good as a Ford - say no more! Grab a gear, wait for it to roar, grab the next. Snickety-snick.

OK, wheel bearings are VERY vocal and the brake pedal is very low. Sortable!

[Xantia-nut]

Ay up!

Some more piccies:

The workshop.JPG (124.09 KiB) Viewed 2227 times

1st off, a piccie of my playpen. Occasionally into this sheltered world of dubious classic-ness comes a little rain in the form of an LDV minibus.

2nd, the Rover.

Rover 216.JPG (97.15 KiB) Viewed 2227 times

Tatty but in reasonable fettle mechanically. Should be great for our kids!

And finally.....

The Beast!!.JPG (114.64 KiB) Viewed 2227 times

Curb your over-enthusiasm at the back there.....

[JPB]

I rolled one of those once, albeit not the Daewoo-badged version. It deserved to die though the hire company's complaints department suggested that it didn't. They were wrong!

I only had it while one of my A60s was VOR with a dead torque converter, given more time I'd probably have found a way to burn it too.