Operation wake up GT! (no one has 56k anymore, right?!)

[Kitch]

As some of you may already know, this is my Dad's GT. For those that don't, the brief history is this:

I hit eBay one night, slightly , and pop a £150 bid on this GT, currently in the £90odd area and located in Hove, which isn't unreasonable a distance from where I was living. I watch in amazement as anybody fails to even attempt to outbid me! With the price at less than £100, one snipe attempt by a mystery bidder fails to clinch the car, and I end up winning it for £132.
I drive to collect the car, being delighted to find out the car has 10 months tax left on it - worth more than the car! It's done 180k miles or so and is a bit rough around the edges, but otherwise fairly sound.



I drive home and immediately set about trying to put the car under stress so it either dies because deep down it was knackered, or it responds, fights back and earns my respect.



Happily, it earned my respect. Alot! Not the speed (pretty average TBH) but the strength and character of the mechanicals really shone through. And it rode beautifully!

Fast forward a few months and I've attempted to tidy the car up enough to place up for sale at the national in Huntingdon that year (2006). It's actually a bid shabby. Mechanically very good, but shabby. Before the rally, my Dad pipes up and offers to take the car from me in return for a few childhood debts that he can make go away. So I did!

Since then it has made a few appearances at rallys, including that line-up at Stratford 2006:



Aswell as Huntingdon, twice, this time with the 16RS I owned that can't have been too different in age:




It's been off the road for a couple of years now, and then here we are.....2012:

[Kitch]

After a conversation with my Dad about the potential rarity and slowly increasing value of the GT model, he decided that he'd like to plough a million percent more into the car than I paid for it, and get me to give it a minor restoration at my workshop, where I work. Doing cars.

So, a couple of months ago I leave to go and collect the GT:





I arrive at the workshop and unload the GT.





It's arrived:



Over to the ramp for initial underbody inspections:






All good. Less rusty under here than my red 16v!

Engine will potentially be rebuilt, as it's being removed. So first the engine is checked for health on the dyno:



It phails, miserably:



However, although the figures are shash, the graph indicates that actually, there are no major mechanical weaknesses with the engine. Old fuel is one of the most likely candidates for the eraticness at higher revs, with the carb also needing a rebuild. A strong compression test is also good news, so for now the engine isn't going to be stripped and rebuilt, although it's still coming out to paint engine bay, change cambelt and clutch:



So I start stripping it down in preperation for the full respray it's getting:






I knew the A-pillars were an issue. Just not by how much:




Full of filler by the look of it!

[Kitch]

Work continues to strip the GT down:





A little bit of rot and some crap repair work, but nothing major found:





Reason for front bumper looking like a broken nose found:





Some of the inner A-pillar:







Bastard cable!







Mk1 dash SO much easier to remove than mk2!




Tinworm found behind dash:



I'll probably have to cut a big hole there to repair the A-pillar from inside.



Grey 16v makes good storage area:







Headlining needs a clean!



Work begins on repairs to the A-pillars. The amount of filler I'm expecting to find is unknown!





Some there:



Some was there:



And there....



Kurust applied and workshop deserted! Work will recommence tomorrow!

[Caffiend]

Surely this thread should come with a health warning? - at those A-pillars

Thanks for the pix, look forward to seeing more as the work progresses!

[citsncycles]

Looking at what you found there, I'm dreading pulling the windscreen out of Timex

[Tim Leech]

Well done Kitch/Bazza, thats a familiar sight!!, nice to see tanother Mk1 a rebuild now.

What kind of job was it to get the headlining out BTW, the DTR one is grubby and the sunroof on my GT only tilts.

When you repaint it you will be amazed how much bluer bleu romantique is, as it seems to be quite prone to fading badly!

[saintjamesy89]

I'm looking at this with much apprehension, hoping mine isn't hiding all these little rusty bits It has only done 60000 odd miles, and has been sat for many years of it's life in a garage so one can hope!

Tim, it would be interesting to see how faded my GT is compared to your lovely and recently resprayed DTR - best would be in the flesh, are you taking the DTR to France on 22nd September?

[Kitch]

Well done Kitch/Bazza, thats a familiar sight!!, nice to see tanother Mk1 a rebuild now.

What kind of job was it to get the headlining out BTW, the DTR one is grubby and the sunroof on my GT only tilts.

When you repaint it you will be amazed how much bluer bleu romantique is, as it seems to be quite prone to fading badly!

Headlining is easy, just remember to open the sunroof and undo the two small screws first!

Have seen how faded the paint is when I took the numberplate off the boot!

[Philip Chidlow]

Fantastic. I look forward to seeing the restoration step-by-steps. Beyond my abilities and facilities - not to mention wallet - but it fills me with renewed enthusiasm for the BX! Well done so far.

[Tim Leech]

Well done Kitch/Bazza, thats a familiar sight!!, nice to see tanother Mk1 a rebuild now.

What kind of job was it to get the headlining out BTW, the DTR one is grubby and the sunroof on my GT only tilts.

When you repaint it you will be amazed how much bluer bleu romantique is, as it seems to be quite prone to fading badly!

Headlining is easy, just remember to open the sunroof and undo the two small screws first!

Have seen how faded the paint is when I took the numberplate off the boot!

Thanks Kitch, im parking the GT up next week as the tax is out, so will take the rooflining down and have a look at the sunroof.

[Paul296]

Fantastic. Beyond my abilities and facilities - not to mention wallet -

Indeed. A really fascinating thread. Great to see a car getting exactly what it needs - no holds barred. Look forward to seeing it finished. You could even polish it then Kitch?

[Mike P]

It's nice to see the effort that has gone into this car so far.

This reminds me that I must get round to replacing my slightly now delaminating windscreen and to inspect the condition of the A pillars.

Mike P

[Tim Leech]

Excuse my ignornance but what does the no-one has 56k anymore bit mean, right?

[Dollywobbler]

It means there will be many pics. I love stuff like this. Thanks Kitch!

[mds141]

As /\ fantastic set of pics and interesting step by step breakdown.