Newbie! wanting to buy a resto project

[TToP]

Hi all,

My first post here as im looking to get a Mk1, have been offered one by my boss as a resto project but it hasnt moved in over 5 years as he got a company car and left the 2 as he was going to refurb the wheels before selling, now its in need of more than just wheels tho . Its a 1989 light blue metallic T-Bar BTW . Now im going to go have a look at it this weekend, what will i need to check on the engine before trying to start it bearing in mind it hasnt been started in 5 years? ill take some jump leads as the batt will be flat but will i need to change the oil and coolant before hand? it had its 120k mile service just before it was used last so has(had?) a new cambelt and sparkies etc. any tips and help would be very appreciated.

James

[anna]

Check all fluids (coolant, oil). If they are still at appropriate levels, then you should be ok to start it (although a change of them if you buy it would be advisable). If not, top them up. The coolant should be slightly red or green (only use glycol based antifreeze if you do need to top it up), if the oil appears to be gritty then you might want to change it before starting it up - but it shouldn't be if it had a service just before it was left.
A visual inspection to make sure all the pipes and stuff are connected up still would be worthwhile - check for anything suspicious!

Things to watch for:
- brakes seized on - you may want to try and roll the car out of gear and handbrake off to see if any are seized up. It may (or may not) be a PITA to actually get the car to move!

It might be worth trying to put the car into all gears with the engine off - if you have trouble selecting gears then the gearbox oil might need looking at.

ermmm...

probably loads more!

Also - give the whole car a good tapping for rust! (underneath too)

[TToP]

apparently the seats have gone a bit mouldy will have to chek the T-bar, hopefully its not been leaking too badly else the floorpan is gonna be fecked. not too bother by body rust as my bro can weald and is handy with fibreglass. Is it possible to get pattern parts for the front wings? i know the backs can only be gotten from other cars or through replacement sections.

James

[anna]

see www.mr2mk1club.co.uk for replacement bits and bobs for the arches and sills.
There are also some people that hang around here that have patterns for fibreglass arches - start a new thread if that's what you want.

Classic areas for rust are: sills (if the car has skirts on, you should still be able to give the last inch or so as it disappears under the car a good prod), arches, some get rust in the front strip between the t-bar and windscreen, check the bumper bars (can inspect from under the front bumper), front and rear valance, leading edge of the floorpan (you can see these from the back of the front wheel arches. A and B pillars can also go - check these are ok, cos i think they are a real PITA to repair (depending on how bad the rot is).
Also - if it's possible - get the car into the air and inspect the whole underneath.
If you suspect the roof has been leaking - it might be worth getting the carpet up to have a look.... (you can get silicone reviver from halfords to attempt a fix of the leak depending on how bad it is)

Electrics: leccy window mechs are a classic, so is the leccy aerial - although they shouldn't be too pricey to fix.

If the seats have gone a bit mouldy, then make sure you take some bin bags to sit on!.

Other thing (if you were thinking of driving it) is the tyres are probably flat, which means the tyres will be as good as useless! Foot pump being the short term measure ofcourse

[widster]

Try this link to a buyers guide which i found useful.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/nick.chall ... mk1bg.html

Widster

[James_Ward]

watch the alternator as well, bearings going are a common problem, if it's been stood for 5 years it's probably siezed - this also means the water pump will not be driven so don't let it get hot if this is the case otherwise bye bye head gasket!

[TToP]

i take it you can see the belt spinning from the side of the car if the alternator isnt seized? is there a way of stopping water from dripping down into the alternator?

James

[PW@Woodsport]

id be very surprised if a mk1 thats been stood for 5 years starts up with 5 year old petrol in it,it will have gone off...or the injectors will be gunged up,thats usually the case with a car that has stood this long...but you never know.

[TToP]

well im off to have a look on sunday and see if i can get it to run, gonna take a little bit of petrol with me just incase. At the moment i have an XR3i which ive been restoring but im already getting bored of it, am gonna finish it off and sell it on, hoping to make my money back on it but probably not

James

[razza987]

Hi James,
Having just bought a Mk1 that had been stood for only a year, i'd hate to know what you're going to find
I would expect huge amounts of rust underneath, everywhere!
Good luck.
Raz

[tunna_uk]

Even if it is really bad, don't give up on the idea if you really want it, anything is possible and can be repaired, see my photos in garage.

[crazylegs]

Hey razza how did you get on with that plate ?
back to the question in hand,if its a light blue t-bar and the body is half decent have it any way.you can get an engine at a reasonable price and the light blue is a rare and sought after colour.you will be surprised how much mould and grim comes of with a squirt from mr muscle.

[TToP]

well had a look at it today, the sills arent too bad as far as rust goes from feeling underneath at the seams. TBar aint been leaking and it has BLACK LEATHER seats!!! the fron arches are solid but further down where the wing meets the arch is rusty at the edges. popped the fron boot thingy and there was hardly any sign of rust, not sure which bit i was meant to check but from a quick look it was nice and tidy. boot looked fine insdie and out however there was a sopt or rust inside the frot of the passenger door shut below the hinges and above the sill about 2 cm in size. There was also rust on the back passenger bottom corner below the bumper that was fairly bad but not structural so could just be plated up prolly, did sopt more rust tho along the top of the windscreen, probablya badly fitted new screen as it had been replaced. when i pulled the engine cover release nothing happened antil i yanked on the cover and it opened, only prob is that its now stuck unlocked as the cabel would not go back in. engone looked a bit grimey and needs a good clean, as said its had a new cambelt and the coolant was a nice clean red colour, under the oil cap look very dry :s will pore some oil down the spark plug holes and then draing it off and refill before starting it tho. all in all not bad and hes after £400 for it what you guys think? ill get some pictures next time i go see it.

James

[kevin..in]

the rust you describe is all common MK1 stuff and a sticky engine compartment catch that hasn't been used in years is only to be expected. £400.00 for a "T" bar mk1 if you dont want it I'll have it!

[Sooty]

If the cambelt was done 5 yrs ago, even if it hasn't done any miles it'll be due another one.

If you do buy it and the worst happens with the engine, I have a good engine, box, manifold and complete exhaust that you can have for it for a couple of hundred quid.

[phild]

Hi
I'm currently restoring a 1988 car, this is my first attempt at a restoration and my experience has been gained through bodywork books, trial and error and picking the braines of several very knowledgeable people on this forum.
when I got it I knew that there was a fair bit of corrosion evident, but what I did find is that the corrosion works its way from inside out, so what may appear to be a sound piece of sill turns out to be as rotten as a peach under the wire brush attachement on the angle grinder.
Repairs are reasonably straight forwards really, most fabrication can be carried out using a sheet of body steel, some tin snips and a mig welder. The wheel arches need to be replaced with pre made items, I used Datsun Cherry N12 ones for the back, they need a bit of fettling to fit but the finished product is good. The sill returns and the panel which goes from behind the back of the wheel arch under the bumper can be fabricated from the afore mentioned sheet steel and smoothed to a good finish.
The front wings are a bit of a problem as there is not much good metal left when it rots out, and they go at the bottom front as well as on the arches them selves. Probably better to source good second hand ones?
The floor pan can be a problem too. First job when you get it home is to take up the carpet (seats out of course) and have a good look around It can be repaired with sheet steel again but there are some profiles on the floor pan which will cause some issues trying to get it to sit correctly. The pillars are another point to look out for, the door pillar can rot and this needs carefull cutting back and replacement with a similar guage metal, the welded joints have to be butt jointed which can be a problem if you are new to welding. The profiles for the pillars mean that the replacement has to be spot on.
Expect lots of bolts and screws to shear when you try to take trim off as they themselves corrode badly.
The main problem I have faced is that the existing metal needs grinding back to good stuff, and this can mean that you loose some of the profile. Make sure you make a cardboard template of each part prior to cutting it away so that you can fabricate a replacment piece more easily.
When you do grind it back, make sure you use a zinc based weld through primer on both the new piece and the existing car bodywork as once it's welded you won't be able to get at it and it will be a prime candidate for corrosion in the future.
I'm 70% finished now, it has taken me a weeks holiday to replace both rear wheel arches and one inner arch, the sill returns and the bits at the back under the bumper, both sills, some work on the driver side A pillar,
they are all smoothed, primed and ready for painting, I have the front wings to do now, I have a fresh passenger side wing which hopefiully I might be picking up this weekend and I'm toying with the idea of repairing the drivers side one but the more I look at it, the more I'm thinking of replacing that side too with a better one.
For the MOT I will need to buy new handbrake cables and free up the rear callipers as they were non operational. I'm going to get it MOT'd before spraying the top coat as I want to make sure everything is OK welding wise.
Total cost so far for the project.....£90 + compressor and mig welder. (this does not include the front wheel arch)

[phild]

Oh, and another thing, when you start taking panels apart (i.e. front wings) you can often see the bodge jobs that people have done in the past to try to delay the onset of the rust bug. I found some pieces of 1" wide tin, some wire mesh, lots of filler and a 2" long bolt in one wing. Needless to say they are all in the bin now. If your going to do anything, do it right, or you'll be doing it again in a few months time.

[phild]

OH, and check out the mk1 club site, they have a couple of cars going cheap at the moment if anyone feels the desire to have a go.