My 3500S Restoration Project
- Thread starter iwish
- Start date
Baron von Marlon
Member
That's a very neat repair. Nice one!
iwish
Active Member
Well its been around 3 months since i last did an update.
I have been able to make some good progress thanks to the wet & windy weather we have had over the last few months.
All cavities were treated with Rustbuster 131. Then given 2 coats of Cavity Wax, being able to roll the car and give things a good slosh was a a bonus.
Sanding and then priming body in sections, so as not to leave any bare metal exposed longer than necessary.
I used ProXL etching primer which for an aerosol sprays with a good even coverage and is touch dry in minutes.
That's the underside done.
All joints seam sealed.
Underside given 2 coats of epoxy mastic, first coat was brushed to ensure it was well worked into the corners. Second coat was brushed then given a fine texture roller finish.
A slightly closer view.
Engine bay preparation under way. The only thing not removed from the car was the wiring loom as i was worried about breaking any wires within the loom. the tape to the loom is coming apart and will need re-wrapping so i can examine the areas that have been disturbed.
I have been able to make some good progress thanks to the wet & windy weather we have had over the last few months.
All cavities were treated with Rustbuster 131. Then given 2 coats of Cavity Wax, being able to roll the car and give things a good slosh was a a bonus.
Sanding and then priming body in sections, so as not to leave any bare metal exposed longer than necessary.
I used ProXL etching primer which for an aerosol sprays with a good even coverage and is touch dry in minutes.
That's the underside done.
All joints seam sealed.
Underside given 2 coats of epoxy mastic, first coat was brushed to ensure it was well worked into the corners. Second coat was brushed then given a fine texture roller finish.
A slightly closer view.
Engine bay preparation under way. The only thing not removed from the car was the wiring loom as i was worried about breaking any wires within the loom. the tape to the loom is coming apart and will need re-wrapping so i can examine the areas that have been disturbed.
mrtask
Well-Known Member
Great job you're doing, keep up the good work.
I notice from the last photo you're restoring an 'S'. If it isn't too much trouble, do you suppose you could you snap a couple of detail photos of the support tower for the steering box, where the clutch arm/lever peeks into the engine bay, near the bracket for the petrol reserve tap. That would be really helpful to me when I get around to fitting my LT77 manual box into my automatic 3500.
I notice from the last photo you're restoring an 'S'. If it isn't too much trouble, do you suppose you could you snap a couple of detail photos of the support tower for the steering box, where the clutch arm/lever peeks into the engine bay, near the bracket for the petrol reserve tap. That would be really helpful to me when I get around to fitting my LT77 manual box into my automatic 3500.
unstable load
Well-Known Member
That would be really nice, please. I made up my master cylinder set-up, but have subsequently bought the correct bits to make it original, so a few pics would be great, please. If you want an e-mail address instead of clogging the thread with off topic stuff, just let me know.
iwish
Active Member
This is an earlier pic if it helps? i don't think this is any better than the picture above. I will upload some more detailed pics shortly.
iwish
Active Member
...and also perhaps a pic of the tunnel, from beneath, showing exactly where the hole for the gear lever is and what shape?
Hope these are of use?
iwish
Active Member
I'm loving it, its the most challenging, enjoyable and rewarding thing i have ever done. This forum makes it possible.
mrtask
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the photos. The earlier engine bay shot before you applied the seam sealer shows me where I need to make the hole for the clutch lever to peek through. The tunnel shots reveal how much more footwell passengers in an 'S' enjoy! No, really, your photos will certainly be helpful, for sure. One of these days I'll actually get around to making it all happen!
iwish
Active Member
I love the wet & windy weather, it lets me get on without feeling any guilt.
Lower engine bay primed and given 2 coats of epoxy mastic.
Boot & interior now sanded & primed.
Interior sanded & primed.
Another shot of the interior, any snots to the welding repairs to the inner cills were ground off only making no attempt to hide the repair or weaken the welds.
Lower engine bay primed and given 2 coats of epoxy mastic.
Boot & interior now sanded & primed.
Interior sanded & primed.
Another shot of the interior, any snots to the welding repairs to the inner cills were ground off only making no attempt to hide the repair or weaken the welds.
Last edited:
iwish
Active Member
Pressed post reply too soon, these were also intended to be uploaded.
Work commences on overhauling the running gear. Had to get inventive with pressing out the old bushes.
Some of the parts hanging to dry after sanding and treating with a coat of rust-buster.
A few more bits drying off.
My original hope was to get my son involved with the restoration, sadly he has no interest what so ever. On the other hand my daughter decided that spraying looked fun and wanted a go.
All the running gear had 2 spray coats of epoxy mastic, the girl did well.
Work commences on overhauling the running gear. Had to get inventive with pressing out the old bushes.
Some of the parts hanging to dry after sanding and treating with a coat of rust-buster.
A few more bits drying off.
My original hope was to get my son involved with the restoration, sadly he has no interest what so ever. On the other hand my daughter decided that spraying looked fun and wanted a go.
All the running gear had 2 spray coats of epoxy mastic, the girl did well.
iwish
Active Member
Its been quite a while since i updated my progress, I've not been entirely idle over the summer, but any progress is naturally hampered by more pressing needs and demands.
I thought i would show a few images of the running gear before i stripped and re-painted them as can be seen above.
N/S drive shaft and elbow, fortunately the rust was only surface and the metalwork was in surprisingly good condition, once dismantled everything was cleaned back to bare metal with various types of wire brush in my electric drill, then treated with Rustbuster before 2 coats of epoxy mastic under seal.
The universal joints were completely shot and had broken up around the top of some of the sockets, i had to cut through one so that i could get it out.
New universal joints being inserted, i had to give the holes on the drive shafts a good sand with a sanding wheel in my electric drill before i could get the new sockets to slide in.
All hubs were treated to new bearings and oil seals if they need them or not.
Had to get inventive to remove the old rubber bushes, however i soon learnt that its easier to drill out the rubber out and then carefully cut through the metal bush with a hacksaw, then they can be knocked out easily.
N/S drive shaft and elbow now re-fitted. I used a lot of webbing to bind the road spring and hold the elbow in place so as to take the pressure off everything until i can get the car back on its wheels. Some of you may note that i have used a rubber dust cover from a Triumph Stag as i could only get hold of 1 original Rover dust cover. Like the Rover cover they are impossible to fit without separating the universal joints, The Stag cover is a good fit and clears the universal joint inside.
Again i had to make a jig for removing the front ball joints, which with a lot of heat to the joint did the job well.
O/S front strut now re-fitted, again with new bushes and ball joints.
After a lot of pondering i decided to use poly bushes all round, as "Edd China" once said that if you want to improve the handling its the best way to go. I also fitted adjustable shocks so that i can adjust the ride as desired.
Again i have strapped the road springs to take the pressure off the parts until i can get it back on its wheels.
I thought i would show a few images of the running gear before i stripped and re-painted them as can be seen above.
N/S drive shaft and elbow, fortunately the rust was only surface and the metalwork was in surprisingly good condition, once dismantled everything was cleaned back to bare metal with various types of wire brush in my electric drill, then treated with Rustbuster before 2 coats of epoxy mastic under seal.
The universal joints were completely shot and had broken up around the top of some of the sockets, i had to cut through one so that i could get it out.
New universal joints being inserted, i had to give the holes on the drive shafts a good sand with a sanding wheel in my electric drill before i could get the new sockets to slide in.
All hubs were treated to new bearings and oil seals if they need them or not.
Had to get inventive to remove the old rubber bushes, however i soon learnt that its easier to drill out the rubber out and then carefully cut through the metal bush with a hacksaw, then they can be knocked out easily.
N/S drive shaft and elbow now re-fitted. I used a lot of webbing to bind the road spring and hold the elbow in place so as to take the pressure off everything until i can get the car back on its wheels. Some of you may note that i have used a rubber dust cover from a Triumph Stag as i could only get hold of 1 original Rover dust cover. Like the Rover cover they are impossible to fit without separating the universal joints, The Stag cover is a good fit and clears the universal joint inside.
Again i had to make a jig for removing the front ball joints, which with a lot of heat to the joint did the job well.
O/S front strut now re-fitted, again with new bushes and ball joints.
After a lot of pondering i decided to use poly bushes all round, as "Edd China" once said that if you want to improve the handling its the best way to go. I also fitted adjustable shocks so that i can adjust the ride as desired.
Again i have strapped the road springs to take the pressure off the parts until i can get it back on its wheels.
mrtask
Well-Known Member
Nice to see steady progress being made. I'll second what Richard just said. Top job. Meant in the nicest possible way, may I wish you a thoroughly nasty miserable winter, weather-wise, so that you can carry on restoring your car without, as you said previously, feeling guilty about it! Will you be fitting an uprated front anti-roll bar too? You know you want to!
iwish
Active Member
Nice to see steady progress being made. I'll second what Richard just said. Top job. Meant in the nicest possible way, may I wish you a thoroughly nasty miserable winter, weather-wise, so that you can carry on restoring your car without, as you said previously, feeling guilty about it!
Yes my thoughts exactly.
Will you be fitting an uprated front anti-roll bar too? You know you want to![/QUOTE]
Out of curiosity, I would like to see how the new polybushes perform before i change the roll bar.
Yes my thoughts exactly.
Will you be fitting an uprated front anti-roll bar too? You know you want to![/QUOTE]
Out of curiosity, I would like to see how the new polybushes perform before i change the roll bar.