66 LHD 'Doctors Car' restoration begins

[neilbardsley]

Many thanks to Mick for putting up with me, the kids and the dog (in defense 1 of 3 Springers that we at his place that day), when I dropped in to see the car! Even more lovely in person. That is the car not Mick. The ex Bob Watson 1972 is starting working on now looks like a good base too.

[MT]

Well it's probably time to draw this restoration thread into a knot at the end, so to speak. And I'm not sure there's a more enjoyable way than a trip to Castle Hedingham. So after fitting all the bling and the final side trims (I used the originals even though they resisted most of my attempts and encouragement to 'smarten themselves up a bit', as I thought a bit of 'patina' was called for on a car of this age)



Then of course there's all those stickers that I've acquired ...



And the very nice and original engine decals from Ake Olsson at http://www.skaraborgsflyg.com/dekal/eng_dekal.html. I know they're original because he meticulously copied my originals!



So off I went at 7:30am this morning, filled up at the location of Deep Water Horizon 2 (no repeat thankfully ), and roared up the motorway to Castle Hedingham for just after 9am. Lovely setting (my first time, but hopefully not my last)




Seems someone liked the car because I came back to find a nice yellow rosette on the screen. I thought I was in for major awards until I spotted Garry Hall had one as well, so the standard can't have been that high......... I waited around for the big cheque and the scantily clad dolly birds (Mrs T was in not one, not two, but three tennis finals at her tennis club, and seemed to think this was good enough to avoid coming .... but I've already BOUGHT YOUR TICKET, my love .... so I was alone and available), but after a while it was clear that was all I was getting, so I just roared off home, They're noisy these 911's aren't they.

Don't know who the bloshy bird behind my car is .....she seems to have the hump at something.



Also spotted this bloke - he clearly has my number plate, so if he's a DDK member please make contact and arrange to give me it please



Got home with a short but necessary worklist before more long distance adventures

1. Bleed brakes AGAIN .... still require a lot of pumping to get some action
2. Send distributor to Neil B to give it a good overhaul
3. Sort out my seat mechanism - keeps giving way one click
4. Adjust bonnet catch ... keeps popping open when I go around roundabouts 'briskly'


Also several people have asked in various ways "So what has it cost?" Well being a tight-wad Northener engineer with a penchant for spreadsheets I have (of course) noted every penny spent, including consumables like MIG gas and sheet metal. I can therefore report the following with confidence:

Purchase of car, replacements wings, bonnet, bumper, slam, sills etc £14600
Engine rebuild inc SSI's, silencer, oil system and parts £7277
Suspension, steering and brakes £1474
Bodywork prep, repair panels, metalwork, and paint £6232
Chroming plating and coating £596
Interior fit and trim £769
Seals, ducts, sundry bits and bobs £1713
Tyres and wheels £732
Fuel system, PMO's £2300
Consumables £302
Gearbox and clutch £958
Electricals, gauge refurb, lights etc £1449

Total £38401

I have also at least £2500 worth of spares and original parts (the original Webers, fuel pump, engine board, Air filter housing and cowls, etc) that are hidden in the above that I could have sold to reduce the cost, so the real cost to me of the car as it stands is probably closer to £36k. Still a lot for a restoration, but I think conservatively still considerably less than its current market value. It is not as good as some of the cars I saw on the Autofarm, Canford or Paul Stephens stands at Hedingham, but it's better than quite a few in the car park .... and as I said before the buzz for me is like a lot of small children say (including mine when they were toddlers) 'I did it myself' ....... more or less, and including the cock-ups.

Again my sincere thanks to all those who have added their words of advice and support.


...... now do it all again for IKEA.

Mick

[bjmullan]

Fantastic story Mick and what a lovely car. Enjoy!

[beny happy camper]

Tanks for sharing all of this détails
This thread give us some behaviour for our project...

[KS]

See you on Friday!

[neilbardsley]

Well it's probably time to draw this restoration thread into a knot at the end, so to speak. And I'm not sure there's a more enjoyable way than a trip to Castle Hedingham. So after fitting all the bling and the final side trims (I used the originals even though they resisted most of my attempts and encouragement to 'smarten themselves up a bit', as I thought a bit of 'patina' was called for on a car of this age)



Then of course there's all those stickers that I've acquired ...



And the very nice and original engine decals from Ake Olsson at http://www.skaraborgsflyg.com/dekal/eng_dekal.html. I know they're original because he meticulously copied my originals!



So off I went at 7:30am this morning, filled up at the location of Deep Water Horizon 2 (no repeat thankfully ), and roared up the motorway to Castle Hedingham for just after 9am. Lovely setting (my first time, but hopefully not my last)




Seems someone liked the car because I came back to find a nice yellow rosette on the screen. I thought I was in for major awards until I spotted Garry Hall had one as well, so the standard can't have been that high......... I waited around for the big cheque and the scantily clad dolly birds (Mrs T was in not one, not two, but three tennis finals at her tennis club, and seemed to think this was good enough to avoid coming .... but I've already BOUGHT YOUR TICKET, my love .... so I was alone and available), but after a while it was clear that was all I was getting, so I just roared off home, They're noisy these 911's aren't they.

Don't know who the bloshy bird behind my car is .....she seems to have the hump at something.



Also spotted this bloke - he clearly has my number plate, so if he's a DDK member please make contact and arrange to give me it please



Got home with a short but necessary worklist before more long distance adventures

1. Bleed brakes AGAIN .... still require a lot of pumping to get some action
2. Send distributor to Neil B to give it a good overhaul
3. Sort out my seat mechanism - keeps giving way one click
4. Adjust bonnet catch ... keeps popping open when I go around roundabouts 'briskly'


Also several people have asked in various ways "So what has it cost?" Well being a tight-wad Northener engineer with a penchant for spreadsheets I have (of course) noted every penny spent, including consumables like MIG gas and sheet metal. I can therefore report the following with confidence:

Purchase of car, replacements wings, bonnet, bumper, slam, sills etc £14600
Engine rebuild inc SSI's, silencer, oil system and parts £7277
Suspension, steering and brakes £1474
Bodywork prep, repair panels, metalwork, and paint £6232
Chroming plating and coating £596
Interior fit and trim £769
Seals, ducts, sundry bits and bobs £1713
Tyres and wheels £732
Fuel system, PMO's £2300
Consumables £302
Gearbox and clutch £958
Electricals, gauge refurb, lights etc £1449

Total £38401

I have also at least £2500 worth of spares and original parts (the original Webers, fuel pump, engine board, Air filter housing and cowls, etc) that are hidden in the above that I could have sold to reduce the cost, so the real cost to me of the car as it stands is probably closer to £36k. Still a lot for a restoration, but I think conservatively still considerably less than its current market value. It is not as good as some of the cars I saw on the Autofarm, Canford or Paul Stephens stands at Hedingham, but it's better than quite a few in the car park .... and as I said before the buzz for me is like a lot of small children say (including mine when they were toddlers) 'I did it myself' ....... more or less, and including the cock-ups.

Again my sincere thanks to all those who have added their words of advice and support.


...... now do it all again for IKEA.

Mick

The Speedster with the 7SWB number plate is rather lovely too! I'm guesing from the rear lights it's a T2?

[neilbardsley]

I flicked through a classic car mag at the airport and saw the pictured Speedster in a test v a Jag!

[left4dead]

Don't know who the bloshy bird behind my car is .....she seems to have the hump at something.

Ahem, that 'bloshy' bird is my wife....











Kidding. Mine's far more bloshy than that.

[911nick]

Just read entire thread, amazing work! Lovely car!

[MT]

Why thank you ...... and welcome to DDK. Once you start reading these threads you'll find hours just drift by .......... pleasantly.....

Mick

[StephenAcworth]

Wow: the result is pretty fantastic and it is great to see a tally of what you've spent. Most people shy away from that and to me, it's one of the most important things. And I think you're right that the end result is worth more that you've spent... excluding your time, of course!

[MT]

Wow: the result is pretty fantastic and it is great to see a tally of what you've spent. Most people shy away from that and to me, it's one of the most important things. And I think you're right that the end result is worth more that you've spent... excluding your time, of course!

Thanks Stephen,

And I agree that a little more disclosure on costs would help us all. Knowing even in broad terms what someone else paid for a particular step I think helps you have confidence you are getting reasonable value for money.

For example I have heard a range from £2-20k for a paint job, all with what sound like similar scope of work….. but if you can look at a car with a known cost paint job then you can decide whether that is a) good value in an absolute sense, and b) whether it is 'good enough' for what you want.

…. and thanks for the comment.

Mick

[yoda]

That is a very pretty car, great job on the restoration!

[MT]

Just a final note ….. she finally made her trip to Classic Le Mans. Ok so 2 years later than originally planned, but still a real buzz taking the trip. 550 miles without any issues at all despite hot sunny weather on the way there ('travelling in a white jet air heater' as Garry described it), and a downpour on the way home. Got a third MoT today to top off the week!

Sorry not to bump into many DDK folk there, but the female contingent in our party demanded more comfortable accommodation this time (to be fair my missus was for camping 'because she might meet some of those nice polite and handsome DDK lot she met last time'). Think she must have been drunk last time ……. Sounds like a good time was had by most, although the Tunnel and a few breakdowns have messed it up for some it seems from the blog.

Practised my photography and enjoyed the occasion.

Roll on 2016

[Bruce M]

Given the news of MT passing, I thought it was worth a bump to his entertaining resto story so newer visitors could enjoy it too.