by clemo » Fri 02.06.2017, 12:17
Project update .
Thought the car drove into the garage Mot'd and drivable things are not all as well as they seem . 21 year old car problems start to show .
Apart form the obvious surface rust of everything which is now being removed ,treated , re painted in grey and then wax oiled , every rusty part is being shot blasted and powder coated , majority of bushes and rubbers being replaced , most still available at SJ's or aftersale ,
Reconditioning front and rear suspension (24,000 miler) new springs .
The engine is out on the bench having water pump , pully , cam belt and bits done . ( service kit form rock autos)
Logical to put new clutch in , ( rock autos)
The power steering rack leaks from the ram and ends , in need of refurbishment
The radiator has been weeping down onto the housing bracket , which has rusted through . ( have a spare )
1 fan is seized . ( have 2 spare)
front brakes need overhaul as only 1 is working , ( overhaul kit & piston i picked up at castle combe) New lines and flexi's.
rears poor ( overhaul kit) New lines and flexi's.
nut and bolt underside rebuild.
Full respray.
At this point i have exceeded to price of the actual car . I am at over 10k , .£6250 for the car , £3800 for the restoration work , £800 in new spare part , £700 in used parts . That is before i have done the seats , roof , steering wheel re-trim , wheels spoked in yellow .
The only up side i can take from this is that having looked under 29 cars this weekend at Castle combe is that they all have varying degrees of rust . Why wouldn't they . The are 21 to 26 years old . Just because they are plastic doesn't mean they don't rust .
The garage that it is in specialises in full car restorations . The workshop has TVR's , Astons , Ferrari's , MK1 Mexico's and other specialist cars .
With a price tag of £3800 for all the work i could have bought myself another elan for that . But i am assured that it will come out looking like a brand new car underneath .
I realise that this is not a great investment at the moment . yes i could do most of it myself with a wire brush and a pot of hammerite , But enthusiasm and stupidity often drives a restoration project . At the moment our cars are worth top 10k's . but when they start sliding upwards of 15k much like the Esprits then this will be the new baseline of what we do . So again justifying it to myself , i am future proofing my car a bit earlier than most . When this becomes the norm and our cars cost us all a fortune then we wont sell them for any less than 10k and i wont feel as bad . The one thing that helps drive me is the 1 of 6 jim clark edition . mine is being restored , another 1 is in storage in Exeter and another is being used up in Scotland somewhere . its a rare thing alright .
Jim Clark S2 on the way . The one with the Yellow spoke wheels .