Recommission and service, Bristol / Newport area

[ashm]

Yes, I am still alive! It's been a while, I know. Hope you're all doing ok.

Short version: looking for recommendations for engine servicing, bodywork respray and carpet trimming around the Newport to Bristol area.

Long version: My Elan has been sat since we moved in 2013, battery on a conditioner in the workshop, until I had the time to get her up and running properly again. Then parenthood and illness happened.

I stripped out the old carpets and checked the outriggers; the jacking point pillars and part of the outriggers were compromised so new ones have been fabricated and welded in, and the other rust treated with POR-15 so that side of things has been dealt with fairly well.

Now I need to get her up and running. I think this will need:
Clean up brake discs and replace brake pads (I'll do this myself)
Recommission engine - replace all belts, water pump, all fluids & filters.
Replace tyres.

Whilst I'd happily have done all this myself, ill health means I can't now, so I need to find somewhere reliable to take the car away and do it for me.
Do you think there's anything else I should be doing/checking to get her running again after nearly a decade?

I also want to have the carpets replaced and the car resprayed. I'm aware that respraying fibreglass is a specialist job, and I'm keen to find someone I can trust to get it right. The previous owner evidently didn't, and the paint is now bubbling and peeling off...
Thankfully the seats and hood are still in reasonably good condition.

Suggestions and recommendations greatly appreciated!
Cheers,
A

[Saltire]

Morning! Sorry to hear of your woes (is parenthood a woe??), but happy that the Elan is to be recommissioned.

I’m a bit further east than you, so I can’t suggest anything in your immediate area. However, as by all accounts the car will need trailing to wherever it’s going, that may not matter too much. So, in no particular order:

1. Bodywork. No personal experience, but I’ve heard very good recommendations about these folks. it’s certainly where I’d start if I wanted my car resprayed
2. Carpets. I have my seats in for refurb at present with SouthWest Auto Trimmers in Calne (on the web and FB). I obviously haven’t seen the results yet, but SWAT were again recommended and are very busy - always a good sign. I saw some E-type seats in there last time I went. They do carpets (and hoods too). 01249 813865. Speak to Pete
3. Mechanicals. I have a chap in my village (just south of Cirencester, 45 minutes to Newport) who’s looked after my Elan and at least two others for the last 5 years or so. Has done my cambelt twice. He knows the car really well, his rates are reasonable, and (as an ex BTCC race mechanic) he does a proper job. People come to him from as far afield as Scotland. PM me for contact details

Hope that helps, and do give me a shout if you’d like more details.

Good luck!

[ashm]

Thanks Saltire!
Interested in your mechanic's details - will PM.
A