The Datsun has been given a final going over this morning before we whip her down to the MOT station to get its first ticket in some years. We have had this project a while and it will be really satisfying to have it roadworthy.
Photo Shoot for Anna Benham
A little glamour was injected into proceedings at the end of last week when we had a visit from local designer Anna Benham. You might remember that we took the photographs for her collection of silk scarves last year and she has visited us again for pictures of her new range of bags. The bags and silk scarves, based on her art work, are made here in the UK to a very high standard. If you have bought yourself another car and need to make amends then visit her website and buy the most important person in your life a truly unique present www.annabenham.co.uk
In the Detailing bay: Porsche 2.4E Targa
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This cracking little Porsche has been dropped down to us by the chaps at Bob Watson Porsche. It really is an exceptional example with strong mechanics (beautifully maintained by Bob and the boys) and an exceptionally rust free body. Over the last few years however the targa roof has begun to show its age and let a good deal of water into the cabin. Once the interior fabrics get damp, it can be very difficult to get rid of the stale smell, and left for too long will begin to ruin electric’s, fabrics and the stuffing in the seats.
The first job was to drop the roof into Gerry and get him to recover it, a job that he has now got a significant amount of practice in as we have retailed over 20 targa roof cars over the last few years! Whilst he was getting stuck in, Dan brought the car into the detailing bay and stripped the interior out of the car. The carpets and seats were given a deep clean with an Autoglym Interior Shampoo which has a carefully balanced blend of active ingredients and deodorising agents which kill the bacteria that make the smell as well as cleaning the fabric quickly and safely. Whilst these we left to dry in a warm room he treated the floor with a rust removal product to make sure that the floor of the vehicle was not going to suffer from the damp in the future before giving it a dust of black paint. The carpets and seats were then carefully replaced and new rubbers fitted around the targa aperture before refitting the hood.
As previously mentioned, the bodywork on this car is in very good condition. The Blood Orange paint is not its original coat, but is very well applied and the underside is exceptionally clean and unmolested. As with most cars though a good detail would make the world of difference. There is plenty of muck around the exterior trim and the paint is flat in a few areas so Dan removed the badges, lights and rubbers where required, and gave the body a machine polish to remove oxidised paint and marks caused by road grime and bird lime. Once this has been done the body is hand polished and a high quality wax applied to protect it for the future. The finishing touch is to clean up the rubbers, lights and badges before putting them back onto the car.
The car now looks every bit as good as it drives. For more information on servicing or tuning your Porsche contact James at Bob Watson Porsche on 01869 340841 or follow the links to their website. If you would like to get a quote for a Detail then please call us at the office 01869 351883.
Protecting our 325i Sport
Over the last 4 months the detailing department has been very busy cleaning and protecting the under side of customers cars, whilst the Eclectic Fleet has been racking up the mileage on dirty, salty, wet UK roads. This time last year we removed the body kit on ‘The G Meter’ to find that 22 years accumulation of road dirt was lodged up there and was busy eating the arches and sills, so although it looked perfect on the outside, we had a £1,800 metal and paint work bill to get her through her MOT. We have no intention of letting this happen again, so in a rare ‘quiet moment’ Dan is going to get her into the detailing bay and give her a full underside detail and wax-oyl treatment.
One of the major problems with this car is that it rides very low, so it is almost impossible to remove all of the road dirt with the jet wash and despite her getting cleaned weekly over the winter, there is plenty of crud to remove. Our first job is to remove the wheels and body kit to see what is hiding up there. We have noticed an annoying rattle from the rear off side, and it turns out this is down to one of the plastic wheel arch liners having broken its bracket. Having removed that we have found that there is a decent sized hole which goes right through to the boot. We will need to tidy up the hole and get Mike to weld in a patch. Otherwise there is little to report, thankfully so Dan can get on with removing the dirt and flaky under seal before it is rust protected and painted with Forsch black under seal. We well also need as a new front fog light which got holed a few weeks ago whilst out on loan.
With the body kit off and all of the loose under seal removed we can use a rust preventative gel to kill off the surface corrosion. Once this has had time to cure, you can then prepare the suspension components and backing plates, before giving them a coat of primer. The arches can then be given a light coat of under seal to fill any gaps in the underside protection. Both of these products have a rust preventative element to them which will help them stay in good condition once the top coat is applied.
The VW Van’s first trip round the farm!
Martin and Jonny have been busy boys today sorting out the electrics, fitting the rear panel round the engine and setting up the ignition and pedals so for the first time in many a year this cool Splitty has moved under her own steam. We have got a boat load of finishing parts arriving in the morning including an exhaust system, windscreen wiper linkage, bolt to hold the steering wheel on, fuel gauge and many others so our goal will be an MOT on Monday morning.
Refitting the front axle
After picking up the front axle from the sand blasters Martin has now started refitting it to the VW side panel van. We are going to rebuild the suspension on the car, then drop it back off to be painted and detailed when Dan is finished with his other jobs!
220 SEB Great paint – straight out of the gun
Our 220 SEB has been getting its paint applied over the past few days at Frankie’s Paint Shop. There is a massive amount of work that has gone into getting the panels prepared to makes sure they were straight as a die before the primer and paint could be applied. The first job is to spray on an etch primer to make sure that the primer and paint that follows has something to bite into. Once this had gone off 4 coats of high build black primer were sprayed onto the car. With the high build coats on the bodywork has a final rub down to make sure that the body is completely smooth before it is painted with a transparent sealer. The finishing touch is to apply the 5 coats of 2 pack top coat (paint code 268). These pictures were taken straight after the car came out of the oven and it already looks amazing. The car will be allowed to sit for 2 days whilst the paint hardens off and before it is rebuilt will get a final nib and polish which will take about a day to complete.
Porsche 930 LE in for a service
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In 1989 Porsche announced that they were going to end production of the 930 3.3 Turbo with a limited edition car. There were just 50 built for the UK market and they were the only G-Platform car to feature a 5 speed gearbox. This particular car has been bought by a friend of ours who lives in the village and over the next few days we will be giving her a thorough service and detail.
Porsche Roadster in final preparation
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We are kicking the week off with some basic servicing and sales preparation on our 356 Roadster.
Apart from needing a jolly good service there is just the usual little bits that need either cleaning up or replacing. These include countless bulbs, brake shoes, a rear wheel bearing, a front king pin and some new bushes.
When these are all done we will have a trip down to the MOT centre and after that it is the open road!
Polishing Chrome
Whilst Frankie is getting on with painting the Mercedes 220 SEB Dan is busy polishing and refurbishing all of the parts that have been removed.
The Chrome on the big Merc is in excellent order so it really just needs a jolly good clean up and polish, but whilst it is off we are also protecting the underside by cleaning off any surface rust, treating the metal and painting it with silver Hammeright. This will help keep it in tip top condition for the next 20 years.
