Restoration of 3940R

[berni29]

Berni,  I made some seats for my home made Can Am car which I modelled after the S2 Europa seats.  It was allot of fun sculpting the foam.  I had to change the width, back angle and thigh support angle which is why I did not end up using the Europa pans.  I used three different durometers to dial in the comfort level.  I used a band saw with widely spaced teeth for the main cuts.  An ellectric meat knife to rough in some parts.  Pneumatic die grinder with coarse discs.  Hand block sander with 36 grit paper to finese.  Took me about a week of vacation time to do the foam.

Hi

Wow that looks like fantastic work. Hopefully the saying "if he can do it I can do it also" is true.

All the best

Berni

[berni29]

Anyways, thats done now so hopefully will get my new age correct reg number in a couple of weeks, and can start taking things apart again now.

Good luck with that. My 8 months getting 3089R registered due to a 75/3089R instead of 74/3089R does sound insignificant v "Champion" and not "Europa".

WTF were they looking at, the spark plugs?

Hello

I read your post and then immediately called the DVLA, as you are right they are total fkwits, but the person I spoke to looked up the reference and said that it was all ok and was going off for "keying" and I should have the registration documents in a couple of weeks.

We will see.........

All the best

Berni

[berni29]

Hello and Hurrah

3040R now has a UK V5 and registration number and has been christened FWW 818M.

At least I can start to take a few things apart now that the DVLA are finished with the car. Has a quick go at starting to remove the petrol tanks, but rain stopped play.......

All the best

Berni

[jonclancy]

Great news! Hopefully I will be next with a UK reg.

[berni29]

Hi

Just a quickie to say that I removed both fuel tanks today. The bolts all came out reasonably easily (against expectations) and the tanks are at the metal finishers. There was about 5 litres of very old fuel in each tank. One tank also had a fair bit of rust in it. The outsides looked ok. I will soon know if they are any good once they are blasted.

The rear of the car actually has to be raised quite high to get them out.

All the best

Berni

[4129R]

Check those tank tops carefully for pin holes, and make sure there is plenty of paint on them to prevent future corrosion.

I have worked on 14 tanks, and several had lots of pin holes in them which lets water in very easily.

Also push electrical wire through the outlet pipe to make sure it is clear and not full of sludge. Put about 2 pints of water in the tanks and make sure it comes out of those pipes easily.

Also check the fuel gauge sender is not all rusted up, as they rust easily.

Finally, run a 1/4" UNF tap through the nuts on the brackets so the bolts go in easily when the time comes to put the tanks back in.

When you put the tanks in, put the bolt in nearest you (bottom rear) first, and it makes the other bolts easier to line up. Be prepared for lots of spanner rash as your arms take a pasting when you or working in that confined area. The fibreglass rubs on your arms which is only noticeable when it is time to wash up. A 7/16" ratchet spanner is the best way of tightening those bolts. 

[berni29]

Hello

Thank you for the advice! I habitually wear long sleeve T shirts so have not had the pleasure of a fibreglass rash yet. I used a little 1/4 ratchet to get them out and will be using that tool again when the time comes to get them back in. The outlet pipes are definitely blocked and the tops (and bottoms actually) did seem a bit thin. I wonder how much aluminium ones are? I'm starting to think I might need them.

I started to paint the seats today in 2K epoxy primer straight onto the (lasered) metal. Will see how that turns out.

All the best

Berni

[4129R]

The outlet pipes are definitely blocked

On one tank, the outlet was so badly blocked, I had the carefully slightly straighten the outlet bend to get a wire through to clear the blockage.

[berni29]

Hi

Small update, tanks have been blasted & painted. Need to strip off some other parts, take them down and collect the tanks at the same time.

Berni

[BDA]

Very nice! 

[berni29]

Hi Guys

Quick question please, I am due back down to the metal finishers soon (to pick up some steel wheels for my Zetec +2 having cocked up the ET on some minilitealikes for the car), and I wondered if there were any metal parts that would benefit from being blasted and powdercoated, that were easy to take off the car? I'm looking for some easy wins ahead of the full strip down. I'm a bit time constrained at the moment.

All the best

Berni

[BDA]

I suppose you could give them your radius arms and lower links. While you've taken the rear apart, you might consider the half shafts and the cross member too. The front A-arms could also do with the treatment. How about the closing plate in the front of the car? Those are actually not that big a deal. A day's work for the rear and maybe a bit less for the front depending on how spry you are! 

[berni29]

Hi BDA

Thanks for the suggestions. The closing plate at the front is a good one. I'm still might need to roll the car around a bit, so suspension parts are off limits at the moment.

All the best

Berni

[fort]

You could think about those lower seatbelt mounts, coolant tank

[berni29]

Hi Guys,

Small update, these arrived today at a friend of mines shop (he is around the corner from where they are made).

Adjustable platforms, ordered with Fronts 150 lbs 8” and Rear 115 lbs 12" as per recent discussions on this forum. Having said that I will have to make sure that they are indeed those rates. The standard springs they supply for the S2 & TCS are Fronts 8” x 160 lbs and Rears 10” x 140 lbs.

Just got to get going on taking the car apart. I have been busy trying to get my Zetec plus 2 on the road.

All the best

Berni