fbekholden.com

Well, it was about time I pulled my finger out and got some work done to my EK to bring it back up to it's former glory. Dave (Bootlegger) is doing the honours, and it's copping a bare metal respray (outside only) , plus repairing various dents and minor rust issues. All the hanging panels have already been put back to bare metal. I helped a bit on the guards, though Dave got to see why I'm getting a pro to do the work, and not attempting it myself . I've also bought some seat belts and spats which will be added

I must admit rust wise it's much better than what I thought. The foors had been repaired previously, and no rust in rear quarters or boot. A few small spots on a couple of doors. I had assumed it had been repainted once in it's life, but apart from the spots where it's had repairs it seems like a majority of the paintwork was original
Not bad for a 51 year old EK


Some rust on firewall



Small section on right sill


Bit of rust in the usual spot in front of left sill



Some very poor previous repairs on guards, plus my poor attempts at paint stripping










More photo's to come as progress continues

Don't you just love that burning sensation of paint stripper Peter...

Good stuff Dave and Pete. Yours will be back on the road before mine...

Stewart

from previous descriptions of the car from a "professional" i thought it would be much worse considering some of the ones i've seen him fix woops get fixed

Yeah, the burn was worse when I got home and the better half saw the paint stripper on my clothes

Mine's like a spit and polish compared to the overall work yours has had done, Stewart



True Mick, you never know how bad they may or may not be until you start taking parts off. I certainly wasn't expecting that hole on the firewall

I spilt thinners on mine once. It soaked through my clothes. It kind of melted instantly. Bloody scary just quietly.

You haven't tried the stripper that Dave uses, Mick. Two showers later and the smell still won't go.

You definitely don't want to get this stuff anywhere it aint meant to go

Mick wrote:from previous descriptions of the car from a "professional" i thought it would be much worse considering some of the ones i've seen him fix woops get fixed

I thought you wanted to end this bullshit Mick?

You can't help yourself can you?

Mate ... life is too short Mick.

Steve

Cal wrote:

True Mick, you never know how bad they may or may not be until you start taking parts off. I certainly wasn't expecting that hole on the firewall

Hi Peter, this is the very thing I was trying to convey to you when commenting "Good Price" on cars without a very close inspection. It is very important to stick ones head under the dash at the plenum drains and under the guards up at the firewall where the subframe attaches. Most people don't wish to go to the trouble of taking the guards, engine and subframe off to fix this area properly. The good news it the hole in the firewall is easily spotted without removing anything from the car, maybe sometimes you need a torch. Great to see the car underway!

I hope you take this is the maner it is meant.

Steve

Cal wrote:Well, it was about time I pulled my finger out...

Well, you are Greek Peter! Seriously, you and Dave have a pretty straightforward rolling restoration going on there. It should come up a treat. Looking forward to seeing it done

Andrew

Cal wrote:You haven't tried the stripper that Dave uses, Mick. Two showers later and the smell still won't go.

You're talking about the sort of strippers that remove paint right...not the other sort...?

Hi Steve, point taken. One doesn't know what nasties are there unless a proper inspection is done. And even then one doesn't know what lies underneath unless you start pulling bits off. I'm lucky in that this one didn't throw up many nasty surprises when the panels were removed and paint was stripped off. My point is rust doesn't discriminate , whatever the car is priced at.

I think what contibuted to that plenum rust was the car being parked in a carport where the right hand side does get wet a fair bit .


Andrew.... .

This (paint) stripper sre does stink


Devilrod, thanks (for you post that seems to have gone AWOL )


Anyway, photo's to come

Lets hope it doesnt get stripped and not get back together again as soooo many do.. Its a great looking car..

Started stripping the rear quarters today

Before


After (still not completely stripped)








Left quarter was amazingly good. Right side had a bit of bog near where the bumper bolts on. Looks more like a dent repair rather than a rust issue. Back panel has had a whack sometime in the past.



The guards were a different matter . Previous repairer had gone to the trouble of buying new peaks, then welded then over the old ones .Plus both guards need repairing in the usual rust spots (top part near plenum chamber, and bottom of guards)





Outer and inner peak cut off





The meastro at work...






More repairs needed to the guard, then start again on the other guard. When Dave's done with the guards, they'll be worth more than the rest of the car

Dont worry. Petes car will be back on the road in a few weeks.
The rust isnt that bad. Ill be able to fix the firewall properly without taking the subframe off.
I did a plenum for anothe ek a couple of weeks ago. It wasnt that big a deal as long as the whole dash and interior
Are stripped out. Could hardly tell it had been done once it was finished.
The worst part on petes car are the front guards. The rest apart from a couple of dents is great.
Its nice to work on something that isnt a complete heartbreaker.

Once i started to chop into the guard i begged pete to let me turn his car into a custom. He was horrified for a few seconds when i said id start doing the roof chop next.