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I've posted before in other threads about my RS2000 and that I've planned to get it back on the road at some point. I figured it was more appropriate to post the restoration in this part of the forum, so for those who are interested here is a brief history of the car and few photos of how it stands at the moment:
The car was bought by my Mum and Dad in 1980 when it was about 18 months old. My Mum drove it to work until 1985 when they had a full respray and bought another daily driver so they could keep the RS for summer use only. I bought the car off them in about 1995 for a 'token' amount on the proviso that if I sold in future I would split any profits with them. I ran the car for summer use only for a further three years, only doing standard servicing and putting a new set of tyre on the newly blasted and polished wheels (which still look pretty good even now). I compounded the whole car when I got it to remove light surface scratches and it left an 'orange peel' free finish. Unfortunately, divorce, moving house, kids and years of DIY meant that the RS has sat in my garage for the last 10 years waiting for me to do some welding on the inner wings and some other MOT type repairs. 
I finally finished the DIY on our house, so this summer I'd planned to finish wiring in some lights and getting the garage in order so that I can start doing the repairs: I need to remove the front nose cone, outer wings and strut top plate to access the rusty bit and then 'let in' some fresh metal. I'll refit the original wings as I'll be using a spot weld cutter that will leave 8mm holes on the wing rail and where ever the wing is joined to the car. These holes will be 'plug' welded using my trusty (soon to be repaired itself ) MIG welder. I did a similar job a long time back replacing the floor pans, sills and other parts on an old MGB GT, so it's common ground but I'm a little out of practice.
As you can tell from the photos, the wheel arches etc aren't in bad condition at all, only slight surface rust on the lips that will sand off easily. I'll just blow these bits in locally as longer term I will have a full respray in 2 pack done professionally. I'd planned to spray it myself, but cellulose is very expensive these days, less durable and I may upset the neighbours having too many flammable chemicals in the garage. The paint under the back bumper has lifted (some kind of reaction/adhesion problem with the original paint underneath), so it needs removing and repainting. At least any colour mismatch will be hidden by the bumper/body crease.
The only reason it's been off the road is the inner wings. I'd poked one side through before it's last MOT (despite it looking quite innocent like the near side shown) and knew it wasn't worth taking it in until repaired. Being the perfectionist (fusspot some would say ) I didn't want to just plate over it, so the car has languished in the garage and only been moved twice since: Once to the 'new' house and once to store in a relative's garage while I replaced the leaking garage roof a couple of years ago.
I have a spare new steering rack in the boot (an advisory at it's last MOT) and various suspension bushes that will need replacing to match other's done to get it through a previous MOT. Unfortunately this long lay up has meant that the brakes need stripping as they were sticking when we towed it to the relatives two years ago and the exhaust has also gone (a stainless steel one will be put on once all the other work is finished). I put a new master cylinder on it when it was last on the road, so I'm hoping it just needs the calipers stripping and then the brakes bleeding.
The interior is good, with the typical build up of surface mould on the vinyl trim. I clean this off every now and then, but lack of use means it comes back after a couple of years. I daren't use bleach (even diluted) so if anyone knows of a plastic friendly cleaner that will kill the mould, then please let me know. I plan to remove the front seat covers and wash them on a cool wash (it's worked a treat on other far dirtier seats in the past), they will probably shrink a tiny bit, but this helps to remove the slight baggyness that seats get after nearly 30 years and 64,000 miles.
I'll try to post back here once I actually start some work, but I fell off my stepladder yesterday putting up my toolboard , so I have a few bruises today. I'll try to get on with clearing some more space to work in and soaking the nose cone fixings so I can remove it.
I've linked to my thread on the RS Owners club (as I can't post pictures on there directly), so hello to any visitors from there. |
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24-11-2019 22:27:58
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