My HPE....now a rolling recommission

[Nigel]

I've done little to the car outside recently, but progressed a bit
on the retrim.
I sourced one extra seat, a pax side, which hopefully will provide those inevitable
missing or broken bits.
A few days ago I started dismantling my drivers seat, ready to make the patterns.
There's a huge amount of fraying, and I had to machine-wash the covers as they were
impregnated with orange dust from the original scrim foam [ foam backed with
a thin nylon mesh-type material] which rots out over the years.
The actual seat foam is in reasonable condition, a few splits should be repairable with glue and
bits of foam inserted where necessary.
I'm still sourcing stuff i'll need to make the new covers, an ongoing challenge.
 

[chrisc]

Interesting to see it all apart. Did you consider changing the seats or you wanted to keep the factory ones?

I'm planning on replacing the front seats with some random recaros I picked up cheap and retrimming the lot to half leather / imitation leather and some sort of houndstooth fabric for the central panels

[mangocrazy]

I know it won't be at all original, but have you thought about contacting an upholsterer and asking if they can make copies of the foam part of the seat? I'm sure the original foam is well past its best and is probably in some stage of decomposition. Your back(side) may thank you in the long run... 

[Nigel]

Hi Graham,
That's a thought I hadn't had! I'll certainly consider it. Luckily, i've got 3 seats to play with
so sending one bit away wouldn't be an issue. Do you happen to know someone that can do this?

Chris, not really. I'm quite familiar with the existing ones, and I know how comfortable they are,
having done a 12 hour virtually non-stop Joberg to Capetown trip.
I've no doubt that Recaro's would be somewhat better though.

Thanks all, Nige

[mangocrazy]

The only upholsterer I know is a guy named Tony Archer. He's mainly known in the bike world for turning a plank of wood into a comfy seat (he's done 3 at various times for me), but he does re-trim and upholster cars as well. Hos phone number is 07305 744141.

[Nigel]

Eric, greetings again, perhaps you could advise below.....

Back outside on this unpredicted good weather day today, and
i've removed some bits to gain access to the a/c and power steering pump. Much better
pictures now attached of the huge cast iron bracket, and other steel stuff.

It looks as if i'll have to remove almost everything here and start again,[ without the compressor.]
Do you think you have the brackets etc. I need to complete?

[WestonE]

Hi Nigel

Behind all those steel brackets I can see the Aluminum Oil Block and the bolts look the same. You might need a different bolt on plate on the front of the PS pump behind the pulley. I probably have one in similar plated style, but currently packed away.

Let me know if I should start rummaging in crates!

Eric

[Nigel]

Thanks Eric.
Stand by for now.

What I think i'll do is remove the a/c comp then reassess my options.

Cheers for the rapid response!

[Nigel]

I've now removed everything off the bracketry.

Upon test fitting the PS pump all seems well, I get a good support structure,
and plenty of swing to achieve belt adjustment. The pipework will
function as before.
Alternator fitment is virtually the same, save for a spacer required on the
lower long bolt.

It'll run 2 belts. All I have to do is measure/find/fit a [possibly] non-standard belt.

So, thanks Eric, but all's well!

Once again, I ask questions before I get my own answers! Ho Hum.

Nige

[frankxhv773t]

Even if you eventually answer the question yourself others of us learn something along the way so please keep posing the questions.

[peteracs]

It is also useful to get others views on a subject as they may come up with ideas that you would not think of.

Peter

[Nigel]

Thanks chaps, maybe I'm not quite as irritating as I thought 

Now all reassembled sans extremely heavy a/c compressor. As a bonus, I now have good access to
the oil filter.

One of the old belts was nice and long so I cut a portion out of it, drilled a 2mm hole
in each end, and joined it with a bit of wire. My friendly motor factors had a rummage
and found a belt that was a perfect match. [Dayco D13A1000C]
I've no idea if this is a Beta-size belt, but it's now a standard fitment for my car.

And I've completed the first seat bit.

[Nigel]

After a considerable amount of swearing, material waste and an occasionally uncooperative
sewing machine, the first seat is complete.

I wasn't going for two-tone originally, but when the fake alcantara arrived it
changed my mind. It is really quite good quality, and it came with a 5mm scrim foam backing, ideal.
It will also provide a bit of grip, and it'll perhaps be cooler in summer.

I added extra springs as an experiment, thinking that maybe the existing originals might
have stretched a little. I also glued some fabric to the base to give the foam a little more support.

The headrest was the most challenging bit due to its size. Originally the fabric was tucked into each side of a thin steel
channel at the bottom. Being an out-of-sight area, I glued the two fabrics together underneath instead.

Thanks for the suggestions previously....the base foam turned out to be sound enough so no need to replace it.

[GerardJPC]

That looks good, and suitably in period.

[Sandro]

A nice Job Nigel,

..plenty of patience required I'm sure.
( fiddly )

I look forward to seeing them in situ with the Lever cover.


A.
 

[Nigel]

Hello all,
Some pleasing progress during the winter-scheduled tasks.

The heater box with its replacement matrix is in, and leak tested.
The dash is now back in after an Isopon repair and paint, with new sound deadening
behind it, but lots of refitting still to do there.

The last 2 months has mostly been on retrimming. The rear seats were much more challenging
than the fronts, due to trying to line up the stitch pattern.  All is done with the exception of the
2 door cards. I'm still undecided on how to do it, as the black padded sections are somewhat distorted,
and the fabric was originally 'welded' to the plastic.

I've put more sound deadening behind the rear 'door' cards, and fitted two new front seat belts. They
retract properly without any hesitation. The only aspect of these is that they don't have the spring
device and plastic wrap to hold them to the floor to ease rear pax access.

I've also changed the carbs jets to the spec that capriblu had great success with.
Haven't run it yet though!

A piece of 1/4 inch brass arrived recently for the oil separator project, to do.
Also to fit the new front discs and pads which have been on the shelf for 4 months.

[Nigel]

Just a little bit of bling today...

These stickers were advertised on a Gamma page...they are quite thick with rounded edges.

[WestonE]

They look a very tidy solution.

Eric

[jwhelan]

That's the same year and colour as mine - even the stereo is the same (although mine has a bluetooth receiver in behind it).  Looks great!

[Nigel]

Aside from the fuel tank work [ in my other post] lots more work has progressed.

While everything was out, I removed the gear lever housing and fitted the final new gear change bush.
Much easier on the bench.

The crack-repaired dash is back in along with the heater unit.  The Isopon worked well, and after rubbing down,
a few coats of satin black finished it off nicely. It looks almost original.

I finally figured a solution for the front door cards. I cut the leather 10mm larger that the black plastic surround,
folded and glued to the exact size, then gave it one row of stitching. It was then glued into position butting up
to the plastic 'corner' all around, and then wrapped around the rear to the back. The right-hand card was quite
warped from water ingress, so I had to pack out the backing foam to make it flat.

I never liked the original window switch position. Moving them up to the console meant making a mounting block
that attempts to match the gear knob. The block was needed to let the switch wiring clear the small footwell air hoses.
It also gave room for a USB outlet.

Upon refitting the radio, the speakers wouldn't work. After much head-scratching, both speakers were dead. I still
have no idea why, they were fine before. The new pair [also Pioneer] sound much better, but I had to make 10mm blocks
to space them away, as they were a bit deeper than the old ones.

I've also been changing the colour from Silver to Grigio Finanza, a period Fiat colour. My aim is to do all the shuts and under-bonnet areas with
rattle cans, then get the exterior done properly with minimal dismantling.