My HPE....now a rolling recommission

[Nigel]

After almost 11 months of work, my car is MOT'd and on the road.
It's not the way most chaps approach
their projects, but I didn't want to strip the whole thing down and then find I somehow lost interest in it.
Also, I wanted to spend cash slowly, i'm on a monthly budget!
Partly the reason behind waiting so long for the right car, one without any significant rust issues. As soon as I
spotted the FB mention by Andrew Cliffe, I knew this was the one.

It's had a bunch of work including in-situ big end bearings, all the normal engine stuff, a delete of the
Aus emissions system, an EU spec carb from Chris [which is working very well], a rad recore, bypass of the heater
matrix due to leaks, fuel tank clean and lots more.

I'm now in my happy place where I can drive the car and fix tons of stuff in between.

It needs a rear wheel bearing, a heater repair, front discs, clutch, a/c delete, a retrim, and new paint. A bonnet as well.

I've been following the forum for over 10 years, and thanks to everyone who's helped and contributed to
my car in every way.

Couple of pics out on the road today.....

[peteracs]

Hi Nigel

Looks very smart from the photos, congratulations.

Peter

[mangocrazy]

Nice one, Nigel. Looks lovely. It's all too easy to just let them become garage queens. Good on you for getting it rolling.

[smithymc]

Great looking car Nigel- well done on getting another beauty back out there.

Mark

[WestonE]

Well Done Nigel

And a very good point about actually finishing and using the car!

Back to the garage for me.

Eric

[WestonTB]

Spot on, using them has to be what it is all about, drive it, poke it, see what breaks... you maybe surprised what doesn't! Enjoy it...

Now off for a drive in the rain with trusty coupe

[Nigel]

Thanks for all the comments, much appreciated!

Today I completed the assembly of a steering wheel.
I made an adaptor ring from a piece of 4mm stainless steel.
The wheel, hub, horn push and badge all ebay. I'm particularly chuffed that the badge fitted as it
was a bit of a incorrect, but cheap purchase many months ago. I think it's a 'B' or 'C' post fitment on
maybe Delta, not sure.

Also I made the original RHD column cowls fit. They fought a bit, but with some multi-tool relief, they
finally gave in.

[Nigel]

Now my car is Sorned for the winter, it's time to tackle the leaking heater, one of the few tasks i've
not done on a Beta before now.

As i want to address the dash cracks it seemed reasonable to take that out first. It all came apart without
too much drama. Wow, that dash is heavier than I was expecting. The heater unit is also quite a lump.

I've got a replacement complete 'standard' heater unit, together with the control panel, almost on its way.

While everything is out I'd like to replace the thick and heavy insulation with something else. I know of Dynamat,
but I was wondering if there's a recommendation of another product that would give good performance without
breaking my cash flow?



As alluded to above, i'm deleting the factory a/c system, and I think i'll need a non a/c power-steering
pump/alternator engine bracket. I wonder if anyone has such a thing?

[mangocrazy]

You've clearly taken a fair few bravery pills today, Nigel. Top work! Tackling dashboard and heater matrix is high on the scary-o-meter for me...

[Sandro]

You've clearly taken a fair few bravery pills today, Nigel. Top work! Tackling dashboard and heater matrix is high on the scary-o-meter for me...

I'll say    you're a braver man than I taking that on. 

Its good to see progress ( esp. as your beta is almost identical to the one I have. )

Best of Luck!


A.

[WestonE]

Hi Nigel

I might have a perfect plated PS mount that goes onto the standard IE Oil block for IE cars. Let me look before posting a picture. Dyamat is a love hate thing for me. I hate doing it, but it is just better at the job than all the cheap copies and I have tried many because Monte's are famously noisy. Black anti - drum first (bitumen stuff is hopeless and copies like Fat Mat and Dodo Mat are horrible to work with). Then the thickest Dynamat foam over it. Use the existing sound proofing as a pattern and save yourself hours. Dynamat foam does NOT absorb water so no more damp sponge under the carpet!

I will come back when I find the IE bracket.

Eric     

[WestonE]

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[Nigel]

Hi Eric,
Many thanks for that advice. I'll look at that.

As for the bracket, I'm unfamiliar with what it should look like, but that appears superb.
One thing I need to check is the oil filter housing, of which I'll post a pic asap.
My oil filter, at present, is almost horizontal, maybe angled down around 10/15 degrees.
Is that the normal angle for an i.e. engine?  I ask as I know the old standard carb set-up
without p/s is pointing down much more. Of course, it may not matter in the end.

Cheers
Nigel

[WestonE]

Hi Nigel

The IE has a nice alloy oil filter block that is my favorite for building brackets on Montecarlo custom stuff it has a flat face under the steel brackets where the 4 fixing bolts go through from the steel bracket I have posted pictures of. Both the VX and Montecarlo have huge heavy lumps of cast iron.
I have no handy pictures or I would post one.

Eric

[Nigel]

Quick question Eric, does this appear to be a standard power steering pump, in other words,
will it fit your bracket?

I will inevitably have to fettle the oil lines and the drive belt arrangement as currently
the p/s pump belt is routed around the double a/c pulley.

I'll be glad to be rid of the compressor as belt adjustment is a pain.

Cheers, Nigel

[WestonE]

Hi Nigel The pump looks the same, but I am not sure about the plate bolted on the front with 4 x 8mm bolts. It is hard to make out. I will have at least one of these plated and ready to go, but some digging needed to find it. I can not see the oil block behind it either so not able to confirm it is the same.

I found a picture of the IE Oil Block from my Montecarlo bracket build.

[Nigel]

Thanks Eric.

I'm going to have to 'bite the bullet' and remove my bits and actually see what
i've got to work with.

My goal is to be able to have a complete as possible a/c kit so that if someone wants it, I know
it's all there.

I'll come back to you if I may, to get whatever bits might work!

Cheers, Nigel

[Nigel]

Today I removed the gear lever housing in order to replace the 3rd of the three nylon
pivot bushes. Much easier on the bench. I also knew I had a small bit of rotational
movement on the gear lever, and found that the block at the bottom was loose. I knocked back the
lock tab and got a one-flat turn on the nut, result. I also slightly tightened the through bolt to
remove any play there. This is the last step on the gear change refurb so total reassembly tomorrow.

Also today I had a closer look at the two dashboard cracks. I bought some Isopon hole filler,
the one with fibres in it. I opened up the cracks with a grinding bit in a Dremel-type tool,
and will fill those slots tomorrow. As I realise i'll never get close to an invisible repair, I looked at available
dash covers. I found a company in Essex that does leather covers that do the entire unit, but at £200. So
once the repairs are at least flat, I think i'll cover with a simpler leather piece just on top. We'll
see how that turns out later.
Meantime, there's some before and after crack shots, not necessarily in the correct order.

[Nigel]

The aircon delete is progressing, all hoses removed, and holes plugged. I haven't yet tacked the
compressor removal, soon!

 The dash is still awaiting a suitable cover, as yet undecided.

I've used Silent Coat as a sound/insulator in 4mm. Thanks for all the suggestions.

The weather being a bit dull, I've set up an area indoors to start preparing for the trimming.
My 1957 Singer hadn't been used for a while, so oiling came first. Then, I thought I'd
renew my somewhat amateur abilities by making a gear lever gaiter, a fairly safe little bit, that, if all went wrong
it wouldn't matter too much. There's one spot where the thread snapped due to my inattention, but it faces the front so acceptable
for now.

I was fortunate to be in East London recently, a perfect opportunity to visit a hide dealer I'd found. He had the colour I wanted at
a very good price ,and said matching this wouldn't be a problem. It's huge, at least bigger than I was expecting, but I'll
need another in the new year.
I've still got some grey leather from the South African car, this I combined for the gaiter, but I'm undecided on having two-tone
on the seats. 

[WestonE]

Amazing work I wish I had the tools and more importantly the skill for trimming. I went to a huge effort finding a gear gaiter for my custom gaiter fitting plate. I wanted a smaller less baggy item than the OE one.

Eric