My HPE....now a rolling recommission

[Nigel]

Hi Ian,
I've already raised the front of the seat by about 30mm which feels better.
I may well raise it a little more after the weekend drive.

I recall you are just inside the ULEZ zone and although I have no current plan to enter,
I did threaten to get a cuppa from you a while back! It would be rude not to bring
the HPE.

Cheers, Nigel

[squiglyzigly]

The kettle is always on 

[Nigel]

My car is now off the road for a while due to being rear-ended
on the M26 yesterday. He pushed me some distance into the vehicle in front,
that damage is superficial, the rear not so.

I elected to continue my journey to Mark now knowing I needed a pair
of bumpers. Mark was very generous in supplying same for a good price
and the car is now home.

An irritated but not beaten Nigel.

Thanks Ian! I will eventually drink tea with you.

[SanRemo78]

It was good to see you yesterday Nigel and was gutted to see the damage done to your car. Now it's stripped a little it doesn't look as bad as I'd feared and I hope you can find a competent bodyshop to pull it back to shape and repair it.
Guy

[Clifford3051]

Really sorry to hear this Nigel.
I am sure you will get this sorted out and hopefully you were not injured in any way.
Best regards
C

[squiglyzigly]

Hi Nigel,
Really sorry to see this, especially as it’s a particularly nice rust free original shell.
As I’m sure you know, it looks very much worth repairing and the damage shouldn’t be too difficult to push back.

If you want to borrow it, I have a Sealey 10T hydraulic body pack.
Or you’re welcome to drive here in the HPE and we can have a go together. Although I must admit I’ve barely used it so my skills are not the highest with this kit.

All the best
Ian

[Nigel]

Ian, thanks for the offer, that's tremendous.

As it happens, I've ordered a similar kit, although 4 tonne, from screwfix which
should arrive tomorrow.
I've also stripped the front end of valence/bumper etc, a good opportunity to
sort out a previous ding from it's past owner, and finally use a very good valence
I bought from Chris Mace some 3 years ago!

I will see how my attempts go. I'm hoping the base of the strut towers combined will provide
enough bracing for the push-back, using a steel beam between.

Again, thanks for the offer, I'll keep that in the jar.

Cheers, Nigel


Edit to add thanks to Guy and Clifford for your comments, no injuries on anyone involved thankfully.

[Clifford3051]

I am not sure whether your model is the same as a late model I had back in the 80's, but when I bent my front end at a roundabout, the not so obvious damage was to the self leveling light system components.
When I got out of the car to check the damage, I could hardly see any and then noticed the end of the front bumper seemed a bit pushed in.
I looked at the back of the Fiesta which had started to move off the busy roundabout and then decided they would stop half way onto to it, looked like a write off with the whole back end caved in!

Pretty solid front end with the stainless steel bumpers on the HPE 🙂
C

[Nigel]

To those with an HPE, (I'm thinking of Ian here!)

I've managed to push the lower portion of the tailgate out to a more reasonable position,
however I'd like an exact value.
This I think can be achieved from two points.
It's from the centre of the gas lift strut mounting pin to the lowest tip at the bottom.
At present I have 752 and 755mm. The latter appears more realistic, the former can be pushed a little more.

Ideally values from at least 2 cars would be brilliant.

Thanks!
Nigel

[gjanssen]

Hi Nigel,

Mine does 764 mm (HPE VX 1985)
But I still have to adjust it a little tighter, so I think the result should be a few millimeters less... lets say 762mm

All the best!
Gerrit Janssen

[Nigel]

Thank you Gerrit, much appreciated.

[betaveloce]

On mine it's about the same as on gjanssen's car I would say

[Nigel]

Thanks Kevin!
Two kind folk with matching numbers, that'll do fine. Thanks guys!

I've got the tailgate out to 760mm, any more and I'd risk bending something else.

The rear floor is now close to being back to where it should be. The hydraulic kit, which was
a brilliant buy, needs an oil top up, I don't think it was full when new. Maybe because it would leak
in transit?
I've got one last little push to align the boot catch to the tailgate.

The "new" bumpers need a little work on the bracketry, a bit of spot welding etc.

Onwards and upwards...my goal is to have it reasonable for BetaMeeta.

Nigel 

[kbetas]

Hi Nigel, fyi i checked mine and it is 765mm measured same way as others.  Cheers Kevin

[Nigel]

Thanks Kevin!
It's now in a position where it locks into the previously damaged
rear panel, within 3/4mm, so happy with that.
Now busy refurbing the bumpers from Mark.

Cheers
Nigel

[Nigel]

Another measurement request guys.

Between the tips of the rear-most flanges just above the light units.

Photos for clarification.

Thanks!
Nigel

[squiglyzigly]

Hi Nigel,
Here’s the measurements from my HPE. The car looks very original insomuch as I cannot see any evidence of accident damage to affect the measurement.

[squiglyzigly]

And here is a measure of the lower aperture.

[Nigel]

As always, much appreciated Ian,

Cheers
Nigel

[kbetas]

Here are the two measurments from mine taken at same places.