After a serious back injury i'd avoided owning a car for years, as an ex-mechanic i see them as work, and not great work at that and walking was good for my back so that's what i did. Walked, caught ferrys, trains and even buses when i needed to, but i decided about a decade ago i needed a car, but what car i knew i wanted something unusual as "normal" would be ignored when it broke down or required fixing and i didn't want to start stock piling knackered cars or even worse actually sell a car, i couldn't / wouldn't afford too much as that's another mechanic trait i see them as a complete waste of money. So after some serious consideration i decided on a Lancia Integrale a car i knew very well from my youth, my Grandfather had one and i had the pleasure of driving it myself...i finally found one in London the same colour as my Grandfather's so i caught the train and went to pick it up. I enjoyed driving it for a few years until pulling away from some traffic lights i heard the sound of the big ends...fuck that oil pressure gauge i'd choosen to ignore for months and months had finally decided to let go so it was dumped into the garage i shut the door and promptly tried to forget, 18 months i managed to forget... When i did decide to start i knew i'd have to get a wriggle on as the bodywork was starting to show signs of needing attention...In the intervening years since buying it and starting work on the engine these cars had increased in value to an extent where what i paid for mine you now couldn't buy a scrap one and with it the price of parts had increased from where i was once running a special Fiat to now it seemed like i owned a bastard Ferrari, so the engine rebuild took 6 months and off she went for an MOT. Long story short, after the MOT and running in period i couldn't stop it using oil, everything tried and replaced until i knew the cylinder head had to come off again...fuck that so she sat in the garage for another 12 months, about 18 months ago i finally decided enough was enough and i was going to start and not stop until i finished. So off came the cylinder head to find a supplier had supplied me with the wrong valve stem seals, new seals, head back on...Whilst the head was off i decided all the hydraulics where to be replaced, so a complete renewal of the brake system and clutch system was done..While i was at it all the suspension was shot blasted and either hand painted or powder coated, all engine mountings again shot blasted and painted and so it went on and on until last September when i was finally done, by this time i had covered a few thousand miles with no problems and she'd been 4 wheel rolling road tuned with ECU upgrade....
Anyway some pictures....
Firstly the engine bay, pre-rebuild and only taken so i knew where all the pipes went and in which order to refit, but gives the layman an idea just how buried the cylinder head is..
[img][/img]
[img][/img]
[img][/img]
[img][/img]
One of my working conditions, so being fit and athletic does have its advantages Tone
[img][/img]
Picture taken end of last summer before being stripped of the interior apart from the dashboard and drivers seat..
[img][/img]
And now the very first pictures of one wheel arch the N/S/R showing the extent of previous bodges and removing the rust and the beginnings of fabricating panels and repair sections..
Quote: redmond wrote in post #2Full credit for doing it..has the interior been started yet
No S, i'm waiting for the bill to come in for the bodywork first which is far more important as you know. So far it's been 90 hours alone on the N/S/R wheel arch. They are billing me in small amounts so at any point i can say enough's, enough, but as you know once started i've got to if i can continue until the end. I reckon it's going to take 3 years to pay for this, then i'll look at the interior, gutted as it's stuck in my second bedroom at the moment and a perfect opportunity. Also shelved the plan to have the shell seam welded
One of my working conditions, so being fit and athletic does have its advantages Tone
I'm sorry but sitting on a static bike, looking at a blank wall for half an hour does not constitute, imo, 'fit and athletic', that's not aimed at you btw, Mr ramsees will be on here shortly* to defend himself.
Quote: Tone wrote in post #5[quote=Thesaint|p288744]
One of my working conditions, so being fit and athletic does have its advantages Tone
I'm sorry but sitting on a static bike, looking at a blank wall for half an hour does not constitute, imo, 'fit and athletic', that's not aimed at you btw, Mr ramsees will be on here shortly* to defend himself.
*did you see what I did there
Anyway, who did your welding.....Stevie Wonder?
I know, awful and very, very well covered...now revealing itself along with the masking tape and underseal repair supposedly keeping the inner wheel arch attached to the body ffs...hence the 90 hours just to do a wheel arch
Nuts mate but your right you have to keep going.. I won't ask about the money..suppose if your funding it by selling possessions it's not too painful..
Quote: redmond wrote in post #7Nuts mate but your right you have to keep going.. I won't ask about the money..suppose if your funding it by selling possessions it's not too painful..
They've given me some discount on there hourly rate, which helps...being funded by savings, overtime and share saves i luckily have maturing at work hence the 3 years, but will still have to take a loan, but will offset the interest against the fact once done the maggots been arrested, in 3 years time if left, it wouldn't be worth doing. Also bought a load of repair panels and sections prefabricated before hand to help with some of the costs, along with scouring ebay for the far and few bargains left for the Integrale's. Managed to pick up a set of RHD headlamps before Christmas from a guy that needed the money, a bargain at £600 ( no genuinely a bargain!! ), but nothing compared the person that paid £1250 for a second hand parcel shelf ffs
Quote: Tone wrote in post #8What's the material construction of the seats, back in the day my mate had one and they were a light brown suede.
Oh and if your gonna throw money at it, go for Martini stripes.
Mines green alcantara ( no known sources available ), if they where light brown suede ( alcantara ) his was an EVO 1, mines pre-EVO, no definitely not having Martini stripes.
Quote: Tone wrote in post #8What's the material construction of the seats, back in the day my mate had one and they were a light brown suede.
Oh and if your gonna throw money at it, go for Martini stripes.
Mines green alcantara ( no known sources available ), if they where light brown suede ( alcantara ) his was an EVO 1, mines pre-EVO, no definitely not having Martini stripes.
Quote: Tone wrote in post #8What's the material construction of the seats, back in the day my mate had one and they were a light brown suede.
Oh and if your gonna throw money at it, go for Martini stripes.
Mines green alcantara ( no known sources available ), if they where light brown suede ( alcantara ) his was an EVO 1, mines pre-EVO, no definitely not having Martini stripes.
Was talking to an old Irishman ( nope definitely not RamseesLFC, he wasn't wearing blue, but he did have the same haircut ) at Goodwood last summer who had an ex factory "totip" car, the level of detail was amazing...wafer thin glass, titanium exhaust etc...infact everything was titanium right down to the mudguard brackets, he'd had recently restored in Italy and it cost him 250K
Right so what I've gathered from this thread is.... 1.Saint will do anything to avoid spending time with his bird 2. He's also hired GTBIs typist to put this thread together 3. GTBI gave up spin when the instructor barred him from pestering 20 something fit birds. 4. This forum is gonna be having a silver anniversary by the time Saint finishes this car. 5. When Sean mentioned 'selling your possesions' he really meant 'selling your arse'
And you used to be a mechanic??? fair play. This is the definitive labour of love mate. Maybe you should just have bought a ford escort
"The nightmares invading the sleep of Bayern fans involve four horsemen of the Champions League Apocalypse riding towards them. As the faces come into focus, they will recognise Frank Lampard, Cole, Petr Cech and Drogba. All were immense..."
Quote: RamseesCFC wrote in post #14Right so what I've gathered from this thread is.... 1.Saint will do anything to avoid spending time with his bird 2. He's also hired GTBIs typist to put this thread together 3. GTBI gave up spin when the instructor barred him from pestering 20 something fit birds. 4. This forum is gonna be having a silver anniversary by the time Saint finishes this car. 5. When Sean mentioned 'selling your possesions' he really meant 'selling your arse'
And you used to be a mechanic??? fair play. This is the definitive labour of love mate. Maybe you should just have bought a ford escort
Don't forget my digging, i begin again in 2 weeks time
Just a thought, but all that money your gonna throw at that car you could have bought that nice Bentley off TZ.....and had enough change to have bought a nice garage.
Oh and Mr Chelsea, I'll ignore you comments, for now
Quote: PR6 wrote in post #15jesus, fucking ball ache putting windscreen wash in mine
Better not ask you to top mine up then, it's in the boot behind a panel and i can only top it up with a small funnel and flexi pipe[frown]
Quote: Getkettleon wrote in post #18Good man, cracking cars these. Body work drives me up the wall, but engine, drivetrain and wiring I find very therapeutic and rewarding.
After finally deciding to start and keep going until completion, i did start to enjoy it, although it's taken me 15 years of not messing about with spanners to forget the pain of working on cars, still can't say i'm overly happy at lying on my back with my nose pressed up underneath it for lengths of time, but i have only a couple of jobs to do when it returns....
Well nearly a month later and still on the same wheel arch, starting to feel a little queasy, one thing is leading into another... Some pictures for those that maybe interested.
Quote: Tone wrote in post #23A month on......and that's it!
They way your going, by the time it hits the road the planet will have run out of fossil fuels
Hahaha what a Cunt.. av been there we did a Jensen intercepter absolute nightmare..put me off doing anything like that again life's too short..committed now tho so see it through
Quote: Tone wrote in post #23A month on......and that's it!
They way your going, by the time it hits the road the planet will have run out of fossil fuels
Hahaha what a Cunt.. av been there we did a Jensen intercepter absolute nightmare..put me off doing anything like that again life's too short..committed now tho so see it through
Went to see it today S, the work is fastidious and you can see where the time's gone. The back end on Integrale's are notoriously bad, the front's apart from the very front chassis legs are protected by wheel arch liners, he did give me some bad news though, the chap that's doing it wants the engine and box out, so i've got to do that for them, luckily they're allowing me to do it there. He did also give me a couple of ball park figures of how much it could end up costing, i'm sure a little bit of wee came out when he said the second figure
OFF HAND
Print view
Sun Feb 12, 2017 4:40 pm
, but what car i knew i wanted something unusual as "normal" would be ignored when it broke down or required fixing and i didn't want to start stock piling knackered cars or even worse actually sell a car, i couldn't / wouldn't afford too much as that's another mechanic trait i see them as a complete waste of money. So after some serious consideration i decided on a Lancia Integrale a car i knew very well from my youth, my Grandfather had one and i had the pleasure of driving it myself...i finally found one in London the same colour as my Grandfather's so i caught the train and went to pick it up. I enjoyed driving it for a few years until pulling away from some traffic lights i heard the sound of the big ends...fuck that oil pressure gauge i'd choosen to ignore for months and months had finally decided to let go
so it was dumped into the garage i shut the door and promptly tried to forget, 18 months i managed to forget... When i did decide to start i knew i'd have to get a wriggle on as the bodywork was starting to show signs of needing attention...In the intervening years since buying it and starting work on the engine these cars had increased in value to an extent where what i paid for mine you now couldn't buy a scrap one
and with it the price of parts had increased from where i was once running a special Fiat to now it seemed like i owned a bastard Ferrari, so the engine rebuild took 6 months and off she went for an MOT. Long story short, after the MOT and running in period i couldn't stop it using oil, everything tried and replaced until i knew the cylinder head had to come off again...fuck that so she sat in the garage for another 12 months
reply
fair play. This is the definitive labour of love mate. Maybe you should just have bought a ford escort 
, one thing is leading into another...
