I think I've used up all my" pressy money" ;) at the moment but I would like to add some extra "wood" trim to the dash etc and of course I also require two new tyres in order to get my refurbed Union fitted.

Reached two milestones within a week, following on from my 100,000 miles in the Vitesse last night my V6 turned to 40,000.
Pity I didn't get them both down to Troon for a photo shoot as it is a nice spot.
My Vitesse is under the social topic cos its not a 75 :cool:
JYJ

Ive finally got my refurbished Unions fitted with two new tyres to the front.
I've also done my own cruise control resume switch mod and today I've removed the front bumper to do three jobs in one.

1/ I had a very small rust bubble on the front wing just where it meets the bumper. yestarday I used the air grinder to remove the rust down to solid metal but to do the job properly I removed the bumper and have found that the wing is corroded right through on the lower edge i.e. right between the wing and bumper. It must have received a knock to chip the paint right at this spot as I've never seen one like it before.

2/ My V6 has only just covered 40,000 miles andis basically mint other than item 1 of course but I found the shannon tube burst at the bottom so it is being replaced by one from "Jules"

3/ I am replacing both upper and lower grilles with stainless mesh which arrived today from Lockwood International.

I will post some detailed photos of the work as soon as I get them done, oh! and last of all I did not want to get too involved with the bodyshop so I've purchased a made up aerosol of Wedgewood Blue basecoat from my paint supplier so that I can at least get rid of the rusty area on the wing.
JYJ

As regards Job 1/ as above here are some photos of the work I have done.

This shows the rust bubble which was on the car when I purchased it in February this year 2011.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...1.jpg~original

After using the air grinder I got down to bare metal with no real signs of corrosion.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...2.jpg~original

I brushed on some 2 pack primer to protect the bare metal then removed the front bumper to get at the bottom area and found this.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...3.jpg~original

I then had to do some dentistry work to remove all the corrosion leaving a hole the size of my finger so I put on some fibreglass matting then some polyester filler.
So this is how it looks after 2 coats each of primer basecoat then laquer.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...4.jpg~original

Not bad for an aerosol job but after the wing is re fitted I may give it another coat.

Now for job no 2/ while the bumper is off I have fitted Jules modification shannon tube as this is what the old one was like after 40k

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...e.jpg~original

And the new one fitted.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...d.jpg~original

I am midway through doing the stainless mesh grille and will post some photos when it's finished.

JYJ

Here's job no 3/

With the grille removed I first masked all the chrome up so that no damage would occur.
Then using a hacksaw blade I cut all the old slats off. Its fiddly doing the first one in each side but that lets you in to cut the remainder off.
I then used my air tool to grind all the stubs down but any multi tool or simmilar will do the job.

Here it is after the slats were removed.
http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...0.jpg~original

To get a nice finish I then used sanding paper wet to leave a finish ready for paint.
I had decided to paint my lower grille pieces as well, so plastic primer is essential to get the finish coat to bond. So it was now off with the front bumper to get the lower grille removed. This can be removed without removing the bumper but as I was removing it anyway it certainly made the job much easier.

All the plastic parts were given two coats of plastic primer then left overnight then this was followed by two or three coats of silver then a couple of coats of laquer.

I used stainless mash 24" x 6" for the main upper grille and 26" x 4" for the lower. Removing the lower grille is simply a matter of either grinding or using a heat gun to melt away the lugs securing it.
As for fitting the new lower mesh this is a bit tricky as I spent some time cutting apertures for the securing lugs and for the temperature sensor then with the aid of some bricks to hold it in place I re fixed the mesh to the lugs using both a heat gun and soldering orin to melt the lugs over the mesh.

Here is the lower mesh grille now in place.
http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...1.jpg~original

Now to main grille. First of all I marked out then trimmed the four corners to allow the mesh to sit in place. Then I removed the centre badge from the grille, drilled a hole right through the middle of the grille panel then using a small screw and nut I secured the mash into the grille.
To allow it to sit in place I machined the splash guards for the horns a little. I also applied some polyester filler to several areas to help secure the mesh in place but this came undone as soon as any pressure was put on it so basically the mesh is held oon by the one screw then held in place with the grille mounting scrivets. I will look into this area again.

I had a little accident with my camera as I sat on it when it was facing to the ground so I have damaged the LCD screen so now I'm taking photos blind but they have turned out not too bad.

Here is the finished job today.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...1.jpg~original

And another from the front showing the now painted lower grille area.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...0.jpg~original

JYJ

Oh! I forgot to show off my Union alloys that I refurbished so here they are down at Troon, my favourite photo location.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...6.jpg~original

And another trick shot, remember I can't see anything through the viewfinder as the screens duff. :mad:
http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...7.jpg~original

JYJ

Looks great jim:drool4::drool4:Car is stunning.Really like the grille.:D

Top work Jim that looks superb.:bowdown:

Thanks for the comments guys.
I seem to be re living my teenage years by adding mods to my car.
When I was in my 20's (a couple of years ago ;) ) I had a Vanden Plas 1100 just the same as my current 1300 but this one was customised quite a bit.
I removed the entire wood veneer dash and fitted a custom dash with twin speedo & rev counter then two banks of 4 Smiths guages, yes 8 in total and they all worked. Fuel,water temp, oil temp, oil pressure, clock, vacuum, ampmeter, and battery condition.
It looked quite cool at the time for a boy racer :D

Even then I remember having a list of what I had done and what I wanted to do with the car. Ended up putting it on its roof at 11.30pm on Hogmanay and finished up with my first Rover, a 2000TC

JYJ

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...n/DSCF4386.jpg

Now that looks stunning great pic:drool4::D

Love this photo Jim, But you need to sort out that water leak, It's looks like a bad-un.. ;)

love the grille too..