Parts arrived from 2nd companies

Assembly 2.

Assembly 2.

Unfortunately non-original, was made in 1972.

Installing the headlining is a delicate task. Needs a lot of patience. 

And some "special" tools, like these clamps from the stationers.

And this hot air blower aka hair drier :-).

With the help of this device (thanks to the Best Ever Possible Wife), the worst creases can be smoothened. The rest will disappear with time and  

Gauges

The gauges were original and mechanically sound at the first glance, but obviously had to come apart for refreshment. There is no worst then a giggling speedo or a sticking temp gauge in a nice restored classic.

The voltage stabilizer is a delicate thing. It prevents the temp gauge and the fuel gauge to read faulty due to the varying current in the charging system. Although it is a simple design, it work just as well as a modern electronic device. 

Normally we get our items plated by a company, but such fine and small items as the gauges or the carburetors, we do here in the workshop. 

The speedo gauge internals were badly stucked due to the old grease. We took the mechanics apart as much as possible, but still could not get it cleaned completely, because some parts are riveted and there is no real way for dismantling and reassembling it correctly.  

For these cases we have an ultrasonic cleaner. Normally ten to twenty minutes tend to be enough, but the gauge was so badly stuck, it stayed in the tank for 1.5 hours! Now it works fine.

Stickers have to go back after the plating of course.

Assembly 1.

We started the assembly. First to go on were the tubing for the hydrolastic suspension, the brakes and accumlator cable, steering rack and the subframes.

 We rebuilt the original brake calippers with stainless steel pistons and new quality rubber seals.

Finally we bolted on the fully rebuilt suspension. All new bushes, bearings, seals, ball joints. The setup is mostly standard, with minor refinements like the front negative chamber lower arm or the mix of materials used t the bushings. At some point rubber, at some point hard rubber or poly, as it is best for fastroad/durability. We have sent the wheels for refurbishment.

Paintjob

After the completment of the bodywork, we sent it to the painter to cover the tin statue with a shiny layer. The work took 3 months, but for a good result, we were eager to wait. And voila! Our patience was worth. The quality of the paintjob is very-very high inside and outside, under and over. We are statisfied, and also take extra efforts to work on his beauty carefully.

 

Underside

Finally the body was prepared for the paint job. We sanded and painted the underside of the chassis. First we used a light 1K rust preventive primer at the joining area of the panels. With some effort this paint can get between the overlapping panels and seal it from the rust. As a second step we sealed the panels, oversprayed it with 2k epoxy primer and finally coated it with stone chip protection.
Today afternoon the body was transported to the painter. They will start the work tomorow. All fingers crossed...

Some extra protection at this delicate area.

Engine assembly 4.

I assembled the cylinder head.

New valve springs, that work best with the camshaft.

One point that is prone to oil leaks on a mini engine is the timing cover area. I picked the best from my collection...

And sanded it a bit to get a flat surface.

Look what I found in my loft: a nos cast iron case water pump. It was the original fitment on period mini engines. Long out of production. It is my gift for Easter :-).

Finally a bit of painting here and there.