Project '71 Gold Duster

ChrisN34 · Post by **ChrisN34** » Mon Mar 13, 17 11:30 pm

Day after i got it back from Ash, took it out of a lovely day, sun was shining. Got some great pictures of it

Then unfortunately, just after that previous picture, the car started to over heat, was up in the 200s, and the cooling system had way too much pressure, pulled over for a bit and when we carried on, it had too much, chucked its guts up all over the road. Was sat in a layby for almost 4 hours before we got picked up.

A few weeks later installed a new radiator and trans cooler, figuring that would solve all my issues, got 5 minutes from home before it happening again.

ChrisN34 · Post by **ChrisN34** » Mon Mar 13, 17 11:32 pm

Turns out head gasket has gone, took it a local reputable (so i thought) american mechanic, who has had it since november. Took the Bananarama! to be honest. All back now and ready to crack on with the interior. Wont be going back to him again. Heads were skimmed, a stud snapped off and annoyingly the bloody gasket arrived all bent out of shape.

mopar_mark · Post by **mopar_mark** » Tue Mar 14, 17 1:48 am

Sorry to hear of your engine woes, glad that you are now getting it sorted. Cars looking great

ScottyDave · Post by **ScottyDave** » Tue Mar 14, 17 6:17 am

Looks great Chris, pity about the head gasket but these things happen.

drewcrane · Post by **drewcrane** » Tue Mar 14, 17 1:43 pm

Ahh yes those pesky head gaskets, had the same thing happen to my 318,but looks like no damage and you are back on the road soon, good luck keep us posted

Derek · Post by **Derek** » Tue Mar 14, 17 2:39 pm

You'll get there in the end, car is looking sharp.

octanejunkie · Post by **octanejunkie** » Tue Mar 14, 17 5:48 pm

Glad its all coming together. Restorations never quite go according to plan do they!?

Look forward to going out and cruising some of Somersets mean streets with you!

Did Wayne give you a rough date for doing your seats?

ChrisN34 · Post by **ChrisN34** » Tue Mar 14, 17 10:32 pm

octanejunkie wrote:Glad its all coming together. Restorations never quite go according to plan do they!?

Look forward to going out and cruising some of Somersets mean streets with you!

Did Wayne give you a rough date for doing your seats?

He said to pop down one saturday and we would have a crack at it, so maybe this week or next week. Thankfully rear is still complete, might not bother with new foam and such and just do what you did and just slap the covers on

octanejunkie · Post by **octanejunkie** » Wed Mar 15, 17 7:34 am

Turns out my front seat base needed new foam and hessian, despite looking good to the naked eye. The rest were still ok though.
Worth taking some time to do it, as your arse will be on it quite often!

ChrisN34 · Post by **ChrisN34** » Wed Mar 15, 17 8:05 pm

Fitted the new door panels and arm rests, had these just sat around for a year now, so its good to finally get going with the interior bits and bobs. Pain in the arse getting all the clips to fit properly

I Joke that its one thing after another with this car but it really is, went to have a drive earlier today, dead battery. All sorted now, but its almost as if this car doesn't want to work.

ChrisN34 · Post by **ChrisN34** » Wed Mar 15, 17 8:14 pm

octanejunkie wrote:Turns out my front seat base needed new foam and hessian, despite looking good to the naked eye. The rest were still ok though.
Worth taking some time to do it, as your arse will be on it quite often!

Yeah, when i spoke to wayne the other day he wasnt sure how it all went together, he thought it would be like moulded foam and not a sheet you cut around the frame.
I Think ill do what you did by recovering the existing foam, but only for the back, the front is just the bare frames at the moment as the front bench was more duct tape and springs than foam and vinyl.

BJ Mac · Post by **BJ Mac** » Thu Mar 16, 17 10:39 pm

Looks great

ChrisN34 · Post by **ChrisN34** » Thu Mar 16, 17 11:30 pm

Cheers

Bought some new shocks the other day, had a few people in it a while back and the rear end sagged quite a bit. Didnt want to spend too much seeing as i just had the head gaskets done and want my seats covered soon.

Got KYB GasAdjust shocks all round, not too expensive and a lot of people online say they are pretty good for a "stock" ride. Ordered tuesday afternoon from jegs, around 3, arrived this morning at 10, all the way from the US. Pretty good price too for the shipping.