            All welding done,give it a good coat of under body sealant...   
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The whole vehicle is in bits now...cause we started this project a bit late,to getting ready for the big event ,the time was too short...(we started in Oct.2008 and the event will be in May 2009)we had 7 months only for the project... We needed some help... We found somebody who is very good to rebuild this kind of engine (this is 0.8 L 2 cyl V ! diesel engine).We cleaned all parts for the engine,bits and bolts has been galvanised,and we boxed everything and took it to the engineer. The body panels were in bad condition,and cause we did not had special tools to do the bodywork,we decided to take it to a workshop (i did work there before),where they restore old vehicles,and they have all the tools to do a professional job... Until they worked on it,we have been chase lots of missing parts for the vehicle,and cleaned,painted all other bits,getting them ready to refit. The engine and gearbox:    Engine gone to the engineer,carry on stripping down the chassis,get it ready to take it to the workshop...     The chassis,the body panels,and all other bits has been sandblasted,and lots of them resprayed by me. The rebuilt engine has arrived from the engineer...  Some bits get ready by me:      
We found rusty bits on the body,so first thing is to get rid of the rust and get it right....
 The boys finished with the paintwork on the body...we moved it back to the workshop,and i started to fit the parts back on... While the boys worked on the body,i've done my part of the painting....i resprayed the bits for the suspension...    Here is the repainted body on the trailer....better then ever...:)  Back on the ramp....lets fit the bits on..
    The brakes are modified,cause the genuine Lada brakes are not good enough for rally... The master cylinder is Fiat,the front brakes are VW G60 brakes with vented discs+Ferodo DS 2500 pads.The rear brakes:they were drum brakes originally,but they are replaced with Fiat Punto GT disc brakes + Ferodo DS 2500 pads. The front and rear suspension is adjustable.The front suspension arms are wider then originally,and the rear axle is from a Lada Niva (4x4) which is wider then a standard Lada...The shockers are Bilstein..  Dash is in,Toyota Yaris electronic steering column fitted with a switch stalk from a Fiat Tipo. I made a box for the main power switch,fuel pump switch,fan switch and a start button.This is in the middle between the seats. The car is fully rewired by a professional,so everything work perfectly. Engine and a few other bits fitted,slowly getting there... :)  So when we got it back in the workshop,i still needed to work a few more days on the body...i couldn't do it before cause i didn't know where the roll cage gonna be.... I had to make a new mounting for the new electronic power steering column,new bucket seat mountings,cut the front and rear wheel arches higher,cause the suspension gonna be lower and wider then before,and i will need to fit the wide VFTS wheel arch and front splitter kit on it. After all done we took the body to a body shop,where the paintwork has to be done. Lets take it there:   The guys in the body shop have been so busy,with other jobs,so i said i will do the paintwork on it inside and underneath,if i can use the room for spraying...i did.     I've done it...and i left it with the guys to finish the paintwork on it outside....it will be silver...
So after a big crash what i had,we pushed the car in the workshop,and i removed the engine+gearbox,and the bits from inside....and started strip the body panels and all the damaged body and chassis parts as well. some picture about it....i haven't got more of this stage....
 I've done a sandblasting on it to clean all the rust and paint off The front end wasn't so bad (and it was rebuilt in 2008),just needed to put it back straight. The rear end was worst,i had to cut it off fully,and replace it with new body parts. The roof ....badly damaged....i had to cut it off and replace it with a good one from another car. Sorry but i haven't got any pictures about these moments..... When i've done it all,we took the rebuilt body to the specialist,who welded a proper roll cage in it. This is how it was when we brought it back to our workshop:   This blog is about a classic E30 BMW,which has had a 1.8L engine originally,but the owner found it not strong enough,and decided to replace it for a bigger 2.5L 24V Vanos engine. After a conversation about the plan,we or he decided to do it on a way like a part restoration,so all rusty bits has to disappear,and everything has to be nice,clean and painted. The vehicle is a face lifted(big rear lights) coupe model form 1989. Before he bought it,the body was resprayed,but we found rusty bits underneath....so he said:repair them ,but if its possible do not damage the paintwork.I had to do it carefully,but properly. First we took the engine,gearbox and the full suspension out,and give it a good steam clean.
 To fit the bigger and stronger engine in this vehicle,we needed to do so many different modification,and replace nearly all parts in the suspension. Before start to do that,lets work on the body and get it right.... Put it back on...(its good to have this kind of crane for help) :)
Continue soon...
In 2009 it was an International Firefighter Meeting in Hungary. My best friend ,who is a firefighter in Hungary,he said he would like to have some kind of fire engine for that meeting and exhibition. A couple of years earlier he seen a small fire truck hidden in the end of a big industrial estate.He tought to get that restored,would be great for that meeting....Good idea! So he went to have a look at it again and find its owner. He came back with a success....he bought it. A couple of days later its arrived to his garage. Look at the state of it :
 In October 2008 the project began. We knew it has to be a full restoration,no point to do just the part of it.... Started to take it to parts...
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The Classic Mechanic
I am Laszlo Izso and I am The Classic Mechanic. We undertake part and full restoration and repairs of modern classics, classic and vintage cars. It is more than a business, it is a vocation as restoring these cars is my passion. Categories
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December 2022
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