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Post by Kenr on Oct 7, 2011 20:22:56 GMT
I'm originally a Northern Git. Thanks Joe. Bloody halogen stuff was waiting for me this evening.
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Post by spunkymonkey on Oct 7, 2011 20:38:50 GMT
I'm originally a Northern Git. Thanks Joe. Bloody halogen stuff was waiting for me this evening. That's ok, Ken, I'm originally from the south ;D If she's ok to get back to Essex on the weekend we're there I'll bring a big hammer - that bonnet will come out fine with a little gentle persuasion and a light skim of filler Pretty sure we've got a spare indicator lens if ED can't find one and at least the headlights are intact so no reason to not do those
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Post by 33grinder on Oct 7, 2011 20:46:45 GMT
I'm sure we can find an indicator lens for her Ken. The rest looks bad but I don't think she was as bad as Gavina. Hopefully all will straighten out.
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Post by Kenr on Oct 7, 2011 21:38:07 GMT
Tomorrow will see me stripping the damaged panels off Vee. I think the bonnet is scrap in the long run but I think I can bend it to some kind of useful shape for now (hopefully), so at least the car can be used (if I have the nerve). The same goes for the grille. The hardest part will be getting the front section back in line, with the correct headlight alignment, having had experience of how difficult that was on Pete's car. I can see myself having to tie that section to the large metal post by the garage and reversing very slowly in an effort to pull it into alignment, or perhaps using some sort of windlass type set up. The wing will be filled and painted, no big deal really. Least of my worries. I will also get a couple of proper battery straps tomorrow too. The battery will have a charge as well, but if it remains problematic I will call Alpha batteries as it has a 4 year guarantee (supposedly). I will take some detailed photos tomorrow. I'm just so annoyed with myself as it is the first car accident that I have caused since passing my test in 1981. She ran really nicely once we got her started, however, the engine revs did increase at times when slowing down/stopping. Is this normal? No worries, I don't attribute this to the bump, the roads were so bloody greasey following the downpour Thanks for the positives everyone. Pete, you have to post 'those' pictures mate, especially of 'you know what'. Lets have some humour. I could do with it. Feel free to post some damage pics too, on both sites. Cheers folks. Ken
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Post by Kenr on Oct 7, 2011 21:52:28 GMT
Thank you all for the offers of a replacement lens. That would be a big help.
Ta
Ken
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Post by spunkymonkey on Oct 7, 2011 22:33:35 GMT
The hardest part will be getting the front section back in line, with the correct headlight alignment, having had experience of how difficult that was on Pete's car. I can see myself having to tie that section to the large metal post by the garage and reversing very slowly in an effort to pull it into alignment, or perhaps using some sort of windlass type set up. Use the car's scissor jack and bits of wood to jack the panel back into place using whatever you can get to for support. Bulkhead is good but even the engine will probably do given how light those panels are! Pushing like that is a hell of a lot more controllable than other methods, so you're less likely to "over-do" it and a lot less likely to inflict damage elsewhere, which is why those Porta Power body jacks are so effective. You know the score - same as hammer-work, try to start where the main impact was (at a guess under the big dent in the front of the bonnet??) and everything will tend to go back barring any creasing / stretching. Then reposition the jack to make minor adjustments once it's basically straight. If the front wing corner doesn't want to play then unbolt the grille and jack carefully from one wing to the other using a big bit of wood to spread the load on the driver side and pushing on just the corner of the passenger's to concentrate the force where it's bent in. It should all fold back out the way it folded in the first place leaving a little hammer & dolly work to finish off
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thebear54
DAF Nut
Those who say it can't be done, should not interupt the people doing it !
Posts: 1,426
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Post by thebear54 on Oct 7, 2011 22:36:12 GMT
BLOODY HELL KEN...another 33 taken out of service?
It does not sound too awful bad...but I will save my final remarks when the photos are posted.
John
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Post by Kenr on Oct 8, 2011 15:09:48 GMT
Work commenced on repairing Vee this morning. The bonnet was pushed back into position with a pretty good outcome. The only downside is that near to the n/s hinge, there was an old repair made with filler. This has now dislodged and exposed a significant amount of rust.
The headlight has been removed and so has the indicator assembly. Further investigation showed that Vee had a knock in more or less the same point at some stage in the past. This resulted in the headlight mounting ring having being buckled and its 'lip' folded over in a couple of points. The headlight bulb connectors were broken and the bulb has now been removed.
The indicator lens was broken but the unit itself was completely intact. A simple replacement lens will bring that back to normal.
The grille was removed. All of the mounting bolts undid easily, one or two were a little loose which again showed that it had been removed at some point (to my eyes anyway). The damaged just popped out and a couple of swift taps straightened a few errant bits. It took longer to to take out than actually fix. No paint damage was noted, although it does show a few old battle scars.
The bumper was undamaged, as was the number plate.
The damage to the headlight surround section and indicator panel was pushed out using bits of wood and the Amica scissor jack. Looking around in there confirmed old hammer marks from the previous repair. The impellor housing is missing the round mesh grille and there are no fins left on the impellor itself. This is not new damage and looks like the previous repairers just didn't replace it from the original incident.
Everything seems to line up, however, old filler has cracked and popped out in places. This will be cleaned up, rust proofed and painted.
2 or 3 hours saw most of the damage resolved. I just have to make good with an amount of filler and paint.
Vee started on the 2nd turn of the key and ran quite happily. I have bought a couple of leads (one earth and the other positive cable which goes to the solenoid) and a couple of new battery connectors as the others were looking tired and loose, despite being tightened as much as possible.
The 6v halogen 'kit' will be sorted at some point and I even gave the seats a bit of a clean.
I will post some photos shortly.
I am a little shaken by the bump even though it was at low speed and damage wasn't too bad. Vee and I are at a 'neutral point' at the moment. We'll see what happens.
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Post by spunkymonkey on Oct 8, 2011 15:58:36 GMT
Joking aside, Ken, glad everything seems to be ok (especially you). I can understand a little ambivalence towards the car right now as well - I've had a few "bugger I'm not going to stop!" moments over the years - although (so far) I've been luckily proved wrong - and that feeling can't be a good "first impression" of the car. For what it's worth, it took me about a month to get over Tilly's brake failure on the way to Essex and actually trust her again - I may have been joking about it down there but it did rattle my confidence in her pretty badly! One thing I've noticed with these cars is that,. given a chance, they sort of charm their way back into your good books without you really noticing
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Post by Kenr on Oct 8, 2011 16:21:27 GMT
Cheers Joe. It has rattled me to be honest. This is the first car accident that I have caused in my life.
Maybe I'm better at tinkering with them than driving 'em eh. It's a lovely little car, maybe just not the right one for me.
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