leonk

Looking good. Every little bit, no matter how small is still progress. Keep up the great work.

Looking really good!

Looks great mate, the car lived just down the road from me. Nice to see it's gone to a good home and you are putting your own identity on it. Keep up the good work.

I think everyone's approach to a restoration is going to be different dependent on time, skills and budget. For some the enjoyment comes more from a project management point of view while others are more hands on. I think what's common to all the threads is that it's ultimately about getting these cars back to their former glory and preserving them and doing it to a high standard. The worry for me and this is certainly evident in the e type market is that people a doing it purely for profit and corners are cut to maximise profit with these cars then being sold on to unsuspecting people. 6 months down the line they are having rust blisters coming through. On a lighter note, back to the "love" I can assure you after many late nights that soon starts to slip away and I'm sure Darren would back me up on this. Many a dark moment when I wish a body shop would have taken the damn thing and put me out of my misery to get a lovely painted shell back so I could put shiny bits back into it. So whatever your approach keep up the great work and posts.

Absolutely, I did not get a price for a bodyshop to do the work on my car. I wanted to do all the work (bar the final colour) myself over 18-24 months which has been shortened to 8mths, but the work involved is extremely labour intensive Like you, I completely underestimated the time involved in the this part of the restoration. Come to think of it I underestimated everything. I did get a quote from a leading restoration company who informed me that their prices for a bare metal prep and paint start at £8k and showed me one in progress that coincidentally was similar to mine and told me that was £14k. I have to be honest and say at the time I thought that was a complete rip off. However I am now beginning to appreciate the shear number of man hours involved getting it just in primer ready for the top coat. If I have spent 5 hours a week for six months at £30 an hour plus the paint and materials to date, I'm looking at £4.5k already and it's not even finished. And that's just to primer stage! Hutsons told me they have two guys working on a body shell for two weeks to prep and paint to concourse standard. I now believe every minute of it. Just realised that doesn't take into consideration all the equipment I've bought. I'm depressing myself now, ha ha.

This and for me, it's the hours and hours that are going into the bodywork. You are doing a fantastic job Darren, all credit to you. I know all too well how much time and patience is needed and more importantly trying to maintain the enthusiasm to drive the project forward.

+1 Does look pretty damn good!!

Interesting article about his move to America and a bit of the Japanese way of thinking. RIP

Just hope mine sounds like this RT.

Ha ha, bouncing "rabbits". I always seem to miss them.

It's all about how much lead you give the clay dependant on its direction, speed and distance away from you. As mentioned above, you need to pick up the clay in your sights, follow past it and pull the trigger all in one fluid movement. Lots of practice required and it's not a cheap hobby.

Sorry guys!Totally forgot to update this. Unfortunately I can only comment on the first 30 minutes and last 5. Much to my wife's annoyance and her friends amusement I'm sorry to say I fell asleep! What I did see of it was total rubbish. The only critique I can offer to any girlies going to see it is a brief summary of the painful conversation on the way home. I would at this point post up a spoiler alert but the film was so rubbish there is nothing to spoil. Anyway,the general consensus was, he ( I don't even know the actor's name) is not a particularly convincing Mr Grey and not what they had in mind. When pressed about what or who they did have in mind they couldn't come up with anything other than not him. That's women for you. Lots of the book apparently missed out. Not enough graphic hanky panky. Hope this helps Dan and Graham make an informed decision as to whether to see it!

Looking forward to some pics. You mentioned blasting, I'm probably telling you what you already know but the sooner you get some primer on the better. Blasted bare metal will flash rust within 4 hours especially at this time of year.

docwra, as regards your misdirected payment, there may be no need to write it off. There is such a thing as " Theft by finding" Google it. People have been successfully prosecuted for refusing to return money sent to them by mistake and the bank have a duty to assist you in recovering this money. Whoever "finds" the money must show that all reasonable steps have been taken to return it before they can keep it. In this case, your bank while not to blame (presumably), should assist you.

docwra, while I agree with you that it is not the police who are to blame and I'm sure the op realises all too well that he has been a little foolish, I still find it incredulous that the police don't wish to pursue the case. To put it into a forum context, imagine I lurked about on here for a while, posted a few pics of my new car, made the necessary quota of random posts and then put "my" nismo exhaust and gt4 wheels up for sale and relieved a few of you of your hard earned cash by bank transfer never to be seen again. Would you want the police to pursue the matter or would you just chalk it up to experience and let it go? What about an elderly relative who pays up front to have her drive tarmaced and so on. As long as these crimes and let's be straight, they are crimes, go un investigated these criminals will thrive.

Like a fool I agreed to drive my wife and her two friends to this tonight. Like an even bigger fool I've agreed to go in with them to watch it. Now sat in a cinema full of women and three other blokes. Will report back in a couple of hours. I am expecting utter tosh.

It is rather worrying that obtaining money by deception and potentially tens of thousands to a bank account that required proof of ID and a UK residential address to open it coupled with an IP address for setting up the ad and mobiles that can be pinpointed to a certain area are no longer seen as crimes worth investigating. What has this country come to? I hope you have some luck with the bank.

Coming along. What's the sound deadening you are using? Is it like dynamat?

Don't know if it's any help Chris but I make a point of cleaning the lens every time I go to take a new set of pictures. The dust/ over spray etc gets into everything. Mine look like yours if the lens is not cleaned Also if I've been heating the garage up to oven temperatures the lens can mist up.

"Negotiation"? If they are Russian mate there won't be any negotiations,....... They'll just shoot you!

So long as he doesn't try to pay in rubles I think you will be ok. If you need a translator or just another bod, I'm about Saturday.

Never mind drive it, I'm worried to death about chipping or scratching the paint just building it back up! Anyway enough doom mongering, keep up the great work mate.

Looking really good Darren. I fully sympathise with you on the blocking down, it's soul destroying! I went to look at a friends restoration that he had taken to a run of the mill local bodyshop which from his photos looked great but up close when you looked down the sides, there were minor ripples. At this point it's too late to sort and makes you realise that the extra time is worth it. To me, anything else i.e mechanical, interior etc, while it would be a pain is re doable but the bodywork would be a MAJOR hassle to re do when everything is built up. Keep up the great work. Note to self, pull your finger out.

Very nice, any pics of the interior?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!