My HPE VX resto begins - Picture heavy [Archive]

chrisc

1st May 2007, 02:20 AM

Firstly, I must apologise that this is not going to be nearly as exciting or in depth as it ought to be - the actual restoration itself is being carried out for me by Betacar, but id like to share the story anyway even if it does have that nasty whiff of chequebook mechanic :) Im not afraid of getting my hands dirty, but tackling the whole project is beyond me.

So, here we are. After 4 or 5 years kicking its heels in a lockup the time has finally arrived for my VX to get back on the road.

http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/9929/introfrontde2.jpg

Introducing the subject of the resto as it pokes its nose into the morning sunlight.

http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/7606/noseoutia9.jpg

Eager to be on the way the car responds well to a quick blast of carb cleaner and ez-start and with a fresh battery hooked up she starts easily (and noisily! - condensation has resulted in the rear silencer openin up like a lancaster mid bombing run). The cambelt was replaced just before she went into storage, but stilll a nervous moment.

http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/3729/underbonnetri8.jpg

Car out of the garage and loading up a few final bits and pieces. Inside are a replacement passenger door, a sunroof panel, drivers seat, carb + manifold and some interior trim all donated by my old hpe. And yes, the boot struts will be replaced :) The correct VX bonnet is packed seperately and secured to the trailer

http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/1875/packedeq3.jpg

Chris Bastow from Betacar arrives after a long journey and I drive the car up onto the trailer - nice for it to at least do these little bits under its own power. Here he is securing the car down for the trip back.

http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/4116/securingux9.jpg

And there she goes! been waiting for this day for a long while :)

http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/2008/goodloadedupzw3.jpg

I'll be updating this topic as the restoration progresses. Hope its not too dull!

Wallace

1st May 2007, 04:44 AM

It looks alright even now !

I was looking at getting a new car a few months ago - and the car I'd like, I'd really, really like - would be a brand new HPE - VX. Good load capacity, a bit of "go" and good to look at as well. . . ..

betaman22

1st May 2007, 11:17 AM

Hi chrisc, your 2nd photo reminds me of the stage mine is at just now !
(Allmost ready to leave my garage to get a few bits and bobs done)
My one is silver too and i am hopeing to strart on it soon...i think i may need
a replacement scuttle. Hope it all goes well for you.

andybeta

2nd May 2007, 11:32 AM

It's heartening indeed to see an HPE and a VX ( :D ) being sent for some TLC.
I thought mine was the only one that had eluded the grim reaper.
HPE's are generally trailered off to the knacker's yard or pillaged for their body parts.
Great Chris that has absolutely made my day.

What needs doing on it? The front view/engine bay/bonnet/screen/rear quarter/tailgate look quite clean?
Is it the usual areas such as rear arches, sills and door skins? Full respray?

If you feel you could answer more freely in a private email then please drop me a message
as I am very interested to read about your car, plans
for it and where possible offer any advice from my experiences of an identical car.

Look forward to hearing from you Chris and in the meantime good luck.

Andybeta

chrisc

2nd May 2007, 03:29 PM

Well I know what I *think* needs doing to it, but Chris at Betacar is looking over it and we will be going through a proper plan by the end of the week hopefully.

As you say its pretty clean at the moment, theres just lots of little things that need doing

Bodily theres a bit of rot on the rear quarter, although not too bad -see http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/3812/leftrearrotft4.jpg
(http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/3812/leftrearrotft4.jpg)

The sills and floorpan have fared quite well over time, although there are the beginnings of rot in the usual sunroof drain at the front of the o/s sill. The suspension turrets and arches have been subject to some good rust prevention in the past and barring some very very light bubbling on one or 2 arches, its all grand I hope

Suspension tower rust protection -
http://img484.imageshack.us/img484/3817/rearleftstower3uq6.jpg

The n/s door needs either reskinning or replacement - I saved the door from my old vx so this may just be a bolt on and repaint job, much the same story with the bonnet. The one on the car is not original and the lacquer has yellowed and it lacks the VX bulge so the bonnet from my old VX will be repainted and used.

Door rotting out along the bottom -
http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/7694/nsdoorskinct6.jpg

This along with other little bits like a grubby sunroof panel and wanting a really clean car means ill be going for a full respray option - I've had a few cars in the post where theyve been well cared for and had bits of paint over time, but even then you dont get that nice continous panel to panel match all the way round the car that im after.

The wheels will also be refurbished with the rims being polished and the centres a darker grey to offset against the rest of the silverness :)

Mechanically theres again, not a great deal to be done. The brakes need a sound beating after years of not being used, but in that time I have fitted working calipers (at least they were when i put them on!) to replace the old partially seized ones so maybe just new discs and pads. The clutch is at the end of its life and will be replaced, other than that its wear and tear components that will be done. Belts & tensioner will be replaced, all the fuel and vacuum lines under the bonnet, the cooling system checked to make sure its up to scratch to town traffic and the gear linkage bushings replaced to sharpen it up a bit. Continuing with replacing rotten rubber the suspension bushes will be replaced with polyurethane items.

If theres enough coins in the piggybank after the main work then ill be looking at other mechanical improvements like a baffled sump and maybe a dcnf carb conversion, but the engine itself sounds absolutely fresh after its 55k miles

Oh, the exhaust will be getting some attention along the way, backbox is completely shot but im not sure if im just going to replace or have a stainless system fitted yet.

What else.... I think that covers the main work, theres just little other bits on the way - tuning the carb properly, sorting out the stretched heater control cables, new front lights and a relay setup to power them, sorting out the ignition electrics (doesnt even turn the starter when hot - connector at the base of the steering column ive been shown), fitting a nicer set of door cards and a non-frayed drivers seat.

Further updates will be forthcoming once ive planned out this little wishlist into a plan of work :)

andybeta

3rd May 2007, 09:52 AM

Nice pics Chris,

Hopefully it won't need any structural work although if there is any
sign of rot or bubbling in the inner arches then best tackle it now as to
leave may mean you regret it later. Also the sills are an area that
often only get cursory treatment enough to get the car through an MOT and yet they
give the car it's rigidity and strength.

If you wanted replacement original O/E front suspension bushes I have a set.

Should be good when it's finished Chris. Will be very interested to see what
Chris Bastow does. You could do alot of the stuff you mention yourself except
maybe bodywork and painting that's if you wanted to of course?

Keep us posted.

Good luck,
Andybeta

mikeymikemcmike

8th May 2007, 11:41 AM

Hey I saw it! I was at Betacar last Thursday and saw it there!

chrisc

9th May 2007, 01:06 AM

Hey I saw it! I was at Betacar last Thursday and saw it there!

Well, thats the first time ive had one of my cars 'spotted', even if it was in my absence. No progress on the resto yet, appears I picked a busy moment!

chrisc

18th June 2007, 02:12 AM

A small update -

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/7013/hpevx008fc6.jpg

Stripping out the interior has revealed the floor and towers to be in very nice condition, but to balance that out theres some fun to be had with the front crossmember and the roof guttering on the drivers side. The engine is out as you can see

Scary stuff!

chrisc

18th June 2007, 08:52 AM

And some more pics...

With the engine out Chris noticed all was not well - 2 core plugs were half out and there was evidence of a coolant leak from the head gasket

http://img113.imageshack.us/img113/7549/coolantleaknn2.jpg

Taking the head off shows that the head has previously been skimmed, and not very well

http://img409.imageshack.us/img409/8972/poorheadskimjt8.jpg

The sump has some nasty scrapes and is going to be replaced anyhow, so when thats off the main bearing caps will be removed to check for any undue wear.

Still, its all coming along!

chrisc

19th June 2007, 03:47 PM

And todays update -

Front crossmember has been getting some attention.. its been rebuilt now but this shows just how much had to be replaced - 3 previous plates were found

http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/350/xmembercutopenwj9.jpg

heres the damage to the sump - attempt is goign to be made to knock this out and reshape it, if no joy then itll be replaced

http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/663/sumpdamageov1.jpg

And heres the cylinder head after its refacing

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/2725/refacedheadno0.jpg

Anyone reading this but me? Exciting to see it all happening after years of sitting around

ah, and the oil pump and bearings were ok thank goodness. On the timing belt side of things, both tensioner bearings were worn out. Makes me wonder what happened to the bearings i supplied when i had the belt changed last!

rossocorsa

20th June 2007, 02:11 PM

interesting stuff makes my vx resoration look a bit half hearted!

andybeta

21st June 2007, 09:25 AM

I'm watching keenly. Nice pics. Is Chris taking them for you as a record of the resto?
Keep the updates coming. How far are you going and do you have a completion date in mind?
andybeta

chrisc

22nd June 2007, 02:30 AM

I'm watching keenly. Nice pics. Is Chris taking them for you as a record of the resto?
Keep the updates coming. How far are you going and do you have a completion date in mind?
andybeta

Yep Chris is taking them partly as a record of the resto and partially because im pretty far away so cant pop down there to see the progress in person. Should also help with agreed value insurance when the time comes.

How far am i going... well thats a tricky one :) no upgrading plans until the car is back into good original condition. Next work on the job list is refitting the engine and box, then tackling the sills.

The original completion date is in 6-8 weeks, although that may shift as there is more work in the roof than it initially appeared and we dont know what will be found once the sills have been opened up. I hope that itll be done sooner rather than later obviously but certainly wont be advocating shortcuts on the way

chrisc

18th July 2007, 08:06 AM

Just thought id drop by again with an update. No pictures this time, still pestering for them!

Work continues on the bodywork with the near side outer sill having been cut off, which revealed - not bad inside! to compensate for this however upon cleaning up in preperation to attach the new one its emerged that a fair part of the passenger side door shut and forward wheelarch are made of filler, which is all coming out to be replaced. Not altogether a surprise as there were some suspicious bubbles around there, but a frustrating addition to the time this is all going to take.

The rear wheelarch on that side is broadly ok but will be getting a new lip welded on.

Mechanically its been spotted that one of the rear shocks is leaking so these will be rebuilt with new inserts, and the front brake discs, dead after years of disuse are being replaced with new standard items.

Hopefully ill have some pics to update this with soon.

chrisc

21st July 2007, 07:49 AM

And some more pics to accompany the progress reported

The completed front crossmember -
http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/9550/completedfrontyx3.jpg

Looking suspiciously clean - must have been after the steam cleaning!

The passenger door shut, showing the area that had previously been filled. There is also a small area around the lip off past the right of this picture
http://img527.imageshack.us/img527/5646/nsdoorsteprotbestri2.jpg

The near side rear arch, showing the repair section welded in - again, the front edge of this was previously all filler. You can also see that the donor door from my previous hpe vx has been fitted up - that shutline is looking good! lets hope it stays that way
http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/2301/nsreararchtm2.jpg

That pretty much completes that sill! so, its on to the other side...

Looking much better than I expected upon removal
http://img244.imageshack.us/img244/4750/ossilloffnr7.jpg

This is the worst of the rotten area - just at the sunroof drains
http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/5441/ossillfrontinsideun3.jpg

And a small area of rot at the rear, but again, much better internally than id feared
http://img244.imageshack.us/img244/162/ossillinsideze0.jpg

This side has been without complication so its all come together quite quickly and is nearing completion
http://img244.imageshack.us/img244/6376/ossilllsu1.jpg

In addition to all this, the engine and gearbox have been reunited for refitting, and the front end has had the Beta Boyz polyurethane bushings fitted.

Shant Fabricatorian

21st July 2007, 08:21 AM

Looking great Chris, good to hear that the rot isn't bad at all. Will be a terrific car when it's finished.

It's actually inspired me to get a hurry-up about the emerging rot on mine. The rear hatch is starting to bubble in various points around the lower edge of the screen - not too bad yet but needs to be sorted. And the front screen needs to come out and be refitted as it leaks in very heavy rain - there are tell-tale signs of a poor refitting in a previous life. No bubbling on the A-pillars which is good news but I'm still nervous about what I'm going to find there...at least there's no sunroof to worry about...

chrisc

21st July 2007, 11:25 AM

As an aside im also looking for ideas about the boot spoiler - options that have occured to me are

leave it off (dont much fancy this one)
tidy it up as much as possible and refit it
find a spoiler from another car that wouldnt look out of place (what car?)
win the lottery and finance the cost of making reproduction spoilers
Make up some sort of completely different spoiler

Cars that might have a similar spoiler -
Reliant Scimitar SS1
Mk1 fiesta xr2
Fiat Strada Abarth

Hamish

21st July 2007, 12:21 PM

I may know of a mint (or very very good) VX HPE spoiler - leave me to make a 'phone call or three ;)

Andrew S

24th July 2007, 09:37 AM

Chris, I am SO enjoying reading your reports- keep em coming! And well done for restoring an H.P.E. too! I had two of these cars 17 years ago- a S1 2.0 and a S2 2.0i.e. Absolutely loved them. Can't wait to see the end result and yet as a home-restorer I am enjoying your journey to it! I hope it doesn't empty your pockets too much!
Andrew.

Fingers

24th July 2007, 12:25 PM

Could you use the old spoiler as a mold to make a fibreglass one? I've thought about doing this for the coupe. I don't think the old one has to be in that good a shape to do it, does it?

chrisc

26th July 2007, 06:25 AM

Could you use the old spoiler as a mold to make a fibreglass one? I've thought about doing this for the coupe. I don't think the old one has to be in that good a shape to do it, does it?

Beta Boyz have a new unused spoiler - I spoke to Mark Wastridge about reproductions and he informed me that theyd been quoted �10k for tooling to create one out of polyurethane! I am trying to find out how much it might cost for a fibreglass one. for your coupe though im pretty sure Beta Boyz already does reproduction spoilers to suit.

So far the costs of the restoration have been very reasonable - although the total will undoubtedly be a lot more than the market value of the finished car when you consider what else you could have that would be as good an all rounder as a VX HPE theres really nothing that could compete in the price - in my opinion anyway! my friends of course think im nuts and that I should have got a montecarlo or a coupe.

Of course, a coupe would be nice... :) Waiting for a nice series 2 to crop up.

TreviDash

26th July 2007, 09:32 AM

All the best with the resto

If anyone wants to cut out the repair stage and do a straight re-shell of a rusty donor - see my ad also on BetaBoyz:

www.jasonhaynes.co.uk/hpe/

Andrew S

26th July 2007, 09:56 AM

"Of course, a coupe would be nice..." Nah, in my opinion the H.P.E. is a far more attractive car and fairly unique in it's styling, whereas the coupe, if you squint, isn't that different from a mk2 Escort...
Andrew.

rossocorsa

26th July 2007, 03:24 PM

well you have to have pretty bad eyesight to mistake a coupe for an escort, looked at through squinty blurred eyes the beta hpe is not disimilar in basic shape to the sports hatch version of the toyota corolla made in the 70s can't remember what they called it end of the day who cares they are both great if i had the time space and money I'd want an early series hpe to go with my coupe vx, the ones with the curved back seat corners and the wedges for back support cloth in mad seventies colours the purest design of the HPE.

andybeta

27th July 2007, 09:52 AM

chrisc

28th July 2007, 02:06 PM

Hi Chris,
You must be pleased with the way the resto is going. You have posted some very good pics particularly the
sills and front cross member shots that Chris Bastow will have taken for you I guess? Keep the story and pics going it really is refreshing to see this amount of detail posted - an HPE and a VX at that. I'm hooked can't wait for your next installment. Could also be a good advert for Chris B himself as I'm sure there are other Beta onwers out there contemplating some sort of structural work and unsure who to take on the work who will do a good job.
Andybeta

Maybe :) He tells me he was contacted by Practical Classics to do an article on Betas but felt that they couldnt cover it in the sort of depth hed like so turned it down. I dont want to speak for him really - I cant comment in too much technical detail on the work being conducted because I havent the depth of experience or skill that he has, so ill just let the pictures tell the story. With his permission when its all done I hope to submit an article to one of the classic car magazines here not just to cover my car in general, but also to try and get across what its like to be behind restoring a car even if you arent in the position to do it yourself.

Right.. off to imageshack to do some uploading and then the next instalment!

chrisc

28th July 2007, 02:49 PM

Okay.. in todays episode.

Work continues on the near side, finishing off the door shut and dealing with the trailing edge of the wheelarch.

The outer lip of the door shut had a little bit of rot -
http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/4355/nsdoorsteprottr2.jpg

The lip cut out -
http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/4258/doorshutlipvq0.jpg

And a repair section welded in - impressive bit of fabrication here with the curve and lip and it looks spot on
http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/473/doorshutrepairrn9.jpg

So, on to the rear arch again - Id seen from my previous HPE that this can be a bad area - this, whilst a bit grotty doesnt look to have progressed too far
http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/2130/nsrarchtrailingrotbr7.jpg

Just the same, it gets the treatment, another repair section is fabricated and tacked into place. The leaking rear shocks were taken out and new inserts fitted during this work
http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/8692/nsrarchlipgb3.jpg

The same area with the welds cleaned up
http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/1139/nsrarchtrailingwb6.jpg

With the lower bodywork handled its time to start looking at the bits of rust on the upper bodywork. Here the n/s rear window gets the bits of rot around it exposed and repaired

http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/1513/nsrwindowrotwk7.jpg

http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/1811/nsrwindow2pn4.jpg

http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/8784/nswindowhe3.jpg

This takes us on to the area of the most unknowns for me in the restoration - the n/s/r quarter and tailgate. Id seen when I got the car that it had previously had some filler work on this area but it wasnt clear why, or how extensive it might be.

This begins by exposing the extent of the rot around the vents. Chris' comment on the rear tailgate is that its probably best to start looking for a good second hand one. Accordingly ive dragged my spare tailgate out of the shed (Hah! and my friends thought i was mad to hang onto that) and im sanding that down to see how it compares. So far, so good.

http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/2568/nsrquarterzr1.jpg

In other news I learnt another lesson about assumptions the other day. About a year ago I bought myself a cheap 86 Mazda RX-7 to keep me entertained whilst I waited for the opportunity to get the Beta restored. Id gotten about 3 months out of it when it overnight decided to misfire, refuse to idle and overheat.

Bugger, water seals gone i thought, and parked it up in frustration, and forgot about it.

With time moving and the need to clear the space for the Betas return I decided to have another look at it. Still started on the button and compression on the rotors seemed fine. Maybe its not the water seals after all...

One popped off vacuum hose reconnected and a new radiator cap later its sound as a bell. And i dont want to sell it :(

http://img378.imageshack.us/img378/5532/rx7he9.jpg

chrisc

31st July 2007, 11:32 AM

Some more progress, but this installment really has to be a bit of a negative.

That rear quarter... ouch! filler aplenty, and a large hole cut in it where it appears the radio aerial used to be located! (it is presently on the o/s/r quarter)

http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/3732/fillercornergn0.jpg

http://img240.imageshack.us/img240/2770/rearquarterplateam4.jpg

To compound that, my spare tailgate is no better than the one on the car - I found plenty of corrosion under the spoiler and the lower lip whilst lacking corrosion - previously had new metal let in by the looks of it, was very uneven and rippled. No good - Im leaning towards repair of the existing one to retain more original panelwork. That said, if anyone out there has a good tailgate to sell, let me know.

Work has begun on sorting out a small area of rot on the roof guttering, whilst not extensive it is awkwardly located right abut the b-pilllar.

http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/744/roofgutterha3.jpg

At this point im starting to worry about the final cost. With the brakes, headlights, small niggly bits and a bare metal respray still to come my current guesstimates have me overshooting the original budget by about 10%. This isnt a problem yet, but fingers are crossed for no further complications. Im currently finishing some work on the rx7 before I will sell it to help make sure that I dont have to cut any corners on the remaining work on the hpe.

andybeta

23rd August 2007, 03:59 AM

Any more progress with your HPE?

chrisc

23rd August 2007, 09:05 AM

Any more progress with your HPE?

With Chris on holiday ive not been chasing too hard, but I bought a good used tailgate off ebay that should save a few pounds over repairing the old one. Hopefully ill have a complete update next week.

In other news ive watched as a few owners down the line, an old alfa sprint of mine has resurfaced on ebay and selling for a ridiculous price given the amount of bodywork that it needed (although i gather it is mechanically as good as ever) - Ebay link (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1988-ALFA-ROMEO-SPRINT-VELOCE-CLOVER-BLACK_W0QQitemZ190143156344QQihZ009QQcategoryZ9834 QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

Edit : so instead of some progress lets thank the parts donor car that gave it up for this project. These pictures make it look far far far better than it really was, rusty suspension towers, sills, arches, a miserable paint job hiding a lot of previous repairs. That said, it was my daily transport at university :) eventually killed following some damage to electrics during mot welding that went unreported and unrepaired, by the time itd made itself known the damage meant the entire loom would need replacing.

Its making me tempted to get the project painted black! i wont though

http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/2392/nicecleanlanciasj3.jpg

http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/7317/rearleftcd1.th.jpg (http://img440.imageshack.us/my.php?image=rearleftcd1.jpg)

chrisc

31st August 2007, 03:28 AM

And an update...

The bodyshell welding has been completed, the engine refitted and the car is starting to go back together.

Unfortunately the tailgate from ebay wasnt quite a dream come true - upon removing the steel trim it seems the metal had split down the edge. Still, its a lot easier to fix than the old tailgate so this will be done -

http://img250.imageshack.us/img250/87/tailgatesideil3.jpg

And now its on to the big bill... painting.

Further stripping has been done on some microblistered areas to find out why and remove any old paint that might react. Here the near side quarter has been completely stripped

http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/9136/nsrwingstrippedgy2.jpg

and the drivers door shows just how many coats of paint its had in the past

http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/4263/osdoorstrippedcy9.jpg

One painter has been to quote so far, coming back at a fairly eye watering figure, concerned over the filling needed on that rear quarter. I'd love to be able to say go for it money no object, but we are getting a quote from another painter for comparison.

Its a frustrating decision to have to make - the last thing I want to do is leave the excellent work done so far poorly presented and vulnerable by skimping on the paint, but just the same going all out on the paint job will require some serious pocket turning out from me to get all the remaining details done.

Update :

Asked them to go ahead with the tailgate repair - looks like they didnt waste any time!

http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/1084/tailgaterepairedvi8.jpg

Looks like the front is all back together too in the background

chrisc

5th September 2007, 03:42 AM

ITS OFF TO PAINT! ;D

http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/4493/offtopaintsj3.jpg

http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/8848/offtopaint2ss3.jpg

The second painter was too busy to do a full repaint so its off to the first one.

chrisc

16th September 2007, 08:41 AM

Whilst awaiting the results from the paint shop, heres a quick picture of some more fabrication on the tailgate shut. In the repaired photo the area has been covered in protective rust converter whilst it awaits paint.

Before :
http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/6028/leftrearbootrotzf3.jpg

After :
http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/3824/tailgateshutface2cv1.jpg

chrisc

24th September 2007, 06:07 AM

Okay quite people... hopefully this will wake you up

Painted!

http://img170.imageshack.us/img170/636/bonnetpaintedgz8.jpg

http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/6389/frontleftpaintedin9.jpg

http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/6420/leftrearpaintedyj9.jpg

http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/7786/leftroofpainteddk9.jpg

chrisc

24th September 2007, 06:08 AM

Forum updates means no more than 4 images per post, and smilies count as images so heres another set...

http://img399.imageshack.us/img399/6228/paintedrearkw6.jpg

http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/6125/rightpaintedad7.jpg

http://img516.imageshack.us/img516/3214/rightrearquarterpaintedwp6.jpg

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/5500/rrcornercoveragepaintic7.jpg

chrisc

24th September 2007, 06:09 AM

Last one!

http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/7064/sunroofpaintedbo8.jpg

and some smilies so i feel ive used my full image quota

:D :) :o

Andrew S

24th September 2007, 08:50 AM

chrisc

24th September 2007, 10:43 AM

Waheyyyy! Looks very good to me and I've been a spray painter since I left school which is a while ago... Good, even shut lines and a nice smooth finish. Bet you're feeling positive about it now, eh? Major turning point in a restoration project, paint. Nice one! :-)

Yep :)

Shut lines are not quite perfect in these photos (although far closer than expected) as the car is devoid all the final catches / seals etc required for it, but im sure it will be sorted during the final work.

Seeing these photos I realised just how much the wheels were going to be letting it down if they werent done so those are going to be refurbished too.

The paint looks to have been done very well, I can imagine the faces shown around the rear light clusters must be an absolute mare to get good coverage on, much less a result as good as the one shown.

Oh, I also ordered some super cheesy number plates for it from ebay :P

may not be to everyones taste..

http://www.anythingeverything.co.uk/kwikpro/plates/NewStyleListings/plates4preview/newlot/lancia-white.gif

No black border or 3d style font on mine, which should bring it back down to the realms of acceptable! Thought about the footer text for a bit but decided it was only fair to credit Chris' work on the car and it will read 'Restored by Betacar'.

This finishing work is the stuff which I really think makes a great car into an exceptional one. Along with silly number plates inside I will be having an original style 70s radio with the intact surround, but an FM modulator will be wired in allowing me to connect any modern thing to it and just tune the radio to a frequency which whatever I plug in will be 'transmitted' on (I use quotes as it wont actually be transmitted as the versions of these devices that actually emit a radio frequency are now illegal in the UK, but this version transmits it directly down the aerial rather than to atmosphere). This will let me have modern sound capabilities whilst it still looks factory inside except for a discreet jack input somewhere out of the way.

Pope1

26th September 2007, 12:05 PM

Looking very, very good. Congratulations! I'm been following this thread quietly for some time and have really enjoyed the story of your car even though I've kept quiet until now.

BTW, the radio transmitters that you are mentioned are now LEGAL in the UK and so you have quite a lot of choice. However, quality varies considerably so you're probably better off with your proposed solution anyway.

Frezer

27th September 2007, 11:07 AM

Very nice restoration! Looks very well done.

I'm a bit afraid to mention this but... Those holes along the bottom part of the bootlid (left and right to the handle opening) what are those for? A normal series3 has an aluminium strip there, but a VX has nothing as far as I know.

chrisc

27th September 2007, 01:42 PM

The original tailgate was uneconomical to repair so I bought a 2000IE tailgate which has been fitted to the car. Those holes are where the stainless strip attaches and were overlooked by myself and Chris when it come to painting the car. This means that we are just forging ahead with a little bit more of the cosmetics - modifying a strip as used on the 2000IE with some volumex script to replace the 2000IE writing.

This will also serve to replace the spoiler, which cant be saved and new / good ones are nigh on impossible to find.

Depending on how it turns out it might actually prove to be a nice little part for VX owners.

ps. number plates arrived today and look extremely good without all the fancy stuff! I am waiting on a new digital camera so first time shown will probably be with the car wearing them.

Frezer

28th September 2007, 02:37 AM

Ah, that's a nice idea! Although I like the VX front spoiler, I'm adding one to my 2000ie restoration project, the rear one looks a bit cheap/racer boy to me: the rear is much cleaner without it! Although that is ofcourse a matter of personal taste. And indeed, those rear spoilers are mostly in a terrible state these days.

another chris

6th October 2007, 10:35 AM

HI Chris
I saw your Volumex when I was up at Betacar at the end of August.
Have only just discovered the pictorial record of its progress though.
Interesting
I think they were working on one of the rear corners when i saw it
I quite agree with Frezer about the spoilers
I have an HPE 2000 ie and a Volumex
The lines at the back are so beautiful it seems a shame to 'spoil' them, but at the front, the spoiler under the bumper, adds something to an area i think looks a little insubstantial somehow
I'm not a Maxpower kinda guy though and ultimately i think original is always best! Its a case of choosing a good car in the first place rather than messing it about later
My original HPE Volumex spoiler fell of and broke in two (apparently; it was before i got the car) the replacement still needs a bit of patching up too, rusting and splitting of course
not the most durable piece of design!
Look forward to pictures of the end result of your project soon
Chris

HFStuart

7th October 2007, 01:18 AM

Chris,

Was that painted with the screen in place ? How good was the masking ?

Thanks,

Stuart

chrisc

7th October 2007, 08:25 AM

Hi, to answer the questions, the front spoiler is going to be staying, its the rear one that I wasnt too sure what to do about. Im still waiting to see how this modified 2000IE strip will work on the tailgate hatch, fingers crossed.

The car was painted with the front screen in place as given the difficulty in getting the screen out intact, and the scuttle panel being perfect it seemed best to not mess with it. Regarding the masking, to be honest I have no idea, ive not yet seen the car in person - however, Chris has assured me that these painters are extremely good so cant imagine they will miss something as simple as masking the screen properly :)

Seeing as I havent had anything to report on the HPE this week, may as well tell you about my other cars... The rx7 pictured earlier went off to MOT to see just how bad things could be before I sell it, and amazingly it passed with only needing wiper blades and the interior foglight warning fixing. I thought id fixed its overheating troubles with the radiator cap replacement, but despite it idling for over 30 mins on my drive at normal temperature as soon as I was driving it out on the road under load it started warming up. I dug through my spares supply and found a thermostat id ordered but never fitted for it, fitted that and tested the old one which proved to be partially stuck.

I also investigated an intermittently working indicator on my regular shed, a 160k mile mk2 golf, turned out the seal where the wires enter the inidicator housing was perished and a bit of water had got in, so dried that out and a bit of sealant should see it good.

Its enjoyable sorting out these simple but important things.

Oh, and I got my mp3 player / fm transmitter in the post, tried it out in the golf and it works a treat. recommended for anyone who wants modern media in their car without disturbing the wiring.

This thread is turning into a blog :P

chrisc

15th October 2007, 07:23 AM

Nearly there now... the car is being built back up.

The window surrounds have been repainted and refitted
Rubbing strips are back on
Lights are all in..
Interior is in...
Vent panels are on
Bumpers are on
New gas struts fitted for the tailgate (so strong the adjustment nuts have had to have a dab of weld to hold them in place!)
Headlining secured and adjusted so its not sagging in the back anymore

Chris has spent a lot of time on the finishing details and its been a frustrating time seeing so close but not quite there yet.. remaining jobs are-

Brakes!
Sunroof adjustment
Heater adjustment
Fitting the mirrors
Fitting the door cards
Repainting wheels
Volumex signwriting for tailgate strip
Wipers to go back on

One parts request for the future.. if anyone has the correct tinted glass for the drivers window let me know, the one currently fitted is clear.

http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/2558/betarearwf3.jpg
http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/8039/betafrontez0.jpg
http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/5996/betaleftde2.jpg
http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/4690/betarightzz5.jpg

hugh50935

16th October 2007, 06:08 AM

It looks fantastic! My coupe is the same colour, though I must admit I'm a great fan of the HPE (best looking hatchback ever, imho).

Hugh

Frezer

17th October 2007, 10:46 AM

Looks really great, that's a new one! Btw, you don't see that too often, an original factory sunroof.

Another small suggestion regarding the Volumex signwriting, or rather what's on the other side: The slightly younger HPEs (from the VX period) have "HPExecutive" on it, rather than only "HPE". It is however a bit nitpicking ofcourse ;)

Lovely car!

andybeta

24th October 2007, 04:02 AM

mr frezer, I think you'll find all Beta Volumexes had factory sliding sunroofs and maybe all IEs as well. though it is my impression some early cars did not.

chris, the restoration is progressing nicely.

andybeta

Frezer

25th October 2007, 09:51 AM

But your from the UK I presume? Here in the Netherlands, you hardly see a Beta with sunroof. Although now I'm not so sure anymore regarding the VXes.

chrisc

26th October 2007, 01:32 AM

Yep this is a UK car. Ive not yet seen a UK model without one actually. Shame the HPE VX didnt get a recaro interior for the UK though :(

rosssomerville

26th October 2007, 04:43 AM

I have enjoyed your restoration greatly particuarly since ive been doing a 2000 ie at the same time.

I am going for the mot next week so finger crossed.

I have a pair, if not more somewhere, of tinted front windows if you would like them. All I would ask is that you pay the carridge. I have changed my beta to polycarbonate windows so have no need for them.

KeppelmanJ

26th October 2007, 09:18 AM

I've a friend here in the states with an '84 VX coupe he imported from Italy himself, no sunroof. BTW very nice restoration. I've always been very fond of the HPE also. Longer wheelbase was nice on the road and the lines are terrific. We had a '77 for some years, the family car. Four of us made a trip to Bamff, Jasper, Yellowstone and Glacier one summer with junk piled on a rack on the roof. At a point farthest from home, the oil pressure went to nil but the red light didn't come on. Taking a chance there was still enough oil pressure we drove 1k miles home like that and the engine was fine. Dropped the pan and sure enough I had guessed right, a piece of crud in the oil pump relief valve.

chrisc

4th November 2007, 06:10 AM

Tiny update here, no photos im afraid - I think Chris is holding back on any more photos now till I pick it up!

The reassembly has been frustratingly slow, the sunroof presented a real problem to get it to close properly without lifting it into place first, but I am assuming that this is now solved as Chris reported the car had been out for its first test drive (5 miles) on friday!

Remaining work left to do -
Fix stuck heater control cables
Adjust valve clearances
Service the brakes
... thats it!

Clearing the decks here in preparation for its return has been troublesome - the rx7 sold on ebay but the buyer has only just gotten back in touch after a month! also looking to get rid of my daily driver golf, but theres not a lot of demand for 160k mile golf mk2s that are overdue a cambelt change :)

chrisc

30th November 2007, 01:12 AM

The big day is tomorrow! I'll be flying up to Bradford (extravagant but the only way to get there and back in less than a day), being picked up at the airport by Chris and off to see the old girl!

Exciting - I have a selection of tools packed just in case, hope I wont need them but you never know. I also took out the most comprehensive breakdown cover known to man... scouts 'be prepared' motto evidently stuck somewhere.

Watch this space :) I should be back around tomorrow mid afternoon

Will

30th November 2007, 01:21 AM

Yessssssssssssssss!!!!!!! :)

Andrew S

30th November 2007, 10:51 AM

Nice one!!! Can't wait to see some pics of it all finished. And well done for being one of the few who would restore an HPE and do it properly. Definitely in the top 5 prettiest Lancias of all time.

Andrew.

HFStuart

1st December 2007, 10:04 AM

Chris,

It looked really smart when I saw it today - I hope you got the tax sorted and the journey home was uneventful.

Here's hoping Chris doen't have to replace quite so much metal on my Spyder.

Stuart

chrisc

1st December 2007, 10:39 AM

Hi, posting this having just arrived home - Pictures will have to wait till tomorrow as my computer which will actually talk to my camera is not here.

Given the lack of images, ill just give you a bit of a description till tomorrow :)

Cruising down the m5 with a glorious sunset streaming down, gleaming off of the droplets of light rain beading across the contours of the volumex bonnet, the sound of the twin cam working away, and despite the relative simplicity of a straight 4 the intoxicating sound is somehow being transformed into just the right tone for an exotic italian gt.

Of course, then came the resurrection of the fuelling problem encountered during testing (admittedly after 3 hours continuous driving so would never have been picked up in testing), and shortly after leaving the m4 to head on down to Frome something untoward happened with the wiper linkage, leaving the passenger side wiper flopping around aimlessly.

pics tomorrow, and i hope the spyder doesnt have too many secrets to hide Stuart

chrisc

2nd December 2007, 07:27 AM

Righto! pics

http://img129.imageshack.us/img129/7485/homesafehm3.jpg

http://img127.imageshack.us/img127/528/leftsideuz3.jpg

http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/1994/atbetacarzv5.jpg

Yes yes, I know, i havent cleaned it since i got back!

Investigation of the wiper problem shows its not as bad as it could be - the splines on the wiper arm are to use a techinical term, completely shagged. The splines on the err. motor? linkage? thing... arent great either, but swapping the arm from the drivers side onto it shows that it ought to work.

Glad its simple anyway

Ive got about a million little finishing jobs to do, but right now... im knackered. been a long week.

ps. anyone think i need to change the front shocks too? looks a little high at the back with the new shocks

1,6 HF

2nd December 2007, 06:23 PM

Chris,

Looks GREAT! Congratulations.

I think it looks fine a little 'nose down', and it'll certainly help when you load the rear.

Frezer

4th December 2007, 11:23 AM

Looks fantastic! Must be great to have her back home.

andybeta

13th December 2007, 02:51 AM

chrisc

13th December 2007, 04:57 AM

Hi Chris,
It looks very smart. You surely can't be using it everyday during winter in the freezing cold, damp and dreaded salt on the roads. Might be better to get a cheap run around for the winter months and save your VX. It will certainly last longer this way.
Keep the updates coming on progress.
andybeta

Typing this from work, where the VX is parked outside :)

I put all the work into the car because its to my mind perfect for everything I need, including work stuff - frequent cleaning should keep it trouble free I hope.

Its behaved very well so far, replacement wiper arm has solved that problem, just need to look for more clues as to what caused it to cut out on the motorway. Only clue so far is when warm the fuel pump gives a bit of a gurgly noise.

Unfortunately a little bit of paintwork on the roof and n/s a-pillar has reacted, so ill be making the journey back up north for the bodyshop to rectify this at some point - tricky though, as using the car daily means I wont have time to allow the paint to completely harden before using the car again after its done.

Saturday Ill be grabbing the Volumex sticker for the tailgate strip to cover over the 2000IE one, and theres another vanity bit coming on in the form of hopefully some alternative wheels. Ill keep a bit quiet on that for the moment until ive secured the buy :)

KeppelmanJ

13th December 2007, 08:48 AM

Though I don't know these cars well, a friend in Arizona has an '84 VX coupe he brought here from Italy with no sunroof. Manual windows (a blessing!) too.

andybeta

14th December 2007, 02:53 AM

"frequent cleaning should keep it trouble free I hope."

Brave man

"Its behaved very well so far, replacement wiper arm has solved that problem, just need to look for more clues as to what caused it to cut out on the motorway. Only clue so far is when warm the fuel pump gives a bit of a gurgly noise."

If the main loom connector blocks under the dash around the steering colum have been apart they might be making poor connection. check these to make sure they are making good contact if they've not been apart they might have become loose (this is what happened to mine - wiggle them to together and hey presto it burst into life) or the connectors have begun to corrode. A bit hairy if your VX cut out on the motorway, could be dangerous? I guess you want to solve this asap!

Wheels? The std beta ones look the best don't they?

Post some more pics in the gallery. Yours has been an interesting project to follow.

happy driving,
andybeta

hugh50935

14th December 2007, 05:12 AM

Connector block #3 to the fuse box (I think) also houses the ingition connection from the connector block under the dash. I had a few cut outs (which almost always happened on a major highway at the bottom of a hill!), which I eventually traced to this connector block. A loose spade connector inside the block had been sparking with its other half and the heat generated had melted the plastic inside the block. This then dripped over the connectors, insulating them & causing an ignition cut out. I always keep a few loose wires with alligator clips in the car so that I can hotwire it if any of this breaks again.

Hugh

chrisc

14th December 2007, 10:31 AM

Good ideas. My previous HPE VX melted those connector blocks into a completely unsalvagable mess - ill pull the connectors and check this isnt heading the same way, although it really did feel like a fuel problem when it happened - no problem restarting, revved freely but as soon as you put it under load it got unhappy. Anyway, looking at all possibilities.

On a more positive note - stickers made and applied :) heres a photo of a spare I had made in case the beta boyz chaps were interested.

http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/4504/vxstickerwebvj3.jpg

2 parts - brushed steel effect backing, and the Volumex text. The brushed steel effect is a little brighter than the strip on the car which I guess is to be expected - would be easy to try and get a darker effect backing, but at a glance its perfect. Ill try and take a photo tomorrow as the quick snap from my mobile didnt come out well. It may have been a relatively simple job but the compugraphic shop in Frome were brilliant with this - a pair of stickers made and one applied for a tenner.

Edit : Heres a pic of it on the car - closer than this and the different backings become more apparent. ps - checked the connector blocks under the fusebox and they are all in perfect order - a relief.

http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/5503/stickeredupub7.jpg