Tag Archives: Restoration

Project Rrr…er Valdy…Continues

We’ve just enjoyed a fantastic few days in the garage, aka “The CCA workshop”. Dave’s been working on a new ’58 Beetle project, and Warwick has been tackling the plans for his new MK1 Escort rally car. With each project comes certain frustrations. Poorly executed previous-owner maneuvers on the beetle for Dave, and crazy-long shipping times for parts for Warwick. And so, with our own projects a little bit stalled, we started wondering how things are going out there with everyone else’s. Fortunately for us, Robert at RWM&Co has checked in with an update on project Valdy. You may recall our last look at the project was an overview an assessment of the project. We’re happy to report that project Valdy is fully in the tear down stage! Here’s Robert’s latest report on our beloved 912:

 

Hello friends! We’re just popping our heads above water for a few quick minutes to share a little bit about where we are at with the Rolling Restoration of Valdy, the Porsche 912 that we’ve been entrusted with. As you might remember, last time we outlined the results of our diagnostic testing and assessment on the car. With a benchmark set, we began the process of dismantling the car so we could begin to really sink our teeth into the project.

valdy5As anyone who has ever taken apart anything can attest to, one of the biggest concerns with a restoration project that has been scheduled over an extended period of time is that parts will get misplaced, or vital information will be forgotten when it comes time to re-assemble the car many months (or years) later. We are always careful to document the disassembly process thoroughly, and ensure that any components that are removed from the car are labeled and organized accordingly. Let’s just say we go through a LOT of Ziploc bags and Rubbermaid tubs over here…after all, it’s amazing just how valuable an old, rusted out part becomes when another one cannot easily be found or created. Even eBay has its limits, as anyone who has started (or attempted to complete) a restoration can attest to.

The majority of the disassembly process was handled by our in-house Porsche aficionado & expert, otherwise known as Alex, and “supervised” by my son Charlie who happened to be visiting from the UK while this was happening.   I’m so grateful for their continued enthusiasm for the project, and really appreciate their passion for Valdy. I’m also grateful that only one of them is on payroll, and the other agreed to trade his time for Tim Horton’s hot chocolates and vague promises of an early inheritance.

After we had a little paparazzi action in the shop – in other words, taking a million and one pictures of the car, from every angle – we got down to business. Lest you think we are trying to give the Kardashians a run for their money, fear not: as good as our memories are, it can be hard to remember every little detail of every car we have in the shop and photographic evidence is invaluable to preserving our sanity.

valdy1It probably goes without saying, but prior to disassembling a car the battery must be disconnected, along with the hoses and wires connected to the engine. Safety first! The car was then drained of its oil, transmission fluid, brake fluid, and gas, which we safely recycled and disposed of.

After removing what was left of the exterior trim, we began by removing the larger pieces off the car first; namely, the engine hood, bonnet, and gas tank. We then removed the front and rear bumper. Everything was relatively straightforward, which was wonderful (but slightly unnerving at the same time – is this too good to be true?!). Unless of course you count a minor gas spill that happened while removing the tank…but we won’t talk about that one. A good reminder to double-check that the tank is 110% empty before moving on, right guys?

When it came time to remove the fenders, we were met with a lot of resistance. Apparently, they were glued on with a rubber substance of some sort, and determined to stay on the car. Let’s just say Valdy could have been driven at 100 miles/hr with no bolts attaching the fenders to the car, and they still wouldn’t have fallen off. A little lot of manpower later (and maybe a power tool or two), they were pried off and set aside while someone went for a little visit to their Registered Massage Therapist.

valdy4With all of the major exterior components removed, we got started on the interior. As you’ll remember from our last update, the interior has had a re-trim at some point in time but the car is more than overdue for a facelift. We removed the seats first, and then all of the carpets. This allowed us to get a proper look at the metal floorboards, and gain a more thorough understanding of the overall condition of the frame of the car. As we quickly discovered when we had Valdy up on the hoist for the inspection, the floors were replaced with flat-sheet steel at some point. Leaving the floor at it is is not an option, so it will be redone along the line.

Certain makes of cars are more prone to issues than others, so when we’re disassembling a car we are always keeping an eye out for any problems that weren’t apparent during the initial inspection. Porsche’s are notorious for having buried rust spots in the door pillars and kidneys, which we want to know about now rather than in 6 months. Thankfully, the front wheel wells look really good, with no other surprises or hidden problems so far. Unfortunately, the rockers aren’t as lucky – they have most certainly been covered with bondo at some point, and we are expecting to find rust behind them. Oh the suspense! Luckily, we have repaired more than our fair share of rusted out panels and feel confident that we’ll be able to handle whatever comes our way with this car.

And that’s it! As you can see, disassembling a vehicle properly is time consuming and labour-intensive, but we believe it’s well worth taking the time to be methodical and strategic in order to save time, money, and therapy bills down the road.

Where do we go from here? In our next instalment, we’ll walk you through what we’re doing to the mechanical side of the car – the engine, transaxle, brake system, clutch, and suspension are all (over) due for tune ups and rebuilds, along with the starter, alternator, and exhaust components.  Will the mechanics be what we are expecting, or will there be any hidden surprises? Stay tuned…

valdy2

Do You Want to Work in a Restoration Shop?

While wrenching away in your garage or shop, do you ever find yourself thinking you wish you could do this as a career? Or, perhaps you’ve thought it would be amazing to do this part-time, and help pay for your classic car addiction? Well, if that thought has ever crossed your mind, here’s your chance! Our good friends over at RWM&Co are looking for some new staff to help keep the restorations moving on schedule in the shop. If you’ve ever been to the shop, you know it’s a dream space for those of us who love classic cars.

messRobert and his team specialize in everything from simple maintenance, to full-blown restorations and even ground-up custom builds. Some customers arrive with no parts or car, just a photograph of some long forgotten piece of automotive history. Robert and his team can recreate those body panels using the english wheel, an entire wall of hammers and wizardry which we here at CCA don’t really yet understand.
We know what you’re thinking…”I’ve never even seen an english-wheel in real life, yet alone used one?” Don’t worry, RWM&Co is looking for a much wider variety of skills. As you read through the list you might think that you’re not a specialist in any one area, but have some of the skills needed for two or three of them. That’s perfect! RMW&Co is looking for both specialists, and staff who can become a little bit of everything around the shop. Here are the areas RMW&Co is currently looking for staff:

IMG_7688Tear Down – Tear down of a restoration is much more then just yanking it all apart. This a job where detail-minded individuals find their calling. Nuts, bolts and washers must be tagged with their proper locations. Photographs, lots of photographs, are taken to ensure everything goes together correctly in the assembly stage. Teardown is also the part where all the hidden issues or unseen problems are found in a restoration. A tear down specialist is part-mechanic, part librarian and part Indiana-Jones. There is nothing more exciting then removing a structured assembly to find the grease-pencil signature of a factory worker in 1958. Come to think of it, with the number of project cars in boxes on Craigslist, we think the tear down specialist might be the most common type of enthusiast!

IMG_8205Mechanical Work – If you’re anything like Dave at the CCA office, your youth was spent borrowing dad’s tools so you could tear apart and rebuild whatever mechanical or electronic item you could get your hands on. Years of ‘mostly’ working toys taught you the careful skill of bolting things back together in the correct order. At RWM&Co mechanical work ranges from simply replacing worn bushings in a suspension overhaul, all the way to engine and transmission rebuilds. In this area of the shop, there’s room for folks of all skill levels…as long as they’re willing to learn. While rebuilding a Bentley wheel cylinder might not be an item currently on your resume, perhaps after being shown how to do the first unit, the other three won’t seem so challenging. If you were to end up working at RMW&Co, the mechanical work you’ll experience will be dependent on your skill level, and always under the supervision of Robert’s top trained technicians.

Welding – Here at the CCA office we’ve (okay, Dave) has blown enough holes through metal and warped enough panels to understand that welding is both an art-form, and a skill. If you can weld, RMW&Co wants to hear from you! In the shop the guys are welding with both MIG and TIG, on both steel and aluminium. While experience in both welding types (and materials) is certainly an asset, the shop would love to hear from you even if you’re just experienced in MIG. The ability to weld thin panels, however, is definitely important!

6821328187_c134f11815_bAssembly – The most exciting stage of any restoration is the assembly. Finally, after many hours of work, the car is starting to look like a car once again. For many of us, it’s also the scariest part of a restoration. It’s here that one slip, or a tool misplaced, can really spell disaster. Assembly specialists are those who are detailed oriented, and can think ahead. They know that you just can’t focus on one part of the window trim, you have to be aware of what the loose end is doing as you try to attach the first section. They’re also people who look at each restoration as if it’s their own. Other shops might simply mount the gauges, or wire things up to work, but you want every job to look like it’s going in a magazine.

So, does any of that sound like you? Whether you’re thinking of a full-time career change, or perhaps working in a restoration shop part time, the team at RWM&Co would love to hear from you.

RWM&Co
rwmandco@gmail.com

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Valdy Restoration Begins!

The first update on the Valdy Restoration, as sent to us by Bob Maynard:

It is a well-known fact that when a few car aficionados get together, projects are brainstormed and planned, and much excitement ensues. About a year ago, news started circulating in the car world that there was a new car on the block that had quite the story behind it, and it was known as “Valdy”. Continue reading

Project Mini: The Halfway Point

Occasionally, Classic Car Adventures will have an update on our in-house project cars, and also those of our readers. In this first installment of the Project Mini series, Warwick has reached a milestone in his first ever restoration – the teardown to bare shell is complete!

Owner: Warwick
Car: 1966 Austin Mini 850
Project Status: Car has been fully stripped and sent for a hot bath!
Pros:
Sense of great satisfaction from getting the teardown done.
Cons: Scared to death of what the shell is going to look like when it comes back from rust dip!

The First Day

First off, let me introduce you to “Abby”. She is a ’66 Austin 850 from Vancouver, Canada. The car has lived here it’s whole life, having been in one family since new. Approximately 40,000 miles on the clock and is in a decent state. I bought it in November 2008, and it made its first public appearance on the 2009 Spring Thaw. I drove it all summer, so it was certainly in better nick than some projects I’ve seen people start with! The car had been sitting under a tarp on the side of the road for goodness knows how many years, so I just *had* to rescue it. After a minor tune-up and safety check, we were on our way for the Spring Thaw.

Apart from nearly popping the motor on the first major climb on the ‘Thaw – coolant spraying on the windshield is never good – the Mini handled everything I threw at it for the rest of the event, and indeed the rest of the summer. The usual rust bubbles were popping up, however, and she did have some mechanical gremlins to sort out. As the leaves turned orange and the temperature dropped, I decided I was going to take the plunge and start on a basic restoration. I could turn this thing around in 7 months, right?

Subframes, doors, and glass off - time to get dipped!

Fortunately for me, the ‘Rookie Restorer’, the Mini is as simple as they come. My lack of experience with wrenching on cars has often caused frustration in the past. I told myself at the beginning of this project that I was going to put my head down and just motor through any problems or confusion. Apart from a few rusted and stripped bolts, the Mini didn’t throw up any problems that a forum search or manual read couldn’t solve. Each problem solved resulted in more satisfaction and confidence to attack the next task.

It’s now mid-January, and the Spring Thaw is just three months away. At the beginning of the month, I finally got the last nut and bolt off the car and the shell was officially ‘bare bones’. Its very satisfying to stand back and look at a car that you’ve totally stripped with your own hands. In effect, undoing 40 years of “togetherness!” Visually, it marked a big turning point because now the long climb back to roadworthiness could begin.

It's sometimes handy to have a small car!

I decided to take the shell to Redi-Strip in Vancouver for chemical cleaning and rust removal. As of January 14th, that is where the car sits and I am scared to death of what the car will look like when I pick it up!  Was the shell in as good a condition as I thought, or am I going to get a horrible surprise? I should know by Monday whether I’ve got a 3-month or 13-month project on my hands!

As co-organizer, am I allowed to delay the Spring Thaw a few months to ensure I have a car for it?

Abby disappears into Redi-Strip's warehouse