• September 2005

Stewart has tacked in the new n/s front floor pan, and this will be finished shortly. Once this has been done, the drivers front floorpan will be cut out and repaired, and then the rear part of the floor has some holes to repair.

Then its a quick check all over to find any areas missing, and then its a question of getting the car ready to paint.

I've finally finished my task of removing all the old underseal. The shot blasting process removed some, but was ineffective in many areas, especially the wheelarch areas which were thickly sprayed with sealant. The easiest way was to use a hot air gun and a scraper to remove the worst, and then a sanding disc mounting in an electric drill to clean up the remnants.

ITEMS FOR SALE

Front wings, rear wings, bumpers, bonnets etc.,

Made from high quality GRP with good gelcoat finish. Lightweight version for fast road / race / rally available.

Will ship worldwide...

More work around radiator duct and headlamp area.

Scrape underseal from one of the wheelarches. Just one left to do now...

Some side panels have been made for the radiator ducting. More work around the headlamp hinge area and nearside headlamp

Some progress over the last few days.

Firstly the offside headlamp has been finished, as has the offside section of the front bumper mounting beam. There is less to do to the nearside headlamp mountings, but there is a knock in the crossbeam behind the bumper to repair.

The plan is to modify the radiator housing to duct hot air out and over the car, in the same way that an 037, Stratos, Ford GT40 or Lotus Elise does. To do this, the radiator duct which normally forces air down and under was cut along the top edge and the two side edges. This was then pushed back by about 30 degrees to create a duct forcing the air up. Some new side panels will be made and an extension to bring the new section up to bonnet height will be made.

The bonnet will have an exit duct cut into the outer skin, and protected either mesh or a louvres.

There was some rot in the upper crossbeam between the headlamps, where the bonnet hinges would normally mount. A section is being cut out, and a new section will be welded in place.

All this couldn't be done without the help from Stewart, who has been helping me with the welding and body repairs.

I also found a brochure for a 037 replica which I would like to find more information on. Its called the "Rallye Junior" and was made in Scotland, Livingston in West Lothian to be precise. The name on the back is Russell-Kerr Products and the brochure is a 4 page A4 colour folder.

I al

There are a number of very interesting, non standard Montecarlos being finished off. I'd love to hear about them. Send me details!

Finish repairs to offside headlamp area and work along front edge of car.

A pair of vgc rear brake calipers arrive.

I've ordered some new rear wings, a new front bumper and some other parts

Repairs to offside headlamp panels

Spend time underneath car with hot air gun and a scraper. All the underside, apart from some areas in each wheelarch and a small area behind the radiator are now devoid of underseal.

More bodywork... Drivers side floor pan may be cut out this evening.

Have located a pair of rear brake calipers

I continue to remove the underseal. I found that a hot air gun and a scraper works quite well, and then a sanding disc in a drill gets the residue off nicely.

The exposed metal has been treated to stop corrossion starting. I also vacuumed out the bottom of the A-pillers which had about 3 inches of sand in them - a result of the sand blasting process, and also from the central undercar duct and the area that the steering column mounts in.

Next week I will be having a pair of rear wings made and a new front bumper.

The front end of the nearside sill received some further attention, and the front passenger floorpan has been cut out.

Repairs continue to offside side. Meanwhile using a hot air gun I start removing stubburn underseal from the nearside front inner wheelarch.

Have to make a final decision on colour scheme shortly. So, is it:

a) Martini colour scheme
b) Montecarlo turbo swirly livery
c) something else...?>

Repairs continue to offside sill, mainly at the front edge.

Wheelarch extension kit arrives. Have temporarily refitted the GRP wings, and very temporarily (with duct tape) attached the new extension panels. I obtained these from Omicron (www.omicron.uk.com)

More repairs to rear crossmember, also repairs to offside. Still to do: front floor pans, LH & RH, o/s sill, below the headlamps and around the radiator.

Make some repairs to the rear crossmember, and finish making some sill repair pieces

Repairs continue to grotty bits of bodywork

I spent the afternoon dressing less than neat welds that were done last time this car had any bodywork done. Am using an angle grinder for this. I also spent a long time getting rid of old underseal that the blast cleaning process missed. A heat gun and scraper worked well for this, as did an abrasive disk held in an electric drill.

More welding. Working around from the rear down the passenger side.

Repairs start to the shell. First area to be cut out and replaced is the LH side of the shelf over the exhaust.