After buying a 1978 Clubman "shell" I've been slowly stripping it down. However, this weekend I got 1.5 days in the shed alone (family all busy)and I stripped it right down to the subframes.
This is what it started as:
This is what it looks like now:
Some lessons for owners and budding restorers:
1. You do not need to tighten nuts and bolts up as if they are holding on the retro rockets for the space shuttle. Recommended torque settings are usually quite low compared to the vein pumping levels that some of the nuts and bolts were on this thing!
2. If in doubt it's a 7/16" spanner
Must have been the BMC default size for everything!
3. DO NOT replace BSF nuts and bolts with MM! It's a pain.
4. DO NOT put in self tapping screws when there is a tapped hole - why did you do that
5. If the person who sold me this car is reading - mate, you had not a chance in hell of ever getting this car to go again. Every, and I mean every, part of the system (electrical and mechanical moving parts) was knackered. But it doesn't matter as it's all getting binned anyway.
When I got the ball joints off (see other post) the shafts literally fell right out - rubbers completely perished. Electric cables and switches all knackered. Engine siezed. All bearing and bushes seized.
The most dangerous thing I found...the fuel pipe on the bottom of the petrol tank didn't have a clip! It was literally just pushed on...OMG!
6. You can use degreaser and give a car a wash down now and again you know! It's covered in that really black heavy greasy dirt
Luckily I'm building a ground up very non original speed machine! No concours for me.....
Next update bodywork...
