Nicks Project Hamilton.

[Nick Mann]

Yes, Adam, the car is an October 98 model. There have been no seized nuts or bolts yet and I'm not taking much more off TBH! The gearbox hit the floor early this morning, followed soon after by the engine. Then the prop shaft, then the rear subframe complete with diff (now removed from the subframe too) and exhaust heat shields. The petrol tank is also out now, and I have started to clean the underside again with a cloth and warm soapy water. The Rust Bullet instructions are very specific on having no grease or moisture on the car when painting, so I hope to clean the car properly today, then I have some chores tomorrow that might leave enough time to do the pedal box and shifter cable conversion. Then at the end of the week I can paint.....

I'll take some photos this afternoon to keep you all amused.

[miller]

See my sig!

15 DAYS!

[Kryton]

See my sig!

15 DAYS!

I don't know what is emotionally killing me more, that fact that you're off to the ring or that fact you're getting 55mpg

[Nick Mann]

I know, I know! 15 days!! And I have only got about 7 days labour time left to get it all done in that time.....

Photos:

Engine on the floor, you can see the auto and manual boxes to the right. (And VORs engine in the background!)
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Engine bay looking empty!
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Subframe and petrol tank on the floor:
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This is the area above the cat/propshaft, i.e. near the start of the transmission tunnel. The first photo is after a quick wash with warm soapy water, the second is after a good scrub with a scourer.
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The area above the petrol tank and rear subframe doesn't look too bad:
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And nor does the bit above the AYC pump:
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There is some rust at the back of the car by the back box. I am pretty sure this is paint chipped off by stones kicked up from the rear wheel. There is a bit of space at the side of the back box and heat shield which ties up with it.
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And that concludes todays progress. Cleaning is now done, but tomorrow will only see me with a couple of spare hours, so lets see what I can get done.

[kiteman]

Great work Nick, I've just finished renewing the clutch slave cylinder fluid pipe and I was worried I'd not get it done in time. After all that work, I wont be surprised if you go for longer than normal sleeps when your in Nurburg.

[Mark 4]

Feckin ell Nick, you really have got a job on your hands.

[Nick Mann]

You're telling me! I am beginning to worry about the amount I have to do before Germany.... The week we go our child minder is away too and Vicky has to work, so I have to get this done in the next 10 days. I have a day and a half minimum of other jobs to do as well and weekend visits that have been booked for some time. Let's see how I do! I have only really taken three days stripping it all down to this point, as the first two days were mostly spent refurbing the brakes and suspension. I'll panic if I spend more than two days painting, I think!

[aboo]

Hats off to you Nick Your going to have a cracker of a VR4 on your hands once your finished.

[adaxo]

Nick how do you treat this little spots of rust b4 use underseal ?? that is something what show up on mine car a little and I'm not sure what to do to avoid more 'spread' of rust.

BTW. If I was at your position (mean only 10 days to finish) I will do a schedule by writing EVERY job and day which it must be done so you can see how you doing and not be surprise when time is up to end and you in the middle. Good luck.

[Nick Mann]

I haven't written a list, but I want it done in 7 days. 2 days for painting, 1 day for silent coat, 4 days to put it all back together. It should be okay, it's just there is not much room for manouver! If I suddenly need a part late next week.......

I am using a product called rust bullet. It is a rust converter and protector in one. It says that it will convert small rust spots like that with no issues. It does suggest that if you have lots of flakey rust you should remove the loose stuff first:

Rust Bullet® is not a paint in the ordinary sense of the word. Rust Bullet® requires no preparation, except the removal of large flakes of loose rust by light scraping or brushing. When applied, Rust Bullet® does not form a film immediately, but rather it penetrates the porous rust reaching the metal underneath. Our exclusive method of protection* dehydrates, or dries out the rust by a chemical activity, allowing the resin to solidify into a tough coating with phenomenal adhesion. The rust becomes intertwined in the resin matrix and remains a permanent part of the coating. The second coat of Rust Bullet® fills any pinholes in the first coat and forms a nearly impenetrable coating that protects the metal.

[adaxo]

Ok thanks for explanation, may I will try the same. Looking forward to see how its in real world.

[The Vee]

That really doesn't look bad at all underneath. Certainly well worth doing what you are now, and should last for years.

[miller]

Nick!

Can you hear that loud tick tock ?

[Nick Mann]

Did someone say something?

I have been painting this morning. Despite trying to be careful I am covered!! Just having lunch, then back out for the second coat.

[Nick Mann]

I only managed a couple of hours on the car on weds and thurs, with not much to photograph. I stripped the front seats out, plus centre arm rest and cupholder, centre console cover and the carpet. I also managed to drill a hole or three in the bulkhead for the clutch master cylinder. A bit of black plasticote to cover the bare metal and this is what you get:
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Then today started with a final bit of prep before paint, just a quick rub with sand paper. Just to give you an idea of how the rust colour often looks worse than it is, here is a before and after of the worst bit of the car, the boot floor:
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Then on to the painting. If the paint sticks to the car half as well as it has stuck to my skin, this stuff should last a long time!! I've tried to take photos at similar angles as previous shots, so you can get a progression. The second one is the area that was showing rust due to suspected stone chips from the rear wheel, where the stones can miss the exhaust and heat shield.
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Then in the last half an hour I got the black hammerite out and just had a quick go at the rear subframe and a couple of suspension arms.
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I haven't done much painting in the engine bay yet - I might leave that and see if I have time once I have got the car going back together. I also haven't done the area hidden by the rear bumper, but again, that can wait for another day. I'm not sure I have time currently to remove the bumper, paint and replace it. There is no reason I can't do that in the future - the only repeated work is removing the boot trim to get at the bolts.

So tomorrow I intend to do a couple of final bits of painting, then hopefully start servicing the engine and changing the flywheel etc to the manual jobby.

[VR457]

I feel for you right now. I have an essay deadline in 10 days time, failing which i have to redo and pay lots of money. Your photos cannot match my procrastination, wish i had as much getup and go.

I am so impressed i would like to commission an undersealing job but i will spring that on you months later...

[Gly]

ITS BEEN 12HOURS SINCE YOUR LAST POST......


is it done yet????

[Nick Mann]

So I got another 5 hours ish on the car today. The first half was applying a bit more paint to some of the stuff I want to reattach and I know doies suffer a bit from rust. This lot just got a bit of black hammerite - it is all removable and replaceable in the future, whereas the floor of the car is not. We'll see in time if hammerite is worthy of doing these jobs or not I guess!
Anyway, I turned the rear subframe over and painted the rest, plus the AYC pump frame and the plate that fits under the fuel tank.
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Then it was time for some engine work - the cambelt and spark plugs were changed after lunch, with new HT leads. I took quite a few photos as I took stuff apart - hopefully they will help in the cambelt change article that Rich wrote. I'll stick them in there too when I think about it!

I find using a three legged puller helps to remove the crank pulley without any damage. Levering is not always so nice and wiggling whilst pulling doesn't always work. This method is smooth and doesn't take much force.
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Then the alternator pulley assembly needs to be partially removed to get at one of the bolts that holds the assembly underneath - this also allows removal of the dipstick (plug the hole!) and the lifting bracket.
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Off with the rest of the covers
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And then a little break! (I love my wife - she's ace! Frothy coffee and chocolate mini-doughnuts.)
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Then stick tippex on the timing marks and line it all up. Use whatever tool you use to lock the rear cams. (I use a kitchen worktop joining bolt!) You can also see the socket and extension bar hanging from the hydraulic tensioner bolt right at the bottom of the picture.
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Removing the hydraulic tensioner, the tensioner pulley, the cambelt, the idler pulley, the power steering pump bracket and the engine mount bracket leaves you with good access to the water pump.
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Then the replacement pump can be fitted and everything can start going back on.
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I didn't take any more of the re-assembly, it's all in the guide and the photos above should be enough!

No work on the car tomorrow, we are going out as a family, but monday should see me starting to re-assemble the mechanicals of the car in earnest! At the moment, I have spent a total of about 7 days on the car (at about 8 hours a day) so although I haven't spent a lot on materials, it is costing me a fair bit in lost earnings!

[adaxo]

Thanks for this cam belt bit, feel much more confident now to do mine, only one thing to ask, do you use any sort of gasket (liquid/paper??) for water pump?? oh one more, front bank shafts no need to be locked??

[Nick Mann]

Yes, I use a grey loctite liquid gasket on the pump. It says it is designed for gaskets that need to hold back antifreeze.
Front cams don't need to be locked - I actually find the job easier if they are not. The rears will move if they are not locked though.
Richs article has become even more comprehensive over the years - check this out:
http://www.clubvr4.com/forum/showthread.php?28501