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Aug 22, 2019 19:55:24 GMT
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Just thinking of repairs and rust prevention. Maybe some little ally panels the same shape as the witness shape bolted on with polished allen bolts would make a feature of it? Another option is tidy the paint as best you can and open holes up enough to fit small blind grommets. So the plan is to make small plates as you say, but the shapes of the bracket points are quite odd, so I will make shapes that cover the evidence of the brackets but are shaped to be more in keeping with the lines of the car. The bolt holes will need to be in the same place which isn't ideal but I'm not drilling more holes to rectify a past error. The holes in the plates will be countersunk, and I'll use whatever the nicest thing is that matches the very crude thread. The screws I took out appear to be some kind of self tapping thread that is more agricultural than engineering in terms of the pitch and finesse. The things I had that match the thread are 5.5 diameter roofing screws. Perfect match. That's how crude the drill holes are. Also, they go in at all kinds of angles. Whoever fitted those rails clearly didn't believe in going in at 90º to the surface, for whatever reason. If at all possible I will keep the threads in the panelwork though rather than retapping the holes... so that I can very easily put the rails back on if I want to without having to drill out the rail brackets because I re-tapped the car's holes and the new bolts of the holes wont go through the old rail bracket holes... yadda yadda. Then I'm going to near as possible match the car's paint with a metallic spray paint (can)... paint and gloss laquer the plates and the screw heads, and it will hopefully blend in sufficiently to look like it's just part of the pick up back. Let's not forget, this is a pickup, and despite being shiny blue paint, it is still a beater... just less of a beater than anything else I've ever owned. |
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Last Edit: Aug 22, 2019 20:24:00 GMT by Deleted
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Aug 22, 2019 20:14:26 GMT
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I assume you know Brighton autopaints (Just opposite namrick). They should be able to match and mix an aerosol - if they can't Jeff at c & c in Crawley definately can - he's very good.
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Aug 22, 2019 20:19:13 GMT
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I assume you know Brighton autopaints (Just opposite namrick). They should be able to match and mix an aerosol - if they can't Jeff at c & c in Crawley definately can - he's very good. WOO! Cool. I did not know Brighton autopaints and I'm in Namrick all the time. I'll get them to have a look next time. It would really help to have a paint reference code but the car was painted in the states and the seller says it's not a Chevy colour (Car was originally bilge beige). So if they can do some spectroscopy or chromatwotsummy or whatever they do and do a decent match that could be great in all sorts of ways as there's plenty that could do with a touch up on this old car. |
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Last Edit: Aug 22, 2019 20:20:43 GMT by Deleted
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MiataMark
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,971
Club RR Member Number: 29
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Aug 22, 2019 20:21:11 GMT
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Have I missed something but why take the rails off? I thought they looked quite purposeful and would be useful although you have lash down points inside as well don't you? To me having odd plates of any size on the car will look well odd.
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1990 Mazda MX-52012 BMW 118i (170bhp) - white appliance 2011 Land Rover Freelander 2 TD4 2003 Land Rover Discovery II TD52007 Alfa Romeo 159 Sportwagon JTDm
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Aug 22, 2019 20:23:15 GMT
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I did try and get Brighton auto paints to do some matching and they weren't very interested to be honest - you may have better luck as I was trying to explain the colour over the phone (joke). But as I said Jeff certainly will at c&c.
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Aug 22, 2019 20:26:40 GMT
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I did try and get Brighton auto paints to do some matching and they weren't very interested to be honest - you may have better luck as I was trying to explain the colour over the phone (joke). But as I said Jeff certainly will at c&c. "Yeah you remember those 70's pacamac cagouls, right, and they're usually dark blue?...well it's exactly like that colour but in green, and a bit damp looking, bit also like it's dusty.... d'youknowwotImean?" |
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Last Edit: Aug 22, 2019 20:26:55 GMT by Deleted
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Aug 22, 2019 20:31:03 GMT
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Have I missed something but why take the rails off? I thought they looked quite purposeful and would be useful although you have lash down points inside as well don't you? To me having odd plates of any size on the car will look well odd. So I've always wanted an El Camino, and it's the shape of them that I love so much. I love the rear swoop and the high back. The rails obscured that. I also quite like them, and they are very practical and useful (and they can also go back on in jiffy if I want them to). But from the moment I saw the car I thought "I like that but I've not seen rails on an Elky before and they kind of take an aesthetic thing and turn it into a functional thing. And last night I was posting some pics on Facebook to a few groups I'm in on there, and I decided it was time to have a look at the car without them on, just to see. And I prefer it with them off for now. It's literally a five minute job to fit/remove though. So any time I need additional fixing points they can go back on. |
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vulgalour
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 7,287
Club RR Member Number: 146
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This was the NAUGHTY CORNERvulgalour
@vulgalour
Club Retro Rides Member 146
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Aug 22, 2019 20:34:54 GMT
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Most old people like to have rails added to things to help them out so I have to assume it's another part of your midlife crisis that you've taken them off so you look cool. Next you'll be telling everyone that's not fixing holes in the rear wings, it's bullet holes.
Dixie horn fitted in 3...2...
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MiataMark
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,971
Club RR Member Number: 29
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Aug 22, 2019 20:35:18 GMT
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Fair enough :-)
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1990 Mazda MX-52012 BMW 118i (170bhp) - white appliance 2011 Land Rover Freelander 2 TD4 2003 Land Rover Discovery II TD52007 Alfa Romeo 159 Sportwagon JTDm
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Aug 22, 2019 22:02:49 GMT
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Look at the size of that bonnet on it. Love it! Reminds me of my dads old Victor that seemed huge when I was a nipper. Ooh now that’s reminded me of the torture of the vinyl seats that you couldn’t sit on if the temperature reached over 20c.
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glenanderson
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,362
Club RR Member Number: 64
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This was the NAUGHTY CORNERglenanderson
@glenanderson
Club Retro Rides Member 64
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Aug 22, 2019 22:10:34 GMT
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I think the rails are useful/functional, as I said earlier; but I agree it looks better with them off.
Sounds and looks like they were fitted with speed bolts, which are like heavy-duty self-tappers, and fine for a permanent fixing, but not so good for something you want to remove and refit on a whim. You could drill out the holes to take some rivnuts, and either just seal them off with some button head screws with rubber washers under them, or make up cover plates as you describe.
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My worst worry about dying is my wife selling my stuff for what I told her it cost...
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Aug 22, 2019 22:11:00 GMT
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Brighton Autopaints are good paint suppliers - I buy from them. Holes in wings being self tappers will be useless if you ever did tie some young girls in the back, their thrashing around would soon pull the screws out  If you want to do some nice drawings of your plates & email/post templates to me I'll CNC them at work for you. Take some paper rubbings off the plates of the OAP hand rails  to give me the hole pattern. If you were passing me I'd drill the abortion holes out properly & fit some steel rivnuts into the wings for you, these would have proper machine threads so you could fit some proper CSK bolts into your plates, or use them for the hand rails if you need to put them back on. Ps, nice new avatar. |
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bstardchild
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 14,976
Club RR Member Number: 71
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This was the NAUGHTY CORNERbstardchild
@bstardchild
Club Retro Rides Member 71
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Aug 22, 2019 23:22:01 GMT
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If it was me I'd flatten the metal where the self tappers have pulled it up - mig up the holes and then paint with a rattlecan mixed to match...........
But then that is me
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Look at the size of that bonnet on it. Love it! Reminds me of my dads old Victor that seemed huge when I was a nipper. Ooh now that’s reminded me of the torture of the vinyl seats that you couldn’t sit on if the temperature reached over 20c. It's a ridiculously long bonnet. It's a ridiculously long car. I think its 20ft long or something like that. But surprisingly easy to get used to. I've not struggled parking it or manouvering it through tiny gaps. Chewed all the metalwork up mind you, but I got through. |
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I think the rails are useful/functional, as I said earlier; but I agree it looks better with them off. Sounds and looks like they were fitted with speed bolts, which are like heavy-duty self-tappers, and fine for a permanent fixing, but not so good for something you want to remove and refit on a whim. You could drill out the holes to take some rivnuts, and either just seal them off with some button head screws with rubber washers under them, or make up cover plates as you describe. You were the lone voice of handrail support Glen, in an all-out assault on my new purchase, and I thank you for that. But way before I had posted pics and anyone had even commented... in fact seeing the car in the flesh for the very first time and realising the rails were merely screwed in I thought "they'll be coming off". The truth is they would be really useful, but for me and my use of cars they'll be useful maybe 1 day every year, and for that day, they'll go back on again. The other thing about them was they rattled about horribly. When idling there has been a right old cacophony from the back, and I realised it was the various parts of those rattling about. They can be tightened, but they work loose again. So the car seems a lot quieter and solid with them off too. |
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Last Edit: Aug 23, 2019 8:17:49 GMT by Deleted
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If it was me I'd flatten the metal where the self tappers have pulled it up - mig up the holes and then paint with a rattlecan mixed to match........... But then that is me It is you. It definitely is. One day I might do it more permanently like this, but its week 1, so I'm in no hurry to start welding the holes up. It's good for now. |
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its a LOT longer than my car !
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luckyseven
Posted a lot
Owning sneering dismissive pedantry since 1970
Posts: 3,839
Club RR Member Number: 45
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This was the NAUGHTY CORNERluckyseven
@luckyseven
Club Retro Rides Member 45
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See, I knew no-one ever reads my threads  ...where I've mentioned having paint colour matched at AutoPaints Brighton several times. They will match to any piece of bodywork (they used something as small as an indicator pod from the Beetle and as large as the sliding door runner panel from the bus) but will only mix a minimum of a litre. Which they can then decant into rattlecans if you ask. But it tends to work out best part of a £100 to get what's left of a litre of colour-match and a few spraycans. However, they've never got funny or refused to do it and it's at worst next day, sometimes the same day if you go in early and they don't have too much of a delivery run to do |
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Last Edit: Aug 23, 2019 9:12:42 GMT by luckyseven: spelnilg an sturf
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luckyseven
Posted a lot
Owning sneering dismissive pedantry since 1970
Posts: 3,839
Club RR Member Number: 45
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This was the NAUGHTY CORNERluckyseven
@luckyseven
Club Retro Rides Member 45
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By the way, something seems to have happened back on page 331 and gone largely unremarked. I know it's hard to keep up with this place sometimes but it appears that Mr Darkspeed has been ostracised like some cad being mocked in the town square. I've no dog in that fight but it seems curiously at odds with the ethos here and it makes me sad  Just sayin' |
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See, I knew no-one ever reads my threads ...where I've mentioned having paint colour matched at AutoPaints Brighton several times. They will match to any piece of bodywork (they used something as small as an indicator pod from the Beetle and as large as the sliding door runner panel from the bus) but will only mix a minimum of a litre. Which they can then decant into rattlecans if you ask. But it tends to work out best part of a £100 to get what's left of a litre of colour-match and a few spraycans. However, they've never got funny or refused to do it and it's at worst next day, sometimes the same day if you go in early and they don't have too much of a delivery run to do By the way, something seems to have happened back on page 331 and gone largely unremarked. I know it's hard to keep up with this place sometimes but it appears that Mr Darkspeed has been ostracised like some cad being mocked in the town square. I've no dog in that fight but it seems curiously at odds with the ethos here and it makes me sad Just sayin' Apologies about the Brighton auto paints thing! It is probably my comment you are referring to? I just felt it was a little unfair to make very negative comments about someone's new car/pride and joy. We all have a common interest here so to belittle what someone has just spent some hard earned on isnt necessary imo. Maybe I'm just too sensitive!? I don't think ostracised (as I understand the word) is the case, he has now excluded himself. If I have overstepped the line I am happy to apologise. |
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to give me the hole pattern.
...where I've mentioned having paint colour matched at AutoPaints Brighton several times. They will match to any piece of bodywork (they used something as small as an indicator pod from the Beetle and as large as the sliding door runner panel from the bus) but will only mix a minimum of a litre. Which they can then decant into rattlecans if you ask. But it tends to work out best part of a £100 to get what's left of a litre of colour-match and a few spraycans. 