So, we're into the final stretch now.
This saw events such as cleaning the interior. The original parcel shelf was very moth-eaten, so I sourced another one from a scrap car. (Obviously, the one from the gold car was different and didn't fit...)
This was repainted with SEM Colour Coat paint - which worked surprisingly well, but the colours on the tins don't come close to matching the colours on the online colour chart...
I also sourced a new bit of chrome trim for the bumper, as one bit had rotten through...
All of the rear bumper trim was removed, cleaned up and the insides painted with Epoxy mastic. Front bumper still to be done...
Other small jobs included refurbishing the wheels, which were very scruffy.
With hindsight, I should have lacquered the wheels rather than leaving the rattle can silver finish. We'll see how they hold up.
I also undersealed the arches and sills before refitting the sills trims and arch liners. All the sill and rear wheelarch box sections were drowned in cavity wax, too.
Once everything was refitted, we had this:
The front reg plate was cracked and damaged when I got the car. I was very fortunate to 'find' a set of unused reg plates in the old pre-2001 Charles Wright font, which to my mind look a lot better than the post-2001 one.
Finally, with just a week to go I began touching in all the stone chips on the light grey lower panelling. This was done by just spraying the colour matched aerosol into the lid, and using it as touch up paint with a brush. It's not perfect, but takes the eye away from the imperfections.
Once everything was touched in, it was time to give it a bloody good clean, polish and wax. This took me and my friend Steve an entire day to do (huge thanks to Steve!).
This was done on the Sunday before the wedding, this being the end result:
The car covered the 300 miles to and from the wedding utterly effortlessly. It's by far the longest journey it's done under its own steam since 2006, and the refinement and comfort still are utterly impressive, surpassing many of the modern cars I've driven for my work.
Over the 300 miles, it seems to have averaged 21-22MPG. Not incredible, but it's a 5.5l v8 with 300bhp and 1.8 tonnes unladen.
That'll be the end of updates for a while now, but will update in future if more major work is done!
