SWU - Matt's 1976 Sprint Auto

[Matt Cotton]

Many thanks for that Bish! I really am no expert, but do feel far more confident now that I have reached the end of the metalwork (i hope!) I've said it before, but James' excellent write ups and pictures have been the catalyst for this project...he makes it look so easy.

Yes, Tahiti is nice and i'm sure it will polish up well. I think a white Sprint is my favorite of all of them, but they look good in any colour don't they!

[new to this]

Matt

nice work ,you could fit rivnuts in the valance for the number plate and then fit the plastic bolts to hold the number plate in place ,or they sell small square plastic blocks for the Stag front grill simular to the side light plastic blocks but smaller ( paddocks or Robsport )

Dave

[Matt Cotton]

Thanks for that Dave. I'll have a look into that.

Kind regards MC

[dollyman]

Hi Matt, that job is a credit to you I take my hat off to you, doing it in a small space and making such a good job

Tony.

[Moneypitz]

Hello Matt, very skilful Job you’re doing there, the car is looking great!

Will

[Matt Cotton]

Hello all.

The last few weeks have been quite rewarding out in the garage, mainly refitting the front end.

All pretty straightforward really, the headlamp panels refitted with 'rivnuts' (i'm a big fan of these now!) along with the grilles etc. I had to move the radiator forward a little so as I could do up the bolts holding the grilles in place - I ordered some nice stainless steel black bolts for this purpose.

The front spoiler was in pretty good shape, although the threads on the end were long since gone. Luckily, the hole where they are located hadn't worn too badly, so I inserted a bolt in each end and encapsulated it around with Milliput putty - seems to have done the trick and I was able to bolt it back in place.

The front numberplate I refurbished ages ago - last summer - really not a priority at the time, but I thought it would be a good incentive for the many weeks and months ahead - so it was great to be able to fit this to the new front valence - quite a milestone! Again I used my favourite fixing method for this.

I then moved onto finishing of the nearside inner wings. All repaired now and in primer and epoxy mastic. I always like inner arches in body colour, so had a small kit of Upol 'Raptor' paint mixed up in Tahiti blue. This can be sprayed or brushed/rolled on and is really easy to apply. It gives a hardwearing finish, which I hope will last well.

I managed to persuade my Mum and Dad to have a go at the alloy wheels over lockdown! Provided with wet and dry paper and Autosol, they did a really nice job of polishing them up. I stripped off all the peeling black paint from the insides of the wheels, epoxy primed and painted them with satin paint. I purchased a small tin of alloy wheel paint from ebay for the black segments - applied carefully with a brush.
This week I took the wheels and tyres to be fitted. Mike Groom kindly provided two Uniroyal rain expert tyres with minimal wear from his car and I purchased another two from Demon Tweeks very reasonably at under £40 each. Once fitted, it is great to see the car with its original wheels back on.

Other jobs have included wet flatting the nearside rear wing and then polishing with a da sander with some Ultimate Compound from Meguires. This has come up really well.

Next job for next week - decorating our spare room! Once this is done, I will paint the offside inner arches as before etc.. Then a small amount of bodywork around the windscreen to paint following repair and we can start putting the interior back in.

Not far now!

Best wishes MC

[dollyman]

That looks really smart Matt I know a lot of work goes into the wheels as well with solvol, black finger's for day's (i hate wearing gloves) No doubt the car is going in the spare room when you have finished the decorating It deserve's to

Tony.

[Tony Burd]

Looks superb Matt, good job!

[Matt Cotton]

Its been quite a productive few weeks since my last update.

I finished off painting around the windscreen on the offside, which had been repaired but not yet painted.

The headrests were very thin, so a while ago I purchased some new foams from a Rimmers sale. Quite a straightforward job to replace the foams and I was amazed at the lack of foam remaining...most of it was dust!

The interior is now back in too, just cleaned up and replaced. I fitted some additional sound proofing pads around the transmission tunnel - 'Silentcoat' pads were used as the base covering with some of their sound proofing matting over the top.
The interior is in good shape really, one of the saving graces of the car. The only downside was the front door cards, which had been cut quite poorly for speakers - of which don't exist! I've been looking for some decent replacements for the duration of this project. Luckily Steve 'Carledo' had a good nearside one at TDCIR last year, and a regular at our Oxfordshire club meet Chris came up trumps last week with a drivers side one, so these are now fitted.

Other jobs have included polishing up the faded paintwork with my D.A polisher and a mixture of compounds - mostly Meguires Ultimate Compound. I am delighted how the car has responded - the doors, boot and bonnet I haven't really touched repair wise, so I am pleased how they have responded. I did think a respray would be the order of the day initially, but it will be fine 'as is' for now, although the boot is covered with microblisters which is a shame.

I also recovered the 'D' post vinyl. Years ago I replaced one side on OPD - my 1500HL. I'm sure I managed to fit the replacement in one piece using a heatgun and Evostik. Whether this vinyl I used is more heavy duty I don't know, but I struggled to mould around the door shut and had to make a few slits in the vinyl to get it to fit - It looks ok though and i've managed to cover up the little gaps fairly well.

My father in law Richard Old visited us last week. He is always keen to help and so kindly repaired the nearside indicator wiring. This had been cut at somepoint and crudely repaired without proper connections - just wrapped round with electrical tape. Richard had the correct male and female connectors, so spent a good time preparing and reconnecting it all up - great job done.

So, I'm nearly there now. A few bits of trim to fit - guttering etc and headlamps to adjust. Richard also noted excessive play in the steering rack, so the rack bushes will be replaced with poly ones before I take the car for an MOT!

[new to this]

Matt

where did you get the silentcoat pads from , wondering if they would fit behind the rear wheel arch im fitting ?

Dave

[Matt Cotton]

Hello Dave.

I got the Silent Coat pads from

[https://www.deadening.co.uk/]
They are quite local to me and very helpful.

They are self adhesive, so a doddle to fit. I've fitted them before to my other Dolomite and also to my modern car in the boot which was lacking in soundproofing. Made a noticeable difference.

MC

[RSi]

Great progress Matt. The speed in which you've got through the work's impressive, it's looking really nice!!

[Matt Cotton]

Hello all.

The last few weeks have really just been finishing off odds and ends - bits of trim in the boot, parcel shelf etc..
I also replaced the steering rack bushes with a set from Chris Wittor. On the 1500HL I have and am used to, access to the nearside mounting is hampered by the oil sump... on the Sprint I find it is the oil pump/filter! In the end I undid the engine mount and raised the engine slightly to facilitate access - supported by a support beam I've recently purchased secondhand - quite a useful tool.
With this done, the rack is now firmly in position.

So this weekend, I decided to take it for a spin! I only went around the local vicinity, but enough to get it up to temperature and blow the cobwebs out. Initially lots of blue smoke followed me, but once up to temperature it seemed to burn off - I guess down to the months of inactivity during the refurbisment.
In general I am pleased, it starts and stops nicely and seems to drive quite well. It does seem to hunt at around 55 - 60 mph and I think is a bit rattly? I haven't checked any of the ignition timing yet, or changed points/plugs/condenser, so I will try and illiminate these before I get too carried away!
The nearside wheelbearing is also noisy, so I will replace this before I take it for an MOT - It is exempt, but I will always still take the cars for the annual check. Until this is done I won't use the car too much.

Other jobs will include alloy carb mounts - which were supplied by the previous owner, re-torque of the head etc.. all jobs I can do over the winter period.

It is great to see it back on the road though and I've had such a great time in the garage over the last 18 months, loved every minute of it!

I will keep you posted on how we get on as the car gets used more frequently.

All the best.
MC

[dollyman]

Very nice Matt, the car is a credit to all your hard work. Well done

Tony.

[Bish]

Good work Matt, nicely done sir

My cars a bit rattly too! Maybe the timing chain, maybe the valve clearances, maybe something else, I’m not sure just yet. At least we won’t get bored with our cars just yet - there’s always something still to do....