Not exactly a n Elf/Hornet, but close

Latest photos.







I am having some problems with the rear lenses. The car came with three out of the four rear lenses, and two of them were broken. There are no markings, nubers or codes on them. I thought they were the same as a Lucas Elf/Hornet, MGB type. I bought three NOS sets from ebay. The bottom red lens fits perfectly. the top orange one is a bit too narow and does not fit onto its correct position perfectly. Its not bad and a bystander will never notice, but I wouldlike to find a perfect match. It isa difficult without a code. The chrome pod does not have any markings either.



Any thoughts?

The bottom of the chrome puts me in mind of an Austin Cambridge, but it's not that. As regards the lens, I have something a bit like it in a box in the shed; I'll see what's in there.

I made two spray cans of Clipper Blue and Island Blue to compare them to the original colour. Very confusing. Its difficult to see in the pictures as it was an overcast day and I tried to take pics with and without flash under different lights and outside. To me the original colour is something closer to clipper blue but slightly darker.











I also started to polish the varius aluminium trim bits from around the car and they are coming out beautifully.






I also started to polish the varius aluminium trim bits from around the car and they are coming out beautifully.



A general mess



Suspension component cleaning

Not sure if you should be expecting the headlight bowl to be the exact shade of the cars original colour as it will have only had an overspray in which case it would be a shade or two lighter than the original?

TONYELF wrote:Not sure if you should be expecting the headlight bowl to be the exact shade of the cars original colour as it will have only had an overspray in which case it would be a shade or two lighter than the original?

I agree with Tony. I'm gonna hazard a guess at Florentine Blue (isn't that the same as yours Tony?)

Whichever blue they used, it would definitely have been darker than the headlight bowl.

Jase

discoman41 wrote:

TONYELF wrote:Not sure if you should be expecting the headlight bowl to be the exact shade of the cars original colour as it will have only had an overspray in which case it would be a shade or two lighter than the original?

I agree with Tony. I'm gonna hazard a guess at Florentine Blue (isn't that the same as yours Tony?)

Whichever blue they used, it would definitely have been darker than the headlight bowl.

Jase

Yes

Latest update.

The bodyman is continuing sanding,filling and repairing rusted areas.







I am having trouble finding a correct sisal mat for the car



I have made samples of Clipper, Riviera, Florentine and Island blue and none match the car. Closest so far is riviera but its a bit too dark and too blue.



I also think I have to refurbish the two C-pillar chrome decorations.





They were riveted in place but I cannot imagine this being an factory job. I will have to fill the holes, weld new "legs" and rechrome them.

Coming along nicely - could this be the fastest full restoration yet ?

reymondos wrote: I cannot imagine this being an factory job.

I think you have just hit the nail on the head there. I would imagine it would have been built in a little shed out of the way somewhere where everything was hand made from scratch, which also means that with regard to the paint, it could be anything, and not necessarily a "mini" colour, and would have been sprayed properly. I must admit it does remind me of the Leyland mini van blue, unfortunately the wrong era.

I can see you will have great fun trying to recreate the seats. I wonder what type of seats would speed boats, etc, have had from this era? might be worth inquiring at a boat restorers.You could also try contacting some one like lloyd Loom link. With the back lights, it may be worth asking some of the lucas specialists that can be found on the web to see if they have seen anything like this, but they could also have been bespoke.

I can see a great excuse for a holiday coming up, just to meet this car

Gordon

Catmint could very well be right, it does look like my 79 mini van blue. Having said that I would not bother to match as there is no other to compare with and there maybe no one around who would say "That's the wrong colour"

Good luck on your final choice of colour and the restoration.

By the Way, would you mind if we use some of your photos on our display at the Bingley Show on the 30th January?

TONYELF wrote:
By the Way, would you mind if we use some of your photos on our display at the Bingley Show on the 30th January?

ΟΚ. No problem.

I will have the seats redone by a Lloyds Loom approved cane-chair restorer in Kent. I will also be attending the Mini Fair in Stafford at the end of this month, to shop for early Mini spares.

Thank you John. the register members will be delighted to meet you at Bingley on our Stand

See our Show thread here
https://elf-hornet.forumotion.com/t800-bingley-hall-staffs-30th-jan-2011

Yes John, would love to meet you at Bingley. Come over and have a piece of "Birthday Cake"

Tony - what sort of display are you doing? Unfortunately I have been let down on display boards Am still trying though! Or don't I have to bother if you have something sorted?

Jase

I have an artist easel and perspex fronted board and have started to print off some photos of the beach car and Red Rileys Elf (his request) I am using the shots that John and Brian have put on the forum so as not to "upset" Mini Mag copyrite wise (They are obviously going to be there.) I think you should bring yours or what ever you can to the show. My aluminium table is 2'x4' approx so we can put a fair bit on it. Just give me a few hours today I will assemble and take a photo to show you what I have.
I am sure we will be able to put on a nice show

TONYELF wrote:I have an artist easel and perspex fronted board and have started to print off some photos of the beach car and Red Rileys Elf (his request) I am using the shots that John and Brian have put on the forum so as not to "upset" Mini Mag copyrite wise (They are obviously going to be there.) I think you should bring yours or what ever you can to the show. My aluminium table is 2'x4' approx so we can put a fair bit on it. Just give me a few hours today I will assemble and take a photo to show you what I have.
I am sure we will be able to put on a nice show

If you actually show the whole article/s, there's no copyright infringement for simply displaying, plus it actually promotes their mag.

Should be fine.

Jase

A new report and some questions...

I have been organizing and cleaning various parts of the car.

The speedo is in quite good condition. I will have to re-chrome the surround, the face is just slightly worn as if rust is coming through, and the outer ring is pitted and will need to be repainted.








What colour should it be? the outer side of the ring has a very deep purple colour.

The binnacle was painted pale blue but I found some Old English White underneath, so I will go for that colour when I paint it.

THe steering column cover is a tougher call. It was painted bright white, I found Old English White underneath and further down a layer of blue like the body colour.





What should I do? I prefer the OEW so it will be similar to the speedo binnacle.

I cleaned the carb and could resist polishing the bell-cover...



An SU carb service kit is on its way.

I started cleaning the rear suspension



and the rear subframe is almost ready to be primered and chassis-coated.





Today I spent the day preparing the seat frames. I picked up the frames from the wood workshop. It took the man five full days to copy the woodwork.



Old and new wood.



I then removed the wood frame and sriped the colour off the metal frame

before



after






The seats have now been primered and will be painted tomorrow. I need to have them ready for my trip to the UK this weekend. I will deliver them personally to the Lloyds Loom restorer.



I also picked up the dynamo and starter that have been overhauled by a specialist.





Tomorrow I will pick up the steel wheels from the podwer coating shop. I am now looking for suitable tyres that I will paint with a whitewall.. I am still thinking about trailer tyres...

Everything is coming on good and very fast.
In answer to your questions. The rim around the clock would normally be chromed.
The plastic surrounds to the clock and steering column would normally be black but having said that the originality of the whole car would appear to be as Catmint said, "A one off" and in this case all was sprayed blue in the first instance ! ? ????
So I say, go with your instincts and just co-ordinate everything to your own taste.
You will find plenty of clocks and steering column surrounds at the show and depending on your weight restriction on your flight you could take a few home and experiment with different colours!

I seem to think the early lamp pods were a white cardboard afair - I know I have a couple in the loft that are white. The white speedo faces do tend to show rust through unfortunately, but there are specialists that will restore/repaint them.

Coming on fantastically well - I wish I could rebuild this fast ! Keep up the good work

Gordon

The purple ring in the photo sits on the outer edge of the speedo, inside the glass, and covers the slots on the perimeter of the speedo.
Maybe its just black.....

reymondos wrote:The purple ring in the photo sits on the outer edge of the speedo, inside the glass, and covers the slots on the perimeter of the speedo.
Maybe its just black.....

Just had a quick look on google for early speeds and this one shows it quite well. The speed on the left is an Austin, the right is Morris

The Austin speedo on the right is just like mini. The ring seems to be a dark brown colour.

Today I spent the day painting the seats.

Before



After



I also picked up the powder-coated wheels. They came out a bit too white for my liking.

Latest update.

I've been stripping and painting various parts.









I also got this magazine with a beach car on the cover and nothing written about it in side. It is even described wrongly as a Moke!!!



Here is the tank. You can see how rusty it is through the filler neck.







I also found a date stamped onto the inside of the brake drums.

Here is a latest update.

finished painting the binacle and steering column covers.



Finished cleaning and painting the right light unit. Quite a difference.





Also cleaned, stripped and painted the pedal assembly. It in now drying.







I got my cross-ply tyres today. I will now fit them to the powdercoated wheels and then paint the whitewall.

Good grief man, what do you do in your spare time?
It's gonna look fantastic at this rate, I can't wait to see the finished project!
Or better still, have a ride in it .No scrap that. On it!

all the bits and pieces are coming together nicely and looking very good. making me ashamed of how long poor old Rusty is taking though!

Another update.

I went by the body shop today. The underside of the car is nearly finished. It has been de-waxed, cleaned, repaired , "ironed" wherever necessary, primered, plasticoated, and soon it will be wax-protected again. It looks pretty good in my eyes!!!!









I made this dolly today from a loading palette, a large piece of plywood and 4 castor wheels. The car will be removed from the rotisserie and will need to be moved around. The subframes are being powdercoated as we speak, and all suspension parts are being cleaned, painted and re-bushed.



I found all these numbers on a bottom link of the front suspension. No number looks like a date.



I am still looking at carpet materials. Today I was looking again at a sample I have, and it doesn't look too far off.