Al's 145 barn find

bigal · 2015-05-10T11:29:49+00:00

Update - I've found a 1974 145 and purchased. She's a Barn Find! Details to be revealed later! :-)

bigal

Good tinker with the wagon on the weekend. Pics for you.

Gave it a wash. Working on indicators at moment so that's why the front right is out.

Got the bulk of the caked on grease out of the engine bay, including underneath the engine and transmission. 2 cans of citrus based degreaser applied, left it for a while and rinsed off. Then sprayed some Aerospace Protectant 303 over the engine to give it a bit of shine. There's still a bit of detailing to go but getting the bulk of the grease out was the aim and very happy with how it turned out.

Before (photo from when it arrived):

After:

Did some further experimenting with polishing. As this vehicle will be a Preservation style example I have decided to keep the nics and scratches but remove any surface rust from them. Any deep rust however will be cut and repaired properly, there's bugger-all of that however.

Surface rust removed here with some polish. A bit of difference.

I'm liking the high gloss patina.

I should have the 140 steelies back from the blaster/painter this week hopefully.

bigal

Picked up the wheels this arvo. Pretty happy with em. "Silver Grey" is a bit lighter in colour than I thought. The big industrial place only had limited colours to choose from in their epoxy range. I'll probably end up respraying the face of them but at least they've been blasted and are back in a tidy condition.

Tassie6er

Hey Al,
Can you show me a picture of the citrus degreaser you used - that engine is amazing and what are you going to do with the old steel rims and hub caps? - I know a good home for them....
Becher

bigal

@Tassie6er Hi, These two products below are what I used. Stick a plastic bag over sensitive bits like the battery. Give it a good dosing of degreaser, agitate the really greasy areas with a small brush, let it sit for a bit (10-15min) then blast it off with a hose. Repeat if needed. Let the engine bay dry out for a while in the sun then spray some 303 everywhere, wipe over the black parts and she's done.

bigal

Not sure about the early 200 Steelies just yet. I did offer them to my brother. Like em? They're 5.5" wide all round.

Tassie6er

yup, thanks for that - I'm keen for the width - but as long as they go to a good home, I don't mind if your brother takes precedent! Still can't believe how well the engine came up!

bigal

Guys, I need some recommendations. I need to get some tyres organised for these rims I've just had restored. My plan is for 15x5" rims up the front and 15x5.5" up the back for a slightly staggered look but the tricky thing now is getting tyres to suite.

I had planned 165/80r15 up the front and something like a 175 or 185 at the back but getting the right size to keep the diameter close to the fronts is near impossible. 175/75r15 appear not to exist and 185/70r15 are very difficult to get (yes, talked to antique tyres in Melbourne).

So my options now are to put something like a 195/65r15 at the back which look great on a 5.5" but will the staggered look be too extreme now between front and back? (165 front and 195 back)

I can't put 195/65r15 all the way around cause it's too wide for the 5" on the front.

So do I just give up and go 165/80r15 all the way round?

Head hurts from all this thinking.

Tassie6er

Al,
The correct tyres are worth the effort and you'll kick yourself every time you look at the car, so while I can't say what to get, i can say what not to and that is the 165 and 195 combo - it will look silly.

Rob

honestly there will be little to no difference between the 5's an 5.5's. 195's are pretty wide on a 5.5.

I would be running 165s all the way round.

1971_144GL

For these cars I have stuck with the 5" as it is too easy to end up with the rubber scuffing the rear wheel arches if you drive with any passion around corners - even with recent suspension bushes. There is not much room for wider. When I have put on wider, there has not been an improvement, and the car has got harder to drive steering wise at low speed. 165R15 Pirelli Cinturato CA67 have been remade in the last couple of years. Michelin do the size, as well as yokakama, and a couple of less reputable company's. I have always had to pester people to get them in. I've really enjoyed Pirelli on my P1800, and they have lasted very well. Expect to pay $250-300 each for a good brand in the original size, production volume has put the price up. My experience is that modern rubber is so much better that even the narrow (by modern standard) wheels work well, proportional to the limited engine output of these cars.

Rob

1971_144GL;76387 wroteFor these cars I have stuck with the 5" as it is too easy to end up with the rubber scuffing the rear wheel arches if you drive with any passion around corners - even with recent suspension bushes. There is not much room for wider.

I have 7's on the rear of mine with zero rubbing.

bigal

Thanks all. 165 it is!

My favourite tyre shop in town has 2 offerings. Balanced and fitted:

Nexen SB802 165/80r15 $89
Hankook K715 165/80r15 $114

Leaning towards the Hankooks but I'll check out some other brands mentioned. I have Yoko's and Pirellis on all my other cars and a fan of both.

bigal

If anyone is wondering, I chose the Hankook cheese cutters (K715 165/80r15 $114) and now waiting for them to arrive. I didn't really want to spend any more than that. Here's a bit about them..

http://www.hankooktire.com/uk/passenger-cars/hankook-optimo-k715.html

The Atlas inserts arrived. Looking forward to trying them out after the tyres have been fitted.

bigal

Tyres arrived and have been fitted. They (I wont name names) managed to scratch a couple on the outer lip during fitment. I received a discount so all good. I'll either touch them up, stick some beauty rings on or I may even respray the face of them if I don't like the colour.

Quick mock-up.. Phat!

Tassie6er

Put em on, put em on!

Jaz

Looks good mate! What method of polish are you using? By hand or machine? Its coming up really good!

bigal

@Jaz Thanks! By hand for the polishing on those couple of test areas. I have a dual action polisher so plan to use that on the bigger panels and stick to hand polishing for the smaller and trickier areas. I like to tape up areas where I don't want the polish to get on. The areas you can see on those last few photos in the wheel mock-up havent been polished yet. Should look fantastic when she's gleaming!

@Tassie6er I'll attempt to have the wheels on in the next few days. Garage is small and it's a bit of a chore moving it out in the cold and dark after work.

bigal

@bgpzfm142 How's Chloe the 145 going?

1971_144GL

Are you missing the chrome on the passenger side rear? Pretty sure I will have one in the hoard.
The new wheels look great. I hope to be in melbourne in a few weeks and will find that stainless screw you need.

Major Ledfoot

bigal;77743 wrote@bgpzfm142 How's Chloe the 145 going?

Still have multiple rust issues to deal with... I will update my thread when there's more to see.

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