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I bought this car in March 2015 and it looked pretty good when I went to see it and even better when I cleaned it up.
However when i read some of the posts on here, particularly Ian's on rot under the windscreen, I looked a bit closer and could see signs of corrosion.
Also when you looked at the paintwork there were lots of small imperfections from a previous respray. The front spoiler was cracked and the rear spoiler was showing considerable amounts of crazing. There was also signs of rust showing on the roof on the line where the drainage tube from the sunroof runs to the rear of the roof. Although this sounds a bit grim the rest of the car is very sound and the underneath is in really good condition having benefited from PAVA body protection.
If you looked at the from 6 feet away it looked pretty good and the photos I have added to this post show how good it looked.
I am afraid it wasn't good enough for me.
In January this year I took the car to a restorer and asked him to sort out all the rust issues, do a complete repaint, and redo the underbody protection. He said it would be finished by the end of March.
March came and went, then April, May and June. He has come up with every excuse under the sun and has promised faithfully it will be ready by the time I get back from my holiday at the start of August. I told him I was going to go Shelsley Walsh and needed the car back for that so fingers crossed.
I saw the car a couple of weeks ago and he has made some progress and I have posted a few photo's of the car in its current state. I am going to go and see the car next week and hopefully get a few more pics. I am a bit stuck because I want to swear at him and threaten him but I don't want him to speed up and not get a quality job done because he is rushing. I am satisfied with the quality of what he is doing but I am going to miss most of the summer. What summer?









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That car looks great with black color and Kamei spoiler - love it! Wish you it will be on the road soon...

What a wonderful colour. Very nice elford.
Your "Restorer"? has cut the drainage tube from the sunroof

Went to see the car today and was expecting it to be nearly finished. I should have known better.
The man of "every excuse under the sun" now says he got metal in his eye and hadn't been able to resume work until Tuesday this week despite his assurances it would be finished.
My misplaced optimism got the better of me and I brought the carb specialist with me to tune the car up as I was hoping to bring the car home next week. He ended up taking the carb with him to give it a rebuild and will refit it next week. I will return next week with him to try and keep the pressure up.
The quality of the work resto looks pretty good but if it was practicable I would take the car away and get someone else to finish it.
He is still repairing the front and rear spoilers, he has to finish off the roof welds, complete the repairs to the windscreen surrounds, complete the paint preparation, prime and repaint the whole car, rust proof the underneath, fit the Elford Turbo side skirts, replace the clutch, fit the new Cibie spotlights and radio aerial.
Needless to say a miracle will need to have taken place for me to attend Restro Rides at the end of the month. I doubt it will be ready for another 2 months
I attach the photos I took this morning and you will be able to clearly see the lack of progress since the last series of photos I posted.
He has had the car since early January and 7 months have come and gone and I still have no idea when it will be ready. I have sworn and shouted at him but it makes no difference. I am seriously considering Dibs baseball bat option!

spirit r wrote:What a wonderful colour. Very nice elford.
Your "Restorer"? has cut the drainage tube from the sunroof

I don't think he has cut the drainage tube as it is tucked away behind the new plate he welded. I did check this.

Kevin what can I say ..... you know when these people tell lies as their lips move ......... It looks to me that you are in for the long haul, to rush him now will only end in a bad job.

good luck

Dibs

Threesevens wrote:

spirit r wrote:What a wonderful colour. Very nice elford.
Your "Restorer"? has cut the drainage tube from the sunroof

I don't think he has cut the drainage tube as it is tucked away behind the new plate he welded. I did check this.

You can see it on your picture: By the way: check your rear brake pads!!!

A7RXY wrote:Kevin to rush him now will only end in a bad job. good luck Dibs

Can´t see a good job here anyway, only flimsy excuse. Hope you will give him money after he finished the work.

I really feel for you being in this situation Kevin.... you're caught between a rock and a hard place really.
If you leave the car with him, it'll probably be another 6 months before it's done, assuming he can motive himself..... I've restored loads of cars over the years and doing the bodywork and getting a car into paint is only part of the process.... it takes an age to refit all the trim, parts etc onto a freshly painted car and in many ways seems just as time consuming as the bodywork.
I'd probably take the car back off him as is but then you've got the hassle of squaring him up for the work that he has managed to do ( and putting some sort of value on it) and then finding another quality classic car restorer or bodyshop who can finish the car to the standard you want and be prepared to take on a half restored car.

Hi Spirit, I agree there appears to be a cut in the drainage hose but only on the surface, I hope. I will get him to check