Ians GTC rebuild. And now with MOT and a few more horses

Post by **GTC Ian** » Mon Feb 26, 2018 8:57 am

After it started out as some well deserved TLC to the GTC ( Barbaras SS1 taking all the time for the last 2 years) it has now manifested itself into what can only be described as a rebuild. See my original plan here

The fabric on the front seats was beyond repair and unavailable, so a full retrim was decided... in leather. With all the interior now removed and awaiting my slot at our local trimmer,removed carpets to find the sill strengthener rotted in the footwell. Out that came. Bottom of the A pillar.. rotten. In the process of making a repair plate. While I was removing the soft top frame it slipped down the side of the car. Quite a mess of scuffs and scratches.
So been to our local paintshop on Saturday to see if he could repair it. With Barbaras persuasion, it is now having a full respray and I mean full respray. He is doing the engine bay, inside boot and bonnet bumpers in satin black. He is even going to tackle the shutlines on the doors and bootlid. Says they are bad and spoil the car. He even found some previous accident damage that we have never noticed.
Added to the list of jobs is now engine and gearbox out.
Oh and on the way back from the paint shop the car wouldnt idle and stalled on the drive ( never done that before). While trying to find the problem I noticed the brake master cylinder is weeping. Something else added to the list.
Will add photos when I suss out how to post them

Post by **philhoward** » Mon Feb 26, 2018 9:35 am

Blimey Ian

The damage from the slipping frame sounds bad enough (or was it planned

) but by the sounds of it there will both of you in the concours next?...

Post by **GTC Ian** » Mon Feb 26, 2018 9:44 am

That exactly what barbara said. Thats not the plan. I just want it looking really good. After all Ive had the car 14 years so I think it deserves the attention. Thankfully the chassis is good as I done all the bad bits a couple of years ago for the MOT.

Post by **philhoward** » Mon Feb 26, 2018 9:45 am

GTC Ian wrote: ↑
Mon Feb 26, 2018 9:44 am
That exactly what barbara said

ard126k · Post by **ard126k** » Mon Feb 26, 2018 10:16 am

Unless you're doing other work it's not absolutely necessary to take the engine out. I stripped around it and the painter masked the rest -

: 2017-12-30-PHOTO-00000047.jpg (127.71 KiB) Viewed 4677 times

: 2017-12-30-PHOTO-00000045.jpg (142.84 KiB) Viewed 4677 times

Looks fine to me!

Alex.

Post by **GTC Ian** » Mon Feb 26, 2018 10:40 am

That was the orginal thinking. But I have a few oil leaks that need doing and the heads need removing to do the valve seals. It might be easier with the engine on the stand. Only problem I can see is putting the engine back in a freshly painted car. Scarey. BTW I do like the colour of yours.

Post by **gtcse8** » Mon Feb 26, 2018 8:28 pm

Ian

Why do you need to do the valve seats?????.

ALL Cologne heads were UnLeaded from new.

Ford used an Induction Hardening system to harden the Exhaust seats on ALL heads.

The only problem may be the valves themselves which is easily overcome by using a newer type which has more chrome moly used in the manufacture.
The water ways are VERY close to the valve seats on the Cologne and they have to be machined VERY carefully if inserts are used.

Been there and got the teashirt.
Mark

Post by **GTC Ian** » Tue Feb 27, 2018 8:31 am

Its the valve stem seals that need doing. Gets a bit smokey sometimes when it starts up. Didnt know all Colognes were unleaded from new though.

Post by **scimjim** » Tue Feb 27, 2018 8:39 am

I’ve never heard that either? For as long as I can remember, Cologne hardened seats have been identified by a letter cast into the heads - as listed from Ford on Burtons site here and Car Clinic, who are well respected Essex and Cologne builders, sell unleaded conversions here.

The later 2.4 & 2.9 were all hardened as standard.

Post by **GTC Ian** » Thu Apr 26, 2018 8:40 am

Now back in the garage in earnest, the jobs are getting done. Rollbar base welded and now bolted back to the chassis, new stainless steel sill strengthener fitted and glassed in,and strip down for the respray almost done. Thankfully my sister has an almost empty garage so at least I can store all the plastic boxes with the parts where I dont keep falling over them.
Engine not so good. Took the heads off and 4 of the cylinders have minute vertical score marks. So engine out and off to CK Motor Engineers in High Wycombe. He is going to do a total rebuild on the engine and hopefully to try a squeeze a few more horses in. He did Barbaras engine in the SS1 and we are more than pleased with it.
Interior should be back from the trimmers soon. With that going in the spare bedrooms along with the new carpets, silicone water hoses, soft top, door cards and a load of other bits it now resembles a parts warehouse.

Post by **RonH** » Sat Apr 28, 2018 11:40 pm

GTC Ian wrote: ↑
Thu Apr 26, 2018 8:40 am
Interior should be back from the trimmers soon. With silicone water hoses, soft top.

Hello Ian
Will you please supply me with some further details on the suppliers and costs of the trimmers and silicon hoses that you have used.
Regards
Ron

Post by **GTC Ian** » Sun Apr 29, 2018 9:30 am

Hi Ron,
The hoses came from Classic hoses .http://www.classicsiliconehoses.com/
Seats are being done local to where I live. http://www.evanstrim.com/
My seats etc are being trimmed in leather after a long debate whether to go down the vinyl path. For the extra money I opted for a higher grade of leather.The estimate was around £1750. Might seem a bit dear but I wanted the luxury look. With the engine rebuild and respray it doesnt look too bad when you add it all up. Ive had the car 14 years so it deserves it. Hopefully nothing needs spending on the SS1.
Ian

Post by **RonH** » Sun Apr 29, 2018 10:37 am

Thank you Ian for your reply. GTC 404 has both of the aforementioned mentioned items. However, I wanted to gather some current figures as I may install on my others.
Ron

Post by **GTC Ian** » Wed May 16, 2018 3:35 pm

gtcse8 wrote: ↑
Mon Feb 26, 2018 8:28 pm
Ian

Why do you need to do the valve seats?????.

ALL Cologne heads were UnLeaded from new.

Ford used an Induction Hardening system to harden the Exhaust seats on ALL heads.

The only problem may be the valves themselves which is easily overcome by using a newer type which has more chrome moly used in the manufacture.
The water ways are VERY close to the valve seats on the Cologne and they have to be machined VERY carefully if inserts are used.

Been there and got the teashirt.
Mark

Just heard back from the engine tuner. No hardened valve seats on one of the heads. Not sure about the other head. When I bought the car 14 years ago, I was told it had been converted to run on unleaded. That is a job I hadnt bargained for. Bores only need honing and new rings, though there are a couple of mismatched con-rods. talk about swings and roundabouts.
Seems I was lucky to get 14 years and 35,000 miles out of the engine. I had never needed to work on the engine until now.
Oh well at least I will have a good engine to go with my new interior. Just got it back from the trimmers... stunning.
Now for the paint job.
Will post the pictures once I get it sussed how to do it

Post by **scimjim** » Wed May 16, 2018 3:46 pm

Wasn’t a SE engine was it?