Hi guys
Sorry but I guess I just need to unload a bit......
From my last two posts I think it is clear that I have a few "technical" issues with my car (like the fact that I disassembled it)
I think the real problem is that I am just burned out. Yesterday I probably would have given it to any to anyone who could pick it up immediately.
So here is what I have:
70 Herald convertible ( a real convertible not a sedan with the roof unbolted)
I have owned it for a about 8 years. When I bought it, in my early state of ignorance, it looked decent, with some mechanical issues. Boy did I get an education in auto mechanics!
Since I bought it I have rebuilt the engine and needed to find a different block since it was so worn out, I needed to find a new engine head since there was a crack which someone had unsuccessfully tried to weld. Carb / dizzy ..EVERYTHING on the motor is basically like new. I found two more gear boxes to build one really good box. I replaced the diff... all of the chassis rubber bits... brakes NEW NEW NEW NEW....
Mechanically I have done just about everything possible to that car, and basically I am not worried about getting home.I have also spent WAY more than any rational person would EVER spend on a Herald. Not quite Rolls Royce territory but a fortune.
I have also along the way accumulated a tremendous stock of Herald parts. (about 3 years ago when I stopped buying parts the UK went into recession)
Now the problems with the car:
However along the way, the not so bad looking body work started showing all sorts of problem, mostly because all the paint started to explode and craze. It really is an eyesore at this point. The canvas roof fell apart... basically it looks one step up from an abandoned vehicle except it has a current registration and safety sticker (it passes our equivalent of MOT with no issues)
One side of the bonnet was always to high, and slightly off center, it turns out that at some point the car was in an accident and the bulkhead was remounted about 2" off center so to get the bonnet to line up properly in the back (gap space) it messes up the geometry on the side and front.
Also the doors have never closed properly. You have to lift them to get them to close and the locks are badly worn.
And the floors are rusted through in some areas...
The electrical system was also a nightmare of an birds nest put together the the DPO with no color scheme, logic or anything else. I have a used Lucas harness waiting to be put in easily repairable condition.
So about 2 weeks ago on my once every 7 year extended 1 month vacation, I decided to solve some problems First i tried to solve the bonnet, to do that I needed to loosen up the body, to re-alight the bulkhead. but it turns out someone had brazed the back and front parts of the body, and then more and more parts started coming off to solve this problem, then since I was already planning to replace the roof and electrics I took them out to make it easier... and since it was almost all apart anyway I took a bunch more stuff off to paint.
NONE of this would worry me, but I DON'T have a garage, it currently looks like a piece of garbage in my very little driveway, I don't have a roof over it, rainy season is almost here, and my vacation is basically being wasted by a little project gone crazy.
Frankly if I could put it away for 6 months and then restart and work 1 hour a each night I could turn it into a beautiful well functioning car. But I don't have a place, and rental prices are so high here that renting a place isn't an option (real estate here is on Manhattan levels, maybe higher)
Right now I don't even want to look at that car but of course I don't have a choice since it is stuck in my front door.
My options now seem to be 1. call the garbage man to tow it away; 2. try and sell; 3 start putting stuff back together, at which point it probably would be easier to sell, or at least drag out to the street for a while and continue in the spring.
Complicating this is my high pressure job, the kids, a father who is NOT healthy and really could use more assistance from me, very limited parking in my neighborhood which has gotten much worse in the last few years, and my wife who while she is an angel and has tolerated my toy doesn't really like or understand it.
As for parts, I have accumulated most of the expensive stuff needed, have all the really rare chrome bits for the hood which are missing on most cars, for the most part the body is damage free (except the floors of course) and the minor damage there can be repaired with small amounts of body putty (well within what would be considered professional)
The real problem is that I let my desire to "do the job correctly" get totally out of hand, and now I have a massive mess with no place to hide it, and very little desire (at least this week) to go out and work on it, all of which has put me under massive stress making it even worse. Last night I even suggested to my wife that we should advertise it for sale and just try and get rid of it ( I know it will be at a huge loss) and spent most of the night dreaming about what to write in the add.
I probably should just go outside now, clean off the front of the bulkhead, and go back to my original plan of spray painting it with a Rustoleum like paint (this is actually much closer to the enamel paint put on by the factory than modern paints) and bolt it back into place, but I am having a very hard time getting up ANY enthusiasm to do anything more with this car, and it is causing me major stress... Frankly I have the feeling that I messed up what would have been a "sell-able" car which at least two people has called in the last few months asking about (telling me it was looking really sad) unfortunately I didn't keep there names and numbers so I can't just call them.
Anyway thanks for listening to my stressed out babbling.
Sorry but I guess I just need to unload a bit......
From my last two posts I think it is clear that I have a few "technical" issues with my car (like the fact that I disassembled it)
I think the real problem is that I am just burned out. Yesterday I probably would have given it to any to anyone who could pick it up immediately.
So here is what I have:
70 Herald convertible ( a real convertible not a sedan with the roof unbolted)
I have owned it for a about 8 years. When I bought it, in my early state of ignorance, it looked decent, with some mechanical issues. Boy did I get an education in auto mechanics!
Since I bought it I have rebuilt the engine and needed to find a different block since it was so worn out, I needed to find a new engine head since there was a crack which someone had unsuccessfully tried to weld. Carb / dizzy ..EVERYTHING on the motor is basically like new. I found two more gear boxes to build one really good box. I replaced the diff... all of the chassis rubber bits... brakes NEW NEW NEW NEW....
Mechanically I have done just about everything possible to that car, and basically I am not worried about getting home.I have also spent WAY more than any rational person would EVER spend on a Herald. Not quite Rolls Royce territory but a fortune.
I have also along the way accumulated a tremendous stock of Herald parts. (about 3 years ago when I stopped buying parts the UK went into recession)
Now the problems with the car:
However along the way, the not so bad looking body work started showing all sorts of problem, mostly because all the paint started to explode and craze. It really is an eyesore at this point. The canvas roof fell apart... basically it looks one step up from an abandoned vehicle except it has a current registration and safety sticker (it passes our equivalent of MOT with no issues)
One side of the bonnet was always to high, and slightly off center, it turns out that at some point the car was in an accident and the bulkhead was remounted about 2" off center so to get the bonnet to line up properly in the back (gap space) it messes up the geometry on the side and front.
Also the doors have never closed properly. You have to lift them to get them to close and the locks are badly worn.
And the floors are rusted through in some areas...
The electrical system was also a nightmare of an birds nest put together the the DPO with no color scheme, logic or anything else. I have a used Lucas harness waiting to be put in easily repairable condition.
So about 2 weeks ago on my once every 7 year extended 1 month vacation, I decided to solve some problems First i tried to solve the bonnet, to do that I needed to loosen up the body, to re-alight the bulkhead. but it turns out someone had brazed the back and front parts of the body, and then more and more parts started coming off to solve this problem, then since I was already planning to replace the roof and electrics I took them out to make it easier... and since it was almost all apart anyway I took a bunch more stuff off to paint.
NONE of this would worry me, but I DON'T have a garage, it currently looks like a piece of garbage in my very little driveway, I don't have a roof over it, rainy season is almost here, and my vacation is basically being wasted by a little project gone crazy.
Frankly if I could put it away for 6 months and then restart and work 1 hour a each night I could turn it into a beautiful well functioning car. But I don't have a place, and rental prices are so high here that renting a place isn't an option (real estate here is on Manhattan levels, maybe higher)
Right now I don't even want to look at that car but of course I don't have a choice since it is stuck in my front door.
My options now seem to be 1. call the garbage man to tow it away; 2. try and sell; 3 start putting stuff back together, at which point it probably would be easier to sell, or at least drag out to the street for a while and continue in the spring.
Complicating this is my high pressure job, the kids, a father who is NOT healthy and really could use more assistance from me, very limited parking in my neighborhood which has gotten much worse in the last few years, and my wife who while she is an angel and has tolerated my toy doesn't really like or understand it.
As for parts, I have accumulated most of the expensive stuff needed, have all the really rare chrome bits for the hood which are missing on most cars, for the most part the body is damage free (except the floors of course) and the minor damage there can be repaired with small amounts of body putty (well within what would be considered professional)
The real problem is that I let my desire to "do the job correctly" get totally out of hand, and now I have a massive mess with no place to hide it, and very little desire (at least this week) to go out and work on it, all of which has put me under massive stress making it even worse. Last night I even suggested to my wife that we should advertise it for sale and just try and get rid of it ( I know it will be at a huge loss) and spent most of the night dreaming about what to write in the add.
I probably should just go outside now, clean off the front of the bulkhead, and go back to my original plan of spray painting it with a Rustoleum like paint (this is actually much closer to the enamel paint put on by the factory than modern paints) and bolt it back into place, but I am having a very hard time getting up ANY enthusiasm to do anything more with this car, and it is causing me major stress... Frankly I have the feeling that I messed up what would have been a "sell-able" car which at least two people has called in the last few months asking about (telling me it was looking really sad) unfortunately I didn't keep there names and numbers so I can't just call them.
Anyway thanks for listening to my stressed out babbling.