Bob - The Story So Far:
Friday 29/11/02
I have had a bit of a go at a few things on Bob despite wanting to leave him be until Silver is finished up. My main concern has been rain and rust. I believe that I can get Bob (plus Silver, the bikes and the pieces of the Aga!) into the garrage if I really try hard. The first problem is getting Bob running.
To this end I have bought a new battery. Motor turned over, but would not start. Checked for spark and that looks a bit weak. Seemed to have fuel as well, but not 100% sure about that. I have a friend coming over on the weekend who is a mechanic so we may have another go then.
In the mean time there is rust to deal with.
The original paint job (as mentioned) appears to be red. Where the paint has been burnt away to metal there is a lot of surface rust forming. This has to be stopped and fast.
To this end I have taken to the affected areas with a paint scraper. The resutls are not what I expected at all.
There are pictures to follow but here is what I found:
The original paint job has a number of areas (particularly on the sides of the roof and the B pillars that have a substantial amount of body filler under it. Having stripped back all the loose paint and filler it is obvious that water has gotten in there and is working its way further under. There are little spots of rust showing up under paint that I would have thought was good
None of the rust appears to be too deep. I have hit it all with a wire brush to knock off the loose stuff, then applied a phosphoric acid "rust eater". The research I have done seems to indicate that this is the best treatment to stop the rust returning
The next step is to get the bare metal covered up. All the reading I have done says that a two pack primer on a surface treated with phosphoric acid is the only way to prevent rust coming back. Single pack primers are apparently poros and will just exaserbate the problem while hiding it.
I will try an experiment with the exposed area on the rear left quarter panel and see how it goes. Either way though it is looking like a full strip back to metal will be required as its hard to say just how far the rust goes. If I am going to do this then I want to do it right.
Discovered the other day that the sun roof leaks as well. Put a new battery in and had a fiddle. Got the sun roof to close properly, but the seal appears to be bad. A new one will be required.
Monday 11/11/02
I hooked up Bob's battery today and gave it a bit of a charge with the Skyline. The battery appears to be dead, so it looks like we will need a new one (no real surprise).
I also managed to get the cap off the petrol tank (had to butcher the cap unfortunately as it had frozen on and the lock that holds the outer cap to the inner cap was broken.
The tank was dead empty (probably a good thing when you put it in a container to ship overseas). So 10 litres of petrol fixed that problem.
The moment of truth. Turned the ignition, and nothing. Hmmmm... Let the battery charge a bit longer. Turn the ignition and it cranks! Ran out of battery before it really had a chance to pull fuel through and start, but things are looking ok.
I will buy a battery some time soon and give it a propper go. I dare say I should pull plugs and check spark, fuel supply and the other basic mechanicals too.
Thursday 31/10/02 Firsthand Inspection
A friend's brother (Dominic) helped me out with a trailer and four wheel drive to tow Bob home on the following Thursday. Thanks Greg and Dominic, that worked out well.
Getting him up the drive way was the hardest part of all. The drive way of the house we are renting is extremely steep and narrow (see the pictures below, so when you add the weight of the trailer and car together it was a major undertaking. In the end we got the trailer half way up and then winched him the rest of the way. Thankfully we had a few big trees to hang the winch off.
Bob is now comfortable installed in the corner of the forcourt and will remain there until we move house into something bigger. Garage space is going to be a real issue. The fleet total now stands at four cars and four bikes. All in all we need a lot of shed space.
Not as good as I had hoped and been lead to believe:
- Has been involved in a small rear end tap at some point as there is bog in the rear bumper and some poor panel fit at that end
- Not original paint job. Probably after its accident it was re-sprayed a mid-night blue. The original colour was actually red!
- Both sun shade flaps in the front had been removed
- There are a myriad of other small items that I think should probably have been noted in the inspection, but didn't make it onto the list
Well, at least its a 5-speed manual as promissed!
A picture tells a thousand words. But a photo tells a million lies. These shots make Bob look pretty good. If you look carefully though you will see the problems spots. Most noticable is the original red paint job.
Just been outside sitting it in again with my partner Samantha. We have decided that Bob is to be restored as a track car. This will surely be the cheaper option and will also let me canibalise parts that are needed for the other 928, like a heater core and various interior fittings.
Bob's interior is quite good in some places, such as the dash, console, and many of the plastic fittings. Other spots are average or worse. But there is no rust apparent which is a big bonus. The radiator also appears to be almost new. This is a real bonus as radiators are not cheap for a 928
I have taken some photos of Bob's arival and will post them when they are developed. Really need a digital camera...
Monday 28/10/02 - Bob arives in Sydney
I have had Bob shipped down to Sydney from Brisbane by TNT Auto. Cost: $204. Not a bad price if you are not in a hurry and can wait for a couple of days.
Wednesday 16/10/02 - Condition report
The report seems to confirm what the importer says. Interior in good condition and exterior needing work. Engine bay is good as well apparently, although the motor wont start. It will turn over, but the suspicion is that the fuel pump isn't working. This may be something as simple as a blown fuse.
