On 4 wheels and painted!

[Christopher Adams]

My series 2 coupe has now been painted. Final painting of the exterior was finished once the subframe had been reinstalled to double check there were no alignment issues.

I'm pretty excited about getting it back together, but also very daunted by how much work is left, and how many bits need replacing or renewing.

[P. de R. Leclercq]

Lovely work Christopher; well done.

Your caution is wise; it's amazing how long the "last bits" take!

Paul

[Christopher Adams]

Thanks Paul. I've only had the car for 15 years..... I'm hopeful I don't spend the same amount of time finishing it!

Apart from a bit of nolethane in the suspension and the adjustable konis the car will be very much standard.

I also want the car to drive, and not for concourse, but looking at the newly painted bodyshell I fear that I will be overly critical of every bit of trim that goes back on which will inevitably prolong the completion. Can anyone advise me if it is possible to replate the door handles?

[P. de R. Leclercq]

Yes well these things take time...

And yes, door handles can be re-plated, but usually with mixed results. The horrible alloy used for such components, "Mazak", develops nasty pitting as I am sure you know.

Many plating companies offer such services. The procedure is to remove the old chromium and polish the component, replating afterwards. Of course the result depends upon the depth of the pitting, sometimes it is so bad that practically it cannot be removed.

Paul

[Huib]

There you go, Chris. This is how it works. Nothing will fit easily.

You can certainly have the doorhandles replated. You have to find someone who can also repair the Zamac or accept that it will not be perfect.

[Christopher Adams]

Are the wing mirror bases also Mazak?
I recall that it was also quite pitted.

And who supplies new clips for all the stainless steel trim? Or is it a case of cleaning up your old ones?

And while I'm on a roll, what's the best modern product to glue to the roof to act as sound deadening?
I spent a very pleasurable 1/2 day with a scrapper getting the old cardboard and tar glue off...

Chris

[neil]

I wouldn't use the clips for the trim myself. When you push them on you will scratch the paint down to the metal and it will start to rust - just where you don't want it, on the seams. Try a soft contact adhesive regularly spaced - this is what most restoration companies do now.

There is lots of sound deadening material available - my father used 6mm material from a audio specialist. You have to use a high temperature adhesive fro the roof though as it is a good heat sink and ordinary glue can fail in hot weather.

[shaun pond]

Christopher:

Very nice!

My laptop sometimes does funny things with colors, but it looks like Santiago Bianco? Coincidentally, my favorite Fulvia color...

Regards --

[Huib]

For the trim we use a sealing kit. Fill the strip with kit push it on and remove the exces kit.

The glue has to be a 120 C type.

[Christopher Adams]

Thanks for the responses.

Huib, who supplies the sealing kit, Wurth? another supplier?

The colour is Bianca Saratoga (slightly dirty off white) which is the original colour.
The series 2 sales brochure shows the car in the same colour, and the Lancia Centenary calendar had a series 1 in the same colour, so a few people must like it!

The interior is dark red which looks good with the white, and the wheels are a dirty blue grey colour which appears to be original.

And yes I am aware of the need for a high temperature glue for the sound deadening on the roof. The original glue was pretty nasty stuff which unsurprisingly had hardened and gone pretty brittle after 35 years.