[henryiett]

Good luck with this amazing machine

[James3990]

Thanks for the comments.

Small update,

Engine bay is slowly starting to go back together.



Spent the last few days painting the floor pan and bulkhead to tidy these areas up after welding.



And then I did a mock up of the Roversport Cage, because it was already partially dismantled when I brought the car and didn’t know if I had everything. This is currently away for paint stripping and then powder coating.



Thanks for looking.

[GTiJohn]

Fascinating resto

[James3990]

Small update:

Whilst waiting for the roll cage to return, I made a start putting everything back together, refitting the pedal box, steering column and also the heater matrix system I sourced over Christmas from Ian Mann.



Reading the Roversport manual, I will need to trim some of the plastic away on the heater matrix in order for the cage to refit

I’ve also made a start sorting out the wiring loom for the car which although functional, it was a complete mess



















Im basically stripping back all the insulation, trunking and then removing redundant wires from the body loom - ABS system, fog lights, radio etc.



A lot of wires were also hidden or cut which I plan to reuse/rewire in due course, such as horns, washer motor for front windscreen, heater matrix, rear heated screen.



Looks scary work, but it’s not too difficult to do. I’m labelling all plugs as I go along and then I’ll be test fitting the loom to the car before reinsulating.

Big thanks to CoupeRich for helping me identify some of the plugs on the loom 8)

[James3990]

Small update but I’m starting to get excited now things are taking shape.

Some more welding has been completed inside the car at the back around the rear suspension and floor. I would say 70% of the shell is now strengthened over standard form.

I need to give it all a good clean then I can finish painting inside the car before the cage goes back in which is now back from the powder coaters.

Here’s a sneak peak...

Before



After



Also I’m preparing lots in the background including the engine - new parts, upgrades, shiny things and engine mounts!



The plaque on the bulkhead is from the original Roversport shell. I’ve fixed it in place on this car to help keep its history available.

[GTiJohn]

Fascinating stuff

That harness looked a mess

[James3990]

Update time and things are starting to take shape.

Complete set of upgraded engine mounts fitted and Inside the car is now finished in terms of paint.








Ordered some brand new GRP panels just before Christmas which have now been finished and collected:








And then finally some more pictures of the freshly powder coated roll cage and the start of it going back in.











Couple of brackets still to fit and a final fastening of all bolts then we are complete and moving on to the next task - Wiring & Brake Lines

Thanks for looking.

[JOHNDQ]

Love the couple cage so much better than the 3 door one

[GTiJohn]

I need a lie down

[James3990]

Small update,

Pulled the engine back into the warehouse over the weekend so we could start getting that ready for refitting into the car. History of this engine is unknown, other than its had a fairly 'recent' head rebuild but no paperwork to prove, so I'm taking it with a pinch of salt.
I've no intention of rebuilding this engine at the moment, I just want to see what specification it is and have it cleaned up and serviced.




Cam cover removed to inspect the top end and glad to see everything looking very golden in colour and clean.






I then removed all ancillary items off the engine block which discovered a very clean block.






I then removed the gearbox which was a Type A with K7 ratio's followed by clutch and flywheel. A couple of things not looking great here:






Clutch is looking a little worn on both the friction & pressure plate and I possibly need a new rear crank seal? I need to investigate this further.






Then finally removed the sump to inspect the bottom end:









Oil strainer looked a little scary, but it's been driven hard as expected. Pistons/Rods/Crank are all standard and in very clean condition. Cylinder bores look very good from underneath and looking at some markings on the rods, I would say this engine has been rebuilt at some point in recent years.

Thats as far as I'm going with stripping the engine down, its now time to order some parts and get this put back together as oil tight as possible.

Thanks for looking