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Post by Father Ted on Feb 19, 2017 17:07:28 GMT
I thought I would copy some of this over from the old forum, for my own benefit as much as anything else. The dates on this blog may be wrong because I have copied it over from the old forum, it starts in Summer 2012. I have added some 2017 comments in italics at the bottom of posts.
Having thought a lot about it I have decided to rebuild the Zodiac.
The engine has to come out anyway and it is about time I sorted out all the bodywork issues which I have been either bodging or ignoring in the hope that they will go away for the last 15 years.
So today I decided to make a start by removing all the lights, trim, etc.
Didn't get very far...
Two of the bolts that fix the rear bumper irons to the "chassis rails" are seized solid and access is difficult so can't get a nut-splitter on to the nuts. Shocked. Spent a large part of the afternoon wrestling with these, and now have the bruises to prove it Embarassed .
Anyway, I am labelling everything and taking loads of photos so that hopefully I will know where everything goes when I put it all back together, probably in several years time. |
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Post by Father Ted on Feb 19, 2017 17:10:32 GMT
Managed to drill through one of the flats of the nut to free it off.  |
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Post by Father Ted on Feb 19, 2017 17:13:19 GMT
Posted: Sat Oct 13, 2012 3:55 pm My suspicions have been confirmed.  This rear wing looked OK, but the rust had been covered by filler. Remarkably it has been like this for over 20 years without the rust bubbling through. I think that repair panels are available for this section, but I am now wondering what the rest of the body is like under the paint. |
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Post by Father Ted on Feb 19, 2017 17:18:21 GMT
Posted: Sun Oct 21, 2012 Did a bit more dismantling today and also removed some paint on another section that I knew to be rusty...  Not too bad I suppose, the sill looks saveable. 2017 edit: The sill was NOT saveable... |
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Post by Father Ted on Feb 19, 2017 17:24:03 GMT
The stripdown continues...  Front end doesn't look bad. Inner wings have been repaired in the past and wiring loom has been hacked about (sorry, "professionally repaired" after catching fire soon after I bought the car). |
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Post by Father Ted on Feb 19, 2017 17:25:19 GMT
More dismantling today.  Only broke one irreplaceable rare part... |
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Post by Father Ted on Feb 19, 2017 17:26:42 GMT
Progress has been slow on the Zodiac stripdown, just never seem to find time. Anyhow, last Sunday I drained the petrol from the tank, and put it in the Herald (the petrol, not the tank).  The top of the petrol tank is the floor of the boot, a design that has always struck me as being potentially extremely dangerous in a rear-end shunt. With the tank removed.  The boot floor all looks fairly solid, but the tank is going to need replacing or rebuilding, as the seams are rusty and there is fibreglass covering a couple of pinholes in the top. The boot mat was completely rotten but new ones are available - and of course, expensive. I have almost completely stripped the engine bay, just the servo, brake pipes and engine block to take out now.  I just need to pick up the engine crane that the nice man said he would lend me. In the meantime I will probably make a start on the interior. |
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Post by Father Ted on Feb 19, 2017 17:29:51 GMT
How not to remove an engine... Haven't done anything to the Tedmobile since before Christmas due to family things and some Triumph tinkering, so this afternoon decided to remove the engine. When I took the gearbox out about a month ago it occurred to me that the engine could come out the same way, as with the cylinder head and sump removed it is not as tall as the box. Took off the oil pump, distributor, clutch and flywheel which left me with this...  Engine supported with axle stands, lumps of wood and jacks, I removed the mountings and then using brute force, ignorance and Sir Isaac Newton's gravity I got the block onto a piece of hardboard on the garage floor.  Jacked up the car about an inch, put axle stands either side, removed the jack and then slid the engine from under the car on its bit of hardboard.   |
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Post by Father Ted on Feb 19, 2017 17:39:30 GMT
Been stripping the Zodiac interior - and am now wondering where to store it all....  Anyhow, the rear floor doesn't look too bad - so far only found one rust hole in the corner, but I haven't taken out the front carpet yet. 2017 edit: Found a LOT more rust holes later... |
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Post by Father Ted on Feb 19, 2017 17:41:39 GMT
Still carefully removing the wiring loom. Being a Ted of Little Brain I am labelling everything so hopefully I can put it all back together again.  Some sections of the loom will need replacing due to insulation having melted in places - caused by lack of fuses. I am thinking of modifying the loom to incorporate a Mk4 Zodiac fuse box. Meanwhile the pile of parts removed is growing.  |
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Post by Father Ted on Feb 19, 2017 17:43:25 GMT
Finally got the wiring loom out in one piece.  Doesn't look too bad. I will need to replace at least one wire and some connectors which have previously been bodged with those horrid crimped things. I have already bought the proper grey Ford loom tape. |
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Post by Father Ted on Feb 19, 2017 17:44:13 GMT
Moved indoors today because the garage is tooo cold!  Been labelling the loom so I can put everything back together, and working out which wires need replacing. Not too bad actually, but will take me ages. |
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Post by Father Ted on Feb 19, 2017 17:45:25 GMT
Actually managed to get in the garage today and do some more dismantling.
Finished removing the dash and got the heater out.
Managed to damage the radio speaker so will have to find another one of those.
2017 edit: By an amazing piece of luck a fellow club member found 2 original radio speakers at an autojumble for just £5 each, and he sold one to me. |
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Post by Father Ted on Feb 19, 2017 17:48:21 GMT
Haven't done much to the Tedmobile recently. Other things keep getting in the way. Anyway, this is what my loft now looks like, with half a car stored in it.  |
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Post by Father Ted on Feb 19, 2017 17:49:52 GMT
Today I have mostly been on the roof replacing ridge tiles that blew off in the storms, but I also managed to get in the garage and plucked up the courage to remove the front and rear screens of the Zodiac.
Actually they came out surprisingly easily - if only it was so easy to put them back in.
Just this small patch of rust in one corner under the rear screen rubber. Only a pinhole but I am sure it will get a lot bigger once I have removed all the paint and surface rust.
The rear screen rubber is fairly new, but I will get a new front one. They are re-manufactured by an Australian supplier, so expensive.
2017 edit: East Kent Vintage Trim now sell the screen rubbers, and I got one at the 2016 NEC Practical Classics Show for £37.50. |
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