MasterDon

Congratulations! very well done!

So that's it! You are all up to date! From start to finish the process took about four and a half months. Lockdowns didn't help. There are some minor things like upholstery, engine detailing and chrome work to be done. I will see to them depending on Covid curfew and state of import restrictions. I will post an update once car is fully completed. I'll need to see Sylvi sir regarding the windscreen as well! I will run the car now until that time. So untill then, consider this project as complete. Hope you enjoyed this little journey with me. PM me, if you have any questions or need any advice and I'll answer them the best I can(hopefully I'll get an email notification if I get a PM). I don't pretend to be an expert, just a very well informed and experienced enthusiast. It was great to be back at AL posting regularly, felt just like old times. Bye from me and 2 sri 355!

..and away we went on some test drives...was inevitably spotted on the road

seats went on...

So began the refitting process. The initial plan was to rechorme the buffers etc and complete the car in one go. but Covid and the restriction of movement had other ideas.

Then the fenders were taken off to do some detailing due to overspray on chassis and suspension parts...and for new beading installation.

After letting the paint 'cure' for a few days, we did some corrections and the first 'cut'. Dashboard was also painted by this time

Heyyy @Ripper. Welcome back! Glad my thread did some good.

Paint was done apart from dashboard and some other bits. Initial cut polish was yet to be done at this stage.

Then at long last she went in for the ' final'.

Approx 3 months in to project... After a colour was picked, the engine was pulled out and bay and bulkhead was finished in body colour. I was not present, so no pics. Body was prepped further with several guide coats and ironing out imperfections.

Yes. Red on red will clash very badly. Not to forget I have to keep to original factory colour combos as much as possible.

This is an age old argument. It all comes down to personal experience. I will not deride anyone for sanblasting their body. I have had less than optimal results with sand/media blasters. Let's say two out of three cars I had blasted came out less than satisfactory...I'll list some general reasons most older classic car(pre 1970) restorers stay away from blasting. The frame and chassis is a different matter though. I always get those sand blasted. On old metal rust tends to spread unevenly. The normal sandblasters available here, which are mostly used at 100psi or more and will leave heavy pock marks on the steel, or at worst case scenarios puncture it altogether. It has happened to me The sandblasters available here use extreme pressure, and the heat can warp the metal. especially on unsupported mudguard overhangs, bonnets. The media blaster operator has to be very skilled and has to understand the delicateness of the job. Most companies have experience in only stripping heavy container frames and are not up to the task. Alternative is dustless, water based or soda blasting which is much more milder but is not available here yet AFAIK. I will try that once available. Grinder in the right hand, with wire or sandpaper attachment, will give much better control and will just remove what we want removed. Downside is that its time consuming. For me the risk is not worth the reward. As a general rule. I advise people to refrain from heavy sandblasting for cars that are 40 years or older. Especially if they are Italian.

Here is a trailer off Lester's Delowak Athara I mentioned earlier where the car is prominently featured throughout the and is part of an investigation. Car has been in around 20 films latest of which was 'According to Mathew' by Chandran Ratnam.

For time reference, by this time it was about two months out from when we first started with the mechanical work. The interior was redone by this time around. The rusted slide rails were taken out and re manufactured by the tinkerer, primered and painted. Unfortunately I do not have any pictures of that process

Super waaaaaaaaaaaw

Congratulations Komisiripala! May we have some details of the process please? As this the previous updates here are of the car being bare metal and cataloy coated. As I remember, I and few others here had some concerns back then. Would love to have some details as I'm also doing a couple of projects and I could probably learn a thing or two from your vast experience. Nice upgrades list btw, your paypal account must have taken a beating.

Hi. Good luck with the project! I always had a soft spot for these.

Though I was determined to go back to red, I was hesitant on painting it in original BMC Orient Red. I thought that particular hue was a bit dull. Yet couldn't go crazy with the colours and veer off too far either. So began the search for a better shade of red. I narrowed it down to five reds that I liked from various manufacturers(Jaguar, BMW, Maserati...etc) and had the guys paint sections of the rear quarter painted with them all at once so I could pick one out. The pictures may not show it well but there are five different shades of red.

Continuing on, so began the work on body prep work. There are some dings on the body form 62 years of running, especially on the driver-side front, mostly caused by my late father's driving. and as you know I am not a big fan of "ebaying" everything, as the new wave of enthusiasts seem to be keen on doing. I would rather repair keep the original parts where possible, as they are part of the car's story. It is the same with mechanical bits, as in, I try to repair everything locally. So rather than replacing with remanufactured panels brought down , I have kept the original fenders, straightened and smoothed out with the help of skilled tinkerer and using minimal body filler.

I have two Fiat 500s.Both are running well. Thanks! Thanks Gummy!

As soon as one panel was done, it was primer coated.