In New Light.

It's almost two years now. Come december it will be. Celebrated my grandad's birthday yesterday. Unfortunately i did not have the cortina ready. It's almost done, and i know i've been saying this to a lot of people pre-graduation but the car IS almost done.

the engine is in and running (alternator needs to be replaced though, wrong one was used donkeys years ago), painting is 90% done, needs to be touched up after the windscreens and wiring has been settled.

disappointments have arise in the form of rust. Front passenger door has built up rust beneath the layer of paint thus causing it to crack. oh well, like i said, the paint needs to be touched up in several places. orange peel developed on the surface of the boot lid among other things.

another worrisome issue is the mounting points for the front seats. as previously there were holes with weld nuts on the inner side of the plate to mount the seats which are non existent now since those parts were where new sheet metal was fabricated WITHOUT accounting for those weld nuts. so now i'm getting a headache over engineering a solution for this using non-evasive methods preferably.

anyway, found these seats and will be checking them out tomorrow, what do you think? will they suit the overall look of the car?


if i do get them, i'll probably wrap the rear seats to match the material. looks like it's velvety. at least if i park under the hot sun, it won't burn my girlfriend's butt (she said it, not me).

finally, blogs would be so empty without pictures, so here's some of the cortina with 11-ish a.m. lighting at harvinder's place.



good to see the engine in there eh? all ford/smurf blue and all.





front end needs sorting out still.


looking good here.


the left tail light needs to be binned. asked harvinder to source for a pair of new ones.


logos on and looking good.


free center console thrown in by harvinder. do all cortinas and escorts have a similar center console? seen a few pics of escorts with something similar.

there you have it. the car sitting there waiting for the windscreen rubbers to arrive so that the screens can be fitted and the wiring sorted. all after hari raya obviously.

fingers, toes, cats and dogs crossed that the windscreen rubber arrives on time AND that the wiring chap does a fantastic job.

estimated completion of harvinder's scope of works is end of October 2008. then it's on to me to complete the interior and wheels.

Dum Dum DUUUUUUM!!!!!!

sorry for not updating frequently. cause the painting took soooo long, i didn't want to keep posting the same pics of the car in a pretty dismal state.

but anyway, after much perseverance, it's finally done and its now sitting under harvinder's front porch.

so without further ado, i will showcase highlights of the car's painting stages just to get all you readers up to speed.

Primer:











Undercoat:








Use your imagination at this point. :)


must keep you guys in suspense at least till the chrome bits and windscreen are all up. actually, its because i haven't been able to take a good picture of it with lighting from the sun. my trusty k750i is not a dSLR you know.

a last pic which i think needs no explanation.


at the moment, i'm leaving the rocker and timing chain cover in its original shabby form as it won't hamper performance or what not...it'll just be draining money to paint it. i'll do it at a later time at my own accord.

hope you like it so far. :)

Accommodation.

This picture tells all, about the living conditions of the cortina as it awaits the painting phase of this restoration. sigh. car looks like it's been abandoned.

the painter has however assured me he will move the car into the shop and start work immediately but then again, i've been stuffed with dodgy promises so far. quote from the painter, "i will start on the car. but you make sure you collect the car when it's finished." really, i mean, if i really wanted to ruin your business would i come and show concern about my car?

and so once again, the rest of the world waits impatiently...

Sorry.

yup, once again i fail to provide meaningful updates because apparently the money i've given isn't satisfactory for the painter to start work because he 'lacks the confidence' that i will pay the full amount if he finishes painting it.

really wtf.

so i guess not only you guys, but I the fucking owner have to wait 2-3 months for him to finish the job.

geez.

Hey Jim, Did You Hear What He Said? Paiiiint!

yeah, finally it's at the painter. it was towed last night apparently.

now, comes time to decide on the colour.

i'm going for an 'obsidian black pearl' from the subaru impreza wrx line of cars.

pics were taken from Mirror Works Detail website, so thanks in advance yeah.




the engine bay colour is still undecided...my dad thinks matte black would be practical and better suit the car since it'll all be black.

i really don't know, maybe i can add some cherry red (subaru's STi colour) accents around the car and its interior. mmmm.

Fear Not.

fear not.

i can smell an update coming soon.


why?


the cortina is gonna be shipped for painting on wednesday or thursday, depending on harvinder. so if he can deliver, then i can deliver to you guys. :)


keep all available fingers, toes and eyes crossed.

Bad News?

it's finally over...exam season that is.

so back to work on the putra and the cortina. the cortina...is in a sad state, the welder promised he'll finish by today but apparently has been too busy. so the car's been sitting in his compound rusting i suppose once again. really have no idea what to do with this welder.



sad state isn't it?


the drama will continue to see if i can manage to bring this car back to an acceptable restored standard. so stay tuned.