Hello Everyone, (newbie with a landy adiction)

[R704]

Hi All,
Re lights,
from what I can tell the +ive goes from terminal to blackout, blackout to dash switch, dash switch to indicator stalk, stalk to lights with a relay for high beam.

Re the X Member,
its fairly shagged, I can put a screwdriver through about 60% of the bottom of it.  My local guy is wreaking a S3 soon  so depending on its X Member I might get it, otherwise new ones are only $175 (going by my last price list)

If I'm taking the tub off, would it be wise to cut the wires and put a good set of plugs in or just label and re solder the wires later?

I'm half tempted once its going and partially naked to sand/soda blast the whole thing and re spray it,

[South65pac]

I would not/never cut any wires.  There is a finite number of donor bits & bobs. I would spend time and disconnect the wiring properly.  If you cut the loom you will introduce another place for water and dirt to get in, and make the wiring less reliable.

If you are going to soda blast then you may as well do everything properly. Because....

Soda blasting is about 3 times the cost of sandblasting. It does not remove the rust at all.  It just takes paint off. To go to that amount of trouble you may as well do as much as possible properly. When you do soda blast it still leaves all the filler and dents from previous ownerships.  You might find you have a lot of (extra) work.  It might cost you $1000 just to get the tub blasted, which is a lot of money you could use in getting the project going. (my thoughts)

I would simply focus on getting things done little by little rather than total dismantle.  I see too many 'projects' end up not being finished because people think that pulling it all apart is the best way.  Its not.  Getting it running and serviceable is the best way if you have limited knowledge.

Ian

[Minikeg]

It might cost you $1000 just to get the tub blasted

Not necessarily, we have no idea what facilities R704 has access to. Also DIY isnt as expensive as it might sound either. Im going down this path 

[South65pac]

Agreed with your comment Minikeg, but very few people have access to this type of equipment to undertake the task. I think I would prefer to be warned on costs than start something and realise it is wayyy too expensive to complete.

I would be keen to see anyone's costs on soda blasting. It adds up realll fast. It is quite a messy process and the soda has to be imported for the USA. DIY'ing has its latent costs.  Do you count the cost of buying the compressor, unit and soda, power and your time?

I have spent a fair bit on sandblasting over the last 12 months and it (cost) adds up very quickly.  Oh and I have my own cabinet unit, but a chassis wont fit inside .  I would appreciate if someone will DIY some of my jobs.

Ian

It might cost you $1000 just to get the tub blasted

Not necessarily, we have no idea what facilities R704 has access to. Also DIY isnt as expensive as it might sound either. Im going down this path 

[Minikeg]

Sometimes its all about being lucky.. picked up an industrial twin cylinder $1200 compressor last week at an auction for only $110, got given a 4ft x 4ft x 3ft sand blasting cabinet (made to fit bike frames) the day after - and a mate wanted to use it immediately, so as a thanks, he left the grit he brought

As for the soda.. 1kg boxes from catering go a fair distance on small things. 
http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/merewether/other-parts-accessories/armex-soda-blast-media-/1021039882 - 10kg for $10..

I realise not everyone is this lucky or has the space but it can happen. On the flip side of getting such a large cabinet.. Im too short to use it effectively haha.

I reckon you go the whole respray (if funds allow) itll take more time but theoretically it wouldnt need re-doing again..

[Polizei]

My S3 restoration is taking the little by little approach. I like the idea of a complete body of resto but the chances of it never going back together are high.

How many unfinished restoration threads are out there?

I have just finished painting and after a moderate amount of prep work I was able to repaint the body and chassis to a pretty good standard. Its worth remembering that whilst in service these vehicles were all resprayed (probably several times) and I would think the prep was minimal. The matte finish of the olive drab paint is very forgiving for minor imperfections.

It all depends on the level of resto you want and how much of the vehicles patina you want to retain.

In the mean time I can also continue to use my vehicle which keeps the motivation up. You cant do that when its in pieces in the shed.

[R704]

Works update,
Saturday saw the removal of the rear tray and assessment of the chassis,
great news, its stuffed, the rear X member is well and truly gone and the member under the transmission looks to have been completely raped, and is fubar'd beyond original condition.

Now the decisions,
1, replace sections
2, buy new vehicle and use mine for spares
3, find a  good chassis and do a ground up parts exchange / resto

Ideally i'd prefer 1 and 3, as there are more then enough cars in the shed for now.
Difficulty is finding a GOOD donor chassis without buying a whole car and wrecking it.

pics will come soon.

Nick

[FFRMAN]

Works update,
Saturday saw the removal of the rear tray and assessment of the chassis,
great news, its stuffed, the rear X member is well and truly gone and the member under the transmission looks to have been completely raped, and is fubar'd beyond original condition.

Now the decisions,
1, replace sections
2, buy new vehicle and use mine for spares
3, find a  good chassis and do a ground up parts exchange / resto

Ideally i'd prefer 1 and 3, as there are more then enough cars in the shed for now.
Difficulty is finding a GOOD donor chassis without buying a whole car and wrecking it.

pics will come soon.

Nick

G'day, send me a PM, I have a series 3 Army chassis in really good condition, I want to keep the diffs/spring etc rest is your - maybe a coupe slabs of Coronas! and a bit of hard work helping taking the diffs off, no body on it so you can have a good look

cheers
Scott

[R704]

As promised, heres some recent shots:








can anyone ID this sccribble found on the rear drivers side springs:


and to scare you all, here's the oil the first time i dropped it:


regards,
Nick

[FFRMAN]

G'day Nick,

Some photos of the chassis I have

The only problem was discovered when I took off the jerry can holders, the rust is enough to want to replace this section but it is only where the jerry can holders attaches, the inside part of the rear cross member is solid

[FFRMAN]

Hi Nick,

I took some photos this weekend, the chassis is in really good condition, except behind jerry can holder (see second post), only a bit of surface rust where paint has finally worn off - no problem areas.

anyway here is some photos

Regards
Scott

[aussiegregmac]

G'day Nick, the scribble on the spring is easy.
Says  ARMY Bulimba.
A suburb south of the Brisbane River with an Army Stores Depot etc.
Probably the spring got reset somewhere and someone scribbled on it for return.
Greg

[R704]

Morning Everyone,
Well what a day yesterday was, up at the crack of dawn to go on a road trip with my big Brother and our associated ladys to go half way across the state to pick up the above pictured chassis from Scott, AKA FFRMAN.

Upon arrival at Scott's it was clear, I truely am a NOOB, after picking my jaw up of the ground and wiping the druel from my chin introductions were made.

The chassis was inspected and work begun removing the springs and axles. The engine and firewall already removed by Scott while we were in transit.
A few stubborn bolts meant we had to cut the rear spring shackles, and a stuck fast rubber wouldn't release the front passenger side spring, so into it with the 4"

Not long after the basis for what i hope to be a wonderful project was loaded securely onto the trailer, a shame there wasn't room for something else 

About 8:30 last night we all arrived home after quite a long day.

I can't thank Scott enough for saving my project, for I dare say that without spending a fortune I wouldn't have been able to continue.  although the scope has changed from " a tidy up, oil change and rego" to a full "ground up resto" I'm hoping my first time efforts will do these wonderful vehicles justice and enable me to gain the skills to do it all again in the hopefully not to distant future.

Thats it for now,

Nick

[Carzee]

Wish I had been there, sounds like a good day out. Glad it went well.

[FFRMAN]

Hi Nick,

Glad you got home OK. Look forward to more restoration updates.

Cheers
Scott