I've now made a start on welding the outer sill and already it is looking better than it has done for a few years. Once that is finished then I'm over the worst. There's just the rear floorpan to strengthen and then I can move on to the nearside. Last Wednesday I got something in my left eye and ended up going to the local A&E the day after. I've now made a full recovery but I have hardly done any spannering since.

Blue wasn't warming up properly so I suspected the thermostat. I bough one from Champion costing me just short of a fiver and I fitted it tonight. There was a sealing ring in the head gasket set I'd bought so I was able to use that and on reassembly I copper greased the bolts and torqued them up as per the specs in the factory workshop manual as the thermostat housing can be broken too easily by overtightening. (been there before and got the t-shirt!) I took Blue for some roadtesting and the temperature was reading where it should be so I'm confident I've solved it.

I mentioned that I'll be getting another Acclaim. I paid a visit to Barry the Acclaim guru and took some photos of Margaret (or Maggie as I call her. She was registered just before the Falklands War so I think of a certain Prime Minister!) and she is quite solid in the usual Acclaim rot spots apart from a small hole in the OS outer sill which is an easy enough repair even with my welding abilities!

Latest progress

I got Brown's lower wishbone bushe fitted when I went to Brian's. With his vice we got the job done in 5 minutes. The upper wishbone bushes came in the post so I was able to rebuild the front suspension and it has has transformed the front end. New pads & shoe have been fitted and the handbrake has been adjusted. There is some improvement but I'm still not happy with it. I'll try again once the shoes have bedded in.

Becky's rear arch repairs have been completed and undersealed. A couple of plates have been welded on the rear floorpan. The remains of the offside outer sill have been cut off and repairs to the inner sill have been done. I can now complete the repairs to the rear floorpan now I've got something to weld to and once I've trimned a bit more off the old outer sill I can fit the replacement outer sill which I got from the Acclaim guru for only £20. Once that is all complete I can turn my attention to the nearside which is nowhere near as bad.

There's going to be a new arrival. I've been offered an early beige Acclaim HL which is in better condition then Becky. At £50 it is well worth a punt. There's a couple of places that need welding, the wipers need attention and the driver's door mirror is missing. This shouldn't take much to get through the MoT. I won't be getting it until my next pay day and this car has sidetracked me from getting Brown back on the road. As a cheap and easy project it was too good to miss and it is one of the oldest surviving Acclaims.

The weldathon continues...

The offside inner rear arch welding is nearly complete. There's just a small patch to do. A simple enough patch but in an awkward place. I can hardly get the grinder in to clean up the area. I could do with a Dremmel. The alternative would be to drop the rear suspension which I'm a bit loath to do. The other biggies are the offside outer sill and the rear offside floorpan which split when I jacked the car up by the jacking point. I've put some weld on it but I'll weld a patch to give it enough strength. I got an estimate for having the outer sill fitted which was about £60-70 so I'll have a go at it myself. My welding skills are slowly improving so I'm confident that I can fit it when I get round to doing it.

The lower wishbone bushes for Brown arrived but my vice isn't up to the job so I'll get Brian to do it as he's got a bigger vice than me.

Bushes ordered

It is payday today so I'm spending my allocated budget on the parts I'd planned to buy for this month. Superflex lower wishbone bushes have been ordered from Chris Witor and I've ordered brand new rubber uppers from ANG Triumph. The reason I ordered the upper wishbone bushes in rubber was because my payday was a bit short due to having a day off sick which has put a small dent in my budget. For the same reason I'll be skipping the front wheel bearings as I'm sure I can make up a decent set front the two I have, clean them up and regrease. New pads & shoes will be ordered but I might try the discs from the spare Sprint suspension. (one of them is already on Brown) Once I've got all the bits I can then crack on with fitting them on the car.

The welding begins

I had to buy some protective equipment from a local welding supplies shop before I could begin welding. When I was ready I used my angle grinder to clean up the area. There was too much to do in one go so I decided to plate it with several plates.
This is the first plate and the card template I made as a guide.

First plate welded on.

Second plate welded on.

Third & fourth plates welded on.

Fifth and final plate welded on.

My welds aren't the prettiest but I'm sure they'll be passable and I'll get better as time goes by. I wouldn't like to think how much a garage would charge for that little lot. I've run out of CO2 so I'll get some more on Friday when I get paid. I've got an entire OS sill to replace so I might get a price to have it done unless I feel confident enough in my own skills.

Work on Becky begins

The first thing I did was to sort out the blowing exhaust. It turned out that the manifold joint isn't blowing. The downpipe is starting to split. I've put some exhaust putty on for now but the only cure is to weld it. Becky needs the later type exhaust (like Blue) where there is a degree of movement which avoids the downpipe splitting. The exhaust clamp is now fitted so that might help as well. Next was to adjust the brake shoes. While the rear wheels were off I had a poke around the arches and I found a lot of filler in the offside arch. I've wirebrushed it and painted the remaining metal with the rust killing primer. Quite a bit of fresh metal will need to be welded. I'm really gonna have to learn how to weld. If I could get hold of some sheet steel then I could have a go. Getting back to the brakes, I adjusted the shoes but the handbrake still isn't holding. I'll need to adjust the handbrake but I didn't think of that until after I'd locked up the garage. While I had the primer out I did other areas of the car where there was rust. I'm hoping I've stoppped Becky getting any worse and once new metal replaces rust I can think about putting her through the MoT.

SHE LIVES!!!!!!!!!!

Becky is back in the land of the living. I fitted the charged battery, the fuel pump, the carbs, put in £5 worth of petrol, squirted some Easystart into the carb intakes and Becky started up without any problems. She was ticking over at about 2000 rpm but other than that she was running fine. I drove her round the block and all was well. The brakes still work (the fluid will need changing) but the handbrake was as bad as ever. I think the battery is past it's best (it was on the car when I bought her 4 years ago) but once started I'll be able to drive her across to my garage where I can work on getting her ready for the MoT. The biggest hurdle will be getting the welding done. The offside outer sill needs replacing but the Guru has some sills so I'll need to get one from him. The other jobs I can see that need doing are to adjust the brake shoes, change the engine oil, change the oil filter, change the air filter, sort out the blowing exhaust manifold/downpipe joint and to fit the exhaust brakcet to prevent this reocurring. The rust I'd ground off a few months ago has started to come back but I can deal with that easily enough.

Blue has had an oil and filter change. I had a couple of oil filters in stock so that saved me a few quid. The cheap oil I'd put in when I did the head gasket had only done less than 1000 miles but it looked like it had done 6000 so it has done the job of flushing out the engine as I'd intended. I'm now back on decent oil. Instead of Duckhams I used Miller's 15W/40 from Champion. (paid for by the refund on the head gasket set) It is the right oil for the Acclaim and at just shy of £12 I know it is decent quailty. I've also ordered an air filter. The old one doesn't look too bad so I'll put it on Becky now she's running again.

The revival of Becky.

I'll be trying to get Becky running in the morning. The battery is fully charged and I've got a fuel pump and the carbs ready to fit so I'll be going over to my parents' house to fit the bits and once I've put some petrol in I can see if the car will run. I can get a refund on that head gasket set I got from Champion which will give me some much needed cash.

Tonight I was messing around in the garage with the spare front hub assembly which was a dry run for replacing Brown's front wheel bearings. When I fit the new bearings it'll be a strightforward job as I can avoid the pitfalls I've discovered. I'm also toying with the idea of using new rubber bushes on the upper wishbones which will save me a few quid (£1.50 from ANG Triumph against £7.47 for the Superflex ones is quite tempting...) but this month's planned expenditure will be just over £150 with Superflex front bushes factored in so I might not bother with rubber bushes and I'm not sure a mix of new rubber and Superflex is ideal as I've already started going down the Superflex path with the tie bar bushes...

Acclaim bits

I was given some Acclaim parts by somebody local I knew who had an Acclaim. (he sold it to the Guru) He came across them when he was packing up for a house move. The parts were a complete cylinder head, two oil filters (handy for the next service), a brand new coil and a pair of carburettors. This has prompted me to start reviving Becky. I've got a replacement fuel pump from the Guru after I'd liberated Becky's for Blue when Blue's fuel pump died on me. The battery has been liberated and is on charge. Once I've fitted all the bits and got some petrol in Becky should be ready to fire up and all being well should move under her own power. The brakes will need overhauling (like I did with Blue) and once the welding is done she should be somewhere near fit to put through an MoT. The carbs had been separated but it was a simple enough to put them back together and they're now ready to go back on.

Time for some budgeting and planning

I seem to have gone a bit mad with the expenditure on repairs. This is what I've spent since the last payday:

Welding on Brown's floorpan - £45
Front suspension bolt set for Brown - £20 (eBay purchase including postage)
Fuel filter for Blue - £4.39
Brake pads & shoes for Blue - £28
Two new tyres for Blue - £70
MoT test fee for Blue - £40
Pair of new track rod ends for Blue - £10
Temperature sender for Blue - £12
RH bottom balljoint for Brown - £30 (another eBay purchase which also included postage)
LH bottom balljoint for Brown - £28 (bought from a TDC member in Holland which again included postage)
Lower wishbone bush seals (£8 from Rimmer Bros)

This comes to a grand total of £295.39 which is a fair chunk of my income. Clearly this cannot be sustained so like Baldrick in Blackadder I have a cunning plan. I'm going to budget for only a few items and that way I won't be overspending like I've just done. Also, as Blue now has an MoT there won't be as much money spent on that car as before. Here is my plan of action:

September
Brake discs, pads & shoes for Brown (priced at approx £100 including postage from Rimmer Bros)
Front suspension bushes for Brown (priced at about £50 from Chris Witor)
Front wheel bearings for Brown (£20 for both sides from ANG Triumph)
Zircon blue paint for Blue (unknown as yet. I might try Halfords)

October
Exhaust for Brown (£200 from the TDC)
Track rod ends for Brown (the gaiters have split despite being recently fitted. Probably £5 each from Champion Motor Spares)

November
New front tyres for Brown (£30-40 each depending on where I go)
Front wheel tracking (probably about £15)
MoT test for Brown (£40 if I use the same testing station again)

If I follow this plan I hope to avoid any overspending.

Suspension progress

I've got the lower wishbones back from Brian which have now had their bushes separated. I've got the bottom balljoints and a set of seals for the lower wishbone bushes which I'd ordered from Rimmer Bros. I just need the bushes and then I can start to fit my refubished suspension to Brown. My plan is to get Superflex bushes from Chris Witor.

Blue is now running like a dream. The fuel problem has now all but disappeared. I took the car for a run out to Scarborough and it didn't miss a beat. I think a good run was what it needed. I've also dealt with one of the advisories on the MoT. I wirebrushed the sills and gave them a couple of coats of rust killing primer. I'll leave it a couple of weeks then I'll rub it down and give it a topcoat (if I can find Zircon blue. Most motor factors won't stock it.)

It passed

I picked up the track rod ends and fitted them last night. This morning after work I went back to the testing station for the retest where Blue got that elusive green piece of paper (MoT certificate) so now Blue is road legal once again.

Turning my attention to Brown, I've dropped off the repainted lower wishbones at Brian's to get the old bushes out. Once I've got new bushes I can then do my suspension rebuild.

It failed...

...on a track rod end! There were a few advisories as well.

The OSF brake disc was slightly pitted
OSR brake pipe slightly corroded (cleaned up by the tester and is OK)
Both outer sills corroded but not excessive
The front brakes imbalanced but just within the limit (caused by the pitted disc according to the tester)

I've ordered a pair of track rod ends from Champion and I'll be able to deal with the advisories. The sills will be wirebrushed, rust treated (got some rust killing primer), and then topcoated. I'll waxoyl the sills to stop the rust in it's tracks. A pair of new brake discs will be fitted to deal with the brakes. A nice easy winter project. Before I took Blue in for the MoT I replaced the rear tyres as they were on the car when I got it and due to the 13 year lay-up they must have been at least 15 years old and therefore overdue for replacment. One of them looked like it had been on since the car rolled off the production line and the tread looked like it was worn to the limit. £70 for the pair is a small price to pay for total piece of mind and was one thing less to fail the MoT on. I forgot to mention that I'd fitted a replacement front bumper yesterday. The Acclaim Guru (Barry) had kept it for me and when I was fitting it I decided to clean up the front valence and gave it a couple of coats of rust killing primer. Once the primer has hardened I can topcoat it. I'll be doing the same thing with the outer sills. The only problem was when I came to remove the headlamp washer jets from the old bumper the threads had sheared. The Guru has a couple in stock but he's on holiday at the moment.

Final prep

I adjusted the handbrake and jetwashed Blue and the car is now ready for tomorrow's MoT. I discovered that I'd refitted the fuel pump wrongly which could be the cause of the poor running. I've topped up the radiator with the last of my antifreeze. I'd like to get the temperature gauge working again to see if Blue's overheating.

MoT preparation on Blue

I've been working on the brakes. New pads, shoes and the fluid has been replaced and the brakes seem better. Just need to put some more miles on the car. I'm still having problems with it running but I've replaced the fuel filter and I've been spraying carb cleaner in the carbs. Maybe a bit more fresh petrol might help things. I'm still waiting for the temperature sender to arrive but I'll stick with the motor factor I've orderedit from as they're moving Heaven and Earth to get one and it is local to where I am these days.

I'm gradually getting the bits I need to bring Brown back up to MoT standard. The floorpan was welded last Friday costing me £45. I've got a nut and bolt set for the front suspension for just shy of £15 via eBay. Another eBay bargain was a bottom RH balljoint for £20 and I've been offered a LH one for the same price. The suspension refurb is coming along slowly. I've cleaned up the upper wishbones and I've even managed to remove all but one of the bushes. I'll be fitting new bushes and I'll probably get Superflex ones like I did for the tie bars. Blue will be taking prioroty but I'll get things if the opportunity arises.

IT LIVES!

Yes, Blue is up and running again. I've changed the engine oil and bled the brakes as the fluid had seen better days. I went to get some petrol and the brake fluid level went down. (the warning light came on) Shortly after putting some petrol in the car started running like a bag of spanners. I don't know why but it'll have to wait until tomorrow. I'll try some carb cleaner then. I'll also see if that temperature sender has arrived. I hope Blue isn't overheating like before.

Setbacks

I've ordered a new timing belt and I'm waiting for it along with the temperature sender for Blue. I'm also waiting for Brian to finish the head so I can reunite it with the block and time is running out. I'm going to end up without transport at this rate as Brown's MoT runs out very soon. I can see myself walking to work. Night shifts & public transport don't mix. I've enquired about parts at my trusty local motor factor for Brown for when it comes off the road. It might be worth getting them from there if it works out cheaper than getting them from Fitchett's or Rimmer Bros.

Getting there with Blue

No joy with Drake's. They couldn't get the valve stem oil seals so I ended up getting another head set from Bradford Grinders with the correct seals for a tenner. I dropped it in at Brian's so the head will be ready soon. I'm sure I had a spare timing belt (bought for Becky) but I can't find it anywhere. I'll probably leave it until after the MoT when I can get an air wrench on the crankshaft pulley bolt to loosen it. All the old head gasket has been cleaned off the block and it is now ready to recieve the head. I've also cleaned the mating faces on both the inlet & exhaust manifold. While I was working on the inlet manifold I noticed that the temperature sender had the terminal snapped off. I wonder if I've been getting a wrong reading on the gauge or I might have damaged it when I was removing the head. It certainly had seen better days. The outlet at the bottom looked like it had blocked up so that might have been causing cooling problems. It will be all flushed out when I put the car back together. At least I know the radiator's fine. I bought a set of NGK spark plugs & once the car's running again I'll be changing the engine oil with some cheap stuff and I'll change the oil and filter after a few hundred miles to flush out any crap. I'll be doing the same with the cooling system.

I checked into running a newer car and it is going to be too costly because I'd have to insure it separately. I was quoted just over £1500 for a 1995 Vauxhall Astra 1.4LS by Footman James so my best course of action is to get Blue through the MoT once the car is up and running again. I went to the garage where I had the brake pipe made and the guy reckons that the floorpan damage I sustained least year can be repaired for about £25-£30 and at worst it would be double that so I'll get that done on Brown before it comes off the road. The other work that I know will be required for an MoT I can do myself. I'm not much good with a MIG. The same guy knows a classic friendly place for MoT testing so I'll be looking into that.

Progress on Blue

I rang a couple of local engine builders and Drake's (who rebuilt a Pinto engine for Practical Classics a few years ago) have ended up getting my business. I called in with a sample and they'll be ordering it in so it should be in on Monday. I bought a gasket scraper and set to work on getting the rest of the gasket off the engine block. I'm also going to change the timing belt which means that the crankshaft pulley has to come off so that the bottom half of the timing belt cover can be removed. It is just a matter of removing the crankshaft pulley bolt but it is fighting me. If only I had an air wrench. It would be off in seconds so it looks like I'm going to have to remove the starter motor (easy to get to with the head off) and jam the flywheel as per the Haynes manual.

Blue's cylinder head

Brian rang me earlier tonight to tell me that the replacement valve stem oil seals were too big because they foul the inner valve springs so I went over to his place to pick up a couple of the old ones as samples so I can order replacements. I'm going to try one of the local engine building places in the morning as I need Blue back up and running as soon as possible to be able to put it back on the road. The valves needed doing and the head needed decoking which is most likely due to the low mileage (22,600) clocked up from new until the car was laid up in 1993. I consulted the Guru and all he could tell me was that he's never had this problem.