Buying and bringing back to former glory

[1packabs]

Hi.
I'm fairly new to this forum and this post is all about my experiences with buying and bring one back to its former glory.
If this post is in the wrong place please place it where it should be.

if any of you are really into cars and want to know about my kit project please click the link below. it's a long one as its been going on for over a year:

http://extremeoc.co.uk/index.php?topic=2779.0

Ok so on with my frontera.

Firstly my kit car is in the body shop being painted.
I have had a small problem that I needed to sort out.
The body shop had that old slide bed recovery truck and used it to collect my kit car. Unfortunately it has blown up and has been scrapped. The body shop isn't replacing it as they didn't have much work for the truck and was to costly to fix.
The body shop has decided to contract all the recovery work out to a 24hr local recovery company in the future.
Forwarding the extra costs to the customer. umm. I thought.
The body shop charged me £60 to collect my kit car and was going to charge me £60 to return her.
This recovery company wanted to charge me £300 plus vat to drop It back to me.
Not impressed.
It does get worse.
I did a deal with the body shop and the truck driver that I was going to hire the truck and driver to take It down to the upholstery place in Margate when it's ready later on in the summer.
This was going to cost me £300 all in.
This recovery company want £700 plus vat each way to Margate.
Yes it still gets worse.
What about Woodsport at the end of the year. That's Newcastle? ( Woodsport do V6 engine transplants)
Yep over £1000 each way.
Stuff this.
We are talking nearly £4K worth of transport alone. That's nearly the price of my Woodsport V6 conversion

How does one type making the sound blowing with your tounge stuck out.
The problem is. My kit car is far to big, heavy and low for any beaver tailed transit. It requires proper transport on a proper recovery truck. And this costs money.
Yes there are people out there who would be happy to transport it on the back of there Landrover and trailer. Loads of adverts on eBay etc. But if they get stopped by VOSA (transport police) and they are not on a tachograph and operating without a operatiors license they will seize the truck, trailer and my car along with it.
This is because it's all hire and reward.
I also have nightmares watching it being driven off on the back of a trailer and that's the last time I will ever see it.
it disappears off the face of the planet. Like those planes. My lips are sealed.


So my solution. I'm going to transport my kit car myself.
After having a nice chat with a police officer friend over a cup of tea. I'm told.
If I own the towing vehicle, trailer and my kit car I can take it anywhere because it's my own stuff.
As long as everything is legal, insured, taxed. And within spec. I will be fine.

Ok so homework.
My kit car is a dam big car. She's also very heavy. She's got a very big arse. She's also very low.
she should weigh around the 1.5 to 1.8 tonne fully completed with a v6 in there according to my homework.
A good quality car transporter trailer weights just a shade under 1 tonne. Normally between 8-900kg.
So if my calculations are correct I need a vehicle that can tow 2.8 tonne minimum. That's trailer and My kit car together.

The trailer part is easy. There's a good trailer company local to me and they have 2 trailers they can hire to me that can easily handle it. Nice and cheap at £60 per day. So all I need is the tractor to tow it.

Now this needs to be done as cheaply as possable. I own a pooey smart car so that's not going to tow anything.
I don't want a van. To big being able to tow that weight and insurance is expensive being a commercial vehicle.
4x4. Yea. A 4x4. Ok so I immediately think Land Rover Range Rover etc. Not on my budget. You won't get bugger all
Cheap. They are seriously expensive for anything half diecent. Most have enterprise mileage on them. 150k plus.
To be honest. Knowing what I know about cars with that mileage. There tired.
Ok so what about Japanese 4x4s. Trucks etc. Same thing. Mega mileages, totally abused etc and parts are not exactly what we call cheap to repair.

I think I will put my head in a bucket of sand.

Whilst I had my head in that bucket of sand I thought. What will pull 2.8 tonne and not cost a lot.
There was only one according to work colleagues.
A Vauxhall Fontera.
I was told that there cheap as chips, will pull 2.8 tonne, cost sod all to maintain and there's loads to choose from.
After some looking into it they were actually right. Parts everywhere on eBay and there's lots for sale on eBay and the autotrader.
So on my next days off I was to look at a few for sale local to me.
After some serious research into them I understand that the last of the run are the ones to go for. Preferably with the 2.4 turbo Diesel engine. Avoid the 2.2 petrol there gutless so I'm told. I also need the big 5 door estate. Not the little 3 door one. They can only handle 2 tonne ish.

After selecting the only 3 within a 50 mile radius from my home. Off we set me and a relative.

My first view was a 2003 silver diesel Olympus with just under 100k on the clock.
Only a few word to describe that one. What a pile of pooh! It was rusty, rattley and smoked.
The second one was worse. It had more advisories on its mot they couldn't all be fitted on the certificate.
Every warning light was up on the dash. Seats were torn. Etc. Yep another pile of junk.

Then on to number 3. A quick walked around a tatty looking sad old tractor with love lost in it eyes.
I was looking at a dark metallic blue frontera in a sorry looking state.
I opened the door and noticed the state it was in. It's like a skip inside. Mud, dirt, dog hair and it stinks.
But then I noticed the full black leather seats, then the automatic transmission. The chap started it up and gave it alittle Rev. Hang on I said. That's no diesel. That's also no 4 cylinder either. That's a V6.
Actually it's a 3.2 v6 so I was told. Quite rare now.
No wonder he can't sell it as advertised as a diesel.
Ok so what's the mot like. Just been done. Clean with 1 advisory. Slight corrosion on rear brake pipes is all.
So I took it out for a small test drive. V6 V6 V6. Cool. It's a V6 and it drove like one.
It drove like a worn old slipper.
Any history? I asks. None I'm afraid.
Is asks take £800 for her.
Done! Ok on the Iphone for some temporary 24 hr insurance to take her home. Paid my cash and home we went.
I took some photos before we left.
Poor old sorry looking frontera.
This old girl drives beautifully. It's smooth quiet with lovely soft seats. But it's also a pooh hole inside but it's mine.
Since I own a smart car driving this thing is like driving a tank. So I have named her Sherman.
Yes she's a really big car and will also do really pooey gas mileage. But who cares. It's a V6 V6 V6 Cool and I've just brought a V6 for £800.

The next day I managed to look more deeply into old Sherman.
She's going to need a very thorough service. I mean everything.
Cambelt, drive belt, all oils and filters, brakes, everything.
Because I'm so fussy it's got to be perfect.
I'm not going to drag My kit car around the country without a top notch service?
Last thing I need is to be stuck on the hard shoulder with It on the back with smoke and oil pouring out of Sherman .
A quick phone call to my fitter friend. (The one that did all that work on my kit car)! He's up for the work. Cool and will start in a couple of weeks.

Until then I've got my work to do. Poor old Sherman is like a pooh house inside. How anybody can keep a car in this state I have no idea.
There is only one solution. Time to completely gutt the inside, pressure wash everything. Allow to dry and refit.

So here we go time to restore Sherman to her former glory.

After a good afternoons stripping wearing a radio active suit. LOL. Only kidding everything's coming out to be washed to a inch of its life.
I'm amazed how easily everything comes apart. Unlike any Toyota I might add

Loads of photos below of Sherman and the stripping process.
Sorry for such a long thread. But it's good reading about my troubles.
The wife has always said I would make a good writer. Yea right not with my spelling and bull. LOL

Here's Sherman as I first set eyes on her.

[1packabs]

[1packabs]

Mud mud and more mud and dirt

[1packabs]

Stripping Sherman

[1packabs]

After removing the final parts from the interior to include the headlining it was time to wash, scrub and sterilise everything in sight.
I started off with the boot carpet. I give it a quick Hoover to remove some of the loose dirt. I then attack it with my pressure washer Pattio cleaner. This thing removes almost anything that's under it without all the dirt spraying everywhere.
Once the mud and muck is removed I then apply some strong detergent to remove the deeper ground in dirt.
I give it a good scrub with a stiff brush and then rinse all the dirt away.
I have to do this 3 times to get the boot carpet clean.
For the headlining I take things much more carefully as it's quite fragile. So only 1 wash does the job.
The main carpet was the worst. It's totally disgusting. I had to wash it 5 times to scrub out 16 years of muck.
Finally I got it clean and the carpets and headlining look like new again.
I then wash the seats and pressure wash the metal parts down the sides and runners as they are really crappy.
I'm glad there leather as there much easier to clean than cloth seats.
Finally I wash every panel trim and bit that has been removed from the interior.
My back garden looks like a frontera scrap yard. Cool but atleast its all clean.
I will now leave everything for a few days to dry right through.
I know this cleaning is abit extreme but this is the only way to get the car really clean.

Whilst everything is drying I have a few jobs to do. Clean the dash and replace all the dash bulbs whilst it's all loose.
More to follow.

[1packabs]

[RatCav]

Some serious work going on there!

[hipo1024]

Bloody hell! Don't think anyone ever has done such a deep clean on a frontera. My truck could do with a wash if your free

[stretch]

Very good thread mate, enjoyable read. Glad you got it up to spec and hope it serves you well. Did you change all fluids?

[hipo1024]

Yeah rob you gota step up your game clearly your getting lazy in your old age

[aredee]

Wow so emptying ashtray and dumping all the red bull cans is not enough then

[Retro Pedro]

Interesting read and well done on the spring clean.
I'm sure you'll be fine with towing capacity but on the serious side have you checked the plate to give the actual?
Always debatable this subject but the GVW/GTW will be stamped on the plate and give you the figures.
A retired Kent traffic policeman that I used to work with once explained to me that if you ever got pulled over and ordered to a weigh bridge, you will be told to sit in the vehicle and all the contents of the vehicle will be taken in consideration to obtain the Gross weight at the time. So if you driving about with loads of tools etc in the boot of the car, you may be unwittingly be over the max weight. In doing your calculations you have got to take into consideration your weight and the weight of the fuel in the tank.

[ghosthunter]

WOW............you think yours was bad.....that was actually quite respectable. One of mine had 1/2 ton of rotten and dried chips and mushy peas and other things of unknown origin down between and under the seats. Oh and 3 crispy rodents under the back seat.
When you've done you can come and do mine!.........don't worry the rodents and chips are gone.....not bad after 3 mins in the microwave
As others have said nice job and I don't think I've seen another that clean

[1packabs]

Time for a quick update on Sherman's cleaning progress.
All the servicing work will start once it's clean. But I have the outside to do as well first.
Anyway I'm back on shift tomorrow so I thought I should get cracking with the clean up.
Its been really handy having the hot sunny days as its not long until all the carpets and trims are bone dry.
Before I fit the cleaned carpet I give the metal surface a good dry scrub and Hoover.
It's amazing how much crud you accumlate underneath a cars carpets. Look at what's in my Dyson. That's what was under my carpet.
One small detail that most people forget is to wash the seatbelts. As the trims are removed it's a simple 2 bolts and there out. I give them a good wash and leave them in the sun to dry.
Now everything's clean I put the washed and dried carpet back in. As its been sitting in the garden the carpet has picked up some stuff so a good deep pile scrub and Hoover is required to get it looking like new again.
Now that's a clean carpet. It's so clean you can eat your dinner off it.
Once the carpet is fitted I refit the washed and dried headlining. I then refit all the headlining washed trims back.
I did start refitting the side trims back but a thunder storm decided to stop play. So I locked Sherman up,and called it a day.
I've been buying lots of bits on eBay for Sherman to bring everything up to my standard. Which is a 2001 top to the range frontera. So everything must be there as if it's just out of the showroom.
More to follow.

[FronteraBob]

Can't see pics

[yaki]

Wow, that's proper cleaning

When you said you cleaned the headlining I assumed you did it in situ till I saw the pictures

[stretch]

Reminds me of my concourse days but all my cars get now is a quick wash and hoover if they're lucky.

[1packabs]

Time for a update
The inside is now almost done. Everything's back in its place nice and clean. Talk about serious cleaning.
It's now so clean you can eat your dinner off it.
To finish it off I have brought a nice set of origional genuine Vauxhall mats. How I found them I don't know. There rocking horse pooh apparently.
Some of my other eBay purchases have also arrived.
I brought one of those rubber bull bars as i think it seems to finish off the frontera. There supposed to be pedestrian friendly. It's going to hurt if your hit by a frontera with or without one of these. Time to find somebody so I can test it. LOL
My boss or the wife.
I will fit it later.
I have also brought a pair of rear headrests for the back seats as they were missing. Good old eBay.
I managed to find a suitable load liner to keep my crap covered in the boot. This was also missing.
Whilst I was looking at frontera stuff I came across a spare wheel cover the same colour as mine so I brought it.
After giving it a good wash I fit it. Perfect.
Because I have washed the interior to a inch of its life the old leather seats need alittle tlc. So I brought a tub of that black leather reconditioner.
You simply apply the cream with a sponge. Work it into the cracks. Leave to dry then wipe off with a dry cloth.
It's done a lovely job. Really brought the seats back to how there supposed to be.
I'm still waiting for my origional stereo and boot liner to come.
Perfect.
Time to start some of the servicing. I started off with the drivers side front. The origional break pads were 80% worn so there due for replacement.
The discs are not to bad so it's just the pads this time around.
One thing that was certern. The shocks are completely nackerd so I have replaced it.
I was amazed how easy it was to change the pads and front shock absorber.
That's this wheel done.
That's it for this week. Hopefully my fitter friend will start the on the cambelt Wednesday I've still got 3 more wheel to do so more then.

[Darren_1688]

Looking really good inside

[woodwizzard]

Had a look through your kit car thread, hats off to you buddy. I would still be in the corner of the garage crying after discovering all of the previous owners bodges. If your fronty ever comes up for sale on here, I think it may sell quite quickly after seeing how you have been right through it.