This car arrived at Restore-A-Ford after Julian, the owner, complemented the Modena green car restoration at the Box Hill Old Skool Ford meet during the summer of 2007. Julian was impressed with the quality of repair work carried out and decided to entrust the restoraton of his much loved RS3100 to Restore-A-Ford. He has owned this car for over 5 years, 4 of which, she has sat languishing in his garage awaiting restoration.
After initially viewing the car it appeared she was not in bad condition for her age. It was apparent previous work had been carried out including a full respray at some point in her past. The main points of concern at the time, were the near side A-Post and the front suspension turrets which were beginning to show evidence of the old tin worm. The paint had started to micro blister on both rear quarter panels which led Julian to decide it was time for the car to undergo a full restoration.
Prior to arriving at Restore-A-Ford's workshop, Julian had completely stripped the car of its engine and various other components. Leaving just a rolling shell with it's glass and some interior trim. Once in the workshop the car was liberated of all its other mechanical components and trim until she was just a bare shell ready for the work to commence...
As can be seen in the pictures below, after the wings were removed from the car, it became apparent all was not as it first seemed. Unfortunately she had suffered poor quality previous repairs which after many years had now come back to haunt her. After removing years of underseal and the turret strengthener panels, the extent of the corrossion could be seen.
Some serious attention was needed to this area. The complete turret was removed along with the chassis closing panel to allow repairs to the inner wing. This consisted of replacing a large section of the lower inner wing, the area around the turret top and the complete wing rail. Once all the repairs to the inner wing had been completed, a new turret was fitted and chassis closing panel. The section of chassis under the floor/bulkhead had to be replaced. The A-Post had suffered poor patch repairs and had to be completely replaced along with the inner A-Post, inner and outer scuttle panels. At the same time the front section of the inner and outer sill had to be replaced, along with some repair work to the floor and bulkhead. Once this work had been completed, the turret strengthers could be refitted.
The pictures below show that serious attention is required to the rear chassis and floor area of the car. Once again poor previous repairs have taken their toll. The front section of the rear chassis and surrounding floor area needs a complete rebuild.
The first picture below shows the near side rear floor under/chassis. The second picture shows the sill and wheelarch after repairs have been completed. The corrossion was so extensive the whole floor, inner and outer sill had to be completely removed to enable repairs to chassis and spring mounting point. The last picture shows this area after repairs have been completed.
The car was mounted on to a roll over jig to allow the underside to be completely striped of all the old underseal and sealant that had been plastered over the entire underside in an attempt to cover up previous repairs. Once this had been completed, the entire floorpan was etch primed, resealed and recoated with a rubberised anti-chip coating. All chassis rails and box sections were treated to healthy dose of wax oil. The car was returned to its correct side, all components refitted to allow the car to sit back on its wheels. The wings could now be refitted along with the rest of the panels.
The shell had to be completely stripped back to bare metal due to defects in the existing paintwork. The body was prepared for a coat of primer, first a coat of etch primer was applied followed by 3 coats of high build primer prior to final prep. The last picture below shows the rear axle after overhaul, all mechanical components were either replaced or overhauled.
The entire body was prepared and then rolled in to the oven in preparation for its new coat of paint. Much attention to the masking was required so as not to get any overspray on the freshly finished underside. The vehicle was refinished in Sebring red, once again using high quality two-pack materials. The internal floor area was also etch primed, resealed and treated to anti-drum pads before being oversprayed with colour to try to replicate the manufacturers original finish.
The engine bay was first refitted of its wiring loom, braking circuit and other components relating to the engine itself. The heart of the RS could be reinstalled for the first time in over a year. The engine was once again treated to many new components and repainted in its original factory colours including the blue rocker covers that are unique to this model. Now it is undergoing the refitting process.
Once the car had been refitted it was treated to a full service and an MOT, which of course it sailed through. It was taken for a road test to ensure everything was ok. The car was cleaned in preperaton for collection.
The car was collected on the Thursday evening so Julian could take it to the RS Combe 2008 show on the Saturday 5th July. The car was very well received by all and picked up 1st prize for 'best in class', not bad for its first outing!
Julian's comments: I am over the moon and it far exceeded my expectations and attention to detail is first class. I would and have recommended Restore-A-Ford for first class restoration work.