Grahams81-Leon 4wd, Big Turbo - Back in the saddle :-)

[grahams81]

Nice to see yet another little update again mate

Cheers Bud

love the colour

Er cheers Danny, didn't mean to copy - i know yours is orange but it's a bit different and its a metallic colour isn't it.
I wanted something to stand out and it had to be a solid colour....

Fantastic Graham. Great colour choice.

Thanks Joe, nice to see you back on here mate... and thanks really happy with the Orange.

Small Update -

Cleaned up the new bench set-up a bit -

I started to remove bits from the engine bay the other weekend.

All the gash before i removed it all -

After removing it all bar the servo / master cylinder -

So i decided that it would be a nice idea to remove the subframe before painting the bay so i decided to assemble the dolly's and get the car up on them.

The quality is quite good, they seem nicely put together and i didn't have to removed paint and drill out holes etc like you have to sometimes with these types of things.
For anybody who's interested they were from a place called CJAuto's and were £180.

Built them up and got the front up and supported on them.

Got the other one built up and lifted the back end up -

I've now got a lot more room in the garage as i can get the car nice and tight up against the wall.

Well that's you lot upto date for now - gonna go and start removing the subframe / front end and clean up the bay ready for painting.
As always thanks for reading and any comments.

 

[grahams81]

Did some more on the car today.

I decided to remove the front subframe and suspension, started off by removing the wheels then the front suspension struts -

I then disconnected the steering rack inside the car and dropped the front subframe down on a trolley jack.

Just got to get rid of all the wax / years of muck then start painting.

 

[Hartosh1]

Good progress there. Love it how you can just move the car about from side to side.

 

[t0m]

I just love reading your updates

Good work mate keep going you're doing a top job with this car!

 

[Paul JC]

Nice project!

 

[grahams81]

Thanks For the comments Guys

Been a bit of a slow couple of months as i've never stopped with work lately

I have got the next two weeks without any work planned so i should be home but may get called away.... fingers crossed so i can get moving again.

Anyway done a couple of hours over the last couple of month or so.

I started stripping all the rusty stuff of and using a rotary wire brush to get back to clean metal. Under the original battery was the worst - you can see the rust near the can of panel wipe -

After a bash with the brush - clean metal...

I then got a bit sick of the thought of filling / sanding / smoothing / priming / masking etc so i just thought f*ck it i'll hammerite the bay and get the project moving again.
It would have been nice to get the bay looking awesome but hey it's no show car and with the massive turbo under the bonnet most peoples eyes will be drawn to that and not the paint work.
So i just bought some smooth black hammerite and brushed it on.
Tested a bit to see what the finish was like -

Then set to work scotching and cleaning up the rest of the bay -

Then painted it all with the first coat -

Just got to scotch it all again to apply the second coat as there are some areas of blue shining through. Need to deal with a couple of runs too

Cheers,
Graham.

 

[t0m]

Oooh yes! Going to look sweet indeed. Can't beat a bit of hammerite tbh!

 

[tom t]

Been browsing today hoping to see an update to ure thread. Keep going bud hope to see a bigger update in the next couple of weeks. All going well what do you plan to get done?

 

[Chambers_CUPRA]

Good call

Looks good

 

[grahams81]

Oooh yes! Going to look sweet indeed. Can't beat a bit of hammerite tbh!

Cheers Tom, Yeh the old faithful hammerite saves loads of work... should of rollered the car in it

Been browsing today hoping to see an update to ure thread. Keep going bud hope to see a bigger update in the next couple of weeks. All going well what do you plan to get done?

I'm planing on getting the man tent cleared out and the shell in the tent, then start painting the remaining parts in the garage - Doors (gonna weld-up the rear handles and smooth), Boot (needs welding around the spoiler mount) paint side skirts / bonnet / wings etc.

Once i get the painting finished i can then start the final build and putting it all together

Good call

Looks good

Cheers mate

 

[grahams81]

Smallish Update

So i scotch bright'd the engine bay the other day, just to give it another coat of Hammerite.

I managed to get another coat on but didn't take anymore pictures sorry guys...

So with the engine bay finished i decided to start the process of getting the car in the Man tent.

I also secured the doors of the tent by bolting wooden planks to the doors, that'll keep the cats out and stop them flapping around in the wind.

I managed to clear out the man tent, some in the back garden, some piled inside the shell.
I dropped the supercopa front wings back on and the GRP bonnet..... also placed the new front windscreen on that i got from Phill's Cupra he broke.

All cleared out ready for the car -

Shot of the car in the daylight...... mmmmmm orangey

Nearly home -

Snug as a bug in a rug -

I then popped the front slam panel on with a couple of bolts and i thought it would be rude not to stick the front bumper on

So thats it then, been wanting to get this done for ages so i can crack on with painting the rest of the parts from the car... once thats done it's assembly time

Tomorrows plan is to tidy up the garage and start to plan the painting.

Gonna weld up the rear door handles and smooth the rub strips...

She's coming together

 

[t0m]

Man tent for the win! Nearing assembly time, wow this really is starting to snowball along now

That orange looks better each time I see it. CANNOT WAIT to see this complete one day!

 

[James23Parkin]

Just brilliant Graham! The bay looks great IMO. Hammerite or not...

How will you be attaching the arch extensions to the front bumper? Adhesive and then filler? It's going to look great! Keep going buddy

 

[grahams81]

Man tent for the win! Nearing assembly time, wow this really is starting to snowball along now

That orange looks better each time I see it. CANNOT WAIT to see this complete one day!

Cheers Tom

Just brilliant Graham! The bay looks great IMO. Hammerite or not...

How will you be attaching the arch extensions to the front bumper? Adhesive and then filler? It's going to look great! Keep going buddy

Thanks James, i'm not using the arch extensions anymore, the front wings are replica's of the already wider supercopa race car ones

 

[James23Parkin]

Cheers Tom



Thanks James, i'm not using the arch extensions anymore, the front wings are replica's of the already wider supercopa race car ones

So the way the front wings meet the LCR bump is the way it's staying, as pictured above?

 

[grahams81]

So the way the front wings meet the LCR bump is the way it's staying, as pictured above?

Sorry mate i didn't understand, its got parts that blend the LCR bumper into the wider wings there not fitted above.

Like this -

 

[cupra-barn]

Looking awesome Graham, like everyone else I can't wait to see this!!!!

The orange in natural daylight is breathtaking it looks really good.

On a seperate note, how dare you slack on the photos, disgraceful

 

[Rgm racer]

Quote -Gonna weld up the rear door handles and smooth the rub strips...

Hi Graham, cracking work as always.
When you say weld up door handles is this due to you not not needing to open them anymore? And when you say smooth the rub strips does this mean remove and fill holes before painting meaning you won't have them fitted?

I'm still looking forward to seeing you at a track day one day and hopefully experiencing this beast! I am having my first outing this year at Rockingham this weekend so if you want me to take you out for a few laps before you hopefully return the favour one day, you would be more than welcome

 

[grahams81]

Looking awesome Graham, like everyone else I can't wait to see this!!!!

The orange in natural daylight is breathtaking it looks really good.

On a seperate note, how dare you slack on the photos, disgraceful

Thanks Barn & Sorry about the lack of photo's bud..... i'll take pictures of everything from now on

Quote -Gonna weld up the rear door handles and smooth the rub strips...

Hi Graham, cracking work as always.
When you say weld up door handles is this due to you not not needing to open them anymore? And when you say smooth the rub strips does this mean remove and fill holes before painting meaning you won't have them fitted?

I'm still looking forward to seeing you at a track day one day and hopefully experiencing this beast! I am having my first outing this year at Rockingham this weekend so if you want me to take you out for a few laps before you hopefully return the favour one day, you would be more than welcome

Hi Rob, Thanks for the comments, i'm welding up the handle recesses in the rear doors as i won't need to open them. I'll still be able to open them from inside if i need to access the fuel pump etc. Also i'm gonna weld up the little holes where the rub strips go and smooth the over.

Good luck at the track day day mate and thanks for the invite.... i've been far too busy grafting again on the car

Small Update

After yesterdays fun and games moving the car the garage was a total bomb site so after an hours tidying, everything was back in order -

It's nice to have some space again

So just for Barn..... photos

Started by dragging the boot in so i could start on that -

I then removed the spoiler mount, and then the window... which was as expected a pain in the arse

Next up i decided to smooth the boot and get rid of the Seat "S" badge / handle - i cut some paper out to make a template then cut it out in steel -

Busted out the TIG welder to tack it into place..... it was really pissy thin and burned through a couple of places but it doesn't need to be pretty, i tried to keep the current low and the tacks small so it didn't heat the panel up much.
I then flattened down the welds with a grinder -

The only problem i had was once it cooled i noticed just below the badge area the panel had distorted and popped in.
Couldn't really get in behind it to knock it out so i got the blow lamp out and heated the panel up to try and relieve the stress in it.

I'll start on the rear doors tomorrow and hopefully get the metal work done

Thanks,
Graham.

 

[Scam]

More!!!!!!