Hints and tips

When you work on older cars, at a certain point you come across certain things you like to 're-design', modernize or upgrade to today standards. In this article some "hints and tips" you can use on your car as well. Make it more easy to service, or make it a look better.

Take for instance the alloy cylinder head of the 6 cylinder engine. On both sides, inlet manifold and exhaust manifold are bolted on. Specially the heavy iron exhaust can be a pain full job to refit it.

The bolts used for this are 'eating' there way in the alloy head, and when you do this several times you ended up with a damaged head. One option is to insert a helicoil. Helicoil inserts are the quick and easy method for repairing damaged threads, or creating a stronger original threads in alloys and composite materials in original equipment manufacture.

The other option I did was replacing the bolts with stainless steel studs. This has more advantages. For instance, the 'eating' away problem is no longer there. It is more easy to refit the heavy exhaust manifold, simply slide it onto the studs and lock the nuts. And because it is stainless steel, it can be removed very easy.

The only problem wit this option is that the studs are not available in the shops as an of the shelve part. You need to make these yourself. But what an option!

Rubber door strip repair

Get your rubber stripping 'as new'. Here is how Lee Allen buffed up his strips and repaired the chrome work! Yes, it is possible, read how.

Once the side rubber strips have been removed from the car, it is best to lay them out on a flat surface for a couple of days. If you have removed them before you will know that they don't come off that easily and end up a bit twisted.

First thing that needs to be done is to remove what's left of the self adhesive tape on the reverse of the side rubbing strip. To do this, dampen a cloth with paint thinners or glue remover and wipe this over the adhesive to soften it up.

After a few minutes it will be soft enough to remove, the easiest way I found to remove it is by rubbing it gently with your thumb, and rolling it into itself. Once most of it is removed wipe over again with thinners to clean off any excess.

Wipe the front over with some thinners to clean it up. This will remove any waxes or silicone back to black sprays that may have been used in the past.

For the chrome trim, use a vary fine grade of wet and dry paper to remove any flake off chrome that may be loose. this will also smooth the surface for the new chrome tape to be fitted in its place.

The tape I used for this is available in different sizes, I have used 19mm width tape, just in case I need it for bigger jobs.

Cut a length of tape slightly over size for what you need. Peel off the backing from the tape and lay it into place. Press firmly from the middle outwards pushing out any air bubbles that may appear. If you get a crease, you can remove the tape and start again.

You will see that the tape needs to be pushed into the creases that define the edge of the strip, do this by using your thumb nail or something pointed but blunt. Once the creases are defined, carefully trim off the excess tape with a very sharp blade/modelling knife.

Finally clean the rubber trim with a rubber wax or polish or use a silicone based back to black spray, Buff the trim till it shines.

Polished wheels

Ever thought of repainting your Vanden Plas wheels again? How about polishing them. This is the result!

How? Simple. Remove all the paint using paint remover and sander. Start with a grid 60 or 80 than 120 or even 240. If you have done that, use a paint renovator (with alloy grit) or a paint cleaner and rub the metal. You can even use your wife's kitchen stuff if you like, vim or Jiff does the same job. When you finished you can paint the cups from the wheel in the same body color if you like of keep it alloy also. Use a cellulose paint for protection is an option, but remember this won't last forever. I kept one of the wheels bare alloy, it is easy to remove the dirt and polish it slightly and get it shinny again