leonk

And as taxis are exempt from the congestion charge, I wonder how many more exotics are registered in London as " taxis" haha.

Other than the gap, is the window going up and down ok? Being very optimistic, could it just be a matter of reseting the window stop position? The window should drop a few mm electrically as the door opens and go up a few mm when you close the door. Other than that it's a matter of taking the door card off and then a large metal inner door panel to see if anything is damaged / bent. All the best fixing it.

Can't beat a bit of Mcqueen, Bullit or The Getaway. A bit of fun, Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

Lada 1600L. An absolute pile of sh#t! No power steering, brakes you had to push with both feet, kept cutting out when hot because of a fuel evaporation design fault. I used to think it was so bad it was actually cool but on reflection it was just total cr#p.

Our first works van, a VW transporter t4, we've had it for 16 years now and although we don't really use it much I just can't bring myself to sell it. The thing is bomb proof. I keep trying to talk my son into having it as a camper van but he's not interested. Other than that the only car I really regret selling was the Caterham 7, totally impractical but never failed to make me smile.

Believe me, I came close to throwing the towel in a couple of times, haha! All confirmed now, they are collecting the shell on 14th June, so really excited.

No worries Chris, you're on standby for the engine going back in.

Cheers mate, could have done with you helping me with the boot,

I'm interested if you can pm me a number please I'd also be interested in this for the underside of the sills and behind the rear wheels that are very vulnerable to stone chips on the e type. I think this would be better than a textured stonechip paint finish.

More progress and I didn't have to go back into the first post and edit the month, things must be looking up. Doors, bootlid and bonnet back on. Paul from PF Autos came round tonight to inspect the shell and to my great relief said everything I'd done was to a high standard. He actually commented that he wasn't expecting it to be this far forward in terms of prep and panel gaps so pretty pleased all round. In a bid to try to keep costs down I was intending to paint the colour on the inside of the car myself in areas that are covered by carpet and maybe put the car back on the rotisserie to do the stonechip protection underneath. We have now agreed that Paul will do the whole car inside and out and refit the engine frames, bonnet, doors and bootlid after paint thus reducing the chance of damaging things, This way I get a complete paneled up painted shell back. All in all a very positive meeting that takes the pressure off me in an area that I was really worried I might mess up and ruin the finished job. Happy days! Paul is calling me tomorrow to confirm a date June/July and the shell will be with them for 3 to 4 weeks which will give me chance to clean all the dust off everthing in the garage. In the meantime an end to panel gapping...............and more importantly NO MORE RUBBING DOWN!!!!!!

According to this a non fault accident can increase your premium by up to 30%? http://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/apr/16/no-fault-claims-car-insurance-aa

All I can say is who in their right mind would buy an old JAAAAAG and think it was within his capabilities and budget to restore it.....Haha.

Damn sight cheaper fix than a new gearbox when you're young, stupid and blown all your money on a sportscar you can't afford to run! Haha.

Ford Cortina estate with a rotten fuel tank. Two plastic cans in the boot with the fuel pipe poked into one, when the car started spluttering I just jumped out and poked it into the other. These days I'd probably have an armed response unit jump on me thinking I was about to blow somewhere up! Lancia Beta with no reverse gear so I had to get out and push it backwards. Mini that you had to get out of the passenger door because the hinges on the driver's side had rotted and it would fall off. Said mini with the wheels bolted on back to front to make them look wide and I thought it was cool.Four massive spotlights on the front that melted all the wiring. As a disclaimer, that was a long time ago, haha. Edited because there was a capital letter in the Wrong place.

Cheers, they came recommended and seem much more knowledgeable than the other place with regards to classic cars, panel gaps and trial fitting everything several times. If they are only 5 minutes from you, you'll have to call in and check up on it! Haha. Just come in from the garage after doing a bit more. Thanks everyone for the kind comments and still following.

As promised in the New Years Resolutions post back in January, I'm doing everything possible to get the shell in paint this summer. With this in mind I went to see a body shop that was recommended in Stoke on Trent http://www.pfautos.com/gallery.php What a fantastic place, have a look through their gallery section. I spent nearly an hour and a half there being shown finished cars and ones in progress. We have agreed a slot in late July subject to inspecting my shell at my house and confirming the price. These guys are happy to finish/remedy any problems with the shell until I am happy with it an sign it off for final paint. This is in contrast to a more local Bodyshop who I got the impression wanted it practically ready for the top coat. I now need to get all the panels back on so they can inspect it in a couple of weeks. All in all I'm much happier to hand it over to them. The downside is it will be more than double what I had budgeted for but it would really really annoy me having to live with marks or ripples in the paint. Bear in mind I want the underside of the bonnet and indeed underside of the car to look as good as the top. It also means there is an end to all the bl**dy blocking and flatting down in sight! So more blocking and priming in the hope that when they see it they don't laugh and add another 3 weeks to the price.... The big flexi tube above that looks like something out of Breaking Bad is a dust extraction system I had to install just to keep on top of all the rubbing down dust. And I've finally got the passenger side vents right...

I know, I was only pulling your leg. The research is all part of the fun. I think had my uncle been a bit younger, he'd have gone for the R8 instead of the DB9. I went to look at an R8 at Christopher Jackson in Wilmslow, a really nice car. That was 18 months ago and as you say prices don't seem to have moved much at all.

Stop over analysing it and just go and buy one! Haha. Oh and make sure you visit. It took you long enough to buy a house, at this rate you won't have to worry about depreciation, it will qualify for classic car insurance.

At this rate you'll be advocating that all Zeds carry a donor card! Only kidding, all the best with the project.

Hi Chris, my uncle looked into buying one and came up with much of the above. He ended up buying a DB9. What about an F type? There are a few coming in sub 40k now. Edit I know what you're going to say, not " supercar" enough. Haha You know we've had the sensible conversation on how much these sort of cars cost. If it holds its value that's a bonus, otherwise be prepared to blow 10k in depreciation and running costs but at least you've had some fun. Whatever you buy, make sure you call round!

While I admire the engineering and fabricating skills, I can't help but think that a couple of blocks of 3x2 cable tied to the good wife's feet would have been just as effective.... Only kidding, looks great Chris, beats a weekend rubbing down high build primer.

I was thinking he could see the light at the end of the tunnel.... Seriously though, looking good!

Nice work Chris, was the alloy welding with the TIG?

Yeh, but that was late at night while you were alone in the house and you went to great lengths to delete it from your browsing history Dan...