GRIZZ’s ‘79 - 2WD BLAZER Challenge over in London, England. “~It’s not a Project~”

[Grizz1963]

PS.


Now we can start working on this car.


Without fear of losing the investment.


I also found this bit of information……..


Different speeds for different countries.


Including the UK.


Town car then.







Anyone for a drag race?


That is, drag it along.


.

[Grizz1963]

Remember when I got this car, just how messy it was?

Once I had removed all the loose rubbish and rubble from it, the floor and mat was still in a condition that I expected it to need replacing.










So in my typical style, I rethought it all, and the hassle of having to undo the seat base, seat belt anchors etc in order to remove the mat, and to replace it with a new carpet.

Of course this makes no sense, except if you like polishing turds…….


So I pushed the car out, raised the front end up on some ramps and got going.


Sprayer nozzle on the hose to wet and wash it as much as possible, to see if any of the carpet pile could be revived…….



Followed by a hard brush and a lot of brushing and washing over and over……

Then Fairy liquid to aid the lifting process.

More rinsing and finally this result.

The carpet pile was revived, and once dried out, the colour returned to a uniform dark grey/black.







My old lodger John, the driving school instructor had come over for a few hours, to check up on me and have a few cups of tea and biccies.

He was amused by the car, and declined driving it….. thankfully.




Process was filmed by John as he is a sneaky guy with a camera.


https://youtu.be/Gn1lmnaA5W8


Another Job done and Canta standing drying out.





Weather looks promising today.


May get something done.


Fingers crossed.

[Grizz1963]

Was looking for some tubular headers for a thing I want to try build.


And just like magic…..

A set of headers made their appearance.

Still need to be packaged and shipped, so final cost to be established by that.

But, headers - Free.

Thanks.



Yes, I know what it should become, some more parts collecting, grinding, cutting, welding……

Hopefully a win.

[Grizz1963]

So a box landed, by courier.

Thanks to @overdrive for taking the time to recover these headers from the sidewalk up in Scotland, and then proceeding to parcel and wrap them for me.

They are part of a few odd bits I am hoping to snot together for a silly result.

Found the master ingredient on a sidewalk on the way home last week, and that set this all in motion.

Parts collection may be a tad slow.






Typically it is raining outside, I am off to London to do some teaching, and the rain is forecast for the day.

Hopefully some dry time over the weekend.

Not working is getting tedious.

Friday !!

[Grizz1963]

You know how it goes…..

Stole this…..



Brought it home, held it over the fence, dropped it no more than 18” or 450mm

And…..



Gutted.

Not how the weekend was meant to start.

Grrrrr.

[Grizz1963]

Cut the grass.

Sun shining, not yet started raining as forecast.

Maybe they lied.

Thought it was as good a time as any to take the Rezin Rockit out for a drive to Sally’s to drop off the kids bicycle I found thrown out last week.

Free stuff, and,it won’t be long before Harry outgrows it too, then someone else can have a free kids bike.



Liking this view.



Drove over to her -lace, dropped the bike, then took a longer drive, pushing through the gears for about 10 miles, or 16km and maintaining around 70mph out on the bypass road.

This car likes to rev and run.

Came back via the farm and took a few pics on the side of the rapeseed canola fields.







Drove home, stopped to chat with a neighbour walking his dogs, started up, drove 20 yards and it cut out again.

Like the last time.

Tried a few times to restart, failed.

Wondering if there is a heat component to this failing to start.

Parked up, got the S10 out and came over to Sallys place for dinner.

How was your day ?

[Grizz1963]

Bank holiday weekend, or public holiday weekend

Lots of plans.

Failed

So the doors of the Canta are pretty much frames covered in moulded fibre plastic or something.

23 years of use and abuse have seen them scabbed up like this.



So they needed to be sanded back , possibly treated with a rust stabiliser or converter and then painted again.

I cleared the Rezin Rockit away so that there would be no flying grit on it, and masked the inside of the Canta with pull sheets.

I really do love the look of this car, from the rear and front.

The stance does do it for me.



Of course Mickey came around the moment he realised I was working.

At 78 he is taking it a bit easier now. But loves getting involved or in the way.



Grinder and fine 120 grit flap disc



Of course I knew there would be damage to the fabric, but also plan on renewing it all when the time comes, with new vinyl.

Ground back and treated with the VACTAN rust converter/stabiliser.







Once the VACTAN had dried, as it was hot and two coats were applied, it was time to paint the first coat of exterior use black enamel paint (it is good enough in this case, for this car)

I had bought this previously as there was no black Hammerite available, in the hope it would work well enough for most applications.

Mixed through and applied.

I was not impressed.



Thin coat all over the sanded and treated sections as well as the good parts, in order to get an even finish.



Good looking result.



By 4.30pm I shut shop and carried on with other jobs……

Later after 6.00 I went to check the paint and realised it was still wet……

Not a good sign.

Sunday it continued to be wet and come off on the fingers, even after a light touch.

Today, by midday it was still tacky and stuck to my fingers.

I am so unimpressed as I had more jobs to do, but cannot come near the car for fear of getting paint all over myself and my garage clothes.

Maybe I will be clearing all the paint off by next weekend.

Weekend over, not happy.

Video :

https://youtu.be/98TEXIFcKYU


End shows the paint sticking to my fingers.


.

[Grizz1963]

After weeks of rubbish weather and bad excuses, the Kings coronation weekend brought me a dry afternoon on Sunday.

So I removed the front engine mount and made up a plate to reinforce and support the whole thing.

And of course the mounting plate was bent so the BFH came out to play.





Cleaned the old weld off and prepped for welding.



Hole in the front chassis support to close up..



Plan was angle iron to wrap around……



But that plan ditched as it was going to be a fight to make it take up less space.

So 30mm x 4mm flat bar used instead.

Cut to size and prepared.



In place and clamped for tack welding to original mount bracket.



Once that was done, I wrapped up for the day and spent some time tidying up,the garden, planting various flowers, and a lavender bush.

Bonnie came to visit with Sally and of course George was growling like a lion, he had already attacked Bonnie as she came into the house…..

So she was consigned to the garden on a 21 foot or 7 meter lunge lead.

Happy dog, loads of toys and in company.



And a video

https://youtu.be/Lm13TLFdxIA

In case you cannot be bothered reading the words 😉

[Grizz1963]

Monday morning, being a public holiday, after the king got his crown, meant more time for small jobs.

Andy got in around 7.30am from a 13 hr night shift, grabbed a beer and went upstairs to FaceTime his wife and kids.

I had breakfast, then went to open the garage and unpack the tools we would need and get the Canta ready for a quick weld…. By Andy.

Typically, George was there to inspect and do the QC.



After tacking the new base plate, and the engine mount plate, they were welded up on both sides, with a double run on the inside.





Then I put it all back together, in position and Andy ran some welds all around.

Weirdly, a couple of holes popped up on the two sides of the thin chassis material.

Which he obviously closed up.






Followed by grinding back with a flap disc.



And then a TEST DRIVE

I have to say, it is completely different to before, when the engine was bouncing around.

And once the belts are replaced and tensioned correctly, along with the throttle cable, and as planned a conversion from hand controls, back to foot control pedals by mate Martin, I suspect this car will be a completely different creature.

It has also managed to be a bit more aggressive in the launch and take off stakes.

Leaving marks on the concrete and grass.




VIDEO:

https://youtu.be/vnTCbvl-V8M

After testing, and parking the Canta Andy had a beer, keep in mind, his clock is completely switched around till September, and I had a coffee.

Later I went back and masked up, and painted the new metal and welds black.


This is a small job, but suddenly it allows a load of other tasks to be initiated or completed.


Next stop will be to find some belts for the CVT and alternator in the UK, rather than importing at cost of shipping and import duties, from Europe as we are not in the same trade zone anymore.


Progress is Progress as Ta2Don always says.






.

[Grizz1963]

Still P!$$€d at the way this week unfolded, today was a loss in many ways.

But I guess in real terms it did deliver something intangible…… mind space.

Nick Wheeler popped in for a few hours chat and looking at various aspects of this little car (he accidentally called it a car) when I was messing around with a propane gas bottle and some V8 headers for something else that I went to make.

I also spent some time shooting the breeze with him.

Looking at a few of the small issues that add up to being the mess this car currently is.

The front disc brakes seem to work, needing to be serviced though.

Nick also identified the thread and size of the missing nut that is meant to hold the choke cable and knob in place.

So an old wheel nut was cut back to create a new one (to be fitted)




I also grabbed an old rag, and some petrol and wiped away all the sticky paint from two/three weeks ago.

Long overdue job.






Yesterday I had taken the day off work to also just get my head clear…..

I went shopping for work clothes, and then headed out to mate Darren’s over on the Isle of Sheppey.

A few hours with him and the guys in the engineering shop always clears my mind.

Like me, he is a bit of a collector and hoarder, but also just to move stuff on to other people…..

I scored a Lotus 7 type nose cone he insisted on me taking.

I only took it because I knew where it needed to go.

A while ago I got a non running, minus carburettor, V-Twin lawn tractor from @frankenhealey


This was the best option yet, compared to scratch building a new engine cowl.


Just a test placement.





Nothing else done.


Tomorrow will be better.

[Grizz1963]

Not been able to pick up speed this weekend, including Friday that I had taken off.

Eventually got going around 11.00

Ran into a wall, despite high hopes for a few jobs to get done.

But got one done.

Choke.

Before………



After




Long winded video

https://youtu.be/KM_bFAgoLTk


Also noticed that I need to find some of this weird tubing for the heating system.



@frankenhealey will know that there are alternatives, the drive belt, as fitted is incorrect. Correct code is 704040



Little by little we will get there.


Weekend over.


Again.

[Grizz1963]

In the mean time……..

Have a 2 minute Bonus clip.

https://youtu.be/OZQ-FlrA3Z8

[Grizz1963]

https://youtu.be/IrxcDd8R_9U

[Grizz1963]

Still not loaded the real thing.

https://youtu.be/6FAd-pzvSqk

[Grizz1963]

TWO WEEKS OF NOT TOUCHING THE CANTA……

So what has happened?

Time well spent in my garden and 4 days up in Shropshire helping Craig to move some of his jobs on.

It was not hugely successful, but it was progress nonetheless.

Previous videos show a bit of what we got to do.

One of the rewards over the weekend, was to drag out Craigs 1950’s Messerschmitt KR250 replica.

The reward was to try getting it to run after 14 years in storage.

So not so much a “find” but a barn-release I guess.

VIDEO:

https://youtu.be/5d3gCONPsGA


Hopefully this weekend will see me get some Canta time.

Fingers crossed.

[Grizz1963]

Well, went to my second or third bootfair of the year.

Only half a field full by 07.00

Mostly pink junk and stuff that seems to belong in a dumpster.

Prices I heard have certainly gone way up.

I found one small tin for £1.00 which maybe I could have wrangled a bit on price, but a year or two ago this was a 50p max item.

I suspect that other than wetting the bed and having to get up early on a Sunday with nothing better to do, this is where I need to realise that they are not what they used to be.




In other news, Dennis went to a car show and cruise in the NASCAR C10 Truck.

He had Bryan drive, burn out and parade it with wife Katie…..



Adam took a pic of people taking pics of the truck.



I guess it does really have a presence out there.







Looking forward to my next drive in it as well.

[Grizz1963]

I needed some distraction today.

TBH, I was kinda expecting @nickwheeler to pop around after his Sunday tasks…..

Anyway, Decided after a dead bootfair, and before starting on the Canta, to take the RR for a run.

Tempt fate, some would say.

So I drove over to Allhallows to see if @forddan68 was in, to ask him about what polish to use on my S10 as I want to just give the paint a bit of love, not a full “detail” or anything that extreme….. but it was all quiet there and I was not going to knock on the door.

So I carried on with my drive, heading toward Rochester in the opposite direction.

Eventually making it back home with no cut out or breakdown like before.

Did I get lucky, or is the previous minimal issue sorting itself out.

Parked up, after I got home.




After this, I went to do a few small jobs on the Canta.


Weekend over again.
.

[Grizz1963]

What happens when a Canta has right of way, but the driver on the intersection has no clue.




Mate Kevin, aka Woodside is at the Isle of Man for the TT Races.

Last night he discovered a Canta LX.

Investigation showed it to be a 337cc model as well.

Other than a flat drivers tyre, it seems to be exceptionally tidy, and a 2007 registered model.



Sunday morning the boot fair was a distinct bust, so I took the Rezin Rockit for a run, and it all went really well.

Hopefully a sign of things to come.



Sunday afternoon I managed to do a few small jobs that had been bothering me for a while.

Removed the speakers that had been dangling off the dash, including the wiring, as much as I could get to.




Made up a pair of plates to help restore the hood release latch that I had managed to destroy in winter.



Painted it.

And refitted it all.



Then drilled out the rivets that held the remaining bits of door retaining straps.



Also made a recording of what I got up to.

Enjoy, comment, subscribe or do whatever you need to do at this point. 😉


https://youtu.be/o3oa2tYnGOM


That concluded a short, but rewarding afternoon.


.

[Grizz1963]

Weekend is here again.

I really need to push my motivation at the moment. Funny how the ****ty state of emotional affairs at work creeps into every day life. Reducing drive and joy in getting things done.

Hopefully get something random and worthwhile done, mowed the lawn and did two loads of washing after work yesterday, yes, I do all my own domestic stuff.

This morning I refitted and repacked a very large printers tray and all the crappo on it, it fell off the wall months ago and I just swept the broken ornaments and mementos into a corner 6 months ago.

Not sure what I will get done, but maybe cleaning up the Canta inside, finding some pipe to rebuild its exhaust for under the body.

Address the front end where the lights are mounted etc to straighten that out.

Coffee and garage keys next.

[Grizz1963]

Company car said this on Friday.

Low miles for a 2020 and three year old.



Went for a walk on one of the days this week and saw the poppies are massively down in numbers this year.

George had gone missing for two days, so I was looking to see if he has been killed and thrown in a ditch, or if the farmers shot him.

He returned casually on Friday morning, asking for breakfast. Dick.

[Grizz1963]

Before starting on the Canta yesterday, I had a few small jobs to do indoors.

After which I went out to the shop, moved stuff about and started to look for somewhere to mount and power the 200W LED spotlight my lodger, Andy who previously lived here and helped with the welding and hole digging when I built the carport, had liberated from a skip at work. Crazy world we live in, it was mounted, then found to be in the way of works going on, removed and put in the skip. The cost of repatriation on building sites exceed the written off value of items.

Andy went home this week, to see his wife and for an interview with Rolls Royce, which seems very positive. So he may be gone sooner than planned.

As a consolation he brought some large, salty pretzels 🥨



Back to the work light.

So a suitable length of 3 core wire and a plug added, light mounted on a beam, thanks to @nickwheeler who popped in and held it in place for me to fasten.

Sally was waiting patiently for me to get done so we could go walk Bonnie on the outgoing tide down at the River Thames.

Testing.

This thing is deceptively bright.



In position.



And at 10.30pm last night when I got home.

This certainly, along with the strip lights will make the space super light for working in winter when it gets dark at 3.30pm




Once the light was fitted, I closed shop as Sally was patiently waiting for me to to go walk the dog……

Always fun walkingBonnie, as she is such a hyperactive dog.

Interesting sight passed us on the footpath.



Back at home, I got back to the Canta, a few small jobs in mind.

My motivation is kinda low with all the cr@p and insecurity at work.

First job was to clean out all the aluminium swarf from last weekends drilling rivets.

Then found some of the nylon webbing used for the Rezin Rockit roll bar wrap and measured, cut it to size, followed by hearing a piece of welding rod to burn the holes through for the rivets.



Result.



Riveting progress.



Done.



Both sides now retained, hopefully preventing over extension and damage.





Next job was a bigger one, and had been bothering me since day one.

The bonnet/hood supports had been damaged by the engine bouncing around while the front engine mount was broken

This left everything catching, mal-aligned and of course the hood latch needing to be forced.

After fixing the cable operated release last weekend, the obvious next job, which I could no longer avoid, was this.

Shown more clearly in the video……. This was the process.

So I tried to manually pull it into position using a length of trucking webbing the pavement gods had blessed me with at some time.

I failed………

So it was onto “Plan B” that should have been “Plan A” to prevent wasting time.

Using a hydraulic jack, and my large ball pein hammer handle, I just lifted it and pushed it back up to the position it needed to be.

Simple solutions often deliver the best outcomes.



Looking at the bonnet before, it was way out of alignment.



After.



And stepping back.

Just so much better.




Buoyed by my success, I put the tools down, went for a pee and made a coffee.

Then back to the last job of the day, another eyesore.

Duck tape is godly stuff, but man it can leave a mess years later.

My guess is that the radio-tape had come unscrewed/broke away from the dash, and some genius used (as it should be when stuff moves that should not move) duck tape to secure it all……. Till it was removed by a subsequent fixer.

So armed with some blue garage paper towel and washing petrol/gas I cleaned this mess.





And the result was satisfying to say the least.



Closed up shop, came indoors and sat editing the bits of footage from the day for an hour or more.

Showered, went to Sallys place to upload on her decent Wi-Fi, the YouTube video.


VIDEO LINK:

https://youtu.be/9Yc6Kj6Umk8

Sunday today, need to go next door and cut Mickey’s lawn as it is looking rubbish.

Then maybe some more Canta Time.

[Grizz1963]

Small jobs, often we avoid them because they are awkward or easy to overlook.

Case in point, the rear light.

I knew from day one it was broken and managed to find a replacement UK Nova rear light. Slightly different, but intact.

The price resonated really well with me as well, as I support Help for Heroes being ex military as well.

So part of Sunday was spent doing house and garden jobs, including watering Mickey’s wife’s garden and seedlings, she has a lot. I also took my mower around and cut his Tetris-like lawn.

Then back to the Canta, where I knew a job had been waiting, the rear light replacement.

Interior covered in layers of fabric and Velcro, and all glued together, so I “removed” some of it to get in there.



Removed all the connectors carefully with long nosed pliers as they were corroded, and in an effort to be able to reassemble them, used some masking tape to lay them out in order.



Next job necessitated a Stanley knife and a prayer as the old light was glued in with Tiger seal or something similarly brutal.

But I got it out.



Old VS New.

Colours differ nd of course now I have two reverse lamps, so a bright red lightbulb in the fog light side, plus swapping the wires for the sides needs to happen for UK road worthiness.



Interior fitting done, hopefully not going to need to remove it again.





Fitted.



And final result.



It is a small job that took a while to get to, and then the cleanup etc took a bit of time, but I am very pleased.

Once again it shows, small jobs take a load of time.

VIDEOS:

https://youtu.be/TEXRBfVZAEs

And high speed.

https://youtu.be/2zziYzBXdr0

Thanks for checking in.

.

[Grizz1963]

Alongside workshop stuff, my garden is a place for my mental health recovery.

These days are tough for many of us, and I find myself needing therapy almost daily.

Seriously.

And the dog, though not mine, still allows me to laugh out loud.

This morning George the cat was walking behind me when I walked out to water a few pot plants, and tried to ankle-tap me, grabbing my leg, when I turned to touch him, he came up, grabbed my hand and gave it the gentlest of bites……. Because I had ignored him, sitting on the coffee table, waiting patiently for some Dreamiest. I could not stop laughing.

So these animals and other side distractions do earn their keep, by reminding us to slow down and smell the roses.

SO…….

Just some random mix of doggy madness for those who enjoy animals living their best lives.

This dog adds so much mental health support, it’s unreal.

Some days you just need to relax and smile.


https://youtu.be/vKa0XIJu624

[Grizz1963]

11.50 on Sunday already.

Hot and humid outside.

100% not in the mood to go work on anything, but I need to keep at it.

Work continues to grind down my motivation, mood and finding pleasure in getting jobs done. Kinda sucks a bit right now.

I may just go push the Canta out, fetch the roll of brown vinyl in the Grizz-Pod where it is stored, and start making templates and cutting the vinyl to shape.

Not sure if the heat and humidity really is going to be conducive to successful application.

Anyone done this stuff in mid summer weather, outside?

[Grizz1963]

Late start again because my motivation is not where I am used to having it.

But driven by the knowledge that at 5.00pm I would look out and see nothing done, I went to the garage intending to cut some templates for the roof interior upholstery, and then cutting the vinyl I have stashed to size and applying it with contact adhesive.

Vinyl is a brown, kinda looks like rusted metal, and maybe a bit lighter than the standard black fabric used.



Of course when I stated looking inside the Canta, I realised that there is another layer of fabric glued to the roof, with what’s left of a foam layer that would have been under the velour like outer layer.

This ultimately broke the whole plan for the day.

So I started to pull at the base layer, getting covered in dead foam residue and then realised there are obstructions screwed into the roof etc.

Roof.



Pulling some old fabric backing away……..



So I ended up removing the two grab handles that run above the door and A-pillar and removing the rust and old powder coating on them with a flap wheel.



Before and after……





Both cleaned up.



And once painted, they looked a lot better.

Back in once the inside is cleaned out and new vinyl fitted.



At that point I had enough of dirty, dusty work and got some more rust addressed.

Mate Kevin gave me a really decent garden machete to use out back where a jungle has grown the last two years.

So I cleaned and sharpened it, should be good on the shrubs and big weeds.



Closed shop by 4.00pm and came in, had a shower and a cold beer (one of those blue ones nobody is buying anymore, as I had bought them before a corporate giant tried to force their agenda down our throats. So I paid for them and will use them, after which no more support to them or their subsidiaries)

Dinner was burgers, nice and easy.


For those who like a movie.

https://youtu.be/F6hZc7pZZIE


Weekend over.

Again.