crusty rusty rocket

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james butler
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crusty rusty rocket

Post by james butler »

so,
like most projects after being sat on my nan's drive for far too long i have started work on the rusty rocket!
a bit of background
its an e reg gtx in white that had seen better days when i bought it from edmundator in 2010 with the original intention of cutting it in half and turning it into a trailer.
after stripping all the useful stuff i wanted for my green rocco i began too notice that whoever owned this car before had gone to great lengths to repair many parts of it, almost as if it was a failed project of some kind.
when i got it, it was pretty much a rolling shell with glass and a non running gtx engine.
parts that had been replaced were things like all new copper brake pipes, new interior lights a good condition complete exhaust and under the hood other bits and pieces were generally good nick.
so instead of cutting up the car i decided to take on the project of doing it up as a road going racer.
something light, quick, not ridiculous on fuel and plenty of space in the back for lugging stuff about once stripped.
but never to be a looker.
one thing im always paranoid about is dinging my green rocco, so i thought i would do this one up to a standard where it doesn't matter if it gets a bit bashed.
i want to be able to drive it every day and not have to care about trolley dings and the odd numpty reversing into it.
so out of interest i had to see if i could get the old lump running but after a quick examination it was obvious it had serious rust issues in the fuel lines.
the filler neck had collapsed and most of the particulate from that was in the fuel lines and all round the engine bay components.
so i resorted to pouring a bit of neat fuel into one of the breathers so it would suck straight into the engine. i got it to fire and turn over a few times before it died again.
i knew it was never goin to run again with the injection system in such a bad state so i pulled the entire engine out and the car just sat untill i could find a new heart
after some time i got hold of an ABF powered golf which i pulled the engine and loom from that will be the rockets new heart.
so after years of collecting bits and pieces for this project and after going through a very depressing divorce, ive decided to put all my efforts into this car mainly because my ex wife hated it and said "it would never be finished" and because i cant stand to see what potential there is go to waste.
like the old addage on here goes, why mod a perfectly good stock rocco when i can mod/chop/rescue what most people would call a scrap vehicle.

hahaha lets see what it can do! :pilot:


I dont mind project cars but I HATE SANDING!!!
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james butler
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Re: crusty rusty rocket

Post by james butler »

here she is looking sorry for her self after i pulled all the glass for my green rocco
Image


I dont mind project cars but I HATE SANDING!!!
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james butler
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Re: crusty rusty rocket

Post by james butler »

i tried to remove the windscreen but this resulted in it cracking straight down the middle :dash:
so i resorted to leaving that till last.
instead i jacked the car as high as i could get it to get the plastics off and to also see how good/bad the floor was.


I dont mind project cars but I HATE SANDING!!!
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james butler
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Re: crusty rusty rocket

Post by james butler »

Image
up with the front
Image
and up with the rear!


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james butler
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Re: crusty rusty rocket

Post by james butler »

i pulled all the plastics off and found the front wing plastics were stuck really really well! but the rest came off with surprising ease.
i actually resorted to using welding wire like cheese cutter wire to get behind the toughest bits to cut through the glue holding the plastic on.
Image
the drivers wing wasnt too bad


I dont mind project cars but I HATE SANDING!!!
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james butler
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Re: crusty rusty rocket

Post by james butler »

just a few easily repairable crusty bits
Image
Image


I dont mind project cars but I HATE SANDING!!!
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james butler
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Re: crusty rusty rocket

Post by james butler »

the passenger wing on the other hand was BAD :-o
so im on the hunt for a new one
Image
Image


I dont mind project cars but I HATE SANDING!!!
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james butler
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Re: crusty rusty rocket

Post by james butler »

i the removed the spoiler, i cant believe how heavy it was!
Image
and then fitted it to me nans motor
Image
should make her go at least twice as fast! she might even hit 30 mph now


I dont mind project cars but I HATE SANDING!!!
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james butler
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Re: crusty rusty rocket

Post by james butler »

after removing the rear plastics i started to realise just how bad the rust had got into this car
Image
hole behind the wishbone
Image
hole right next to the jacking point
Image
usual hole where the filler neck was


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james butler
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Re: crusty rusty rocket

Post by james butler »

and the rear arches
Image
Image
Image
wait for it it gets worse :-o
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james butler
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Re: crusty rusty rocket

Post by james butler »

so as you can see i pulled the beam axle which came off quite easily, then i took the petrol tank off which very quickly could see how bad and where the rust had come from!
Image
Image
Image


I dont mind project cars but I HATE SANDING!!!
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james butler
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Re: crusty rusty rocket

Post by james butler »

so i best start plugging these holes!
first thing i wanted to do is remove the rear shelves and weld up the hole in the arch from the filler neck
left side shelf removed and rust treat primed
Image
and then the right side removed and the hole in the arch welded up
Image


I dont mind project cars but I HATE SANDING!!!
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james butler
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Re: crusty rusty rocket

Post by james butler »

then remember this hole
Image
rust be gone!
Image


I dont mind project cars but I HATE SANDING!!!
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james butler
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Re: crusty rusty rocket

Post by james butler »

and this one
Image
not anymore
Image


I dont mind project cars but I HATE SANDING!!!
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james butler
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Re: crusty rusty rocket

Post by james butler »

found another sneaky hole right next to the drivers seatbelt mount in the floor so DEFINITELY had to fix that one!
Image
gone
Image


I dont mind project cars but I HATE SANDING!!!
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