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Paris Blue Mk4


iansoutham
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Well, I do not know if I ever put up a set of proper pics/work in progress of my Cabby, but I might as well start again.

 

When I originally got it:

OffSideRear.jpg

 

NearSideView.jpg

 

InsideDriverSide.jpg

 

OffSideView.jpg

 

Engine bay originally:

EngineBayDistant.jpg

 

EngineBayNearSide.jpg

 

EngineBayOffSide.jpg

 

Soon afterwards, I decided that, as I had a load of "New Old Stock"genuine Ford panels in the loft, I might as well put them to some use.

 

This took the form of basically cutting off the front wings, front panel and scuttle and replacing with new. All that was actually wrong was the drivers wing was a pattern part which had been fitted incorrectly and then rattle-can sprayed with no lacquer. You could see mig-welds and all sorts, which were not how I wanted the car to look. All the tops of the inner wings were replaced, everything spot-welded into place as per the original manufacture and seam-sealed to prevent corrosion.

 

It was then shipped off to a friends' bodyshop to be painted. The original Paris Blue was reapplied using Sikkens Paint. Even to this day, the car still has the paint "as it can from the booth". It has never been cut back or similar.

 

Soon afterwards, a new roof was supplied and fitted. This is a black mohair roof, custom-made and stitched in front of me @ a place called "Soft-Tops" in Knights Hill just outside Croydon town centre. All new wires were fitted and an extra layer of rubber matting and insulation were popped in for good measure. The quality is second-to-none.

 

A few electrical items were added throughout the year, including central locking, heated and electric mirrors, heated windscreen, spot lamps, fog lamps, genuine Ford electric aerial and a MK5 Escort 1990-1992 LX/RS rear spoiler. A set of Escort GTi 15" alloys were fitted, converting the original hub flanges to studs in the process so as to correctly fit the wheels without the need for adapters or collets.

 

The car pretty much carried on like this, including being featured in the April 2006 edition of Fast Ford in the Cabriolet Buying Guide.

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How it looked then (photos courtesy of Fast Ford):

 

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Then, in April 2008, I decided that something needed to be done as things were starting to naturally get a little tired.

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Next was the exhaust.

 

How it looked by this point in its life

 

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A nice cracked manifold

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It soon ended up on the floor away from the car though

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To replace it was an MFi XR3i exhaust system.

 

The standard XR3i manifold was cleaned back to bare and then treated with a high-temperature paint used in motorsport

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A brand new downpipe was given the same treatment and then wrapped in Thermo-Tec exhaust wrap.

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This was then all fitted onto the car using genuine Ford fittings.

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Next was the rear suspension. It was all original other than the springs and shocks, which had been changed soon after getting the car.

 

I happened to have lying in the garage, a complete rear setup from an Escort RS Turbo S1, so thought that it would be rude not to use it.

 

It was all taken back to bare metal and then painted in coach enamel.

 

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New rear trailing arms

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All the bushes other than the anti-roll bar bushes were changed for polyurethane replacements.

 

01042008051.jpg

 

And how it all looked afterwards.

 

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Next was the fitting of it all. For this, I decided to take the car into work and make use of the 4-post ramp and the digital laser alignment machinery.

 

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A few attempts later, along with the addition of washers on the trailing arms where applicable, the whole rear end was aligned to factory specifications.

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Next was one of the more recent additions, the engine bay detailing.

 

I have removed all the engine lifting eyes and battery clamps. These have been blasted back, etch-primed and painted in coach enamel.

 

FrontLiftingEyeinEtchPrimer.jpg

 

RearLiftingEyeinEtchPrimer.jpg

 

RearLiftingEyeinEtchPrimer.jpg

 

SideBatteryClampinEtchPrimer.jpg

 

RearLiftingEyeFinished.jpg

 

SideBatteryClampFinished.jpg

 

FrontLiftingEyeFinished.jpg

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Rocker cover is next.

 

Started off with a spare rocker cover I had lying around. I spent some time removing the rust from it and, once derusted, had the whole thing 2k primed in work.

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This was then painted in Ford Ice Silver

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I had debated with White Silver

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or Street Silver

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previously, but felt that this was the best colour to repaint in. It is similar to the original, but different enough.

 

A few coats of paint later

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... and comparing it to an original

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And a few pics of it in the engine bay

RockerCoverFitted.jpg

 

RockerCoverFittedwithAirBox.jpg

 

FinishedOverview.jpg

 

Latest development has been to put a digital volt meter in the console.

 

For this, I basically took a cassette holder insert that goes in the bottom of the centre console which is pretty much redundant as the car has no facility for cassettes to be played.

 

Once removed, the back of the unit was cut away to allow access for cables, etc... to pass through. A spare number plate front perspex was then destroyed to make a template which fits inside the remaining aperture. This was cut down with a dremel tool using a cutter wheel until the gauge fitted.

 

Once cut down, it was then sprayed with a satin-finish paint and left to bake dry for 5 minutes. The template was then bonded into place. It was recessed to allow a finishing plate to go over the top afterwards.

 

Gaugeinholder1.jpg

 

Sideshotofgaugeinholder.jpg

 

Next was onto the outer cover. This was another piece of perspex, again cut to size to fit into the cassette holder. This time, however, the piece was made just under 1mm bigger so as to be a tight fit in the gap. This is because there will be no bonding as it would be seen.

 

The reverse of the perspex was then coated in a tinting spray and left to dry. This is done to make the gauge less visible, as well as dulling down the display slightly as there is no brightness control. Left @ its normal brightness, it would over-illuminate the inside of the vehicle @ night.

 

Some pictures of it all fitted and working.

Gaugeunitincar1.jpg

 

Sideshotofunitincar.jpg

 

That is basically it for now. There have been some other modifications and adjustments throughout the time I have had it. Things like HID headlamps, Spax springs, heated seats and a basic sound system for example.

 

Things for 2009 which are already in the pipeline....

 

I want to replace the brake hoses with Goodridge stainless steel ones with a black finish, remove and refurbish the 260mm front calipers, including repainting, blast and repaint the rear drums and sort a few more engine pieces out. If I get time, I will also be converting the headlamps to electric-levelling as well.

 

Hope you like it so far.

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Guest markeyboy

very nice mate, can see you have put alot of work into this car,

 

 

was this car also used in the mk4 buying guide with fast ford too?

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very nice mate, can see you have put alot of work into this car,

 

 

was this car also used in the mk4 buying guide with fast ford too?

 

Yes it was. Had a lot done "under the skin" compared to when it was featured.

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Okay, now we are up to date, the latest bit of ripping things off the car....

 

Decided today that the brakes would all be coming off for a bit of refurbishment while the car is laid up over winter.

 

Got the rear drums off easy enough

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I will remove the backplates nearer the time for refurbishment as it means less dismantling for now.

 

As for the fronts, I have made an end-piece for the brake lines out of old unions with and arc-weld over the end to prevent spillage.

 

Front brakes all removed

FrontCaliperBeingDismantled.jpg

 

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All the brakes off

CalipersOffCar.jpg

 

Next it was into the garage to get the calipers themselves apart.

CaliperInternals.jpg

 

Turns out that the drivers front caliper was just starting to bind slightly as I needed to up the compressor on the airline slightly to pop the piston out of the caliper. Once out, it would appear that I have managed to get the brakes a little hot @ some time as the inside of the caliper body was full of "mayonnaise" where water had sat and curdled with the brake fluid. This may mean an upgrade to 283mm Cossie discs, or just simply replace the brake fluid (which will happen anyway). I will decide over the next month or so.

 

All came apart nice and easy. Next job is to get some seal kits from BigRed and get these calipers and carriers shot-blasted in work ready for some painting. I will probably be going for silver coach enamel on the fronts and black on the rear drums.

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Nice and busy lunchtime today...

 

Rear drums have been blasted down and coated in etch primer. Next was a couple of coats of "high-build" primer on the sides to smooth the radius a little. All ready for final coat now...

 

Reardrumhi-buildsideview1.jpg

 

Reardrumhi-buildoverview1.jpg

 

Front caliper brackets have been given the same treatment and then coated in etch-primer.

 

Frontcaliperbracketsetch-primer1.jpg

 

Frontcaliperbracketsetch-primer2.jpg

 

Quick drying session and on with the silver top coat and some coats of lacquer.

Caliperbracketpainted1.jpg

 

Caliperbracketpainted2.jpg

 

Calipers were taken back to zinc-plated finish and then the same with them.

Caliperbase-coat1.jpg

 

Caliperbase-coat2.jpg

 

Caliperbasecoat3.jpg

 

Caliperbasecoat4.jpg

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Nice and busy lunchtime today...

 

Rear drums have been blasted down and coated in etch primer. Next was a couple of coats of "high-build" primer on the sides to smooth the radius a little. All ready for final coat now...

 

Reardrumhi-buildsideview1.jpg

 

Reardrumhi-buildoverview1.jpg

 

Front caliper brackets have been given the same treatment and then coated in etch-primer.

 

Frontcaliperbracketsetch-primer1.jpg

 

Frontcaliperbracketsetch-primer2.jpg

 

Quick drying session and on with the silver top coat and some coats of lacquer.

Caliperbracketpainted1.jpg

 

Caliperbracketpainted2.jpg

 

Calipers were taken back to zinc-plated finish and then the same with them.

Caliperbase-coat1.jpg

 

Caliperbase-coat2.jpg

 

Caliperbasecoat3.jpg

 

Caliperbasecoat4.jpg

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Okay, got the front calipers in clearcoat today :thumbs

 

Frontcaliperfinished4.jpg

 

Frontcaliperfinished1.jpg

 

Frontcaliperfinished2.jpg

 

Frontcaliperfinished3.jpg

 

All I need to do now is to get the rebuild seal kits off BiggRed and get some black-coated stainless brake lines and the fronts will be finished. The rear drums need a little more attention and then they will be getting some black enamel and an oven-bake to finish :smokin

 

Must remove the bleed nipples as well and give them a brush back to bare metal. :cool

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Right, rear drums are finished :up:

 

Rearbrakedrumfinished1.jpg

 

Reardrumfinished2.jpg

 

Rearbrakedrumfinishedoverview.jpg

 

You know it is getting bad when you can get a reflection in the paintwork on the rear drums :help:

 

Next will be buying the rebuild kits for the front calipers and some Goodridge stainless brake lines with some nice black overcoating to keep them subtle. Unfortunately, that will have to wait until next month due to a current financial crisis, as in "I ain't got none" :ohmy::sad:

When it comes to putting it all back together again, it will be time to get the rear brake backing plates painted to match as well.

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Fantastic Restoration work mate, I realy enjoyed going through this thread and looking at all the hard work that has been done, what a mint Cab you have now, looks brand new, reminds me of Member No:1's Cab !!! :biggrin:

 

 

 

When you get a HID kit go for the mechanicaly operatated Bi-Xenon kit !!! :wink:

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