More Trials and Tribulations

Rear before detailing

Whilst good progress has been made, I've fallen behind in my timetable.

Rear after detailing

I was hoping to have the old jigger roadworthy by now.

It was knocked back because - wait for it - the windscreen washers weren't functioning 100% and there was condensation on one of the rear light clusters.

This is no biggie, except that I go back to work on Tuesday, and there will be a week's hiatus (at least) before I can book another inspection.


I have fixed both issues - a blast from the hair dryer on the light cluster after dismantling it, and a good brushing with an old toothbrush saturated in WD40 on the washer nozzle did the trick, but the delay is a pain.


Most of the jobs have proved straightforward, if boring and repetitive. It is called "project boring" after all.

Because I couldn't get the roadworthy through in the ordained fortnight, I decided to cancel the registration. The previous owner was unable to get the paperwork to the Dept Transport, so I did that for her. The helpful person at the DOT explained that providing I obtained third party cover I could legally drive it to the testing station on the nominated day.

Hopefully that will be in about two weeks.

Meanwhile, here are a few shots of the work in progress.

There is always an audience. This was before dinged door was replaced.

Battery clamp now right way round

 

Boot after the dent was banged out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These Little things Were Sent to Try Us

This was how the bonnet stayed open.

This was often the comment heard when I was a Nasho, and the army (and various circumstances) had conspired to make life very difficult. There were many similar sayings, but this is the only one, dear reader, that shouldn't offend delicate sensibilities.

Anyhow, Project Boring continues, but the frustrations are all little ones.

There was the saga of the windscreen washers. To be roadworthy, they must work. When I collected the car, they didn't. This was because the clip holding one of the hoses had broken. I fixed that by getting a clip of similar bore as the hoses used from Masters hardware. The bit I bought was for a home irrigation system - much cheaper. It's amazing what difference an automotive application makes to a price, and the difference is always to the North.

Why the washers didn't work. (Sorry about pic quality)

Replacing this made the washers work, but the reservoir bottle had a bad case of plastic rot, so for $35 dollars I bought a Taiwanese made reproduction. This fitted OK, but I cracked the bottom of it in a ham-fisted attempt to install it. After a lot of mucking about, I used bathroom sealant to fix the leak.

The repro is on the left.

Then I noticed that the stream on the passenger's side was weak, so I tried to clean out the tubing on that side. All I managed to do was break the arm of the three-way joint. This was fixed by using the tubing from a biro, which provided both strength, and a hollow tube.

It all works OK now, but this saga used up about half a day.

Then there were the bonnet struts. Again, they didn't work, so a stout stick was used to prop the bonnet open. I found a very obliging gent who re-gassed them for $30 each. This meant removing them from the car, and re-installing them when the job was done.

Problem was, I couldn't figure out how they fitted, and which was left and right. Eventually, I found a shot I had taken prior to removal, and it all made sense. Now the bonnet stays open when it should. Good.

This pic was very useful.

Removing the decayed tint on the rear window wasn't a "little thing". It was a major pain in the backside. It had to be scraped off, after I tried every chemical made by man to dissolve it. The tint peels off easily enough. It's the glue used to attach it that's the issue. Nothing seems to dissolve it. I tried nail polish remover, thinners, petrol. eucalyptus oil, and soap and water. None worked.

At least the soap and water provided a lubricant for the scraper.

A bugger of a job

That took about half a day in the middle of nasty humidity we are experiencing right now. The various strong smells given off by this combination of useless chemicals didn't help.

So tomorrow Ol Boring goes in for the second inspection.

Wish me luck...........

Getting Started

After taking my $750 purchase to get a roadworthy certificate, I was relieved to find no major expensive barriers to getting it registered. Remember, the object of the exercise is a reliable car that I would not be embarrassed to drive.

The list of nasties -
1. 2 bald tyres
2. One cracked windscreen
3. Headlight mountings broken
4. Windscreen washers inoperative
5. Battery loose
6. Spare tyre loose
7. Steering wheel cover floppy
8. Rear window tint delaminating and interfering with vision
9. Nearside parking light not working

The items not preventing registration, but coming under the "embarrassment" heading -
1. Panel damage to every panel except bonnet, hood and boot.
2. Headlining detached and falling
3. Missing wheel trims
4. Smelly/dirty interior

I wonder how this happened. Click to embiggen. Sticky tape?

Given my proven inadequacies at panel work, I decided that simply replacing damaged doors was easier than beating out the damage and painting. The fact that this car was white helped. There are beaucoup white 1996 Camrys about.

Old mate at Toowoomba Car Wreckers quoted me $75 per door, and threw in a set of genuine (if faded) Toyota wheel trims for $5 each. The doors were relatively easy to remove and fit, although an assistant is necessary to position them before bolting them on. Long suffering daughter two helped. I told her that she was learning an important skill.

I don't think I convinced her.........

I decided against replacing the front (driver's door) because of the complications with locks. I'll have a go at panel work on this one, as the damage is minor. Someone has got up close and personal with a gatepost, and the result is a gouge, rather than a dent.

The windscreen was replaced by O'Brien's for $330, which is the maximum I'd hope to spend on any one item.

I began to deal with the trim items one by one, after swapping the front tyres (little tread remaining) for the rears (plenty of tread) before going any further. On a front-driver you always want your best tyres on the front.

One unexpected hiccup here was the fact that one of the rear wheels refused to budge, after all bolts were undone. It was rusted on to the backing plate. A thorough spray of WD 40 and a ten minute wait did the trick.

Replacement doors

The battery was loose because some twit reversed the position of the clamp - easily fixed, and the spare tyre was floating around because the aperture in which it dwelt had be dented out of shape, probably by reversing over a rock or log. One clout with a sledge hammer from above was all that was necessary.

I fixed the windscreen washers by connecting the hose that was adrift, and replacing a plastic T junction with a part from a home irrigation system.This material is much cheaper than Toyota genuine. One of the spray outlets blocks from time to time. It will need attention to be reliable.

So, at the end of one week, the scoreboard reads -

Battery and spare fixed.
Doors replaced.
Washers fixed.
Windscreen replaced.

Apart from numerous cuts on my fingers from sharp unfinished Toyota metal fittings, it's been trouble free so far. The spend has been $150 (doors) and $330 (windscreen), so it's above the magic $1000.

My bride tells me the project keeps me from getting under foot until I go back to work.

Win-win, really.....

Project Boring

Perhaps foolishly, I’m embarking on Project Boring.

Foolishly, because under current work arrangements I'm only home every second week to do stuff, so this may be a lengthy project.

Why the title? Toyota Camrys are boring. That’s indisputable. But they are built like brick outhouses and examples of this one (1996 CS 2.2litre) will go on forever.

How do I know this? I’ve restored one before, and my No 2 son who believes that all you need to do to maintain a car is drive it, put fuel in it, and occasionally remove accumulated junk from the boot and interior, hasn’t killed it yet.

That particular example has done about 200000km commuting around Adelaide after I drove it down a few years ago.

Hence I’ve bought (for $750 – down from the ask of $1000) another example that used to be white.

It has only three unmolested panels (bonnet, roof and boot lid) and three different brands of tyres (mysteriously mud and snow specified) of obscure origin. The mud and snow capacity will be useful next time it snows in Toowoomba.

The tyres are branded “Sonar SA 603”. Anyone out there heard of them?

The interior is well loved, and the headlining sagging. The window tinting has gone motley, so that looking through the rear window in low light conditions gives everything a mellow blotchy sepia tone. The windscreen has a litany of cracks, mostly in front of the driver, which renders it unroadworthy.

New tyres and windscreen (all up about $600) will bring it past the magic $1000, but that’s cheap motoring. These things have been known to go 300000km before getting expensive.

That’s the bad news.

The good news is that it’s covered only 112000Kms in the hands of an elderly lady who can no longer drive, so her son (who runs a motel) sat the car outside reception with a “buy me” sign on it.

After driving past numerous times, curiosity got the better of me, and the rest is history. I’ve driven it around a little bit, and very carefully, and found that it’s quiet, tight as a drum, and comfortable.

I wouldn’t want to be seen behind the wheel – its appearance is embarrassing – so a cosmetic restore is a priority. At the moment it has wheel trims, but of two different styles. Ensuring that the same style is on one side gets around that. You can’t see both sides at once.

Blogging the restoration will keep me motivated. After this post, all reference to the Camry will be posted here.

The MX5 blog has been left to fade away since I disposed of the car, and it needs rejuvenation. 

The goal is to improve the car's appearance by straightening the panels, and cleaning up the interior. I'm not expecting any major mechanical work - but all projects are unpredictable.

What to do with it when finished? I'm not sure. If I make a reasonable fist of it I may be able to sell if for say $3000. That's the market for examples with higher kms. A spare car is always handy in a family of drivers, and the Adelaide Camry won't go on forever.

It's a pity they don't have Banger racing in Toowoomba.

And by the way, did I tell you have a shed?

If you have a shed, you must have a project.