is stunning…..
Lots of time spent getting all the last loose ends taken care of. Headlamp washer jets fitted, mirrors painted and mounted, correct lenses fitted to front blinkers, and much more.
I’m ready for a drive!
The final result
Bumpers back
in place, EU spec. Note how the front and rear end look so much tidier and more integrated with the body. It changes the overall stance and look of the car, even though the difference is more subtle than say on the Bora, Merak, or Khamsin.
Forgot to put the EU spec front park/turn light lenses on, the US spec all-amber ones are still in place in the picture.
We’re rapidly approaching completion!
Come together
right now. Great tune, regardless of who really sang the backing vocals.
Sylvia’s slowly coming back together, it’s really good to see.
The front windscreen wiring is run and connected (and working!), both bumper beams and the four bumper corners painted/refreshed, under arch areas all cleaned off and re-stone chip protected with wax injection done, tires back on wheels and wheels back on car!
I had an auto electrician re-run the main battery leads as well, the way the connections were before left a lot to be desired.
Fiat lux!
and there was neither Fiat, nor Lexus. I count one Maserati, one Jensen, a Lamborghini and a Ferrari.
But thanks to the extremely knowledgable people at Daniel Stern Lighting (Daniel Stern), Sylvia now has a new wiring system and high output bulbs in place of the old, barely-visible-in-the-dark headlights. So light – there was indeed light, and plenty of it.
The difference is striking.
Daniel knows his stuff, and also had recommendations for replacement bulbs to provide better output and longer life for other areas of the car: blinkers, brakes, tail lights and more. Highly recommended!
Wheel repair
The QP3 comes from the factory with magnesium-alloy rims. Lightweight, strong and an understated yet sporty design that matches the car nicely.
Some people have tried to weld in new metal, or powder coat magnesium alloy wheels. Please don’t. While not an expert myself, those I’ve spoken with have informed me that incorrect treatment of mag-alloy (especially applying heat – while welding, powder coating, etc) will ruin them, making them brittle and prone to shattering.
There are a few online guides that explain how to do it, step by step. For example a fellow WordPress blogger: http://stevekouracos.wordpress.com/restoration/tips-and-tricks/aluminum-magnesium-wheel-restoration/
Here’s what proper restoration can do:
Seals, gaskets and felts
All apertures on the car have received new gaskets and seals, windows, doors, trunk, etc.
I’m not sure if you can see in the photos, but the doors are now nearly air tight. Driving through a deluge results in not a single drop anywhere in the car, and the road noise is substantially less due to both the better seals and the renewed insulating material in the doors.
New catalytic converters
are installed!
More bumper work
Front side bumperette mounts primed and ready for paint.
Lots of freshening up done on the bumpers themselves, and a largish chunk that had broken off is reattached and “welded” in, with all seams filled up. When done, there will be no trace at all.
Back on track
Been a while since I’ve posted anything, but a lot has happened. Will do my best to fill in patient readers and followers of this humble blog.
I decided we needed to do the bumpers right, which meant re-doing some work.
“front bumper mounts re-drilled/cut, new metal sections welded in to ‘fill’ the gaps and filled/shaped smooth ready for priming.”
“A little good news on the rear bumper corners – the holes in the body were the same measurements on Mr X’s car as yours which completely confused me for some time until I compared the rear bumper corners from your car with his, all of the rear bumper corners have provision for THREE mounting holes, even though only two are used and have threads fitted, this allows the bumper corners to be interchangeable and no need for different spaced holes from Euro to USA spec. Whilst the holes are there though, there is no thread for the bolt so we have spoken to the engineering company a few workshops down from us and they are going to fit thread inserts in both rear bumper corners to align with the existing holes in the rear of the body.”
The shop and I both agree that the EU version looks much better than the US. While the differences are much more subtle than say on a Ghibli, Bora or Merak, the bumper placement and H4 lights does change the entire balance and feel of the car as a whole. All in all I’m glad we took the extra time and effort to complete the transformation.
(p.s. for those of you wondering if “Mr. X” is the same as “Racer X”, we can’t be 100% sure, but the fact that he drives a QP3 and not something more exotic and sporty would indicate that he probably isn’t the mysterious driver known only as Racer X)