Viceroy Restoration

[diplomat2.6]

I thought I'd start a new post with the restoration of my new Viceroy. There isn't too much rust but the Carnelian red paint has delaminated between the lacquer and basecoat.

[Catho]

Looking good. Love these classic big old cars.

(A man after my own heart too with the 5 Series Beemer in the background  )

Best of luck with the restoration. Keep the photos coming, I'll be following this thread with gusto. 

[diplomat2.6]

Yes - the 530 is the nearest equivalent to a carlton I can think of. Today's task is the bonnet preparation whilst I'm waiting for the basecoat to arrive.

[Catho]

The 5 is a fantastic car to drive, so quiet and refined.....just a shame they're not as simple to work on as the Carlton!!

But I digress.....

Are you painting the whole of the car, or just the worst affected panels?

What is she like mechanically, is there much to do under the bonnet?

[diplomat2.6]

This is the plan as I have around 2 weeks of free time:

1) Spray bonnet and boot
2) The rear wheel arch on the n/s is a very odd shape so that needs to be repaired properly
3) The roof and rear wings really need doing together and I am trying to source new rubbers so i can remove the screens
4) The front wings are going to come off and I am going to structurally reinforce the inner wing and bulkhead design with steel box section as they tend to twist out of shape as they become weaker with corrosion. Currently all is well with the panel gaps and I would like it to stay that way. I will probably do this in the autumn
5) The front wings will have repair patches as new ones cost silly money - I think I am going to try lead loading over the new welded steel.
5a) I will then paint the inner wings within the engine bay and powder coat the rocker cover, air filter and sump.
6) The mechanicals are fine. It is rather lumpy on tickover but I think this is probably due to tuning/timing/carb/mixture. I have only ever had one car with a carb and that was an SU so I don't really know much about them. There is an exhaust/manifold gasket which has a blow
7) If the paintwork turns out OK, I'll have the front and rear bumpers rechromed

Overall, I don't want to spend too much on parts for this.  I guess the total budget is about £300, £200 of which has been spent on paint and lacquer already. Rechroming quote is around £180 per bumper but i will only do that, as I say,  if the rest of the car looks brilliant.

Will keep the post up to date

[Catho]

Sounds good.

I can imagine parts are quite difficult (as well as expensive) to source. They were shared with the Opel Commodore/Rekord weren't they? Still, nothing a trip to the auto jumble won't sort 

I'm sure it'll look great (and really turn heads) when it's finished, although it looks fantastic now.

Can't beat diagnosing a cars' mechanical problems through good old 'process of elimination' rather than having your pants pulled down by a garage charging £50 to plug it in to a laptop just to tell you it's gonna cost a small fortune to put right!!

total budget is about £300

...bet it doesn't  stay that low!! 

[diplomat2.6]

Today's work

[ian]

Yes - the 530 is the nearest equivalent to a carlton I can think of.

I secound that!!

Fantastic to see another old vauxhall being prep to the same standard as the 2.2

[chrismec]

Nice work going on there Mr D

[Mitch1965]

Thats a nice looker & sure it will look alot finer whan you're done. I shall be keeping an eye on this.

[diplomat2.6]

Today' work - painting bonnet and boot lid. There have been 6 coats of two pack lacquer because, as you will probably guess, spraying outside seems to attract a fair amount of airborne dust - not as much as seems to be the case if you spray in the garage. 20 mins flash off between each coat. I think a couple of weeks baking in the hot sun and then a good mopping will do the world of good.





















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[diplomat2.6]

Here's another without masking

[Mitch1965]

That looks agreat job done matey!

[diplomat2.6]

Thanks

I gave it a mop today (800/1200/1500 w&d, Farecla G3)

[Catho]

You're a braver man than me, painting it outside!

I take it you've done this before. Looks fab. 

[diplomat2.6]

I've painted several cars before. I used to work in a garage on Saturdays and that was when they did the painting. Personally, I think a mild breeze prevent the precipitation of dust that you often get inside. May be different with a HVLP gun?

[chrismec]

Wow well impressed Mr D, if my car looks half as good as that I'll be happy

[diplomat2.6]

Today's Pictures:

[Catho]

The wings have been home to Mr Tinworm then....

What are the plans for these, have you got replacements?

[diplomat2.6]

They are proving extremely difficult to source. I've emailed GM6 and phoned greenvauxhall parts. The German Opel spares shop on eBay have a n/s commodore wing for about £450 inc shipping but that would be nearly £900 for both.
 
I think repair is my only option as it is nearly free. Most of the rusty sections should be easy enough to fabricate. May also consider lead loading for the finishing surface as it looks simple enough on YouTube.

I presume wings from a holden commodore would be similar but shopping and import duty would make that expensive too - and they have the potential to fit pretty badly

i'm going to do the roof next whilst my neighbour is on holiday. He is rather prickly

[Catho]

nearly £900 for both.

.......Holy cr*p!!!! Fabrication and lead loading it is then, don't blame you, that's a ridiculous price for any amount of panels.

You could always keep your eye out for a pair at auto jumbles (maybe for the future), I saw a good variety of wings like this at Billing this year (and they were around the £20 mark, quite a difference in price).

Looking forward to the next installment of pic's.

[diplomat2.6]

Just spent hours looking for wings in all countries that have a Viceroy variant; Germany, NZ, Australia - no luck.

On another note, I note Derek at GM6 has this Monza for sale for what is a reasonable £1500 - given the work he has put into it. Most noteworthy is the reinforced box section from the top of the wing to the bulk head. Mine is currently fine but I think this is a really good idea to add extra strength for when tinworn attacks.  There are too many rust traps and I don't want to find that I feel scared to drive the car in the wet - I've got two other Carltons that I'm too worried to drive.

Here is mine



...and here is the structural modification...

[agingsnoopdog1]

Luv it.....and in the front garden...with a prickly neighbour!.....look forward to the next foto installment..

[jimknowles]

That will be a purely stunning car, its given me a little hope with doing my Carlton Diplomat, which needs the bonnet resprayed after the chav scum of Grantham decided to autograph it with a key, its a wel known car on here, formerley belonged to John Davis

[diplomat2.6]

Today - repair wing by welding a repair patch at the bottom.