Haz's Ke15 Sprinter

[1969 SPRINTER]

Important news everyone! 

 

The Sprinter is now painted! It was sprayed on Thursday afternoon, 18/01/2018. Five days before my eighteenth birthday! 

(One excellent present if you ask me)

Dad did a fantastic job on the gun, the paintjob is absolutely gorgeous! There are a few imperfections that will be corrected with a light rub and a good polish. I'm off to go get some 1500 and polishing compound this morning.. though we still need to wait a while before we can do anything too serious. 

For now, I'm happy just to sit in awe of it's beauty. The paint went on well, and didn't reveal any body imperfections we weren't already aware of. Absolutely stoked with the outcome.  

I did mean to mention in the last post too, I found a nice set of wheels and bought them. They are gold meshies-style. 13x6 all round, so i can use my tyres from my ford wheels. They were 100 bucks, but at the other end of my state. Luckily, I have a friend who lives in Burnie that i met by pure coincidence when we both saw each other riding 1988 Honda MC19's. That week of ridingwas probably one the best I've ever had. Regardless, I sent him some cash and a bit extra for his time. They're at his house for now, until either he or I make the journey.  

That's all for now. I'm stoked with how it turned out... keen for the mechanical side of things to come in shortly..

[(Monk)]

Looks fantastic! Did you go 2pack or Acrylic paint? The paint prep was what seemed to take the longest on my rebuild. After that it should come together quite quickly. You will be rolling in no time!

[1969 SPRINTER]

10 hours ago, (Monk) said:

Looks fantastic! Did you go 2pack or Acrylic paint? The paint prep was what seemed to take the longest on my rebuild. After that it should come together quite quickly. You will be rolling in no time!

Thanks mate, 

We went with 2pack in the end. Yes the prep seemed as though it would never end.. though it finally has. I'm very impatient to put it back together right now but it needs the 1500 grit treatment and polish first..

I'm certainly hoping to be rolling soon! 

Itching to get my new wheels on to see how they look with the paint!

[1969 SPRINTER]

Gday again everyone, 

 

Currently on my way to Burnie with my good mate Tyler to go and get my mags. Progress on the Sprinter is coming along well. We are rubbing back the paint to get rid of the orange peel that developed off the gun. Hopefully the pics upload as there is one in particular that illustrates the differencw of before and after a sand and polish. 

My Tasplates arrived, and are a perfect colour match by the looks. "Fox" has become a nickname of sorts, -no, not like that bloke from 'running on empty', just because they're my favourite animal and... such.

383 is dedicated to where the car is being built. It's my dad's street number and it's the house where I have spent most of my life growing up, fiddling with motorbikes and helping where I can whenever dad was doing something in the garage. To this day, I can never not think of my dad and I in our garage tinkering with things whenever I smell WD-40. Fond memories always. 

I did also chuck my CBR into the shop to get my valves and carbs done. Slowly polishing up the frame and such... beginning to take shape. Though i still don't have my (motorcycle) license back. >:^(

Oh, and I chucked on my cheapo sports steering wheel to see what it would look like. It's kind of alright. Might look better when the interior is in. But don't worry, I'm keeping the stock one. In fact I may end up deciding to not use the red and black one. We'll see I guess!

 

[Taz_Rx]

Good work mate. Looking forward to seeing out on the roads soon.

We might have to rouse up a few Rollas for an inauguration cruise for you haha

[1969 SPRINTER]

2 minutes ago, Taz_Rx said:

Good work mate. Looking forward to seeing out on the roads soon.

We might have to rouse up a few Rollas for an inauguration cruise for you haha

Keen!! 

[1969 SPRINTER]

Gday everyone; 

Progress has been good with the car. We have rubbed 99% of the orange peel out of the car where needed, and we have touched up the paint where we have accidentally rubbed through.

Surprisingly, by enlisting the help of my nan and her airbrush! My nan worked in toy repairs for a very very long time.. (40 years I believe) and used her prowess in small spray jobs to help me set up the gun! So i did get a chance to lay a bit of paint on myself this time. 

I have also spent a bit of time polishing up my chrome parts. They didn't nees much, which is always a bonus. 

And boy I sure am glad that I labelled them! 

I'm going to spend the nect few days on it too, hopefully having my windsheilds replaced.

 

I don't recall if I'd made the update; but the gold wheels did not fit the car. And i did manage to find another set, but I'm stuck with 2 sets of wheels taking up space. If any ke30/55/70 lads want the gold ones they are welcome to come test fit or PM etc. I'll give em cheap lol dad wants his garage back.

 

 

Anyway, Here's to more progress!

[parrot]

I hope you didn’t break your original screen as they are completely unavailable.......  A few years ago a group of us got together and had to get a special run made to order. 

[1969 SPRINTER]

3 minutes ago, parrot said:

I hope you didn’t break your original screen as they are completely unavailable.......  A few years ago a group of us got together and had to get a special run made to order. 

thankfully both of mine are still intact... I can imagine the cost of doing such a thing is not very atttactive. ^^

 

[parrot]

Phew!  

You need to get your nan to write up a tutorial. I think we all have those little areas to blend in

[1969 SPRINTER]

Progress update..

Dad was in need of the garage, so I've relocated the Sprinter back to my mum's house. But in reality, i juuuust missed the cutoff. The car as it sits now needs to be polished, and then re-assembled. 

Having some difficulties with scratches, that's the main holdup. Warm soapy water... plenty of cleaning etc. And yet even with 2000 grit I'm having some subpar results. 

She'll be right though. Will be sorted somehow. 

Tell you what, even amongst all the stuff in my garage, there's still about the same amount of room!

[1969 SPRINTER]

Right. Big news.. sorta

And apologies to you, and my future self, for the lack of updates between the previous post and now. 

Regardless; the car is more-or-less back together! I have been very much enjoying sitting back in awe of what's been accomplished... but I'll save all the sappy stuff for the big one.. rego!

Car went back together relatively easily. I did however learn that masking tape is a biiiitch to get off things once it becomes old. However, that said, I am thankful I used at least something to hold certain bolts/nuts in certain places... it certainly aided in the midst of the  "where-the-heck-did-that-bolt-go?" Situation.

The interior, though it's pretty banged up, is great to see put together. I loved the fact that it took about an hour to put it in! A lot of dirt came off the parts. It's been a while. 

I am not entirely happy with my rear window rubbers and how they sit. 

Front bumper apparently doesn't fit anymore! Jono C. (Green Sprinter) had mentioned he had difficulty refitting his because the mounts would bend apart and away from each other... but i have a different problem. Mine no longer reach the bolt holes. The chrome bumper itself hits the stonetray/valance/whatever you wish to call it before the mounting holes line up. I suppose this is an after-effect of all the surgery. By the seems, this means my car is ever so slightly narrower in the front. By...2cm or so peobably. 

The car looks amazing. Yet there is still much to do. 

In fact.. i have a list written on my phone that still does not fit on the screen. 

But, optimism is key. It's all uphill. She's closer than ever before. 

 

For now, just gotta keep my head down and cross things off the list. 

 

And of course enjoy the occasional sneaky drive ;)

 

[parrot]

It’s looking fantastic. You must be so proud of what you have achieved, it’s come such a long way. Did you bolt the front bumper to the front guards?  You can guarantee you will then crease the guard lip if you ever touch anything with the bumper

[1969 SPRINTER]

13 hours ago, parrot said:

It’s looking fantastic. You must be so proud of what you have achieved, it’s come such a long way. Did you bolt the front bumper to the front guards?  You can guarantee you will then crease the guard lip if you ever touch anything with the bumper

No, have it more or less just sitting there at this stage. Zip ties so it doesn't fall off- 

I will most likely be making new brackets I think. Shouldn't be too bad.

Yes, very proud of her... turns heads and I can't stop looking at her! Can't wait for rego!

[1969 SPRINTER]

Hello again,

 

Managed to get some electrical work sorted out recently. Alternator wiring fixed, all lights working etc. 

Wiring is very much my nemesis so I left it to the professionals! Haha..

As the car is now, there is still a few things left to do: 

 

Exhaust

Seatbelts 

Front bumper mounts

Suspension bushings etc

The list goes on, but it is always getting shorter!