1975 Viva DeLuxe - What Have I Done?

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1975 Viva DeLuxe - What Have I Done?

Postby oli8925 » Sat Nov 27, 2010 10:44 pm

Have had project threads going for this on RetroRides and The Mini Forum so thought it only right I put it on the correct forum.

To quickly explain I had a little accident in April :oops: and managed to bend the N/S suspension, so I took the opportunity to take the Viva off the road and quickly get some work done. Didn't work out like that though, only managed to get going on it properly a few months ago. Nearly back on the road now, but still a few bits to do before the project is finished and I'm happy.

So, copy and pasted:
Last edited by oli8925 on Tue May 29, 2012 9:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
1989 Blue Mini 1000 Rebuild
1975 White De Luxe Viva HC
1994 Saab 9000 CSE
2002 F*rd Puma Thunder
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Re: 1975 Viva DeLuxe - Light Rebuild

Postby oli8925 » Sat Nov 27, 2010 10:45 pm

6/7/2010

The Viva is off the road for a while now until I manage to find the parts I need and be able to pick them up. It's going into a body shop to get some issues sorted out here and there, so I've taken the opportunity to plan some upgrades.

Parts I have:
New Shocks
-50mm Springs
New Ball joints
Stainless Braided Brake hoses
Weber 40 DCOE
Engine Mounts
Suspension bushes
SL grille with black slats

Parts I need/want
Front crossmember
N/S top and bottom arm
N/S control rod
Gearbox mount bush
4 branch manifold (on the way)
Modified head (on the way)
2nd set of steelies to be banded
Another 1256 to rebuild
SL grille with black slats
Pair of square 8's
Brake pads, discs, shoes etc
Heater valve and cable
Door rubbers
RR stickers 8-)

Jobs to do still
Wire up reverse light
Wire up fog lights
Replace alternator
Clean up appearance inside and out
Pull out/fill in the dents
Deal with the rust scabs
Do something with the battery tray and accompanied rust
Repair spare wheel well
Replace door rubbers
Waxoyl and protect
Give her a bloody good clean inside and out
Go to Ace Cafe


Pretty much just a list to keep me organised otherwise I end up running around in circles. First priority is get her back on the road so I have a car, then deal with the visual mods and details, then wheels which will probably have to be towards Christmas so I can use my student loan; yes, that is what it's there for!

Then it's on (again) to the true love of my life...the Mini! ;D

Image
1989 Blue Mini 1000 Rebuild
1975 White De Luxe Viva HC
1994 Saab 9000 CSE
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Re: 1975 Viva DeLuxe - Light Rebuild

Postby oli8925 » Sat Nov 27, 2010 10:46 pm

27/8/2010

Still not got the major work done, but have lost patience so it WILL be in the bodyshop in the next couple of week, no matter what the cost.

Currently trying to get another Viva that has been offered to me to use as spares - will be taking the bits I need if I still need them by then, and the engine, wheels and g'box.

Have found out the g'box mount I have is the one that isn't made anymore (the later round type), so will have to find a way around that and modify something else.

Now have a full set of suspension bushed thanks to superflex - wasn't cheap!

Acquired an SL grille from ebay for what I thought was a bargain price but turns out it's really quite tatty, so will clean it up best I can and keep my eye out for another.

Alternator has been replaced, but didn't cure the problem so still looking into that. Front and rear fogs and hazards were wired in today using Mini switches, really pleased with how this turned out, although still looking for a nice pair of fully working front fogs.

Not much else has been done but feels like I'm slowly making progress again, hopefully won't be long before she's on the road again...


...and looking a bit like this
Image
1989 Blue Mini 1000 Rebuild
1975 White De Luxe Viva HC
1994 Saab 9000 CSE
2002 F*rd Puma Thunder
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Re: 1975 Viva DeLuxe - Light Rebuild

Postby oli8925 » Sat Nov 27, 2010 10:48 pm

31/8/2010

Got a fair bit done today. Finished off wiring for the rear fog lamp today. Forgot to wire in the tell tale so had to solder it to the connection rather than wire it in when crimping. With a *Bleep* and broken soldering iron, this meant a lot of swearing, banging of head on steering wheel, and a very burnt thumb. But got there in the end, just hope it holds.

With that all tested and working I worked through the day and finished the front fog circuit, hazard circuit and replaced the flasher unit with an electronic unit (would recommend this to anyone by the way!) So pretty happy with how it all went. Need to do a bit of tidying up of the switch unit, but couldn't be happier with the way it's turned out to be honest.

Meanwhile still struggling to get the spares Viva, why does this bit never go smoothly?

Some pics,
Image

Image

Bare in mind the steering column is currently missing it's cowling, the switch panel needs a clean or replacing if I can find one, and it needs securing properly. Jobs for tomorrow.
1989 Blue Mini 1000 Rebuild
1975 White De Luxe Viva HC
1994 Saab 9000 CSE
2002 F*rd Puma Thunder
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Re: 1975 Viva DeLuxe - Light Rebuild

Postby oli8925 » Sat Nov 27, 2010 10:49 pm

31/08/2010

Now got these on their way to me, so will be polishing up my bumper and attaching everything again to fully test out the fog wiring.

What's the best way to protect the underside of the bumpers? They've got a coating of surface rust at the moment and wondered if a coating of Kurust then Hammerite or underseal stuff would do it any good.

Also found a cheap pair of uncracked front indicators which I'm pretty happy about, and cleaned up my vinyl rear seats and sun visors, they came up a treat. Cillit bang and a nail brush in a circular motion, wipe away excess, then vinyl and rubber care spray worked in with a sponge and wipe dry I've found to be the best way.

SL grille is cleaned up best I can so will get that on when I make some new brackets for it.

Switch panel has cleaned up beautifully with a bit of T-cut, now just need to work out how to securely attach it.

Currently trying to free up the heater control valve and looking for someone who can make me a new cable for it. Pig of a job refitting it all so not looking forward to it but at least it will be done. The bracket I made ages ago for my aux gauges is out to be cleaned and painted so it ties in with the rest of the car. Rocker covers getting cleaned up (whats the best way to get rid of oil, rust and flaking paint?) and repainted black with a red or white 70's Vauxhall badge painted on when I find/make a template. What's the best paint to use here? Will Hammerite do, or is high temp paint better or is there something else I should use?

Also drawing up plans to make a board from wood to go in the gap between the back seat and boot (was a bit of flimsy cardboard before), then I'll make a sub box to attach to it and can put my sub and amp in without making holes in the bodywork. Only problem is the board will be at an angle so I will need to make a sub box with an angled back - I don't know what this angle is yet and I HATE woodwork so I'm dreading doing this! Can be a longer term part of the project. (Or I'll pay someone to do it for me)

All little things but it's keeping me from getting frustrated at the lack of real progress. Unfortunately still not been able to get hold of the guy with the spare Viva, starting to lose hope in that plan again
1989 Blue Mini 1000 Rebuild
1975 White De Luxe Viva HC
1994 Saab 9000 CSE
2002 F*rd Puma Thunder
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Re: 1975 Viva DeLuxe - Light Rebuild

Postby oli8925 » Sat Nov 27, 2010 10:50 pm

8/9/2010

Cheers for the tips. Progress has been a bit slow this week cos of time and exams.

Have finished all the switches and panel, electronic flasher units for hazards and indicators.
Front bumper derusted and polished.
Have bolted on the fog lights but I think they might be angled too high so will have to see about brackets I guess.

Still to do rear bumper, rocker cover, front seats, boot board and sub, heater cable, dye carpet and a few other little bits.

Got the car booked into the bodyshop in a few weeks (damn holiday got in the way ::))

Pics of new bits and seats to come soon.

Am also considering getting another grille and looking at modifying it a bit. There are holes in the front panel and I used these holes for the fogs when I mock wired them in. The end result I rather liked for a pair of driving lamps. But that will be a future investment ;)
Image

Cheers for the pic alex :D where in Kent are you from then? That must've been taken just after the hairiest drive of my life from my dads to my mums. Hate the car when it snows tbh, it's useless :P

Jodie - yes they're all mini switches. Can't find any viva stuff and they're smart, compact and widely available, so perfect for the job. Headlamps are just as useless as mini sealed beam units, though I have upgraded to halogen so they're not that bad. But they're still the old round bulb style rather than the H4's I had in my mini. They were fantastic.

Thanks for the kind words :)
1989 Blue Mini 1000 Rebuild
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Re: 1975 Viva DeLuxe - Light Rebuild

Postby oli8925 » Sat Nov 27, 2010 10:52 pm

17/9/2010

Ok, quick update.

Been having a pretty *Bleep* time in the past week. First I was supposed to be going on holiday to Rhodes with the gf on Wednesday, then I found out I had a couple of uni exams on Thursday so had to cancel my outgoing flight out and book another flight with easyjet for this morning at 7am. Yesterday I had the exams, one of which went very badly, then whilst doing the final flight checks I find out easyjet have actually put me on the wrong flight and I'm in fact going to Turkey. Panicked last night and managed to get through to their customer services (who?) and get told the flight I'm supposed to be on is fully booked so I'll have to be transfered at my cost on to a flight to Rhodes on Saturday afternoon. Decide to go to the airport this morning just incase I can get on instead of a cancellation or no-show flyer. I then get told there never has been a flight to Rhodes on Friday, and that the next flight is the one I'm already booked in for on Saturday. So so far I've missed 4 days of my 8 day holiday because of exams and easyjet being s, I've also payed £200 on top of the £300 the holiday cost just to get out there!

Anyway, sorry about the whinge, this left me with an entire day free. At least I managed to get some stuff done to the car.



Modified the fog light brackets so they'll be the correct height, reattached front bumper to car, test fitted the SL grille, and managed to reconnect the heater control cable (most fiddly cable ever and awful design by Vauxhall!), and from there managed to put my dashboard back together with it all looking a bit cleaner and my aux gauges bracket painted black. Only little jobs but at last they're done and I can forget about them.

Image

Also got this package:
Image

22kgs of front crossmember, upper wishbone, lower wishbone and a control arm to replace my possibly damaged items. Just need to clean them up and then she's ready for the body shop on Monday week.
1989 Blue Mini 1000 Rebuild
1975 White De Luxe Viva HC
1994 Saab 9000 CSE
2002 F*rd Puma Thunder
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Re: 1975 Viva DeLuxe - Light Rebuild

Postby oli8925 » Sat Nov 27, 2010 10:54 pm

26/9/2010

Got the transport in the end. Last company I found and tried could pick it up at 2 and through luck they knew a few guys at the body shop so had a word and made sure they'd be around for when it was delivered (they close at 2pm on Saturdays).

So now she's there waiting for the work to be started tomorrow. Mum's got her driveway back so she's happy. And I've still got to finish stripping and painting the new crossmember and suspension bits so that keeps me happy.

When I get her back I'll spend another few weeks stripping the suspension, cleaning and painting and reassembling with the new shocks and lowered springs. Sort out the interior and get the reverse switch wired in, then she'll be ready for the MOT :D

And after that I'll get the body work sorted and hopefully have the other Viva so I can get the steels banded, then take out the engine and gearbox and rebuild them. So still plenty to do. Pictures on there way.
1989 Blue Mini 1000 Rebuild
1975 White De Luxe Viva HC
1994 Saab 9000 CSE
2002 F*rd Puma Thunder
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Re: 1975 Viva DeLuxe - Light Rebuild

Postby oli8925 » Sat Nov 27, 2010 10:55 pm

29/9/2010

Was clearing out the phone pics and thought I'd post some up.

Cleaning the vinyl door cards:
Before
Image

After
Image
Will get some of the seats all cleaned up when I get the car back, and the dyed carpet when I get round to that.



Had the car jacked up high at the front to do the alternator, made the back look nice and low 8-) taster of things to come (soon!)
Image

Image



Here shows the hole between boot and rear seat. This is where I want to make a board to attach the amp and sub box to. The board shouldn't be too difficult but as you can see it's at an angle and has a big ridge in front of it. Seeing as I hate and am rubbish with woodwork, I'm really really not looking forward to trying to do that bit. Wires will be re-routed and tidied up when I do this
Image



Prep and painting of the replacement suspension parts. Bird feeder makes for an excellent stand to hang parts off for spray painting :D
Image

Image

Image



And finally the poor little thing being taken away :-[
Image
1989 Blue Mini 1000 Rebuild
1975 White De Luxe Viva HC
1994 Saab 9000 CSE
2002 F*rd Puma Thunder
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oli8925
Brabham Viva
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Location: Tunbridge Wells, Kent

Re: 1975 Viva DeLuxe - Light Rebuild

Postby oli8925 » Sat Nov 27, 2010 10:55 pm

2/10/2010

Look what I now have ;D

Image
Image


It's in as good a condition as mine, if not better. Arches and sills are perfect, even the battery tray has the smallest amount of surface rust. Was used as a daily until 2001 when the owner got given a van from work, so it was put into a rented garage to preserve with the view of getting it really nice and back on the road. 9 years later and he's finally admitted defeated and wants to let it go as long as he knows its going to be used well.

I need to arrange transport for it now but its shouldnt be more than a week or two until I have it. Unfortunately I'm now at uni 40 miles away so updates will only come at weekends.

So from this one I'll be taking the engine which I'm told is a rebuilt Chevette 1256cc, the wheels which will one day be banded, and some of the nice SL trim it has around it. Then the rest will be passed on to someone who wants it. My dad has all of a sudden become very interested in it so looks like he might take it off me, or I know of someone in the Mini world who wants one to play about with. So plenty of options.

Can't wait to get it home and give it a good clean, should come up very nicely :)
1989 Blue Mini 1000 Rebuild
1975 White De Luxe Viva HC
1994 Saab 9000 CSE
2002 F*rd Puma Thunder
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oli8925
Brabham Viva
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Posts: 724
Joined: Fri Dec 12, 2008 12:40 am
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