George’s Cars

So what happened, I started looking on e-bay for end of season bargan buggy. I wanted something where all the basic elements where there it just needed my custom touch. As usual e-bay failed, the heaps of shit where costing too much money, granted there was some very nice buggies on there as well but well out of my price range.

So I had give up look when I stumbled across this on VZi. For Sale Ad It had a few nice elements in it but most of all it already had the floor pan shortened, the thing I was most afraid of in the project. I contacted the seller a guy called Sean, did the deal and started organising my trip to the UK.

All I really wanted was the body and the shortened chassis but the whole lot came as one, I’m not complaining, i think i did quite well, mind you I don’t know if the engine works but then again I do have a spare lying around in the shed.

Well the trip was designed to be a nice easy going trip. Normally when I do UK runs it ends up a mad rush everywhere.

I borrowed a van from John Sheehan,a nice 2005 Fiat Ducato (very very nice van to drive), we left Galway at 4:00 am and headed for Dublin Port. No dramas on the trip over and I even managed to convince Dad that the GPS was a good thing.

We stopped at machine7 on the way to Daventry to collect a few bits for the buggy and arrived in Daventry at my aunt Carmel’s at 18:00, enough time for a few drinks before dinner.

Unfortunately over night we got some very bad news, my Grandmother, Beaso passed away during the night. She was quite ill and we had been expecting it for a while but it was still unexpected. She had been doing well, she was even making poppy cakes the day before. That night they wanted her to go back to hospital and she didn’t want to, I guess she got her wish, she didn’t go to hospital but instead died overnight in her own bed.

Anyways, so much for the relaxed trip, I rang Sean the guy I was buying the buggy off and to be fair, he took the morning off work so that we could collect the buggy early. We got the buggy into the van, I didn’t even look at half the stuff, paid the man and we where off.

Next stop was Mel Hubbard’s, i had ordered side pods for the buggy off him but unfortunately he didn’t get a chance to make them due to a family commitment he had. But being the buggy guy he sold me a set of purple metalflake ones he had lying around. It doesn’t bother me, I’ll be painting them anyways.

One last stop before we could head for the Ferry. Flatlands Engineering here we come. I wanted to get some of the more difficult things from Flatlands, they have a good reputation and the stuff looks well make. Unfortunately funds won’t allow me to buy everything I wanted but I got the essentials. I also got the opportunity to see some of the buggies they have built and get some ideas for my own.

Very Nice!!

After that is was a run to the ferry, overnight on the ferry and back to Galway the following morning. After a few hours sleep it was down to Ennis to see Nannie Curley in the funeral home.

These are all the parts I’m starting with:

14″ Alloy Windscreen with glass. Glass was a bonus, I wasn’t expecting that.

Some pretty stuff and braided brake hoses

Monza 4-tip exhaust

Fan Shoud

The Main Attraction

Its not staying blue. It will be red when its finished

You can just about see the shortened chassis underneat the body. The body is not bolted down just layed up there to I can get a picture of what needs to be done

This will be the gearbox. Lets hope its a good one!

This is similar to the colour red i want. Something deep and bright!!

I had a lot of plans all lined up nicely for the weekend. Saturday I was going to spend the day in the garage working on the buggy and Sunday I was going to Limerick to a car show in support of Milford Hospice

So what happened, everything. Woke up Saturday morning feeling like shit, barely enough energy to get dressed let alone work on the car, so Saturday’s plans went out the window.

Sunday – well Monday (today) is Alma’s birthday so I was going to bring Evin away for the day (Sunday) to give Alma some time to herself, problem was the weather was pissy and it wasn’t fair to Evin to have him sitting in cars at a show all afternoon. If it was fine he could run and play but with it raining he would have no place to play. The joys of being a daddy.

I did get some cleaning done in the garage Friday night, sorry phone pics but at least now I have the space I need to start the buggy.

Well tonight I finally started some work on the buggy. Not much mind you but some.

I wasn’t happy with the finish of the paint on the chassis so i decided that i was going to spray it again. Not knowing what was on it before I decided to give it a light sand and stone chip the underside of it first.

This is the result

However I am slightly worried about it, as i said I don’t know what it was painted with before and paints don’t like mixing. There is a little cracking effect in the paint but I dont know if this is normal with stone chip or not. Its a textured and rubberised paint and its the first time I have used it so its a little trial and error as I go along.

Worst case I’ll get the chassis sand blasted back to bare metal and start again! We’ll see how it dries overnight.

Well i was right about the stone chip reacting. When I went back to look at it today it was all cracked looking. I don’t know if it was the stone chip or what was underneath it but it doesn’t matter its not right.

I now its an area of the car that will never been seen by anyone but me but I’ll know its there. So i have decided to sand it all down and apply another cooat of stone chip, a different brand this time. I’ll post pics when its down.

Hopefully this time it will work

Well after spending about 4 hours sanding down all the work I done, I was ready for stone chip again. This time i went with a different product and it worked perfectly.

Now I’m waiting for my new spray guns to come in from the states and I can top coat it and start the whole process again on the other side of the chassis. Thats why these things are called projects, they do take time!

I just did a trace on my spray guns and they arrived in Ireland on Monday but are still waiting to clear customs, do they not know I’m waiting for them!!

Well,

I had a good weekend on the buggy. I was only doing bits and pieces on it here and there but still managed to get a nice bit of work done.

Chassis was stone chips, now its nice and shiney in gloss black. The chassis was then flipped over the whole process began again. Block sanded, primered and then top coated in gloss back again. No stone chip on this side. I’m hoping not to get too many stones inside the car!!

Sorry they are phone pics so not great quality.

I also got the full front beam from the donor car.

It needs to be sand blasted and painted before i do much with it. This is how the donor car looks now.