[DJ Syxx]

Now the next big updates on this car. The bumpers and bodywork.

Its fair to say it was fairly rough with virtually every panel having a defect. I knew I was going to have to sort the inevitable out one day but needed to ensure I had as good as panels as possible. The worst was the bonnet when I first bought the car which had a fair few dents. I managed to find a replacement in the same colour which had virtually no damage but was of course used. I got that swapped over a few months after originally buying the car from a breaker.

The front passenger side wing was also dented and again I did the same thing by swapping that over. So I had a car with various scratches and the body looking tired which didnt help by the fact it had SE bumpers.

The plan was to get the bumpers and skirts sprayed up and fit them on, machine polish as much as I could while filling in any deep scratches using touch up, laquer, wet block and machine polish some more to make it semi presentable and call it a day. I found a local bodyshop round the corner who were very reasonable from feedback I had seen. I wasn't particularly fussed on the finish as long as the paint was layed on and matched up reasonably well. After a long chat with the bodyshop and what it would cost to do a full respray, I got a very good quote and I decided to get the car painted. This was in part with myself already doing the ground work by preparing the car pre hand with the bumpers and dropped the car off looking a little like a mad max car with no bumpers. I had all relevant parts, screws etc. labelled which made his life easier with putting the car back together. This by no means was a full inside and out with windows out but it didn't need to be as it was just the exterior that was a let down.

I left the car with him and after I got back from a holiday, he called to say the car was ready to collect on the day I came back! Here are the pics after the respray. I haven't quite finished with the exterior as I do want to go over it with the machine polish using a light compound before applying a ceramic coat. I'll let the pictures do the talking but it really doesn't do it justice. I was completely over the moon with the end result and even now after nearly 2 months from the spray job, it just looks so much better.











Next post is the mechanical side.....