My 1997 EK9

[Bristol AC]

Been on here for a little while but have never started a thread.
Bought the car around 3 years ago being the third owner from being imported in 2008. I was driving it as a daily for the next year or so before deciding to take it off the road. My aim for this car was to get it feeling like it was new again as when I did drive it, it felt a bit old and dated. I’m going fast road setup rather than track car.

It came with a x brace, spoon n1 style backbox, 4-2-1 manifold (unsure what brand) and some aftermarket dials in the center console so its fairly standard.

The engine and gearbox feels spot on so I don’t think I’ll be doing anything with that. I do have a dyno print out for 197bhp but it does have a aem long arm induction and a manifold on it so maybe that’s what pushed it near 200. I’m happy with the power for now though.

FIRST STEP

I only needed to change the rear drop links when I bought the car as they were seized and knocking. Had the cam belt and water pump changed for ease of mind and gave it a service.

OFF THE ROAD

The aftermarket alarm has actually been screwed right into the bodywork

Passenger side rear.

Driver side rear.

As you can see the car needs a fair bit of work. Most bushes are cracked and everything is covered in years of dirt and grime.

 

[rvm]

Beautiful car and project, thanks for sharing

 

[Pete180]

Nice to see a build thread going! damn rust same intake as mine! we have a whatsapp members invite only group if interested give me a shout

 

[Bristol AC]

Nice to see a build thread going! damn rust same intake as mine! we have a whatsapp members invite only group if interested give me a shout

I’m currently in Australia travelling but I might take that up with you once I’m back home!

 

[Bristol AC]

I wanted the underside all cleaned off with some nice fresh protection on it, I didn’t think how long it would take, just the rear took a handful of shifts to get all the underseal off with a scraper. I think I may have went a bit over the top with it. Maybe I didn’t need to take it all off but I have in my head the image of a really nice clean white underside with new or newly refurbished chassis and suspension parts.

I found a fair bit of rust along the way as well.
Passenger side rear sill.

This is in the drivers side rear wheel well.

This is right in the top of the rear drivers side wheel well.

The passengers side is nice and clean as it’s been protected

I went onto getting all the old underseal off with a scraper and a wire wheel brush in my cordless drill, took a fair bit of time!

Once I had it all off I used hammerite kurust

After the kurust I used simoniz red oxide aerosol to coat all the bare metal (masked all the bodywork before hand)

The car only just fits into my garage.
I did the same for the fuel tank as that had seen better days.

How it looked once I cleaned it up as best I could.

Then the kurust went on.

Red oxide primer

 

[Bristol AC]

Then I used hammerite stone chip shield to give it a layer of protection. Came out quite well, if I need to replace the fuel tank in the future then I’ll have to but for now, as it still works I’ll just try give it a lease of life.

 

[gwailo]

Think I'd have a heart attack if I found that on the sills, but its worth all the effort esp how rare these are now

 

[iRELOADED]

looks good, shame about the metal worm though

 

[Bristol AC]

Think I'd have a heart attack if I found that on the sills, but its worth all the effort esp how rare these are now

It’s a real shame but it’ll be worth it in the end!

 

[Bristol AC]

Started to put some white hammerite stone shield on the chassis aswell, not too sure how well this will protect everything but I don’t want to cover it with underseal as I don’t trust the stuff.

Might look a tiny bit of a mess at the moment but once everything else is done it should look how I’d like it to.

Do you think a layer of clear coat is needed on top of the stone chip or just leave it be? Or even just coating it all in clear waxoyl

 

[gwailo]

Used clear waxoyl in the past and all it does is collect lots of dust and dirt off the road, which then attracts moister. If the stone shield has a rubbery finish then I would avoid using a clear coat this would crack and chip off after a while when applied to a softer base.

It would be better to just to layer up the underside something that would aid in protecting from stones flying up, probably more stone shield. Obviously make sure any water and moister is unable to make its way into the seams.

 

[Bristol AC]

Used clear waxoyl in the past and all it does is collect lots of dust and dirt off the road, which then attracts moister. If the stone shield has a rubbery finish then I would avoid using a clear coat this would crack and chip off after a while when applied to a softer base.

It would be better to just to layer up the underside something that would aid in protecting from stones flying up, probably more stone shield. Obviously make sure any water and moister is unable to make its way into the seams.

Think I may just get more coats of stone chip and seam sealer and then keep a eye on it, I won’t be driving it in the rain anyway. So many people say do this and don’t do this that I don’t even know the right thing to do haha