The panels are back.

I picked up some of the panels today from the painter. 4 doors and 3 guards. I will deliver the bonnet tomorrow and then the last panels will be painted and returned to the car.
The shell is still in town and the window fitter is having some trouble fitting the rear window due to the curves in the glass. I hope to have it back by the weekend so I can start fitting up the interior and the panels. Looks like I have plenty to do now.

 Some of my completed panels. Front seats to the left of photo

 completed and ready to be installed back into the car.

Couple of doors.

Off to the trimmer.

The Gordini was picked up this morning on a tilt tray to go into Bathurst to have some trimming done. Hood lining, seats and to have the front the rear windows installed.
Panels!- Now I've heard it before but the panels have been promised to be finished by the end of next week. Could I be so lucky?

The tilt tray is a bit of overkill but it was cheaper than trailer hire.

 Almost in town.

More parts arrive.

I received my latest parcel of parts today from JY Lardinois in Belgium. They consisted of the complete engine gasket kit, thermostat, engine bay rubbers that seal around the lid and the hood lining. The hood lining material was not available in Australia so JY had one made in France for me of the same as original material. Now I can send the shell off to have the hood lining fitted and the front and rear windscreens fitted. I still don't have my body panels back so I will chase them again.

 New hood lining ready to be fitted.

 Engine gaskets, rubbers etc.

Door handles, zinc plating and seat bases.

Over the past couple of days I have stripped the front seats from their frames and reconditioned the base frames. Painted in 2 pack urethane the same as the wheels. The sections that mate with the floor were also rust treated with POR15. I have also done the side plates with the back adjustment lever.

 Front seat side adjustment plates.

Seat runners and frames.

I got the door handles back from the electroplates today. They turned out quite well. The chrome plater told me that they can't repair cast aluminum so to send the best ones with the least amount of pitting to get the best finish. I also had a lot of little parts zinc plated which look fantastic. Everything is individually wired together and it looks like it would have taken some time to complete.

 Zinc plated bits.

 Door handles before chrome plating.

Re-chromed door handles.

Trim

The car is booked in to have the hood lining done and the windscreens fitted at the end of March. I have ordered the hood lining material as a kit from J.Y Lardinois in Belgium as there is nothing like the original available here in Aus. The back seat will be re-trimmed at the same time. Front seats are OK and will stay original for the short term.
The door handles have been re-chromed and I'm just waiting for the bits to be zinc plated before they are sent back.
My spray painter has been busy painting a couple of buses so the panels have taken a back seat for the moment (not in the bus though). They should be back by the end of March, so not much will happen for another month at least.

The Cosmic's are back.

I finally got the Cosmic mags back from being repaired. The old repairs have been finished on the lathe to remove previous lumps of weld, the wheels were made true and a small buckle removed.

I have since re cleaned them and painted them in urethane and finished the center caps. I decided to paint the center vanes as well as it would have been difficult to mask up and polish.

The Cosmic MK1 wheel was never known for its good finish which is evident in the casting. There are casting marks where previous holes have been blocked off and you can see them in the photo's below. I tried to grind them back as best I could but they are still visible.

A set of MK2 wheels became available a couple of weeks ago but were sold quickly and I missed out on them. Maybe next time.

The sand blasted and cleaned wheels taped up and ready

for paint.

 Primed.

 First coat of urethane gloss black.

 I painted the back as well.

 Center caps ready to be fitted.

A finished wheel waiting for some rubber.

Tire fitted. Kenda tire as a spare only.

Another long wait!

I sent my doors and panels to be repaired and painted some months ago. I was told they would be ready to be picked up by the end of January. However my panel beater has had 2 buses to re paint and so my panels have been put back in line behind everything else. So long as they don't get damaged while waiting. I have quite a few thing waiting to come back and they will probably all come at once leaving me with a bill that I will have to explain to the wife.

Waiting on-

• All Panels.
• Door handles to be chromed.
• Fittings to be zinc coated.
• Wheels to be re furbished.

More updates when these items come back. Stay tuned.