Reflecting

It's only this week that my friend Steve and I, after a pandemic-enforced hiatus, have resumed work on the Zodiac. 

We were laughing about how it all started out with an investigation into a problem with stalling and poor running that we thought would need an "easy" fix to the electrics or fuel system, but eventually had us taking the engine apart to track down the root cause (a failed collar on the timing gear). Having the engine and gearbox out we thoroughly overhauled both (before COVID struck, though we did manage a brief session with our friend Jason between lockdowns to put them back together),  and our plan this week was to give the engine bay "a quick tidy" before we put them back. 

Well.... it didn't quite work out like that. 

The conversation went something like: "You know, if we strip off these accessories, it'll be much easier to paint... and I know that underneath bit at the front's not really visible, but if we want to do it properly we should take the horns out (and we can tidy them up while we're at it)... and it seems silly to leave the driving lights attached when we've taken the headlights out... and we could make our life easier by taking the front bumper off too.... and you know what, we could drop the anti-roll bar... hey, and when I was in Halfords yesterday I saw this 'very high temperature' paint and thought we could try that on the exhaust manifolds, and if they'll come off we can do a better job of that AND it'll make putting the engine back in easier... and..."

We're clearly spiralling down into a bigger and bigger project...but loving it!!  :D This is a shot of the rear bumper; while I was getting surface rust off the front valance, Steve (having, as usual, got through a bunch of other tasks while I laboured on one thing) had a quick go at this to show me how well we should be able to deal with the pitting on the chrome. Compare the untouched left side with the reflection of the garage door!