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Looks great. What an achievement and the feeling that the high point has been passed and you are on the pleasurable down hill run to the finish.
The only really big elephant in the room now is! How are you going to fill your time when its done? Maybe another but be even more ambitious.........?
Lol, my wife keeps asking me and my friends doubt me when i say this is likely the last build. I am not gonna lie, this one has had a lot of downs and has cost FAR too much $.
That said, there are 3 possible future builds: get my mk5 r32 racecar to lose about 500lbs, my wife sorta wants a classic mustang (but ones that don't need paint are fairly plentiful so i may just buy my way outta that), and my kids are 4 years away from driving (may just hand them what will be my 15 year old toyota highlander tho)
I'd LOVE to do some late 90s btcc type build with either an a4 or a volvo 850 (estate of course), but that would be instead of the mk5 diet.
The other issue i would need to solve is space. My dad's 90 this year, he's got a 66 e-type. Probably sooner rather than later, that will reside with me as well. Rationally, either my s6 or the coupe should be sold, but there is a -6274% chance (Trump math lol) i'll get even close to the money i've put in from either of them. I could sell the jag but there's obviously an emotional component to that, plus it probably needs a bit of work as it has mostly sat the last few years.
First world problems for sure.
But anyways, i spoke to the bodyshop today. I am pretty much in a holding pattern for at least 3 more weeks, which isn't horrible news by any stretch. I am gonna spend the next few days just cleaning and smoothing and priming bare metal so as to give them the least amount of work i can. Depending on time and confidence, i may weld up the antenna hole. I don't want to do it myself due to the almost certainty i will warp it. I may tack it and have the shop finish it. Or i get a wiper delete plug and call it a day.
Oh, there's one other oriject i'd like to do but would probably tqke me to my grqve, which would be a S1 Scirocco given the Singer treatment.... mk1s are becoming "classic" so who knows, maybe they'll start fetching 6 figures at barret jackson soon lol
Last edited by ottawa coupe; 4 September 2026, 15:43.
Still on pause while i wait for my slot to open up at the bodyshop. I figured though you guys might wanna see just how tight the exhaust is lol. I think that when this comes back for final assembly, i am gonna get the area for the downpipes scannwd and get a stainless 3d printed version made. The left side does contact the body and i don't like how close to the gearbox things sit!
Cross all the things in hopes this is the last pic of the car in primer. Hoping to get an actual date on monday, just cleaning up everything so i can go without delay. The way the weather is changing (4⁰ yesterday morning!) i suspect i will hafta find some sort of enclosed transport to get it back. The shop is only 15mins down the highway but i sure as hell don't wanna spend what i am gonna spend only to have it salt blasted immediately!
Nothing has been aligned. The bodyshop will take care of that, though if i have time i will take a stab at it before it goes.
I've started just cleaning things now. Decided to tackle the carpet today. Started with the carpet cleaner but it was like cleaning the car with a toothbrush. Thankfully i have a hot water tap for the hose and just gave it the beans. Came out quite well. Gotta do another vacuum when its fully dry but i got most of the grunge out.
Fingers crossed the car goes away in the next week or so.
Edit: just called the paint guy. Looks like 2 weeks from now the car goes in. It'll be there for a month-ish. That probably means i need to find someone with an enclosed trailer for the return trip....but plenty of time to arrange that still.
Last edited by ottawa coupe; 28 September 2026, 13:26.
Sigh, so back to searching for a bodyshop. Called to confirm delivery next week and it was once again "call me in a few weeks". Clearly that is never gonna change. Took it to another one this morning and i suspect an eff off quote and i didn't get the best vibe.
At this point there is a significant chance i will be buying some equipment (bigger air compressor) to have a friend do it in my shop. But that will mean more delay till the spring as i seriously doubt i can heat my shop warm enough for paint much longer and there IS fine bodywork to be done yet.
Ah. Sorry to hear that, it's really fuc..ng annoying when people promise and then let you down.
I always do pretty much everything myself on all of our cars, digger, dumper, wind turbine and my motorcycles. Mainly because it's cheaper and I know it will be done right but also because people just mess you around. I have to admit though, that I have never tried painting (except with a brush or rattle can). However I am sure with the right environment and some practice on a semi scrap car or panels. It could be learnt!
Good luck
Yeah, the paint part probably wouldn't be the death of me. I do ok with the colour but tend to get runs with clear. But this is all with rattlecans. I suppose the solution there is just learning how to fix runs and reapply clear. And ya, getting a buncha fenders out of the scrap yard to practice on may not be a terrible idea
The real talent lies in the bodywork itself. It was a very sunny day today and i didn't notice how noticeable the areas i have worked on are. Something that is magnified even more with proper paint. The pain is that i thought i did pretty well lol.
At any rate, there are a coupla other shops nearby i will bring the car too asap and see what they have to say.
One thing that is intriguing that my buddy mentioned is using compressed nitrogen instead of air. No moisture issues that way. Called a coupla suppliers. $150 for the gas in a 50l cylinder rented at $1.25/day. That's a LOT cheaper than getting a BIG compressor and running a new circuit to power it.
At any rate, this is now a project within a project.
Looking good. A guide coat can really help highlight where the panels need more attention to get them flat. Most of the cost is in the prep prior to pianting.
1994 ABY Audi S2 | 1991 CQ20V - gone | 350bhp built Subaru Forester - gone | 2013 Land Rover Discovery 4 SDV6
Yeah, the prep is the real bear. It is a skill i just don't have. Nor do i have the patience for it. But maybe i'll just hafta get said patience lol.
Nitrogen cylinders are out, i'd need 10 of them probably. Learning about low pressure low volume guns, that may be the solution as my existing compressor would likely be able to keep up.
There are 2 more local shops i have found but the next few days are wet and i can't get the time to show them the car. The next sunny day though, it's back on the trailer for show and tell. After which decisions will be made.
I like the idea of doing it here as my friend will have time this winter but i also kinda,wanted the car outta there for 6 weeks while i got other stuff done and organized...
So, in a development that should surprise no one anywhere on this planet, insurance and regulation has ruined things.
I have been to 4 shops this week with the car on my trailer. They have been so enslaved to insurance companies demands that none are set up to paint a car like this anymore. They are all set up to process bumpers and fenders and slap them on asap. The closest i got to someone even suggesting a number was the last one this morning and they said at least 15k but he couldn't even look at it till next summer now. Thanks to environmental regs here, he estimated that materials alone at his cost could hit $4000...... escalating at about 10% a year. I am sure the current instability of supply chains and transportation costs isn't helping either....
So, there are 2 conclusions here; i'm never doing a car that has to look good ever again and i'm painting it either here or at my friend's place.
To say i am frustrated is an understatement.
Nothing is gonna happen on this for a few weeks now as i have to make some arrangements, get a few projects outta the way, and get the yard sorted for winter....
Gettin on with the prep for the winter's work.... first i gotta build a downpipe/midpipe for my s6 in order to finally get some friggin ground clearance. Doing that on my lift. But that means i gotta get the racecar outta there. In order to do that, gotta clean the shop. I swear it's a tardis sometimes. Sometimes i can't walk around in it with 1 car but after a quick clean i can fit 2-1/2 cars in it and still walk around lol.
Anyways, s6 exhaust over the next week or so, stack everything but the coupe underneath it, then a quick electrical upgrade in the shop and then i'm diving in to make the body right. With a bit of luck it'll be warm enough outside such that i can sand the primer off (cheap crap that no one trusts to paint over) in my driveway so the dust inside the shop and all my parts is minimized. Unfortunately tho, no matter what, the actual paint must wait the spring now. I've done a good bit of poking around today and i have confirmed that while i have a good bit more insulation in the ceiling than i thought, i just don't have enough electrons going to the shop to heat it high enough to paint AND do air exchange to not die AND run a proper compressor. And to run a larger wire to the shop costs thousands. And then more insulation and work to seal the garage door better. Just not feasible, nor worthwhile in order to piant one car. So i'll concentrate on the dirty sanding now and then the rest should be pretty small stuff (ie not a giant dusty mess!).
Last edited by ottawa coupe; 11 October 2026, 19:49.
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