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Hero. Not been around here for a couple of weeks... Combination of flu and weather! Can't wait to get her back on the drive and get stuck in after seeing these pics. Excellent work man. Chuffed. Looking forward to the rest! John

Good stuff. I love this band. You should check their other stuff on youtube - pretty much everything they've done so far has been good. Spotify hasn't been able to pick them up yet by the looks of things though. Other than London Grammar, I guess right now i'm listening to a lot of Haim and erm, ahem, some more embarassing crap from yesteryear that we wont go into. Oh I do like that new Katy B thing, too, 5am.

Exactly. It's just a compulsion, isn't it? The fact that everything under there is clean and tidy and (in your own weird little way) pretty. Was thinking about doing the ARB another colour like the calipers too. Not sure though. Seen a few people do it both front and back and it looks quite nice.

Great pics. Thanks for the update! That's one hell of a hole in the chassis leg that ya welded good n new. Didn't think it was that bad! Great work though. Cheers again, dude. Oh and Dan, yeah... I mentioned to him about the rs2k rear assembly; think he said he's gunna drop it each side if he needs to weld around there. On the rear beam - I don't have any pics coz unfortunately it started raining, but I got the thing disassembled today. The discs are in much better shape than i thought, and there was still some life in the handbreak drum pads, so i wont need to replace any of those. Hopefully it'll be a drier day tomorrow so i can grind it up nice and fresh. Going to rust treat, then etch prime, then aerosol underseal it (the paint-over-kind), and then give it a little coat of mercury grey. I know you're never gunna see it... but i just love detail like that; and finish isn't important under the car so i can just use the old rattle cans lying around. Oh and my calipers (front and back), shocks, and rocker-box cover i eventually want to do in that 'tangerine scream' colour the new focus ST comes in. Absolutely love that colour. John

Today's update: Car went in for welding and paintwork. I'm pretty chuffed because this has been on the cards for months now, and it looks like things are finally coming together. In the meantime, I started work on this little puppy: Which after a bit of work with the angle grinder started to look like this: Unfortunately I ran out of light, so i'll be coming back to this tomorrow (and dismantling it, probably). Anyone know where I can buy poly bushes for a good price? John

I'm quite surprised at how well that pepper/nouveau red bonnet goes with white.

Couldn't get the cloth method to work But what i did do, was prise the spacer ring from the handle, and then feed a small flat-head screwdriver in to 'flick' the clip off at its 'bottom', if that makes sense. Either way, after much swearing, they're all off. Cheers, John

This is impressive, dude. Couple of questions - how much did the cells set you back? And, what kind of power have you been able to draw from that thing given all the crappy weather we've had up here lately? Love projects like this. Could use one for my shed! John

My god. I admire your determination, fellow serenade owner!

Today's work: I masked off the rust-treated slam panel and surrounding area, and then gave it a dusting of etch prime. Once this died I gave it all a lick of paint. I chose the glamorous Hammerite direct-to-rust black, as opposed to Halfords almost-nouveau-but-not-quite rattle cans. I realise it's not as pretty, but given it won't be seen I think the durable finish is more important than colour coordination. Also treated the radiator mount in the same way. Tomorrow, once dry, i'll mask the etch-primed areas not covered by Hammerite, and give these a dusting in nouveau. Before: After: I didn't get very far with my scratches today. I smoothed out the prime-filler, and gave it a coating of nouveau from the touch up pen. Hopefully i'll be able to polish out the gloss scuffs with something like t-cut. It will be getting 'glossed' before it's complete anyway. Here it is smoothed and ready for the first coat of nouveau: John

Thanks a lot for the replies, everyone. Yeah, if dalelc16's method doesn't work for me tomorrow i'll grab myself some hooks or a set of thin, curved, needle nose pliars. (You know the type - looks like they might be used to hold someone spleen together while being stitched up). Okay chief... You're gunna have to gimme a bit more insight here. From what you're saying... the clip on the handle will 'open' outwards, away from the handle itself, towards the door? I was under the impression it could only be pulled 'up' out of the handle - if that makes sense. If this is right, then i think I get what you're saying - you slip this cloth so that it catches the clip at the back, between it and the handle itself, and then force it forwards (towards the door) to release. Is that correct? If it works, you're a f'in genius and I applaud you, lol. John

How do I get these off? I've tried needle nose pliers, a couple of home made 'tools' but I'm having no luck getting the b**tard clip out! Forgive me for not searching - I'm covered in oil and muck and typing on a phone. Cheers, John

Quick update before I go out there with the hammerite. Here's how the H80 left me o/s slam panel this morning. As you can see the surface rust has been eaten away. A protective 'film' can be felt all along the slam panel and surrounding area, so it does seem to be doing its job. Unfortunately we had heavy rain this morning and this may have impacted the finish. Now I know you experienced body-workers will be cringing at me painting right over that, but I'm on a strict budget and time period here, owing to bigger priorities (which you'll see in a moment). I'm planning on taking a welding course at the next available opportunity, and then i'll revisit the front end some time next spring; (hopefully!) cutting and replacing tin wherever needed. The bad news is the back end. I knew it needed attention back in Feb, but while the original problem area hasn't worsened all too much, the very back of the chassis rail (just infront of the bumper) is in a right state. The following pictures are both o/s: I'm looking to get this sorted next week if I can find a body shop to fit me in. The rear arches need a bit of work, but nothing too drastic. The n/s chassis rail is nowhere near as bad but needs attention: There is a silver lining, however. The underbody itself is surprisingly immaculate. After reviewing stichills RS2000 build I started to panic about my front arch rails. As you'll see from the following pics, both near side and off side, as well as the floor of the car are all in pretty good condition. n/s arch rail: n/s underbody: n/s mid-front rail (surface rust due to repeated jacking): o/s arch rail: o/s mid-front rail (again, rust due to jacking): o/s underbody: Oh, and some pillock (me) tried to scissor-jack this big hulk of iron when he first got the car. The result is a twisted bit of side... sill... thingy... whatever you call them: That's about all in terms of rust damage to the car. There are a few other little spots around the door frames etc that i'll be able to tackle myself, but i'm hoping it wont cost me too much to sort out those rear arches. Input welcome! Put my mind at rest! lol. Okay, going out to start on the rest... John EDIT: Should read 'hope it wont cost too much to sort out those rear chassis rails'.

Oh! And how nobody has picked up on the AWESOME license plate on that xr3i of yours is beyond me... POB http://www.classickidstv.co.uk/wiki/images/thumb/3/3a/Pob_logo.jpg/260px-Pob_logo.jpg Looks gorgeous in that white though. Are you still working on it or is it on the sidelines while you concentrate on the mk6?

Glad to see the front of the car did what it's supposed to, and you came away unscathed. Like you said though - It's just metal. I know myself just how much a positive distraction from personal problems a project like this can be. Now you have something new to pour blood, sweat, and elbow grease over. Glad you're not giving up the chase.