Y10 GTie (LHD)

[frankxhv773t]

That's only the gear linkage as far as the engine bay fire wall. There's joints from there to the gear box but they're maybe a pain to get to with the engine in situ. I agree though that those bits will probably stop the lever rattling.

[Duncan23]

I have finally sorted out my garage this week and got the car inside it. 
2020-10-31_05-17-37 by duncancmartin, on Flickr

That's the good news, the bad news is that while I was drying it after I put it away I noticed these 2 paint cracks on the roof. They aren't very long (maybe 2-3 inches), but one has clearly chipped a bit and I can see rust underneath (maybe fingernail sized). Clearly I should probably pick the paint off, deal with the rust and stick some more paint back on again. I guess I'll have to get it matched because it will be faded compared to the original colour, but it's also right next to the black roof strip, and I'm guessing that to do a proper job I should take that out and check the metal underneath. I couldn't see how they were attached, so I didn't want to do any damage by just putting it out from the back - does anyone have any info about how they are attached, or how they go back in again?
2020-10-31_04-05-51 by duncancmartin, on Flickr
I'm going to follow up with Ricambio about the gearbox bushes because they seem to have been out of stock for ages, but if anyone has any suggestions for parts specialists who might have them in stock then that would also be much appreciated.
Cheers
Duncan

[frankxhv773t]

I'm afraid the black strip is held in by the metal trim above the rear side windows which is in turn is bolted in from the inside under the headlining. Removing the black strip just isn't worth it for the sake of touching up a paint chip.

You should be able to mask the black strip, maybe by sliding a strip of plastic in the crack and pulling the black rubber away from the edge of the roof. Also, for a tiny area like that you might get away with not having an exact paint match. Once it is cut and polished it won't be too obvious. I started off by trying to colour match localised damage on my red Y10 but the more I did the more it became obvious that adjoining parts weren't a precise match. Some reds seem to have a blue balance whereas others lean towards the yellow. The match looks OK in daylight but glaringly wrong under artificial light like street lamps. My advice would be to keep the area of repair as limited as possible. AS a holding measure you might get away with bleeding a rust converter like Kurust into the damage then bleeding paint in once it has cured using a fine artists paint brush. (I've actually just been doing similar job on my wife's car and on a tiny repair you really don't notice that the colour isn't a precise match.)

Another thing to mention, for the sake of completeness if you do try for a colour match, my paint factor adds a gloss "converter" to my touch up paint so it doesn't need a lacquer coat over it.

[Duncan23]

Thanks Frank. I was worried about if the rust went under the rubber strip, but if it doesn't then I'll leave it where it is. To be honest, the paint on this car is probably several different colours - the bonnet has definitely got different layers on it! I'll pick as small an area of paint off as I can, sand it slightly and then kurust it, and once it's painted hopefully it will just blend in with the rest of the "patina".

[m tulloch]

Had a good laugh at your picture of the car in the garage, I can see why the VX wouldn't fit!!

[Duncan23]

Had a good laugh at your picture of the car in the garage, I can see why the VX wouldn't fit!!

It might have worked, if I emptied the entire garage out and then padded all the walls so I could just drive into them! I (just) fitted a Beta Spyder in there for a while, but that's around 300mm shorter (and we had no dishwasher)!
I think the Y10 made a lot more sense.

[Duncan23]

I decided to clay-bar the roof to see if there was any other sorts of damage on it. There are a few dents and some other paint defects, but these cracks are the only bits that go through the paint. So after claying the half of the roof I could get to, I decided to pick at the cracks and see what was underneath.

Pound for scale.
2020-11-08_03-38-20
As you can see, the front crack doesn't have any rust and hasn't gone through the primer, but the back one has minor surface rust - I'm going to pick the length of the crack (so that it will hopefully not get any larger) and then apply some kurust - I don't think there is anything else needed, and the paint seems reasonably well stuck underneath the black rubber strip. Once done I'll just whack some primer on and try to get some paint online - does anyone know where the paint code is lurking on the car? If not then I'll have to dig through the documentation and see if I can work it out.

[frankxhv773t]

The paint code is usually on a silver sticker inside the tailgate. (It can get very confusing if you swap out a rusty tailgate!)

[SanRemo78]

Errrrrrrrrrmmmmmm - check the other current Y10 thread - looks like it's on a suspension turret?
Guy

[frankxhv773t]

Silly me thinking I knew something about Y10s.

[Duncan23]

The only stickers on the inside of the boot lid are two white on black ones in multiple languages saying to only use genuine parts and something about ECUs. I guess the sticker on the other car is on the rear turret, which means I need to take the back seat and the cover out to see if I have one there. I guess it's possible it'll be somewhere completely different given it's LHD (or just missing).

[Kevinlincs]

No, mine was indeed on the drivers front turret but as Frank said to me at the time it's unusual to see it there.
They are more often than not in a fairly  visible place on all cars so you shouldn't have to hunt far for the bodyshop. Inside of boot / hatch are often places on most makes, if Frank says usually on the inside of the tailgate then that's where I'd expect it to be as he's seen more than his fair share of Y10's!
As it's not there, nor under the bonnet I'd just check within the boot to see if it's on the inside of the back panel.
But not wanting to be negative I'd say with the car being red, and apparently faded I wouldn't order just from the paint code anyway unless you are going to be buffing the original paint back, it won't be a very good match..
I'd just go to a motor factor's that does paint and get them to match some, once you've polished it as best as it can be.

[frankxhv773t]

The little plugs that cover the bolt that attaches the boot hinge to the body is a handy thing to take to the paint factor to try and match. Just be sure not to try and pries it out from the front as the locating tabs easily snap off. I always open the tailgate and poke them out from behind using a long screwdriver on the nearest tab.

[Duncan23]

The various motor factors couldn't sort me out with a match, so I gave up and got some Rosso Aguro to see if it would match. It didn't, but I figured I should get the rust sorted anyway and worry about the paint match after (the car isn't exactly pristine anyway).
I treated the roof - kurust gel, followed by filler and then the mismatched red paint.
And I couldn't resist taking it for a spin this lunchtime.  It reminded me why I like it so much (it's a rorty snorty little thing, even if it isn't fast) and all the issues with it - the seat is strange (it feels like it wants me to look at the A pillar), the dashboard is falling apart, the gearshift is somewhat imprecise, and now I've realised that the rear fog lights don't work (there's something odd going on with the switch, hence the investigation). One of the front ones does. Also, strangely, the indicators are twice as fast on the left as on the right - both sides have the required 3 bulbs lighting up though. And the heater isn't up to much.

A couple of hours later I had half an hour to kill, so I figured I'd see what was holding the dashboard together.  Turns out, not a lot!
The whole section that is sitting on top of the dashboard in this (terrible) picture is supposed to be held on by 4 screws. 3 were MIA, with both broken holes and missing mounting points, and the last one (the leftmost one) was using a big washer to hold it in place because the hole is missing.
2021-01-03_04-14-01 by duncancmartin, on Flickr
The central (wonky) piece beneath it is supposed to be held by 6 screws - they are still there but the bit that they screw into is broken and there is only one corner that is still attached to the rest of the dash! I undid the screws so it wasn't held in at all, and it still didn't move - all the cables for the heater controls held it in place (I recon that's why that piece of dash hadn't expired)!
The main part of the dashboard is bolted fairly securely to the bodyshell, so that's not falling apart (yet), but as well as all the broken mounting points it has some significant cracks in it, so I think it's time it all comes out.  I'm thinking I'll try to epoxy some reinforcing steel in (and re-make some of the attachment points in steel, using the bodyshell mounting points as a base if possible), and then smooth it and give flocking a go. If I can't rescue some of the alcantara covered pieces, then I might try flocking them as well (in grey like the alcantara so it's not just a giant sea of black). I'm going to have a look for a steering wheel boss too as I have a nice wheel sat in the loft and the existing one is a bit meh (plus it's a bit far away and only adjusts up/down).

Glad I got to drive it today, I don't think it's going to be the work of a moment to get this out and fixed up!

Does anyone have any of the glovebox unit or a cover flap for the stereo? The glovebox was massacred when they put the aircon in (another sea of broken plastic), and the hinged for the stereo cover appear to be snapped off in place. The original was grey alcantara, but given much of it is unsalvageable, I may try flocking it, in which case it doesn't matter what covering it has.

[frankxhv773t]

You probably should be going to a "paint factor" not a "motor factor" to match your paint. Find out where the local body shops get their supplies. They'll mix up a single rattle can perfectly happily or a touch up bottle, they'll have thousands of swatches to try and find a match if you haven't got a code and if it's non metallic they can add a converter so it sprays gloss without the need for a lacquer coat. Price is comparable to or cheaper than a general motor factor.

It sounds like your dash panel needs to come out for a rebuild. I have thought that laying up a layer of fiberglass all over the inside was the way to go though mine hasn't reached the stage of needing that yet. The good news is that the wiring in the dash is a separate loom with lots of connectors that plug into the wiring harness on the fire wall which helps with removal. See pictures.

The arms of the radio covers have their weakest point at the point of maximum stress so they are regular casualties.

I have a shed full of grey alcantara trim parts which are looking for new homes if you'd make a full list of what you need.