Robert's Rochdale Olympic Repairs |
www.VORD.net |
It's not uncommon for people to spend years restoring a wreck of a car into something immaculate. Robert is unconventional in this respect - he started with an immaculate Rochdale Olympic and crunched it. This is the story of the second rebuild.
Robert is a good friend who shares my barn. I like to think I'm being helpful by documenting his rebuild on the internet.
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2002: The bumpTo be fair Robert had just spent 4 years restoring this Olympic from a wreck. It must have been pretty devastating to break it again. Also he banged his head - a significant factor perhaps in his decision to rebuild the car once more. 2002 in detail: Background and the bump |
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2003: A rear diffuserThe floor was practically the only part of the car that wasn't damaged. So it made sense to start off the repairs by completely replacing the floor with a new one which incorporates a rear diffuser. 2003 in detail: A new floor with rear diffuser |
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2004: A fiberglass front subframeRochdale Olympics originally had a steel tubular front subframe. It was a horrific design and only loosely bonded into the car. Robert decided there would be none of this nasty steel in this latest incarnation of his car, so spent 2004 making a glassfibre subframe. 2004 in detail: Building the subframe and some panels arrive |
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2005: The roof and front endSupply of new panels had been a bit of an issue, but they arrived at the end of last year. I think we might see a reasonably complete Rochdale Olympic appear by the end of this year. 2005 in detail: Fitting the roof and front end |
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2006: Completing the bodyshell?It seemed about there already. If if were me or you we'd throw some paint on, fit an engine and drive around a bit. But it turns out things are much more complicated. We probably wouldn't consider the need for a bonded in windscreen, and some slackers might not have bothered putting in half a year of work to save a couple of kilograms from the doors. 2006 in detail: Finishing the body |
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2007: Latest news as it happensIn a surprise start to 2007 Robert learned to weld, and quickly went on to fabricate some new upper wishbones and put some wheels on. Perhaps we'll see a bit of paint in the summer of 2007. Who knows. Check the detail page to see what happens. See 2007 in detail |
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