Collection

The donor car was purchased from Stoke on Trent, through an auction on eBay. Although the donor appears to be missing a number of parts, which will become clear later on when it is stripped, it represents what is hopefully a good value basic car. First registered in 1968 or 1969 it should be possible to equip the finished car with the traditional black and silver registration plates. I aim to use as much of the original car as is safe and practical. The engine may be a 3 bearing engine as the car is fairly early, and it doesn't have an overdrive unit but I plan to fit one if possible. I will also be looking to change the steel wheels for wire wheels as this provides a more period look to the car. Update: It seems that I was misinformed by the seller, the car does have an overdrive unit after all. Collection of the car is undertaken by trailer, and I have had a towbar fitted to my Jeep by Security World of Farnham. They were very efficient and came out to my office to fit it while I was at work.
	Having collected the car the initial impression is that there are a few more bits missing than I initially thought, but the next 3 or 4 weeks will see me cataloging the precise details. As you can see, the bodywork is completely past it. The rust is right through the car (the panels that are still there). Inside is also lacking most of its original parts, but again I don't need a huge amount from there. The wiper moter is still there and I need the heater controls which are there, I might use some of the switches. Missing parts I need are the guages and indicator switch.
In the engine bay, the engine is mostly there with part of the distributer missing and no carbs. Hydrolic master cylinders are missing but only the clutch is required as dual circuit brakes are required for SVA. The heater control valve is missing but I have already sourced a replacement. Generally the engine bay looks clean, which is hopefully a good sign for the condition of the engine.
Major components

The last part of the donor strip down included the removal of three major components, these were the engine and gearbox complete, the front crossmember complete and the rear axle and springs. This was undertaken over the weekend of the 21st and 22nd January 2007. To assist me I enlisted the help of a friend from work, Richard (a strapping lad from Yorkshire who didn't mind getting his hands dirty). I also hired a hydraulic hoist for the weekend.
	Engine I had already disconnected everything so it was actually a fairly straightforward task, the engine and gear box are removed together as a unit. The weight of the engine is supported by the hoist, and the weight of the gearbox is supported by a trolley jack while the engine mounting bolts are removed and the front gearbox member is removed. All the bolts came out easily, but the gearbox member was tricky to get access to. Next the trolley jack is removed, allowing the gearbox to rest on the rear crossmember and the hoist is raised. The engine is pulled forwards until the gearbox clears the member and the whole unit is raised and removed. The removal of the engine took about an hour.
Front Crossmember Everything I've read says the front suspension and crossmember are removed as a unit, but still I wasn't prepared for exactly what a simple job it was! The front of the car was raised and held high on axle stands, with a trolley jack supporting the front crossmember. The four crossmember bolts were undone and the jack lowered. the whole assembly including wheels, brakes, suspension units and crossmember were simply rolled out from under the car. The photograph shows the crossmember removed, note that due to the effects of gravity the crossmemeber has turned upside down.
	Rear axle and springs The last parts of the donor car to be removed, the car was raised and held on stands with a trolley jack under the axle, while the front and rear spring shackles and the bolts securing the axle straps to the body were removed. The damper arms proved to be unco-operative so, as they aren't needed, I cut them through with an angle grinder. The jack was lowered and the whole unit removed from the rear. Once removed the springs were removed from the axle to make the whole thing more moveable.
Disposal Frame A simple frame consisting of two timbers and two crossmembers was built and the donor shell lowered onto it. This should (hopefully) provide a means of dragging the car out of the garage for disposal.
Disposal
	With the donor parts removed, it is now time to say goodbye to the body shell. After 38 years in existence it's finally going to be recycled and turned into a food can or something. Collection was arranged and the driver turned up with a low loader. The bodyshell was hooked up to the winch and dragged up onto the truck, stapped down and taken away. The wooden frame did the trick making it easier to drag the shell out of the garage.
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Strip down
The following parts are to be kept from the donor car for refurbishment and reuse, although some may be replaced or discarded later.

Alternator	Removed 10/12/2006, looks servicable.
Brake discs	21/01/2007 Removed as part of front crossmember and suspension unit.
Brake drums	22/01/2007 Removed as part of rear axle.
Brake light switch	Missing.
Brake wheel cylinders	21-22/01/2007 Removed as part of front crossmember/suspension and rear axle.
Brakepipe unions	22/01/2007 Removed.
Bulbs and connectors	Removed from inside 24/12/2006.
Carburetters	Missing from donor but new pair purchased, with manifold, from ebay seller. Received by post 18/12/2006.
Choke cable and control	Removed 28/12/2006.
Coil	Missing.
Clutch master cylinder	Missing.
Clutch fluid pipe	Damaged so not removed.
Clutch slave cylinder	Removed 28/12/2006 - looks quite new.
Distributer	Incomplete. Will need a new rotor arm, points, condenser and cap. May consider a replacement unit anyway if I see an appropriate second hand one for sale.
Engine	Located engine number, type 1800 GG. 21/01/2007 Engine removed from car complete with gearbox and overdrive unit.
Exhaust manifold	Removed 01/01/2007.
Exhaust system	Inspected exhaust system, not worth keeping. Will replace when ready. 01/01/2007 Removed exhaust.
Front crossmember	30/12/2006 Loosened ready for removal.
Front suspension units complete	21/01/2007 Removed form donor, appears to be in servicable condition.
Fuel filler neck	Missing.
Fuel pump	Removed 10/12/2006, looks servicable.
Fuel tank cap	Missing.
Fuel tank sender	Removed 10/12/2006, float was full of fuel so needs looking at. Will test electrics and investigate getting a new float.
Fuse box	Stuck, won't remove.
Gearbox	18/12/2006 Spare gearbox now available as overdrive unit came with a gearbox attached! 21/01/2007 Gearbox with overdrive removed from car with engine.
Gearbox access grommet	Not sure what this is....
Gearstick	Removed 22/12/2006.
Glovebox lock	Removed 22/12/2006 - needs key.
Handbrake	Removed 26/12/2006.
Handbrake cable and adjusters	22/01/2007 Removed from donor.
Headlamp units and rims	Missing.
Heater control valve	Missing, but suitable replacement already sourced. Received by post 18/12/2006.
Heater controls	Removed but knobs damaged 28/12/2006.
Heater ducts	Removed.
Heater matrix	Released but not removed. Removed 26/12/2006.
Heatshield	Exists, but replacement included with carburetters. Removed existing shield as a spare 10/12/2006.
Horns	One missing. Other removed 28/12/2006.
HT leads	Missing.
Ignition switch and lock	Doesn't have steering lock with ignition but has ignition switch on dash. Spare lock and switch sourced, but will look into dash based switch instead. New ignition switch/steering lock received by post 18/12/2006. Existing dash based switch removed 26/12/2006.
Indicator flasher	Removed 22/12/2006.
Inlet manifold	Exists but replacement included with carburetters. Existing item removed 01/01/2007.
Instruments	Missing or damaged. Replacements located and purchased.
Interior gearstick bezel	Removed 22/12/2006.
Oil filter housing	Missing.
Overdrive	Not fitted on Donor car. 14/12/2006 Replacement sourced, waiting for collection. 18/12/2006 collected unit. 30/12/2006 found that contrary to sellers information donor car does have a type LH overdrive unit. - Should have checked myself before purchasing a replacement. 21/01/2007 overdrive unit removed form car as part of complete engine unit.
Pedal box	Proving to be difficult to remove. There are some bolts that are tough to get at and the spanner slips on one of these. 23/12/2006 used grinder to remove bolt. Pedal box now removed.
Pedals	Brake and clutch pedals removed. 26/12/2006 accelerator removed.
Propshaft	Started removal 01/01/2007. Removed 06/01/2007.
Rear axle	Spare Axle came with wheel conversion components.
Rear suspension complete	22/01/2007 Removed springs, back axle and wheel hub assemblies including brakes.
Regulator	No separate regulator on car - it's buit into the alternator.
Relays	None fitted.
Starter motor	28/12/2006 Disconnected, will remove with engine.
Steering column and clamps	Removed 24/12/2006.
Steering rack	Released but held by o/s track ball joint which won't separate. 30/12/2006 now removed. The joint was heated with a blowtorch and it just fell apart.
Switches	Some removed 22/12/2006. Remainder removed 26/12/2006.
Temperature guage sender	Comes with guage. Existing guage damaged.
Throttle cable	Can't release from bulkhead.
Wheels and tyres	Steel wheels fitted to donor. These are servicable, but aim to replace with wire wheels. 12/12/2006 located wheel conversion parts (used) includes hubs, wheels, spinners and spare axle.
Wiper motor and assembly	Removed 22/12/2006 looks servicable.
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