Neil Wilson 1959 TS Saloon Restoration

 

At the start.

The finished car.

Neil has owned this car since 1962 but it has been off the road for many years.

The carburation had been converted to twin SU’s with a closed circuit engine breathing system.

A full scale restoration is now underway.

Neil is planning to paint the car, two tone with an ivory roof, red bonnet, boot lid, and red down to the side trim strip, ivory below trim strip and red wheels.

October 2012

The original colour was gray. The Borgward gray is a lovely colour but blends in too well with wet road stone!

Coral red and ivory are Borgward colours.
Ivory (Two tone) on the sides, To be see well.
White on roof reflects the heat and protects the paint pigment.
Red on bonnet reduces light reflection through the screen.
Boot and bonnet space ivory to improve visibility in these.

All parts painted separately and bolted on. (This is the best way.) (& Not enough room in my garage to paint a whole car. Painted, two pack, outside with full breathing hood etc. Hood fed with air from hoover in reverse.) Beware spray dust, will get through the smallest hole and stick!

 

The living room!

Electric fuel Pump

Seat belt mounts Inertia. VW, from scrap yard.

Gas tank & Mountings for rear suspension. Will elaborate on this (suspension) point later.

There is a debate on seat belts or none. Eg. "Diving out of the way of an advancing steering column". Unfortunately the Steering box is venerable to front end prang. Has anyone welded two pieces of square box ' telescoping' tubing to replace the round pipe showing on the photograph? It could be made energy absorbing.

I think belts are essential -

(a) To keep the driver in the seat. Difficult to reach the brake peddle, steer etc from the passenger seat. (Non bucket seats) (b) To safe-guard the passengers, front and rear. (c) To stop the rear passengers squashing the front seat passenger, driver, into the column, hand brake leaver, bonnet pull etc. (d) The two killers are acceleration and pressure.

Harrington Stainless bumpers.... V Good

All chrome shown re-plated except head light covers. Side lights etc were in poor condition but have come up well. A.C.F. Howell Croft Street Walsall West Midlands WS2 8JR 01922 649 992 .... Excellent

Seats upholstery reconstituted leather. Red and Ivory Foam for Home 0800 238 1119

Rear seat belts stow well, and are comfortable, inertia means you can lean forward for peripheral vision. VW golf. Carpet and plastic beading.... Wollies.

Head cloth David Atkins, trimmer, 01325 465724. Excellent helpful and reasonably priced. Cloth fitted without removing screens. Dave used to work for Royle's.....Vintage Classic and Amphibian. The Royle book is excellent.
'All the perforations in the head cloth line up"!

Original sun visors. Steering wheel / dash etc painted with two pack. Car colours are coral red and ivory, Glasurit, Morelli Group 0208 351 5178 Excellent paint.

 

Wing bead, 3mm (Holden Vintage ) 01885 488911 Easy to work with.... holes cut with punch. All wing bolts and washers stainless steel; all car none stressed bolts/self taps etc (Including those on bakelite window surrounds) etc stainless. Wollies and Screw Fix 'Chrome' Halfords.... 12mm and 5mm double sided tape attached, all colander holes in 'my body' bunged up! £12 for 4m will do one side strips. 12&5mm TS strips. No leaks, electrolysis, rust, is cheap, aesthetic, attaches to rubber; see back/front screen . I put the side strips on in one piece and cut the door gaps in later! Cuts with stanley Knife.

Screens sealed. Front screen sealed inside. Sill trim, 12mm Halfords.

 

Halfords transparent door protect strip used on reflectors rear & front lights. Badge, lenses, No. plate light 'our' George. All badges sealed inside and outside. Outside with double sided tape.

Rear window self adhesive 5mm 'chrome' strip, 3mm wing bead.

Boot inspection covers for (Side) petrol pump, (Floor) P Tank sender. Mill board (Woollies) cover on 60L LPG tank.

Side strips windscreen etc. LH mirror on wing. Glass front wings reinforced with steel strip for impact and strength. (George Sinclair)

 

Inside engine bay light colour for working visibility. Air cleaner spout to get warm air from radiator in winter. Rad. thermo. switch for electric cooling fan. Pump fan removed. Fan, Peugeot 205. Rad. easily removed with the three bolts leaving fan in situ. Rad; two bottom bolt holes increased in size to prevent metal contact damaging 'new radiator'. (Rad. George Sinclair)

Middle of rocker cover; Closed circuit engine breathing. Prevents fumes in (and out of) car. reduces crank case pressure thus lowers oil leaks. air leaks in rather than oil out. Has two valves; 'blow back to prevent crank case explosions and one which closes for even tick over. In front of this gas LPG pipe to injector venturies on SU inlets. Battery 6&12volt supply.

Blue cap; tandem master cylinder, split front and rear. Land rover clutch master Cyl. Both stainless steel. Lucas 12v dynamo with Current and voltage regulation. Two relays; for cooling fan and head light flasher. Additional hot water inlet, out, to LPG vaporiser, in stainless steel. This is a 75 engine but the rocker cover is a 60, back to front to get inlet manifold in. Tappets set with DTI or (Tappet screw pitch is one mm = 40 thou. thus one quarter turn = 10 thou. ish!)

LPG Vapouriser. Mounted low, away from exhaust heat and ignition system.

LPG gas in! Tow bar, this tow bar pulled a 35' caravan, Darlington to Millom 110miles. On the Borg of cause!

Jacked up! They are all taken with jack under. Also reversing LED lamps glued, double sided tape, under bumper. Wiring for fog front and rear but not found suitable lamps.

Reflectors work! Reflectors SH George Sinclair.

Front suspension and sub frame.

 

 

 

Interior. Decorative strip. Halfords. self adhesive-reduced body corrosion.

Interior. Shows speakers, LH mirror position. VW Golf seat belts. two switches; top for LED lights; bottom for cooling fan override.

 

Front to rear. Rad.switch to relay--engine cooling fan. Fan on water pump removed.

 

End of air cleaner pipe cut off to rotate to warm (winter) air and prevent carb. icing.
SU carbs.
Red disc on rocker cover is engine close circuit breathing anti flash back and tick over valve.
Note battery 6v center tapping is now replaced with all 12v system. I.E. Starter Bolts straight on! (LRS808 £171 as delivered next day. Sales@startermotor-alternator.co.uk)
Wiper motor etc. Clock on a resister. Petrol gauge run on 12v.
Note. The bottom radiator mounts were not rubber mounted on my car. I drilled the cross mount out to 12mm, put a 12mm osd pipe though the hole with rubber bushes either side followed by an ss bolt washers and lock nut.

 

 

 

 

Neil's car now has now been issued with a new number plate 322 YUS to replace the Q plate

Neil Wilson neilwilson13@hotmail.co.uk