Project Dusty!

Right then.. Think it's about time I started a project thread for this.

As some of you may be aware, there was a Thunder advertised on eBay recently that was a little worst for wear. Advertised as spares or repair as it failed the MOT on numerous issues.

About 4 days or so before the auction ended, I made arrangements to go and view it.
Long story short, I had a look and had a long hard think about whether or not it was worth it.
I decided that considering the amount of work that was needed, I would enter my maximum bid and hope for the best.
The actual condition of the car wasn't the worst I'd come across but still needed a far amount of work and time spending on it.

Needless to say, it sold for more than what I was willing to pay for it.

To be honest I was a little gutted as I hate seeing nice cars go waste.. or the crusher in this case!

Then, a few days later I was informed by Questy (top bloke Questy k: ), that it was up for sale again, this time on Gumtree as well as eBay.

I contacted the seller and he confirmed that it was still for sale as the winning bidder couldn't collect the car for two weeks and he wanted it gone.
I offered him what I was initially prepared to pay for it and that I'd collect it two days later, he accepted.

So as promised, I collected the car two days later on a recovery truck and had it dropped off.

I'm now the owner of Thunder MW51 ULC :thumbs:



After a busy week, today I finally got round to doing a full inspection.

As expected, there's quite a lengthy jobs/parts list which I'll upload later (and it is a big one!) :lol:

Now then, I wonder when this was last cleaned (Hence 'Dusty!') :shock:








So... First job! k:




After a quick bath, it has come up pretty well :thumbs:





That's all for now.. More tomorrow

I hope it as clean as that underneath..

Oh no it isn't :lol:
To be fair, it needs a couple of patches welding, but compared to some I've seen it's nothing too bad really.
Pulled out the arch lines as well.. Help 'air' the arches out a bit before they get a good scrub tomorrow!

Just about to get a jobs/parts list together before I go the breakers and motor factors tomorrow.

Anything I can't find I'll be posting in the 'Wanted' section k:

Oh, just remembered.. Also thought I'd pull out the pollen and air filters just out of curiosity.

Be warned, not for the faint hearted :shock:







The cam cover bolts decided to put up a fight as well.. resulting in slight force being applied!

Yeah haaa :grin:

Parts list..

Not all of these parts need replacing, but taking into consideration the age of the car, it's just more of a precautionary measure.

Here we go :lol:

1 x full service
1 x timing belt
1 x water pump
2 x front discs
1 x O/S wishbone
4 x brake flexi pipes
2 x drop links
4 x metal brake pipes
2 x top mounts
2 x rear beam bushes
2 x parcel shelf strings - Complete
1 x O/S front spring
1 x aerial
1 x rear wheel bearing
2 x rear cylinders
1 x N/S fog light - Complete
2 x side repeaters - Complete
1 x engine cover
1 x set engine cover screws
1 x auxiliary belt idler pulley
1 x set off genuine puma mats.

Various screw covers
Various welding
Rear arches
Refurb wheels/tyres
Secure loose heat shield
Something stuck in the air blowers
Secure loose door cards
Clean laser in CD player.
Clear ABS fault.
Repair/replace front bumper.
Underbody degrease + jet wash.
Engine bay degrease + jet wash

and last but not least..

A RUDDY GOOD CLEAN!! :lol:

Good luck with Project Dusty !

Well done! I guess that would keep you occupied for, say two to three months? ;-)

:grin: You definitely need to cross things off as you go!!

Good luck.

Nice to see its getting saved.

Here we go guys (and gals :lol: )

Finally have a Sunday off to here's todays task.
And yes I did take advantage of the Halfords £12 oil offer k:

Don't want to be the killjoy, but the oil in picture is in wrong viscosity. Puma should use 5W30 oil :!:

I know but it's close enough... used it for years with no issues k:

Plus I'm sure it's much better than what's in there at the moment :lol:

And when that's done I'm going for a hunt in my garage to see what spares I have before I upload a 'wanted' list k:

I'll be keeping an eye on this closely

Sorry to say guys.. I went to make a start on Dusty today and.. well.. He won't be getting saved :-(

He just needs WAY too much welding.
Inner and outer sills have gone through.
About 6 patches need welding in the floor.
About another 6 patches on the chassis legs.
Inner rear arches.
Rear arches need replacing.
Bottom of front wings need work.

Not to mention the mechanical work, cleaning, servicing and detailing to the paintwork.

I just haven't got the patience or motivation for it.

Vehicle will be getting stripped for parts and sent to the crusher.

Wave bye bye to Dusty :'(

Would still love to know why the Thunders rust at such a horrific rate. I mean, I know all Puma's rust, but the amount of late ones with shells beyond repair has been pretty high recently.

I've noticed this also.. The earlier ones don't tend to rush at such an alarming rate.

It's for this reason, every summer I get my daily Thunder up on the ramps:
Remove the arch liners.
Jet wash the entire underside.
Wire brush and prime.
And underseal EVERY nook and cranny..

Luckily I have no corrosion issues as yet (fingers crossed!)

Do you have any interest in selling dusty complete ?
I'm looking for long time teaching projects and this might be right for us if the price was right?
Thanks
Andy

My Thunder was the same. Everything was sound when I bought it. Sills were solid, minimal surface rust underneath etc etc.

After a year it got scrapped. It was rotten so bad the floor had separated from the sills and when we jacked it up, the car was slowing dropping down as the bottom was giving way under the weight. The jack almost ended up through the car.