[ads295]

Hey guys.

Thanks for your support. This has been quite the journey. I paid ₹10k advance (50% of the total) to the scrap dealers in Kerala on 10th August '24. They are yet to ship the parts, putting forth one excuse after another. I lost it Thursday night and told them off, stating that I either wanted the parts to be shipped on Friday or I wanted a full refund of my advance. They were taken off guard and promised to ship everything. Yet they still shipped only half of the parts as of today, the balance are promised to be shipped by Tuesday.

It's quite frustrating and a little scary at the same time because I'm all too aware that they can just block me and carry on with their lives. It's all running completely on word of honour at the moment (even though my previous order with them was executed successfully - I paid 100% advance that time).

The delays in getting parts and juggling uncertainties like these have been the most challenging part of this rebuild (and the expenses of course.) I hope this thread serves as a point of reference to anyone who wishes to undertake a comprehensive rebuild of an old motor that has an unknown history and sketchy spares availability.


Here are a few updates on the car.

Interior rebuild underway.

The interior is being put together as we speak. The rear door cards are installed, so is the dashboard and the rear parcel tray. The air purifier's plastics (the body) have become so brittle that I could snap them into two like a biscuit. I have an idea that I'm putting into action to cover the purifier - it's open right now.





The fabric on the door cards has been re-upholstered. The cards themselves have been washed and cleaned with soap.

The floor mats have been thoroughly washed and the pedal area looks nice and clean.

New spoiler is painted and on the car!

Everything in the boot is ready and good to go - the shrouds and covers have all been installed. The rear spare rim and tyre is in its place (full size!)
The CD changer unit will have to go, unfortunately - the changer mechanism wasn't present when I bought the car. I tried my best to source it from scrap dealers but to no avail, since this was available only on the V6 cars (a sub set of an already rare car).

Bonnet sealant applied

What are these black spots, you may ask?



That is the sealant applied between the sheet metal top of the bonnet and the layer below it. Without this, the bonnet would make a twanging sound everytime pressure is applied on it, deforming temporarily. The OE sealant had melted away due to heat - either from the environment or the engine. It's refreshed now and good to go. The same application has been done in the boot.



This itself took multiple trials because the purchased caulking gun (local make - costs ₹350) used to apply the sealant was found to be too weak, it simply twisted and deformed when pressure was applied to squeeze out the sealant. My mechanic scoured the market and finally bought a sturdy one that costed ₹650.

Brake calipers are painted

I went with a rather rad shade of blue, and I hope my gamble pays off. The alloys are pitch black so they should set these off beautifully.

Lastly, I present one of the many guardians of the Sonata while the car hibernates.

The glue used to bond the sagging headliner to the roof board literally gives the interior a new car smell. I couldn't help but giggle the first time I stuck my head inside to check out the work.

Onward, and upward...

[Utopian]

I am completely hooked to this thread. Hats off to your patience and perseverance to make this happen. It is still a looker even after all these years. Eagerly waiting for a final photo-shoot once everything is done. Kudos!!!

[lemedico]

Your thread on the restoration of this classic, and prerak kataria with his Laura's laurels, are two really inspiring works for a DIYer like myself

[chiranjitp]

Simply one of the best restoration thread on teambhp, kudos for the great work . It's so thrilling to see the project moving towards completion, the best part for me has been that cost cutting/jugaad hasn't been done anywhere, the car will be in showroom spec. With the base car being a cheap used example, there's always this possibility to cheapen out on parts/do juggad.

I myself having done one restoration & few upgrades (Carb to MPFi, Disc brakes conversion) for a very common car (our 99 Omni), I can only imagine doing something for a super rare car like Sonata V6 . Here's the link to my thread: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techn...onversion.html (1999 Maruti Omni - Restoration, Brake upgrade & MPFi conversion)

[redblock7]

Originally Posted by ads295

Hey guys.

...

Hey Ads295!
Just stumbled upon this thread and boy oh boy what a journey it was so far.
I really appreciate you documenting everything right from the date of purchase, and kudos to your patience levels to restore the car from the ground up.
This is pure bliss for someone like me who wants to do something like this on my very own, but unable to do due to time constraints and lack of a skilled mechanic.

The uniqueness of this thread or any restoration thread is that; It's not about spending money alone but to analyze whether the money spent was rightfully accounted or not and to get a proper channel for all the parts etc...

I wish you well!

[Nefariox]

Kudos @ads265. Can you provide the name of the upholstery glue you used for roof liner? If anyone has a suggestion for this please do.