This is how Michael's HG Monaro came to us. Micheal had taken note of how thorough a job we had done on Scotty's Monaro amongst others and was begging me for a few months to get his car into our shop for some refined re- finishing work

The Interior is a mix of various different colours - and the work has been rather poorly done. Note the holes in the dash that were not filled - the crude dash pad to name a few crook parts.

Initially the engine bay was the main area of concern Micheal had. Our mate John Payne from JP Racing has removed the 253 and trimatic for some attention - I went and had a look at the car and decided it was better to get an immediate start on reviving this car. Most of the clips and other fasteners- where they had actually bothered to fit them were wrong. Metric bolts used in some places. Who ever the person responsible for assembling this car was needs to find another career!

Everwhere you look - there is bodginess abound. The original wiring plug is long gone and while the modern connection probably works quite well- the gaping hole doesn't. Note the rather strange and crudely made accelerator linkage!

Its not all bad news - the basics of what we need are there- some parts will have to be sourced and the subframe appears to be in rather good condition - even if its the worse fitting subframe I have ever seen

Here is one of the many examples of poor fitment. Both park lights have gaps you can stick your fingers in. Its hard to imagine what was going through the mind of the person assembling this car...certainly not the task at hand!

On Micheal's list of things he wanted sorted was the front bar. It sat too far into the body. The shop responsible for assembly elected if it don't fit- don't bother. There are no bolts at all holding the bumper to the subframe! The outer brackets had been force fit - and they were bent!

Here is some more evidence of the badly fitting subframe- huge door gaps you can poke your finger though. This car would have driven atrociously - the subframe had that much downwards angle it most certainly would have affected the wheel alignment. Once the guards were removed (read- what bolts they had bothered to fit with very few the same and none correct) there was a large gap between subframe and firewall- filled with silicone!

The rear of the car at this stage appears OK. It has some missing bits and some minor paint flaws - but we will endeavour to check all these areas as well and sort what is incorrect or needs some extra detailing.

That uphill running GTS badge doesn't belong there- so we will be removing it and filling the holes.

None of the upholstery matches or is even fitting very well- so its all coming out.

The front suspension has been rebuilt by Pedders - it will all come apart for detailing ( powder coating) and reassembled using the correct hardware. Much of whats here can be used again. Some of it is bloody woeful- like the zip tied brake lines!

Some good news- the subframe is pretty good. I have already belted out some dents and uncovered some bogged over rust areas- but they are of a minor nature. The plan is to powder coat the subframe - then two pack satin black the engine bay side so it will match the firewall.

Sorry for the coronary Micheal! Well you asked for all offending items to be removed - so here you go! The next stage is to continue dismantling the interior - there are a few issues hiding in there that need our attention. Have a look at the horrible gloss used on the firewall - this will be sanded back - the body numbers revealed and painted in satin black two pack. When this car goes back together- it should turn out as detailed as Scotty's. Don't panic Micheal - it will all go back together...

Well we thought the subframe was OK on first inspection with only a few minor spots to address before we sent it to the powdercoaters, we reckoned we could knock it over in a few hours. We were wrong - very wrong!

Once we started knocking back the very rough paint job on the subframe we were surprised to see how much effort had been put into the repairs - well effort in some places to repair with metal - the rest was just bogged up!

This picture tells it all. The rust had been cut out and replaced with steel - no argument there- except note the rust around the edges of the repair.

Also bear in mind this car has not been on the road yet - so the rust repairs have failed before the car even saw the road!

Everywhere we looked - there was more rust. This is a common problem and with the expense of a replacement subframe- and the likely hood it would also be rusty - we elected to repair this one.