Carol & Eoin Mekie – Full Restoration

A&E Restoration
After sitting on a drive for 10 years with a torn roof this lucky Figaro was given life saving surgery just in time

The car now stripped and on its way to the painters

Words & Pictures Eoin Mekie

We bought our Figaro in August 2017 from a friend who simply hadn’t had the time to give her the attention she needed. Mechanically she was sound (bar one sticky brake calliper), but ten years sat outside with a torn and tatty roof and unattended rust had left her in a sorry state. There was rust around the rear window frame, rust in the boot floor, the rear quarters and wheel arches, the rear drain holes, and in the roof drain above the driver’s window. On top of that it looked like she’d been in an accident involving the nearside rear quarter at some point, as removal of the trim revealed the rear quarter wasn’t fully attached to the car! Her last paint job seemed to have consisted of one coat of yellow primer and one coat of metallic pink which was now wearing off. Virtually every seal was caked in thick dirt and black glue, the bumpers had rusted so much there was really only the chrome plate left, and the interior was filthy, damp and mouldy. It quickly became clear that there was a lot of work needed.

Luke and Charley at R&R Specialists at Dunkeswell Airfield agreed to take on the bodywork, and to save money we agreed that I would strip the interior and prep her for getting the bodywork done, and once they’d completed a bare metal strip down, repair and respray, I would then clean and reassemble her – not something I’ve ever done before! Off came the roof and out came seats, trim, door cards, window glass, wing mirrors, rear screen, boot lids, lights, windscreen and door trim, all seals, carpet, dash switches, seat belts – the lot – with lots of photos taken to aid my memory on reassembly.

Back from the painters and now the fun begins!

R&R did a fantastic job of the bodywork and the respray, and she came back to us finally in September 2018 resplendent in her new 2-tone colours of Phantom Pearl and Land Rover White Diamond. In fact, so pleased were we with the colour combo, we decided not to fit the new rear window canvas at all. In the meantime we’d done some shopping for a lot of replacement parts – our thanks go particularly to The Figaro Shop, who supplied a whole host of new and used parts, Figaro Spares for a new roof kit (which in the end was not nearly as daunting to fit as I had feared), and to the FOC for lots of online advice. Wherever possible we cleaned up and used existing parts, including her original dash despite the split in it. We really don’t notice it, and we weren’t trying to make her a new car. I have become a dab hand at cleaning with a toothbrush, and the interior has come up superbly! Worst job was hand-picking all the old glue off the seals, but it was surprising how well seals come back to life after a good clean. 3M windscreen sealant helped finally seal the rear window, and the roof hasn’t let a drop in yet!! Hardest parts to find were the various body trim clips – most were destroyed in the process of preparing for the bodywork.

In June this year she passed her MOT first time out, and is now out and about in the summer sunshine. Everywhere she goes, people stop and look and ask questions, which is what Figgy ownership is all about, and there is a silly grin on Carol’s face every time she drives her! We intend to get her to her first Figgy rally as soon as one comes up.

Enjoy our pictures below…

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