What did you do to your 2002 today !

[OldRoller]

Nice setup! Is this a Wilwood kit, or pieced? I like to stop quickly, no matter the speed....

 

[D.martijn]

We finished spot welding the remaining spots of the outer rocker to the inner rocker. Also remembered to plug weld the extension of the B pillar to the outer rocker

 

 

I also forget to mention that we welded in three of our selfmade clamps to fix the wiring harness when we ever get the that stage!

 

It was then time to fit up the rear quarter repair panel for the last time with the trim to make sure everything aligned well. Then it was onto welding everything together. I made a long brass strip with slots in it so we could use the panel clamps (not sure how they are called exactly). Going nice and slow and cooling after every tack weld. We did get some warping but it's pretty minor, I think we might be able to get it close with some more planishing.

 

 

 

And the welds ground down. it's still slightly proud from the panel but I'll come back to this when I planish it a bit more.

 

I also added a stich weld at the front of the rocker. Decided to clean up the section toward the door.

 

 

 

Also spotwelded the rear little lip of the wheel well to the quarter, I remember there was a full stich weld in this gap. Would this be necessary? 

 

Before starting the same process of replacing the rear subframe mount, floor section, inner rocker, outer rocker, inner wheel tub (it's quite the list lol) 

We decided to first reattach the rear seat hinge mount and seatbelt mount while referencing from the original right side. After a couple of test fits with some old extra seats we have as spares, both brackets got welded in.

 

Before starting on the other side, we decided to first clean things up a little at the underside where we made a couple of repairs etc while doing the sheet metal replacements so far.

 

Starting with the rear lip of the wheel well we replaced. cleaning up some of the welds where we replaced a small section of the lip, and the repair of the floor. as well as adding a couple of stitch welds where needed as original.

 

Next up was stripping the front right floor panel of it's shipping primer with some acetone and going over it with the DA + adding a stitch weld at the front and rear of the frame rail.

 

While being in this area, I noticed some small rust spots under the clips that hole the rear brake line and transmission reverse switch wiring. Thus they all got removed and replaced with new clips. First marking out the location

 

And new ones welded on as original (stitch weld)

 

 

And everything in Corroless anti rust primer

 

 

 

Finally it is time to start repairing/replacing the rear right subframe!

Starting of with taking a couple of measurements like we did on the other side.

We took out reference from the bottom of the trim holes and measuring to the underside of the quarter panel where it runs towards the inside of the car (~13,2/5mm).
We cut the panel 2.5cm higher so 10,7/11mm from the line, so we don't have to work in the middle of the flat panel, thus minimizing the warping.. I noticed the W&N panel also having some kind of wave/too much material at the top (roughly where the trim sits)

It might come in handy for someone

 

Outer skin removed, seemed quite alright at first sight...

 

But definitely needed to remove it as usual

 

Next up will be removing the whole corner. We did weld in some square tubing to the B pillar and in the door opening + connection the floor to it as well since we will be replacing a big section of inner sill as well.

[BarneyT]

   Today I took my favorite car on my favorite ride/road to try out my first day of driving a shifting transmission car six weeks post rotator cuff surgery tomorrow… things went well, It was a beautiful morning.

[popovm]

@D.martijn, what gauge (maybe it's mm in EU?) steel are you using to make your wiring tabs? I will probably need to make some. 

 

Edit: I now see that you make these for sale. I'll message you on IG. 

Edited July 26, 2023 by popovm

[its55]

Calling around to get prices on getting my 2 rear trans (4-sp) seals reaplaced as I’d rather not do it 😂

[D.martijn]

2 hours ago, popovm said:

@D.martijn, what gauge (maybe it's mm in EU?) steel are you using to make your wiring tabs? I will probably need to make some. 

 

Edit: I now see that you make these for sale. I'll message you on IG. 

 

The wiring clips are made from 0.6mm steel.

But as you figured out, I also make and sell them. (FYI: I also deliver these to W&N)

 

The clamps for the rear brake line in my previous post is made from 1mm thick sheet. Just a couple of strips that get bend around a steel rod.

 

The clips are made with 3D printed dies that fit into two steel blocks that get pressed together using a hydraulic press. Takes some time to press them all but once you get into a flow it's pretty okay.

 

Edited July 26, 2023 by D.martijn

[D.martijn]

Today we started with removing the rear subframe point of the 02 Touring.

We made a hole in the rear wheel well to have better access since we plan on replacing it anyway.

This made cutting the outer wheel well easier compared to when we did the other side (before we decided to replace both shock towers) Making sure to add a couple of reinforcement pieces to keep everything on it's place.

 

We will need to carefully remove this piece of the outer wheel well panel since it's NLA for the Touring..

 

 

After this we started with making a new floor piece. starting with making a flat plate with a 90deg bend and shrinking the edge where it's bended. with some hamering and a dolly we made the little end curvature on the panel.

 

 

After this we pressed in the subframe bolt into the new bushing I previously had turned on the lathe at work.

This way we could mark the outer contour to determine where we needed to drill the access hole for the bolt.

By using the hydraulic press and some 3D  printed dies we pressed the reinforcement lip at the edge of the hole.

 

After this the turned bushing got welded onto both W&N panels. These do need some adjusting for them to fit.

The part with the rectangular hole needs to be bended more so it's closer to 90deg. This also closes the gap between the two panels when you fit the bushing. Otherwise there is quite a gap present between the two.

Just a little tip

 

 

And first test fit into the car. We still need to adjust/clean up the remaining floor as it's now just resting on top of it.

So it sits a little higher than what is should be

 

 

Next up is cleaning up the floor, welding in the new floor repair panel and probably the subframe piece as well!

[slowbert]

I haven't posted in a long time, mostly because I have been making slow progress on my '72 2002.  But today was a big step forward.

 

At golf a week ago, I met a couple local guys who own their own automotive glass business, Ascent Auto Glass in Loveland, CO.  They like doing classic cars. They came over this morning and installed the original rear glass as well as a new windshield.  I had tried multiple times without any luck on the rear glass, but they knew what they were doing.

 

I had read as many blog posts and youtube videos about installing the glass, but none of that compared to the experience of guys who have done hundreds or thousands of these in the past.  This is a job for the pros.

 

For the windshield, they used a mastic in both the groove for the glass and the groove for the frame.  The mastic goes in before the rope, and it squeezes out as the window works its way into place.  Should have no leaks.  And no blog post or youtube video even mentioned this professional trick.

 

For the rear, they installed it with the chrome strip installed, but they elected to do the windshield without the chrome strip first and install it later.  This is one of the jobs you don't want to try at home.  Get someone who knows what they are doing.

Edited July 27, 2023 by slowbert

[Lucky 7]

Ooh, is that Caribe?  I’ve just been eyeballing that color for a potential future project. Looks great. And thanks for the tips on the glass install, I’ll be tackling that shortly. 

 

Today was a big day. At long last, my car came home. This day was not without some final frustrations with my painter, but at least it’s over with. And despite never meeting deadlines, writing things down, or remembering what we JUST FUCKING TALKED ABOUT YESTERDAY, the work is beautiful. That’s what matters in the long run. 
 

Here it is all shiny and freshly Malaga:

 

My old buddy Adam and his kid helped me get it trailered and home. Anton was pretty excited about the new paint. 
 

After jumping the dead battery 🙄 in my driveway, I got it into the garage just before it started pouring. 
 

 

Tomorrow I’ll start cleaning it up and tweaking the trunk/hood/door positions and even out the panel gaps. Once that’s all done, I’ll get into full reassembly mode. 
 

For now, I’m just glad to have it home. With some sleep, tomorrow I’m going to be really excited to have my project back. I’ve really been at loose ends without it. 14 months it took to get painted…so needless to say I’ll be happy to start work again. 

['76mintgrün'02]

Today, I put some gas in it.

 

 

  Argon, Oxygen and Acetylene.  

 

[slowbert]

9 hours ago, Lucky 7 said:

Ooh, is that Caribe?  I’ve just been eyeballing that color for a potential future project. Looks great. And thanks for the tips on the glass install, I’ll be tackling that shortly. 

It's Agave.  I tried to install the rear glass four times and just could not get it to go.  It is definitely a two man operation.

 

A couple other tidbits about the glass:  I used URO aftermarket gaskets.  The installers normally prefer OEM gaskets, but these went in OK.  I also bought the windshield off the internet, but it was Pinkerton, which the guys said was the best brand (at which point they looked up their wholesale price which was considerably less than what I paid).  From what I could tell at the time I bought the windshield several months ago, there were no 2002 windshields in Denver, so I had it shipped.  They said they could have sourced it without a problem.

 

For the rear, it was very very tight, and it took considerable work to get the glass to fully seat.  Probably close to two hours with two guys working constantly.

 

For the front, we tried with the flexible metal cap that covers the weld seam, but the gasket's groove did not have enough width for the metal cap.  We took the metal cap off and the glass fit very well.

[Lucky 7]

Good to know, those guys could be a helpful resource if I run into problems. I’ll give it a try myself first, definitely with help from a friend. We’ll see how it goes. 
 

Next time you’re in Denver, hit me up if you want to check out the mess!👍

[slowbert]

7 minutes ago, Lucky 7 said:

Next time you’re in Denver, hit me up if you want to check out the mess!👍

I will do that.  I'm almost ready to drop in the motor and start fussing with the new-to-me Getrag 5-speed and limited slip differential.  Should not be long.  This is the motor as pieces are being installed/fitted.

[its55]

33 minutes ago, Lucky 7 said:

Good to know, those guys could be a helpful resource if I run into problems. I’ll give it a try myself first, definitely with help from a friend. We’ll see how it goes. 
 

Next time you’re in Denver, hit me up if you want to check out the mess!👍

this YouTube vid is interesting and may be useful, I think…

 

 

[slowbert]

9 minutes ago, its55 said:

this YouTube vid is interesting and may be useful, I think…

This video is well done and convinced me to give it a go a couple months ago, which I am glad I did.  By giving it a try, I certainly appreciated what the professionals were trying to do.

 

After watching the pros, they had a sense for how well the glass was fitting at each stage.  It may seem kind of mystical, but they were visualizing what needed to be done to get the glass to move where they wanted.  There was a *lot* of banging on the glass, pulling it and pushing it up or down, pulling it and pushing it inwards, all the while someone else was working on the gasket.  Sometimes they were trying to get the gasket lips to fold out, other times trying to get the gasket to rotate inwards, sometimes moving the glass 1/16in this way or an 1/16in that way.  Not something that gets communicated in a 15 min video.

 

A few years back, I had the windshield replaced on my 911.  The guy snapped the glass during the installation and had to come back a couple days later with new glass.  That experience spooked me about pushing/pulling too hard on the glass during installation, but emphasized how much physical labor and force was required.

 

The video above is well done, but makes it look much easier than it is in practice.