What did you do to your 2002 today !

[D.martijn]

13 hours ago, autokunst said:

Yes, Evaporust does come in a gel version.  Do you think the Rustyco is a similar formulation (a chelating agent)?

 

Oh okay, then it's probably the same stuff I think.

 

[ECL]

Due to the fact that I don't have space in my garage (at the moment, coupled with limited time to work on her (again, at the moment) - I recently dropped her off at my local, trusted mechanic.

 

You know the type - an old school soul, whose had his shop and been wrenchin' for years - the kind of mechanic who really takes pride in their approach, who is methodical, thorough, creative, and is all around great with cars.

 

I wanted him to go through her for me with a proverbial fine-toothed comb and I am very glad he did!

 

Well - I got het back this weekend and phase 1 of Operation Bring Her Back is complete.

• real wheel bearings were loose, so he re-torqued them to 385#
• replaced the front wheel bearings, which were shot
• front strut bodies removed and HD Bilsteins installed
  • per the original paperwork, Bilsteins  (pics below) were installed in 1977 (if anyone is interested in them, feel free to PM me)
• new upper bearings, shims, and upper strut bushing plates
• removed the aluminum spacers that had been installed to comply with Federal safety bumper height requirement 😜 (one is in good shape - the other is toast (feel free to PM me if interested)
• replaced the Koni's in the rear with HD Bilsteins
• Oxidized fuses were replaced - now the high beams on the Hella H4s I installed work 😀! - as do my windshield wipers, which won't turn off 🥵 - time to check the relay
• new shims made for the Behr A/C compressor (installed by dealer in '77) and tightened alternator belt - now there's no rattle
  • on a side note - I am reading Rob Siegel's book, Just Needs a Recharge, so I can understand how the heating system is supposed to work with a working A/C, as my heat isn't nearly as warm as it should be
• loose exhaust (Ansa muffler) is now hanging tighter than a virgin on prom night 🤪, thanks to a newly welded creative exhaust hanger bracket and 2 new rubber exhaust hangers

I then proceeded to take her on a very nice, long, hard drive - to welcome the New Year.  It felt SO good to be buzzing along I-195, steadily and strong at 4,500-5000 RMPs in 4th, with still some room to push her.

 

GOD - do I love this car!

 

Happy New Year all!

 

 

 

[JQ02]

I finished rolling my fenders today.

 

The fronts were rubbing on turns. Driver front, badly on tight turns, but I think that was in part due to a very worn wheel bearing (which I also replaced today)

I have Eibach lowering springs, Bilsteins, and 195/50-15s on Rota 15x7 et30s with a 3mm spacer in front (otherwise, the inside of the front right was rubbing on the tie rod end) We'll see if I need to spacer now that I replaced the wheel bearing(!)

 

I used a heat gun (mostly cuz my 'heated' garage was 55-60f while outside was 36f)

I'm not surprised about the paint popping off - I pretty much folded the lip at the top and my car has a 2nd heavy coat of paint questionably applied on top of the original color (a shame as they used Glasurit, which I'll prolly do again). I'm not worried about the paint popping off because this was one of my last tasks before getting the car painted.

 

I was pleasantly surprised at how well the $38 tool worked! It fell apart a couple times and the roller wheel slipped in its crooked cradle and jammed twice. Before I use it again, I'll do some mods, including some additional bearings on either side of the roller. But for the price...!

It took some patience and some muscling but I figured out a process pretty quickly. I thought I created a video, but my phone stopped recording almost immediately 😕 

I found it best to start with the roller at a 45 degree angle (as pictured) and then move the arm up and come at it with the roller at 90 degrees. Once I got the middle flat, I worked one side and then the other. I'm thinking it's only necessary to flatten about 10-12 inches in the center of the wheel well. 

 

Edited January 14 by JQ02

[D.martijn]

Since last time I received the 1L bottle of Rustyco since I'm very pleased with the results.

The section that got treated got sprayed with Brunox (rust converter) and later on with Corroless.

Holes got drilled to plug weld the new panel onto the floor.

 

That's what we did today!

 

 

We then test fitted both rear seats to get the position of the seatbelt anchor and hinge correctly welded in

 

Some spare seats and interior panel to test fit

 

I've also cleaned up the remaining welds on the passenger side quarter / B pillar

 

After this we made some more room and rearranged a couple of things inside of the workshop and cleaned a little

Let me introduce the new tool....

 

I've been eying on a 3D welding/fixture table for a while now and found good reviews of a table manufacturer in China.

In the end shipping took a little over two weeks. Happy with the new addition!

[OldRoller]

Rainy windy day on the east coast... good time to paint the roundels from the 76. Took Mike's advice and taped off the outer ring, shot it with 3 coats of gloss black, scraped the lettering off when dry.

    

 

Painted the center cross, a bit testy getting the color match (two different Testors blues) and it's close. 

A final sanding with 1000 paper, then polishing the metal with 2000 paper (tiny squares hot glued to a pencil eraser).

Two or three coast of PPG clear and they'll be ready for another 48 years.   

Bottom roundel is the newer style plastic from the E38, for comparison. 

[Mark92131]

Here's what I did today...

 

 

S14 on MicroSquirt using Ford EDIS ignition.  No exhaust, so I shut it down pretty quickly.  Big shout out to @AustrianVespaGuy who guided me through the setup for initial start.  I bought this motor on Valentine's Day 2000, so almost 24 years later, it came back to life today.  Thanks to everyone on the FAQ who has answered my dumb questions over the years!

 

Mark92131

[Twoey]

I installed a third brake light! As someone who hates electrics, it wasn't too bad. I also started the process to refurbish all the shifter bushings. the blunt kit doesn't handle the top hat bearing bushings at the bottom of the shifter lever and unfortunately that's where all my slop is. So, now I get to make some top hat bushings! 

 

The Colorado winter work list continues to grow! 

[its55]

Almost ready to road test.  Since September I've been slowly but surely replacing the rear trans / shifter seals, renewed all the shifter / shifter support stuff, installed new guibo, installed all new brake lines and hoses, replaced all steering box seals, replaced one inner tie rod, under-chassis cleaning and touchup painting here and there, changing oil and filter now (waiting on crush washer delivery today)... need to check alignment;  pertronix ignition to be delivered today...

[0257]

Trying to isolate my driveline vibration, I took the drastic (as those with air-conditioned Tiis will understand) step of cutting my a/c belt.  Now that I have determined that the problem was in the “known good” driveshaft I installed with my 5-speed conversion, Zouave is going back together with a newly built LSD and the a/c belt has to go back on.

 

So far today, reinstalled the a/c belt, which meant removing fixing the motor at TDC, removing the radiator and front plastic timing covers, removing the Kugelfischer timing belt, sawing and filing away a bit more of the aluminum lower timing chain cover to accomodate the slightly “taller” NAPA toothed a/c belt (hooray for Dremel), placing the new a/c belt, replacing the KF belt (always with a little prayer, even when you know you did it correctly).

While I’m at it, pressed the cheap squeaky Chinese bearing out of the a/c idler pulley (are you listening, ICE A/C?) and will be headed to Bearing Supply tomorrow to pick up a decent replacement.Now to button the front end up with shiny yellow bolts and get the radiator back on….

[Son of Marty]

It looks like the P.O. was a patron of the world famous Mike's Chili Parlor in Ballard Washington☠️.

Edited January 7 by Son of Marty

[Lucky 7]

My adventures in sewing continue. I finally finished off the three layer sound proofing and have moved on to my custom carpet job. So far it’s lots of careful templating, trimming, and test fitting… and I’ve learned that edge welting is a skill onto itself. 
 

I got a roll of German square weave and a yard of leatherette fabric. I’m cutting 1” wide strips off the leatherette for the edge welt. My first attempts were NOT promising as I’m using a home sewing machine instead of a welter.  Took me awhile to figure out my method, but I finally landed on fully taping down the edge welt to prep for stitching. With that solved, I could make some progress. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The rockers took a bit of work to get right, but both are down and look great

 

 

I'm currently working on the tunnel, which is looking to be the most difficult. It’ll require minimal edge welt, but the templating, trimming and install are pretty labor intensive. It’s the largest single piece and has the most complex shape to cover. 
 

 

 

 

I need to welt the edges at the seat rails and rear seat bulkhead, as well as sew on the wear protector by the throttle. Then I’ll start getting it glued down, which I expect to happen in phases and be a pain.  After that, things get easier with the floor panels, floor mats, and trunk mat. The flat pieces are simple compared to the foldy ones. 
 

I’ve been looking forward to tackling this project and I’m really happy that it’s working out. I honestly had no idea if I’d be able to deliver a decent end result, but I wanted to try. The German square weave looks really nice and I’m excited to knock out the rest.

[NickVyse]

3 hours ago, Lucky 7 said:

 I honestly had no idea if I’d be able to deliver a decent end result, but I wanted to try. The German square weave looks really nice and I’m excited to knock out the rest.

 

Looks better than most professional jobs, amazing work. What have you covered your floors with? Smooth!

[OldRoller]

That's some beautiful work there Lucky! Inspiring! You'll be proud of that one....

[Lucky 7]

5 hours ago, NickVyse said:

 

Looks better than most professional jobs, amazing work. What have you covered your floors with? Smooth!

Thanks for saying!  Turns out interior work is really satisfying. After so many years, I’m happy to see final finish go down. It was a stripped steel box in there for like 6 years, it was so loud. 😬

 

You’re seeing the top layer (of three) of my sound mitigation, the mass loaded vinyl. Dynamat deadener went on the bare steel at 30-40% coverage, then 100% coverage of 4mm closed cell foam, then 100% coverage of MLV. I did the entire floor and rear seat back. Hopefully I have a much quieter car next time I drive it. 

[popovm]

5 hours ago, Lucky 7 said:

Thanks for saying!  Turns out interior work is really satisfying. After so many years, I’m happy to see final finish go down. It was a stripped steel box in there for like 6 years, it was so loud. 😬

 

You’re seeing the top layer (of three) of my sound mitigation, the mass loaded vinyl. Dynamat deadener went on the bare steel at 30-40% coverage, then 100% coverage of 4mm closed cell foam, then 100% coverage of MLV. I did the entire floor and rear seat back. Hopefully I have a much quieter car next time I drive it. 

Sounds like a great approach. How's that home sewing machine handling the carpet? I was considering trying out making some mats but reconsidered once I saw the price of heavy duty machines. Singer has one that is reasonable but I wasn't sure if it was burly enough, but if you are having a good experience with a home machine then even that might be overkill.