When Well Enough Can't Be Left Alone; Backdate, EFI/ITB, AC, and more!

[Mixed76]

Originally Posted by Showdown

Not at all!

I simply replaced the piece of aluminum with a transparent sheet of Lexan and then cut out a window in the carbon fiber rain hats. The throttlebody’s and the filter are still protected from the elements by the Lexan

Thanks for clarifying, thick me thought you replaced the bottom plate with lexan. Couldn't think why you would do that.

Sent from my Nokia 7.1 using Tapatalk

[Hulley]

I literally gave an audible "He** Yeah! Congrats, the feeling has to be amazing right now, the paint looks great! I can't wait to see this in the sunlight!

[Jonny042]

Originally Posted by Showdown

Haha, maybe wait until I cut and buff it then

It’s a perfectly fine job- one that right now is a 7.5, but I can get it to a 9, I’m sure of that.

Still gets an A+ on my laptop! It looks like you got a really nice finish. I'd knock off the larger specs of dust, insects, small animals and sweat droplets, polish, and go driving!

I did have some of the the same "urethane wave" in my paint which is like slightly longer swells in the paint surface when compared to orange peel. Most people ignore it and start sanding with soft pads and 1500 grit on a DA. Which is what I did on my first go-around.

I wouldn't. It's a lot of work, but would get you to a 9.5 of ten. The effort you require to get to 9.0 should be exponentially less.

Experiment until you find what's working for you to get you where you want to be, and be happy!!

[Showdown]

Thanks Jonny, always good to hear first hand accounts of surviving the well of madness!

I think I’m going to leave it as is for now, get the thing pilot back together and drive it.

Next winter I’ll cut and buff it when I have plenty of time and am looking for a mind numbing project.

Yes, that’s a bit backward and will require either another partial disassembly or a lot of masking but I’m ok with that.

Now, dealing with windshield seals is another story.

[Jonny042]

Handy hint to make sanding with 3000/5000 and buffing to a final shine, I use nothing but these two 3M pistol grip tools. Smaller and slower and more manageable than anything else I've tried. Basically no cleanup required and controllable enough that you can do a lot of work without masking for fear of damaging trim, seals, etc.

[Showdown]

Day 30

Whoa, I almost missed my weekly update, not that anyone’s really on the edge of their seats waiting for it. Still though, I've posted every week for 7 months...

But I digress...

I was traveling for work this past Memorial Day Weekend so I only had but a few hours working on the car.

I wet sanded and polished the hood and the results were ok. I’m still having difficulty finding the perfect combination to give me the finish I want. As a result, I decided that focusing on cutting and buffing the car now would mean that I probably wouldn’t get it on the road until mid-to-late summer and that’s a non-starter. The paint correction will have to wait until next winter. There’s a disappointment about driving a car that’s the product of my labor that’s not up to my standards but more so, I don’t want to not be driving a car!

The high of painting the car quickly yielded to a low of putting it back together. It’s tedious and delicate and not particularly exciting or fun. Just getting the rear glass ready for install (the gasket, trim and defogger wires) was, uh, fun. Had I foresight, I would have deleted the rear defogger system, run clear rear glass and saved the frustration. The front glass looks great and the assembly went really well; hopefully the install does too.

Other than that, there’s not much to report. New tires come next week and I hope to get the wheels on as well as getting the car road worthy and maybe, just maybe a fire-up.

[Jonny042]

Don't drive yourself crazy with the paint. It will look like 10 million bucks out in the natural light. Even better when it's dirty and dusty!!

Great progress and FYI I've been looking forward to the update!

[rwest]

I would also think that a longer cure time will make it easier to buff out?

Enjoy reading your updates, thanks.

[Jonny042]

I am curious about what issues you are having with the polishing? I had bunch of micro-scratches and marring, almost like miniaturized orange peel, when I tried to do a "conventional" cut and buff. It was only visible when looking at it really close or magnified. I was able to lessen it by leaving the paint to re-cure for a few days between sanding steps and by sanding with 3000 then 5000 instead of using compound. If the compound advertises that it will remove 1200 or 1500 grit scratches it's pretty aggressive and is going to leave those sorts of marks, and the polish isn't going to remove them, just make them shiny.

Of course i'm just guessing at what the problem may be.

[Showdown]

I think the issues I’m having with cutting and buffing are clearly user error. I’m likely not spending enough time with each grit and going too fast. Also, I haven’t yet figured out the perfect amount of “wet”. Too much water and the paper doesn’t cut, not enough and it gums up.

In any event I’ll have plenty of time in winter to deal with it (or ignore it for another winter!!)

Today my assistant and I tried to install the glass. We got the rear 80% perfect when the seal and trim separated and we couldn’t get them together again so the rear will have to come out for another try. What we were able to do looked really perfect and so I’m optimistic g that a second pass will be the ticket.

The windshield on the other hand was an hour of cursing, sweating and sore hands to no avail. We got the top lip seated but the gaps in the corners were HUGE- leading me to wonder if the glass will even fit.

Next week I’m going to take the seal off and dry fit the naked glass to get a better idea of the fit. I’ll do the same with the trim to get the shape right and then give it another go.

We were using. A plastic sheathed steel cable and plenty of glycerine but it just looked like the glass was the wrong shape.

I called a few glass shops and was quoted $600 for EACH install- and I would provide the glass!!!

Damn!!

[al lkosmal]

Julian,
I had the same experience with windshield installation.......I started an aftermarket seal...and no effing way....so I ordered a Porsche seal....mo-betta...but once I had the windshield installed...the corner gaps were pretty big.

I found this tip on how to shape the window trim to follow the contours of the window opening and eliminate the big gaps. I used wooden shims, like you use for installing/leveling house doors. Got them at the local hardware store. I rounded the sharp end of the shim/wedge so it was a similar radius as the window corners. With the window/trim installed, slide the sharp, radiused edge under the rubber lip of the trim and, using a ribber mallet, tap the wedge gently....and it forms the trim and gasket into the corners, eliminating/minimizing the gaps.

I also made sure that the sharp edge was not too sharp, to ensure it could not cut the seal....

[Showdown]

Thanks Al, I’ve been researching and thinking (had a 2.5 hr drive to the lake house to brainstorm) and I think I’m ready for a second attempt

I did buy Porsche seals and they fit really well but I think the fail point was the aluminum trim. I’ve read and watched some videos (Mike’s Restorations is particularly helpful with the glass) and it seems that unless the trim is in exactly the right shape, bend, position and emotional state, the install just won’t work so dry fitting it, shaping it and then as you mentioned, using shims to massage it after install is the answer.

Only problem is that I now have to wait till Wednesday to have another crack at it!!!

Once I get the glass in, I’m going to fire the engine and see if I can’t get it road worthy!! You’ll probably be hearing from me with logs! After the stumbles I had early on I took a step back and audited my install and process and identified some points of potential failure and hopefully rectified them. It’ll all be in the updates soon.

[rswannabe]

[I]

The switches and dials are a nod to the great HiFi systems of the 60s and 70s
[I]

When I saw this, my first thought was you need to incorporate a couple of McIntosh level meters into your dash with the switches. I’ve always been a sucker for those level meters.

[Jonny042]

Or a McIntosh MX406....

[Showdown]

Day 31

I was traveling last weekend to the lake house so I didn’t get any P-time but I had a lot of time to think on the drive and prepare for this Saturday. I mentioned once before but limiting my working time to (mostly) one day a week gives me plenty of time to prepare and dress rehears in my mind so that when the work begins it’s much more fluid.

After my initial frustration with the glass I took a step back and audited my process and materials. After a lot of thinking and a bit more research I discovered the SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT THING WHEN INSTALLING GLASS. THE TRIM. Nothing else matters. Nothing.

Here’s what I did (in hopes that it will help someone else):

• Seal on glass. Do this dry if possible. Soapy water can be used but then you have to wait for it to dry.
• Glass with seal dry fitted into car and centered.
• Trim laid on top and SHAPED to fit the car’s opening. The aluminum trim is soft and can be bent to precisely lay on the channel in the trim with no gaps while mirroring the shape of the window opening in the body.
• Two “ropes” fitted into the channel (1 x 26ga plastic coated wire and 1 x 18ga plastic coated wire both covered in glycerin). Wire is key as it won’t tear and is smooth.
• Trim into rubber. In tricky spots I used an Irwin clamp with rubber feet to squeeze the trim into the channel and hold it there while working other areas.
• Glycerin on rubber.
• Everything into frame and centered.
• Hand pressure down on the aluminum trim, not glass until the window and seal assemble "seat" into the opening.
• Start pulling thick wire from top center. When it inevitably slips out don’t fret because the thin wire is still in place.
• Pull thin wire.
• Using a little hook tool made of welding rod, coat hanger or other wire filed smooth, encourage seating of seal in hard to reach places like bottom by the dash. Plastic or wood trim tools will also be helpful here, and yes, coating them in glycerin is key.
• Once fully seated, using a thin, rounded wood shim, yes like from the home center (approx. 1” wide, 1.5-2m thick at one end and rounded at the corners) atop the rubber, under the aluminum trim and against the vertical part of the trim that goes into the channel at corners, with a rubber mallet or dead blow hammer tap trim outward until rubber is in place and gaps are eliminated.
• Step back and realize that it was pretty easy after all.

The key was shaping the trim to fit the opening and then using the shim to continue to shape it. By tapping the trim into place, you can not only get it to mirror the shape of the opening in the car and look correct, but also push the rubber to cover the gaps and create a weatherproof seal. This approach turned this from an unsuccessful multi-hour two-person project into one that I did solo. In under an hour. With no swearing. NO SWEARING!









The rear glass was a bit more work due to the defogger wires and having to cut openings in the rubber seal but again, following the same process as the front, the glass was installed in about 1.5 hours, solo. Without the defogger wires it would be a piece of cake.

With the glass (something I had beed dreading and that was holding me up) I had no reason not to push ahead;

Hood: installed
Engine lid: installed
Quarter glass: installed
Window frames, trim, seals: installed
Front bumper: installed
Rear bumper: installed
New wheels: installed

The door cards and passenger seat, and rear lenses are out and there are still a few small items like the rearview mirror, some dash pieces, etc… that need to be completed; punch list stuff, but nothing major. In addition, there are a few cosmetic items that I’m waiting to complete which should hopefully really tie the room together.

For all intents and purposes, it looks like a car!

On Tuesday I’m off to Yellowstone for a week for a vacation so I’m going to miss a week of working and my regular update but I think the forum will survive in my absence

Upon my return, I'll wrap it up and try to get the thing driving!

[Hulley]

Damn Julian, car is looking good! Are those Group4 wheels?

BTW, enjoy Yellowstone, the wife and I plan on going next year.

[Showdown]

Yup, I went with all 15x6. I’ll probably toss some spacers on the rear to move them outboard a bit

My Fuchs are 16x6 up front and 16x7 in the rear and with 50 series tires and 1.5 degrees of negative camber everything fit nicely but the new tires are fat and chunky and 65 series so I was concerned about them fitting which is why I went with 6”

Short question, long answer.

[chrisbalich]

Looks great, Julian!

I can't wait to see this car at CIO.
Don't forget to register if you haven't yet. (I got it done right before I left for Ruchlos last week.)

[Jonny042]

Originally Posted by chrisbalich

Looks great, Julian!

I can't wait to see this car at CIO.
Don't forget to register if you haven't yet. (I got it done right before I left for Ruchlos last week.)

Shouldn't you be working on a Monday update?

And yes Julian, great work!!!

Now you are a glass expert, this will serve you well.

[chrisbalich]

Originally Posted by Jonny042

Shouldn't you be working on a Monday update?

I am.
I just emailed 20 or 30 pics to myself so I can upload them. Need to get my thoughts together and start typing.

You should come down for Checked It Out in August. It's the best show and Chicago has some of the best food. (absolutely has the best pizza)