Front Trunk Renovation and Blade Fuse Upgrade (Final with pics)

[Fishcop]

Howdy

Well to help out all of you who have enquired - here's the final results and some closer pictures of the fuse upgrade

First, a gratuitous photo of my car...





The trick with these fuse blocks is to replicate the terminal joins at the back of the fuse blocks just like the factory ones - sorry I didn't take any photos of the wires I soldered at the back to make the correct circuts.


I can't seem to find a brand for these items other than to say they have 'made in china' on the back. I found them at the local equivalent of your 'pepboys'.

Also - check out the alloy trunk guard thingo I reproduced to replace the crappy cardboard original...

[RallyJon]

the wires I soldered at the back

Were they soldered to the spade lugs somehow, or somewhere else? Is there bare metal at the back to solder to?

[911SCfanatic]

John, excellent idea on the trunk guard thingy. And, yes, I will be copying it.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Fishcop - Can't believe no one else has said it, but your car is BEAUTIFUL, very, very nice. Big congratualtions.

Nice work on the rust and gas tank redo too (from the other thread). Are you an experienced painter? I ask because I am thinking of buying a relatively inexpensive spray gun (touch up gun?) from Harbor Freight or similar - just for redoing things like the under hood and the wheels wells. I wonder if it is within my capability? Seems like if I follow sound preparation advice out of a "Hot To Paint" type book, mask carefully and follow the paint mfg's instruction on thinning, I feel I should be able to do it well enough for these "don't-show-too-much" areas. Agree?

Is your trunk guard thing a simple sheet of aluminum or did you do anything to it? Roll the edge? or any type of forming?

[Fishcop]

Jon - yes there is metal at the back to solder to, use a little flux though.

The guard thingy is made of .5mm alloy sheet. I removed the stays from the original and then used a bit of poly pipe as a dolly to form the shape/profile and pop rivited it to the stays. I haven't folded anything - just dressed the edges with a file.

Thanks for the compliment Dan. I don't know if I'd qualify myself as 'experienced' when it comes to painting - I'm not trained, but I started years ago with my BMX bikes and just progressed. When I got my first car (beetle) I painted it and learnt a lot. It really is all in the preparation! I bought some reasonable quality spray gear about 10 years ago to do another project and have not stopped using it since!

The nice thing about the engine bay, trunk and wheel tubs is that you can use Wurth stone guard with a shutz gun which gives a stippled finish - this means the top coat does not have to be perfect. You can certainly do what I've done in the trunk and engine bay.

My advice though is to learn to use the 2-pac stuff. It's more expensive, as poisonous as hell, and a bas tard to clean up - but the finish you'll get (even as a beginner) is superb.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally posted by Fishcop
The nice thing about the engine bay, trunk and wheel tubs is that you can use Wurth stone guard with a shutz gun which gives a stippled finish - this means the top coat does not have to be perfect. You can certainly do what I've done in the trunk and engine bay.

My advice though is to learn to use the 2-pac stuff. It's more expensive, as poisonous as hell, and a bas tard to clean up - but the finish you'll get (even as a beginner) is superb.

I hate to be such a dunce, but I don't know what a Shutz gun is, Maybe I should check the Wurth website? Where I would buy one - Can you explain or post a picture?

Also have no idea what "the 2-pac stuff" is? Ditto the explanation.

This shutz gun sounds somewhat like the gun I use to finish drywall...obviously NOT the same at all, but a similar idea, right? It sprays (actually is sorta splats) on variable size glops to achieve a uniformly, un-uniform (?) textured finish.

I'm just sorta thinking I could break in on painting the wheel wells, trunk, etc with little harm if it doesn't come out perfect. As to painting over the textured stuff in the wheel wells, don't you have to put some sort of additive in regular automotive paint so it will work over the (somewhat) flexible Wurth stone guard?

[mark 74 carrera]

Absolutely a stunning car!

[Fishcop]

Thanks Mark

You've got it Dan, as shutz gun is also called a body deadner gun. It uses about 60psi, has a threaded body that screws onto the top of the body deadner can and "splatters" the product to create that rippled/bumpy finish. The great thing about most of these products is that no further preparation is required to lay a top coat.

In summing: First clean/sand and remove rust or use a converter, prime the bare metal, use one or two layers of shutz/body deadner, apply paint finishing product of choice.

2-pac paint simply is polyurethane paint that comes in two parts - one is the colour, the other is clear "hardener". The two are mixed to the instructions of the particular brand and the paint drys "chemically" rather than thinner evapourating out of ordinary paint (such as enamel). In other words the paint will "dry under water" as it is a chemical reaction. This is also why it's so dangerous to breathe - it hardens inside your lungs, you must use a respirator or an appropriate mask!

Cheers

[Dan in Pasadena]

Thanks for the explanation Fishcop. I went to the Wurth website and got some info on the Shutz gun, though it didn't look to me like it screwed into the can? It looked like it connects to an air compressor. Maybe I am wrong, I'll go back an look again. All in all, this sounds doable for a paint DIY Newbie like me. I'm gonna give it a try.

[JK-81SC]

John,

Thanks for taking the time to post the detailed pictures. Nice work, and definitely the nicest '69 911 I've seen. The trunk looks so much better without all that cardboard and carpet.