Front wheel well
 

There were large dents at the rear of the front wheel well, these areas have been cut out and beaten into shape and refitted.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1354242160.jpg

Well it's been a while.. I see I have missed a few pic's from last year or two.
Front flares now fitted, also the small piece to match early indicator, flare, bumper. This went better than the rear.
Front and Rear RSR bumpers also fitted for trial.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1430795186.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1430795203.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1430795218.jpg

Nice work Brent! Where did you get the wheels modified? Elite? Arrow? Would like to tackle something similar.

Chris

Hi Chris,

Yeah I made through Elite Wheels, I built them years ago, they have done probably 3-4 sets since then now they know how :)
I had a spare set, just sold them last week!.
The hardest part is the 16" donor wheels.. if you have those then you're pretty set... what sizes do you have?
What modekl style are you wanting them to fit?

Brent

Looking good Brent, glad to see your still going on this, this car is going to look hot!

Slow progress with limited time to spend on it...
Dropped too sand blasters today for all over blast and then round to painter for epoxy everywhere and underseal. Will be great to have in one colour for a change.http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1446602452.jpg

Brent, are you sure you want to have the car sand blasted? Sand blasting generate a lot of heat and can warp the steel panels. Dry ice, soda or other media blast will not deform the sheet metal.

Keep on the good work.

Looking good! Slow and steady.

Hi Hugo,
Yeah I have been anti this for that reason and a few others, I was guided by my panel and paint people so as to make sure I had a guarantee for the finished product.
They are going to skip the bonnet and roof, albeit it a very light skim, because of the metal guards etc they are happy. The blaster is very experienced with cars..... time will tell tomorrow I guess :)

Good then, I just want to be certain you were aware of the potential risks.

If I had to do it again, I would probably go with dry ice blasting just because of the residue. My car is still ''losing'' soda from time to time. This stuff (sand included) goes everywhere, even places paint don't go, and you will find some for a while !

Please correct me, but I didn't think that dry ice or soda blasting did anything to rust? Or is that just heavy rust?

Yes you a right. Dry ice blasting will only remove surface or light rust. You need something more abrasive for deep rust.

Hi, I had a body, fenders, hood, including many other pieces stripped by 'Redi-Strip' Home Page Redi-Strip is from the US and has numerous franchises throughout N/Americahttp://www.redistripco.com/#!about/c3t3

Redi - Strip submerges the complete body, including any thing such as an engine block.

When picking the body etc up, I was quite amazed as it looked as it had been chromed. It was in fact just the original tin looking as if it had been polished. When back at home I first sanded everything with 120, used a paint prep and them sprayed everything with an epoxy primer. Epoxy primer drys to a hard finish and it 'sticks' to the metal like an epoxy glue would. It completely seals everything and it will remain like that for years if just sprayed and then parked.

The big plus over an etching primer is that you can do bodywork, including using any fillers. You then just have to respray the repair areas. When the body work is finished you then use whatever the paint brand's recommended repaint system is.

Over a couple of decades I've complete six ground off restorations and I'm particle to PPG. There are, as you know, numerous other quality brands such as Du Pont, Sikkins, Glasurit ect. E.G only...Ferrari, Lambo, McClaren and numerous other high end cars are painted with a PPG line. (as a matter of interest 2/3's of all cars are painted with a PPG line)

Having done what you are doing a few times, I would like to compliment you on your work. It's looking very good!

It's blasted
 

Thanks for your comments.
Dropped into the blaster today to hand over some $$$, car was finished and looks great.
Painter rang me this afternoon after receiving and he is very happy, wants to get it in epoxy within 24hrs! Exciting.

Sand Blasted pic's
 

These are the right way up :)
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1446698081.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1446698107.jpg

Just as a matter of interest ;Redi Strip
Old steel must first be cleaned of rust, paint, filler and other dirt and contaminants. The stripping process starts by baking the part for 8 hours at 800°F. Warping does not occur because the temperature changes are very gradual. Following baking, the part is submerged in a hydrochloric acid solution. This removes any remaining residue. Next, the part takes a quick dip in a neutralizer bath to wash off the acid solution. The cleaned, chemically stripped piece is then coated with a water soluble oil to inhibit any surface corrosion until the part is e-coated.




E-Coating:


Following chemical stripping, the part proceeds into a wash to remove the water soluble oil and prepare the part for coating. After washing, the part is immersed in zinc-phosphate which is a rust inhibitor. The part is then dipped in a vat of PPG epoxy primer, which is electrostatically applied. The electrocoat bath consists of 80-90% deionized water and 10-20% primer solids. The deionized water is the carrier for the primer solids. The primer solids consist of resin and pigment. Resin in the primer provides corrosion protection, durability and toughness. Pigment in the primer provides color and gloss. During the electrostatic dip process, the thickness of the primer on the part is regulated by the amount of voltage applied to the part. Once the coating reaches the desired film thickness, the part will no longer conduct the electrical charge and the accumulation of the primer on the part is completed.

After leaving the coating vats, the part is sent to the bake oven. The bake schedule is about 45-60 minutes (or until well done), with part temperatures at approximately 375° F.:

Car looks fantastic. As for Dipping, I wish we had this option in the states. I think there may be one Comapny but I do t know who it is.

It's now fully coated in Satin Black Epoxy and undersealed.
Now for the process of putting it back together.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1447544450.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1447544483.jpg

Subscribed... really nice work!

Hi Brent great work, that will be a beast on your gravel roads I was out your way in 2009 doing the silver fern rally what a fantastic place and the most hospitable people you could wish to meet, I am doing a similar project which has also been dipped, it does make the task much easier should have done that when we built the car for the silver fern.keep up the good work.

A friend of mine has started his own business doing vapour blasting, I saw a picture of a gearbox he had done, looked awesome so I decided to get mine done. And a few other parts as well, front hubs, gear shift rods....
Before
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1447916404.jpg
And after:
He had to give it a light media blast because it was so inpregnated and aged.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1447916462.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1447916491.jpg

So this is what approx 12hrs on a wire wheel looks like :eek: This is almost two cars I think.... will drop them to be Yellow Zinc plated tomorrow.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1447916617.jpg

Brent. Looks killer mate. As clean as Trans looks I wonder if it wouldn't be good to spray some clear on that alum so it doesn't start sucking dirt, grease ect from road. Factory used than yellowish chemical to give a sealed surface.

That looks amazing!

Yes I have now coated it with some special clear stuff that the Vapour Blasting guy gave me.. it's taken two days to dry and I think it's still not quite dry!.
Very happy with how it came out, it's going to make the motor look pretty average :( Will revisit that situation once I have it going and on the road though with a future upgrade :)

Yellow Zinc hardware
 

Picked up my box of hardware today... looks a lot better! Not so convinced about the spring plates... they said because the had been sand blasted they would be dull.
Have sorted them out the best I could at the moment, will become a lot easier once I fit off the suspension and Brakes in coming weeks.
Typical though, found another ice-cream container of bits to be done, will clean them up this week and get in to be plated.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1448598493.jpg

Yes that is the results of sand blasting. You can sand them smooth w something like a 2" Scotchbright pad and refinish for better results. Or tumble them.

Brake lines and 23mm Master Cyclinder
 

About time I added some more pic's, have been a little focused on another projetc so limited time.
Fitted fron Alloy cross member along with new Fuel lines (Thanks Len), 23mm master cyclinder, 10mm rack spacers to assist with bump and clearance of rack boots and Reservoir bottle feed line custom.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1458176820.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1458176863.jpg

I purchased the brake line kit and bent the lines up, was actually easier that I thought, rear was a little harder for some reason.

Rear T-bars and indexed
 

Read a number of posts about this and did seem a little daunting.... but it really makes sense when you're doing it.
I'm going for a pretty low stance for the car, I managed to get the Left at 24.5 and Right at 24.4degrees... time will tell where I go from there. I was amazed at our many combinaions you could do to get different results... I ended go back to the left a second time to get it right. Just keeping turning the inside or outside at different soplines and you will acheive your majic number.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1458177503.jpg
Have also got most items through the tunnel now, just Handrake cables and Heater cables which look easy compared to some of the other items.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1458177540.jpg

Front A-arms...
 

Now this is where I got a bit stuck, these should be the easy ones :)
T-bars fitted easy, installed A-arm to vehicle, I had originally indexed these when installing the rubber bush's, 21deg front mount and 15degree rear mount. They lined up pretty good, I have tightened them all up but damm they feel stiff to move. I have read a lot about stiction or friction of the a-arm and think they should move more freely... obivously some of the other designed bush's have zero friction... but rubber not so. People also mention that the rubber adds to the torsion affect as it twists.

I'm not massive but I'm putting considerable force/effort to move the a-arm up or down.
This is perhaps the way they are for Rubber bushings when brand new?
Or... I have a co-linear alignment issue between front and rear bushing.. this would be bad :), I hope to disconnect the front mount and see if this makes a difference...
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1458177879.jpg

Front Struts and hubs
 

I have had the Front and rear struts serviced to spec's and I refurbed the paint in John Deere green. Just finished re-packing new bearing and seals to the hubs and installed to the strut.
I raised the front spindles 19mm? and also added a support plate as I'm fitting adjustable steering tie-rods.
These bits are screaming at me to be fitted but really want to sort out my sticky a-arms before adding to the issue.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1458178454.jpg

The theory behind rubber bushings is different from other types like heim joints. Those (if teflon lined) have lots of static and some kinetic friction but no spring rate. Rubber bushings move by twisting and therefore have nearly no friction but lots of spring rate. You want to minimize friction in the suspension so this is good. The spring rate just adds to the torsion bar rate so there's no real downside other than deflection under cornering loads which is the price for isolation from harshness.

Refurbed pedal box installed
 

Had rebuilt a lot of the parts some time ago but was time to assemble and fit to car, especially with the new master cyclinder and new longer push rod to accomodate travel.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1458178965.jpg

Thanks Flieger.. I hoped you may have replied :)
Ok so it sounds reasonable that it's springing rather than friction which is good.
Will have a look to see if i can make it a bit better but not concern myself too much yet, if anything this should help make it stiffer in the front intially.
As I have no baseline to set my torsion bar adjusters at would you know the approximate angle for the a-arm to be set at... aiming at between Euro and race height.
It's not a major to change front as you know but getting it close first time will assist down the track :)

Can you explain the idea of raising the front spindle 19mm and how that plays into Allignment and ride height you mention above etc?

I actually think I raised them 30mm now I think about it... I'm running 17" wheels so won't have a issue with them hitting the rims.
I don't fully understand the technical benefits but it helps to keep the factory angles etc where possible, trying to keep the A-arm just below Horizontal and the steering arms horizontal is a key in most setups. Will also reduce Bump steer, which would definitley have been an issue for me with big and wide wheels plus running lower that Euro ride heights.

I'm sure others can comment with more detail than me.

Have fitted Front brakes, I'm using 996TT front and rear calipers and rotors, had some adaptors made up to mount caliper to SC Front and rear Hubs. Also using adaptors on fronts so the 17" custom Fuchs clear the Calipers.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459751633.jpg

Front center oil cooler
 

I had this Oil cooler made for me in the size retro to the RSR Oil cooler back in the 70's, -16an fittings on cooler then joined to 30mm Hose ends from Elephant Racing.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459751763.jpg

Front oil lines
 

I purchased some of the Steel Braided line with Orange zinc Oil line as used in the RSR cars from Elelphant Racing as well has the -16 and 30mm hose ends. Had the -16AN fittings crimped on first so I could fit then cut the lines at correct length to then have the metric fittings crimped on.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459752012.jpg
I also shortened the Factory hard lines back a little to get the angles better, -45mm from one and -70mm from the other. Bit of any arse to get the nut done up but if you do the shorter one first it works ok.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459752102.jpg
To get the oval hole I drilled two 45mm holes apart from each other then joined the two holes with the angle grinder.
I have now got some rubber hose to wrap around the hole to protect the hose's.

I decided to clean up the hard lines to brass and leave, I know they will discolour etc over time but I like the look of them this way.
I used 180 grit sandpaper intially to get the bulk of it off, some people recommended scotch brite, I would have been there for weeks!
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459752314.jpg
Once both done I fitted to thermostat for better locating then used a rivnut gun to install a couple of nuts so I could use Bolts. (I have not used a rivnut gun much before, they are soooooo cool!, I don't know why I have never purchased one).
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459752409.jpg
I have all the rubber hoses to go around pipes, will fit these when I finally put lines on for good... this is just a interim fitment so I could mount my front cooler.