It was just a Rustoleum satin black that I picked up at Lowe's. Nothing exotic. It laid down nice, didn't run. I did about 4 coats. It's held up really well. Not a single chip or peel on the wheels I did over two years ago. The real labor is in the smooth and polish of the rough petals. If yours are alreay polished, this should be a piece of cake.

Thanks for the info JoshD! My wheels are pretty beat up and I will post pictures sometime this week. I will start with one and see where it takes me. Ideally I will get all four cleaned up and polished and then decide on a paint method. How long does it take you to mask off the wheels?

About 20-30 minutes a wheel. The first ones I did I measured and marked the parimeter of the petals for the paint line, so that took some time. The last ones I did I just eyeballed as I applied the tape (the ones in the pic). I actually think the ones I eyeballed turned out better.

Thanks Josh. I am hopefully going to be starting on the wheels today. I will be posting the before pictures and then get started doing one wheel at a time at night once the boys are asleep. ;)

Here are the pictures of the wheels before

Wheel 1
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1412254258.jpg


Wheel 2

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1412254275.jpg


Wheel 3

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1412254290.jpg


Wheel 4
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1412254306.jpg

It looks like I will have my work cut out for me on wheels 1 and 3. 2 has a bit of curb rash and 4 is in great shape. My goal is to have these finished before the end of the semester. Nothing to calm the nerves after a long day of teaching like sanding with 1000 grit sandpaper in the garage :rolleyes:

Nice I'll watch a good example :)

Maybe get a local wheel restoration shop do some of the work for you, like putting the wheels on a lathe to carefully machine out the gouges, then you can do your own cosmetics? I'd think it would be easy to bugger-up the wheels if you try sanding out damage on a stationary wheel? Awesome car and project BTW. John in CT.

Many people say the most beautiful women in the world come from Hungary. That is certainly true in your case too! :)
Easy to help with such enduring importance, the next big boy like you.
You saw the pictures of my first Project's?
Web album:
https://plus.google.com/photos/116647397990946248375/albums/5340932398072261489?banner=pwa

Hi John,

I actually ended up going this route. It took far to long for me to accomplish anything and to tell you the truth after teaching and kids I am worn out at the end of the day and sanding is the last thing I wanted to do. I should be getting my wheels back within the next couple of weeks and will post pictures.

Thanks for the link. Your work and attention to detail are amazing and truly inspiring. I have been following your latest restoration and it is exciting to see the metal work you are capable of doing. Keep up the good work. I have to agree with you that the most beautiful women do indeed come from Hungary :)

It has been a long time since my last update on the Rat and I apologize. There is not much new to report other than that I have been using it was daily driver since I wrecked the Audi. It has been running like a champ and it certainly is quite pleasant to go to work in a 911. Here are a few update pictures with the boys.



http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1422466210.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1422466231.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1422466251.jpg

Here is a picture of the new family car that replaced the Audi. It is a 2001 Eurovan Weekender that we have lovingly named Brunhilde or Bruni for short. So far we have been on four successful camping adventures and this pocket knife on wheels can only be described as stellar!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1422466420.jpg

The modern Westi, very cool! Those boys of yours will be raised with primo memories. John in CT.

Very nice boys , and family van is allso. How blesing thinks! :-)

So driving home from soccer the other night at 9:30 pm the Rat died :rolleyes: I can't be too upset because it has been a really reliable car since I finished the restoration :) It started at the soccer fields and as I was leaving the parking lot I could not get it to keep rpms when I released the clutch. It then promptly died in the middle of the road. I immediately suspected some type of fuel related issue as when I turned the key over the ticking of the fuel pump was not to be heard. My buddy Tom came and saved me by towing me home. Once I got it home at around 11:00pm I checked the fuel pump again by turning the key and there was still not ticking. Here is where the story gets fun! The next morning before heading to work I thought I should check again and this time the fuel pump was ticking and the car started right up. I have ordered a new fuel pump as the one in the car (Facet cylinder type) is the one the car came with back in 2008. I did not replace it during the restoration because it was running fine and I figured it would not be a major inconvenience to replace it when it died;) I do have a couple of questions about the fuel pump failing. First, is it normal for the fuel pump to quit and randomly start working again? If so, why? Second, is there any other common electrical culprit that could be causing my intermittent fuel pump? Thanks for your help.

The rotary type pumps can go intermittent. I'm not sure if your pump is fused, but you might check that and the ground connections.

Kristoph,

The Rat has a Bendix diaphragm pump. Possibly yours is original to the car, or maybe it is a direct replacement of the original. These are still available from a number of sources. First thing would be to check electrical. IF it is not working, check for +12 at the supply wire. Also check the ground. I think on yours it is just grounded through the mount and there is no separate ground wire, but my memory could be suspect. The lower chamber twists off for cleaning. Might be worth taking a look. I suppose enough crud in there could stop it from stroking, perhaps intermittently. Very simple and dependable pumps, but nothing lasts forever.

DG

Thanks David,

Thanks for the advice. The pump in the Rat is actually a Facet pump. The part number on the pump is 476-087, which has been superceeded by the pump below (part number 476-087E). I went ahead and ordered the replacement in this link

https://www.pegasusautoracing.com/productdetails.asp?RecID=85

The ground is exactly as you said with the contact being the bracket that the pump attaches to. I am planning on installing the new pump and then taking apart the old one to see if I can turn it into a spare. Just checked a few minutes ago and it was ticking just fine the second I turned the key. Right now I am borrowing one of the Rats batteries to go fishing since the battery in the boat was dead this morning :rolleyes:

Awesome Thread, just found it again and read most of it a second time ;-)

This build is truly amazing and I hope that the rat is living forever now!