The $400 S4 Vert Resurrection
06-03-10, 08:35 PM
#52
Well the last week or so, I have dedicated all my free time to this. The infected parts of the rockers are cut out and gone now, and all the rust is being removed/treated with Eastwoods three step system. Took the rear hubs in to get the new wheel bearings pressed in, and in the process, one bearing was hanging up a little bit after we got it all put together. So, started to press it back apart and the damn thing exploded. So... I bought a complete hub from Japan2La, as it would be cheaper and easier doing it this way then buying a new wheel bearing.
Got the DTSS eliminators from Racing Beat, +1 for them on shipping very fast. Still have to install these yet.
So being I have to wait on the hub to come, and can't weld on the rockers until I get the car rolling(the welder is in a different building), I decided to go ahead and really tear into everything that bothered me on the car.
-So first order was to tighten up the straps that tension the top of the vert top. When I put the top on last spring, I wasn't thinking and tightened the straps up with the top all the way up. So this time I just lowered the top a few inches, and redid them, now looks new(ish) lol.
-polished/clear-coated and painted random bolts and brackets in the engine bay.
Removed the airpump and acv, and made a block off plate up.
-Took out the nasty vert seats and in the process broke 3 bolts off. Was planning on putting rx8 seats in this, but can't find any for sale. So I stole the Turbo II seats out of my other 7.
-Adding some nice speakers(rockford fosgate i think?) in the doors.
-bought 2 more center caps so now I have 4!!!
-Stole the Nardi classic wheel out of my other 7(the coupe isn't going to be done for at least a year, so yeah).
-New shift boot.
Yeah that's all I can think of right now. Got some of the patch panels cut out of the parts car for the rockers. So I'll weld all of that back together and cover it all with Turbo II side skirts. This is the most 'involved' body work I've done before, so we'll see how this turns out
after treating with Eastwood's rust remover and rust inhibitor. Still had to be sprayed down with their rust encapsulator yet in this pic.
some of the polished bolts and painted brackets.
airpump and acv gone. The f*cker still won't shoot flames...
One TII seat in. Had to redo some of the mounting bolts being they decided they hate life and had to break off.
Got the DTSS eliminators from Racing Beat, +1 for them on shipping very fast. Still have to install these yet.
So being I have to wait on the hub to come, and can't weld on the rockers until I get the car rolling(the welder is in a different building), I decided to go ahead and really tear into everything that bothered me on the car.
-So first order was to tighten up the straps that tension the top of the vert top. When I put the top on last spring, I wasn't thinking and tightened the straps up with the top all the way up. So this time I just lowered the top a few inches, and redid them, now looks new(ish) lol.
-polished/clear-coated and painted random bolts and brackets in the engine bay.
Removed the airpump and acv, and made a block off plate up.
-Took out the nasty vert seats and in the process broke 3 bolts off. Was planning on putting rx8 seats in this, but can't find any for sale. So I stole the Turbo II seats out of my other 7.
-Adding some nice speakers(rockford fosgate i think?) in the doors.
-bought 2 more center caps so now I have 4!!!
-Stole the Nardi classic wheel out of my other 7(the coupe isn't going to be done for at least a year, so yeah).
-New shift boot.
Yeah that's all I can think of right now. Got some of the patch panels cut out of the parts car for the rockers. So I'll weld all of that back together and cover it all with Turbo II side skirts. This is the most 'involved' body work I've done before, so we'll see how this turns out
after treating with Eastwood's rust remover and rust inhibitor. Still had to be sprayed down with their rust encapsulator yet in this pic.
some of the polished bolts and painted brackets.
airpump and acv gone. The f*cker still won't shoot flames...
One TII seat in. Had to redo some of the mounting bolts being they decided they hate life and had to break off.
06-08-10, 09:14 PM
#56
Sooo, today was my day off, and I think I spent something like 9-10 hours on this today. The driver's side rocker is done(just needs painted), it actually came out really nice, and super solid
. I also had to weld in 2 patch panels on the drivers rear quarter panel, and new metal in the rear fender well. Got the floorboard patched up. Tried every way to get the broken seat mounting bolts out, but ended up cutting out the bolt spots on the cross braces, made up new pieces with a nut welded in, and welded it all back into the cross braces.
Got my new hub from Japan2La yesterday.
I tried taking the old DTSS bushings out myself by using a huge jack under a tractor, and it started lifting the tractor up
. So took the hubs to a local shop and had the dtss eliminator bushings pressed in. The guy that pressed them in builds pro pulling tractor frames, and his roll cages are works of art. So I'm lining things up to have him do either a simple roll bar, or 4 point in this car...
. I also had to weld in 2 patch panels on the drivers rear quarter panel, and new metal in the rear fender well. Got the floorboard patched up. Tried every way to get the broken seat mounting bolts out, but ended up cutting out the bolt spots on the cross braces, made up new pieces with a nut welded in, and welded it all back into the cross braces.Got my new hub from Japan2La yesterday.
I tried taking the old DTSS bushings out myself by using a huge jack under a tractor, and it started lifting the tractor up
. So took the hubs to a local shop and had the dtss eliminator bushings pressed in. The guy that pressed them in builds pro pulling tractor frames, and his roll cages are works of art. So I'm lining things up to have him do either a simple roll bar, or 4 point in this car...
06-09-10, 10:27 PM
#59
The interior in a bit of an exploded view... Put a new bulb in the logicon, redid the radio surround and added more speakers, seats in the process of going in, hardwired radar detector in, new shift boot, etc...
Drivers side rocker primed. All the imperfections are in the body filler that I put over top of the entire area to smooth it out a bit(the pic makes it look worse than it is). I didn't take the time to make it perfect as the majority of the area will be covered by the side skirts.
Drivers side rocker primed. All the imperfections are in the body filler that I put over top of the entire area to smooth it out a bit(the pic makes it look worse than it is). I didn't take the time to make it perfect as the majority of the area will be covered by the side skirts.
06-09-10, 10:39 PM
#60
Here's an outline of what I cut. In the worse places I cut the three layers of the rocker out, so all that was left was the side of the frame. Then I took a bunch of new sheet metal and braced the **** out of the inside of the rocker, making sure to dress it all with rust inhibitor as I went.
06-10-10, 09:58 AM
#61
Senior Member
I didn't take to many pics, but heres an outline of what I cut out. My drivers side was wayy worse than the passenger side btw, as this side had rust extended up well into the door sill. Made to be a bitch to cut a patch panel and get it in there perfect...
Here's an outline of what I cut. In the worse places I cut the three layers of the rocker out, so all that was left was the side of the frame. Then I took a bunch of new sheet metal and braced the **** out of the inside of the rocker, making sure to dress it all with rust inhibitor as I went.
Here's an outline of what I cut. In the worse places I cut the three layers of the rocker out, so all that was left was the side of the frame. Then I took a bunch of new sheet metal and braced the **** out of the inside of the rocker, making sure to dress it all with rust inhibitor as I went.
06-13-10, 05:07 PM
#62
Got it all done late last night. It drives soo quiet with new wheel bearings, and the DTSS eliminators are definitely worth the time to put in. The rear end is not 'mushy' like it was with the worn out dtss bushings. Once I find the camera I'll take pics.
06-14-10, 09:02 PM
#63
It is now all cleaned up, interior detailed, etc. It drives like a new car now, as the brakes work awesome, steering is straight and absolutely no play, motor runs great, interior is (almost) up to par(just need to get the vents on the top corners of the dash, which I ordered already).
I just sent out a paypal to Circuit Theory for JDM flash to pass lenses, Woot!
My next goals are to buy new fenders, and change out the front bumper(current one has a 2" crack at the bottom), and a new trunk lid(current one has a spot of rust). Then the body will be 100% rust free
Anyways, I spent $25 on a headlight/plastic polishing kit, and that stuff works wonders. Did my tail lights, FTP's, Gauge cluster, and horn button. Here's pics, it was darkish out so I still haven't gotten time to take pics of the cars exterior.
Little bit of dust on it, but its super shiny and clear now!
I just sent out a paypal to Circuit Theory for JDM flash to pass lenses, Woot!
My next goals are to buy new fenders, and change out the front bumper(current one has a 2" crack at the bottom), and a new trunk lid(current one has a spot of rust). Then the body will be 100% rust free
Anyways, I spent $25 on a headlight/plastic polishing kit, and that stuff works wonders. Did my tail lights, FTP's, Gauge cluster, and horn button. Here's pics, it was darkish out so I still haven't gotten time to take pics of the cars exterior.
Little bit of dust on it, but its super shiny and clear now!
06-15-10, 04:22 PM
#66
Yeah the 3m one was what I used. Worth it for sure. I didn't sand the FTP's down or anything, just hit them quick with the polish. They came out way better, but they have the clear coat peeling and I already ordered new FTP's so I didn't take too much time on them.
06-15-10, 04:55 PM
#67
I've wondered quite a few times why I'm putting so much work into this car. There's just some great sense of satisfaction in taking something that should of been junked, and fixing it up into (one day soon) a real nice car. It also helps that I love FC's, and part of me is doing this just to prove I can do it.
On a similar note; I've lost track of the exact number of hours I have put into this, but it is somewhere between 90-100 hours right now.
06-17-10, 10:51 AM
#69
Senior Member
Question...The rocker panel you used was it from a vert or a coupe. I'm asking cause some say they're the same and others say they are different. I have to get one of these cut out and I don't want to cut the wrong one out. These cars are getting harder and harder to find.
06-17-10, 12:08 PM
#70
Thanks for the comments.
I used one from a s5 vert. I'm pretty sure they are the same between the vert and coupes. If for some reason they are not as thick on the coupes, just do more bracing underneath it, and use just the outer layer of the rocker to finish it, as they are all the same shape/dimensions.
However I have heard that the s4 body uses thicker metal than the s5's. If that is true, it is a very slight difference, because I did not notice it.
Question...The rocker panel you used was it from a vert or a coupe. I'm asking cause some say they're the same and others say they are different. I have to get one of these cut out and I don't want to cut the wrong one out. These cars are getting harder and harder to find.
However I have heard that the s4 body uses thicker metal than the s5's. If that is true, it is a very slight difference, because I did not notice it.
06-17-10, 08:24 PM
#72
Also I strongly suggest when you have everything cut apart, that you use some kind of well known rust treatment/preventer. I used Eastwoods three step system which consists of their gel rust dissolver, rust converter, and rust encapsulator. **** wasn't cheap, I paid $70+ for those three and had a little bit left over...
