oh wow, please go into more detail.
this is very very interesting.

 

awsome job on the car Aaron, but I do have something to say about the POR-15. I've been restoring old vw beetles for a number of years now and I originaly fell into the POR-15 craze. Now don't get me wrong its good stuff when used with all POR-15 brand prep products blah blah blah, but I have found even with proper prep it still can come off. Had a set of rims freshly sandblasted, so PLENTY of bite, but when exposed to enough weather, it can just come off and when it does, ALL of it seems too. Now this is only my experiance and I know many people who swear their lives by the stuff, but I do have an alternative.
Now as you know, POR-15 is ungodly expensive, plus they wont tell you whats in it and I can tell you its nothing good for ya ;-) Two years ago I found this paint called zero-rust and besides being less glossy than the POR-15 this **** is just as bullet proof and instead of costing 100 bucks a gallon like POR-15, its costs like 25 or 30. Now I coated the chassis of one of my bugs and it sat outside through 3 winters and only the parts that had only been wirebrushed ( no rust and smooth surface) did the stuff come off of. I was pretty amazed cause the floor pans sat with standing water in them for alteast a year, and the stuff didnt budge. So I would say if any of you want to try a rust proofing product, give this stuff a try its def cheap enough for an experiament, unlike POR-15. Just my two cent's :-P

Pete

 

he was responding to my joke about the honda engine swap with "v-tech" written on the valve cover.. He was just pointing out that if done properly, the electric/hybrid engine swap would be a very viable optioin.

 

Good work, Aaron. Looks like you've spent quite a bit of time on the details. I hope it runs well and do your expectations,

B

 

I also prefer zero-rust over POR-15. A number of people have made the near-religious switch from POR-15 to ZR.
Zero rust just does NOT come off.

 

I wasn't actually serious. WonkoTheSane made a Honda joke and I was replying to that.

However, the Insight drivetrain is a poor choice for swapping into an FC. The FC is about 1000 LBs heavier then the Insight, and much less aerodynamic. The car would be ungodly slow and you would never be able to get into lean burn (the key to the Insight) so mileage would be around 55-60 MPG and under. A better choice would be the drivetrain from the Civic Hybrid. The weights of the FC and Civic Hybrid are similar, and the 4 cylinder has more grunt. The Civic never had lean burn, so Insight like mileage wouldn't be possible. But it would still probably be capable of getting 65-70 MPG under the right conditions.

I've actually heard the same thing, oddly enough, from VW owners. When you did your wheels, did you use the ruse preventive paint or another of their products? I've heard the engine paints can come off or rust through over time, and I've honestly not tried anything of theirs but the rust paint.

Check out the material safety data sheet. It lists the nasty stuff, and it is VERY nasty. Shares many of the same ingredients as Super Glue.

I've never seen this stuff before. Is it sold off the shelf?

This winter I'm going to do a test of rust paints and would like to include it. I will be testing the "rust primer" found in most automotive stores, a generic hardware store rust paint, a name brand rust paint and POR=15. If I can find Zero-Rust, I will try it as well.

Just a general comment on the robustness of POR-15. When I welded the mounting tabs onto the battery try, they moved about 1/4". I don't know if I accidentally bent them while they were tacked, or they moved as the weld cooled. This was not discovered until I had painted it. To bring the tabs back into position, I ended up hitting them very hard with a very large hammer several times. I had fully expected to at least damage the POR-15 in some way, but upon inspection no damage had been done...FWIW.

 

beautiful work aaron! dont listen to the haters, anything other than the crap-color of old metal looks awesome.

 

[QUOTE=Aaron Cake]I wasn't actually serious. WonkoTheSane made a Honda joke and I was replying to that.
QUOTE]

ouch i missed the funny.....

 

http://www.zerorust.com/

Sold in Canada through most automotive paint suppliers, and KMS Tools.

 

Cool. I just checked out the site. Looks a lot easier to work with then the POR-15. I did notice one thing was was funny though. If you compare the POR-15 site to the ZeroRust site, they are almost polar opposites. What ZeroRust says is bad about POR-15 is what POR-15 says is good, and what POR-15 says is bad about ZeroRust, Zero Rust says is good.

 

Heh I had noticed the same ;-)

On the ingrediants thing, last time I used it ( going on 4 years ago maybe 5 ) It didnt say a thing about what was in it at the time, so I stand corrected, they must have changed the labels or something :-P

Pete

 

When you applied the POR-15 on the underside - did you have all the bolts In place? It looks like that POR-15 Is way to thick which might cause the threaded holes to be covered up which would look like you'd have to die all the holes back to stock dimensions.

 

If you are going to mess with POR-15, do NOT get that **** on your clothes!


-Ted

 

I painted right over all the exposed studs and bolt holes. The holes will need to be tapped out, but that's not a huge deal. I think that when I go to do the suspension, some of the coated nuts and such are going to be hard to remove. A wire wheel hardly touches POR-15, but a torch will burn it off rather easily. If it becomes necessary, then I'll just use the torch to remove it from any coated fasteners.


Or skin, or anywhere. POR-15 will stick agressivly to any rough surface. If it gets on your skin, you will be wearing it for a month. Any clothes that get dripped on are basically junk because it will NEVER come out.

 

^^hehehe, the first time I met Aaron I was looking at CP racing's former S4 TII........he was COVERED in POR-15 - head to freakin toe - looked like he'd just rolled around in some fresh asphalt.....hehe

 

wow, a torch??? the smell has to be horrible????

 

thats a great project I love the engine nice work man!! I understand about working underneath the car it SUCKS!!! I gutted my RX except for the engine bay. I went rust hunting from top to bottom and repaired everything. I rust proofed the interior and bottom. I re-undercoated the underside from the engine back. I installed energy suspension bushings I painted the transmission, driveshaft, differential and all heatshields silver. I rust proofed the subframe and clearcoated it. I painted the trailing arms red as well as the calipers and clear coated them as well. My NA now has a T2 drivetrain. I also removed the gas tank I rust proofed the filler neck and recoated the tank and rust proofed the tank area and undercoated it as well. the spare tire well underside has been repaired and undercoated. The interior has sound deadener/heat disipation mat installed. I removed the factory stuff. I did a lot of work and can sympathize with you bro.

There are only a few of us. Others can say whatever they want but you and I know our cars. We know that there is NO rust killing our rides. This is what must done before you even put money into a car. Why put money into a rust bucket? I dont know.

 

I thought about posting the pictures to this thread, but there's no way in hell I'm posting semi-nude pictures of myself to this forum (again....).

Smells a bit like burning super glue, and coates everything nearby in a white haze.

I didn't go that far, but in retrospect I should have removed the fuel tank. Still undecided as to whether it will be worth doing the inside floors. The car will never see winter again, so salt is not a huge concern.

As for sound deadening, I'm probably going to Dynamat the floors, hatch area and storage bin area.

 

My old exhuast nuts were rusted and became part of the old exhaust, so I used a torch. It took me about 5 mins to bang the whole thing off. Now getting the hangar off the front of the right muffler took 10 mins.

I like to freeze the new bushings the night before ^_^

I upgraded to the AGXs and the racing beat springs and sways, it pwns.
Great writeup man, I love the por-15.

 

your car/engine is sexy. i want it. haha

 

What are the advantages of POR-15? I am coating my fender wells and underside. I was going to use a sprayable "spray gun" undercoating rust guard and durabilty type stuff, your basic under coat I guess. How do you work with POR-15? Is there some other options I should consider?

 

You are hardcore. I am looking forward to they day when I will be able to perform such art in my own home, until then I wait. Good job.

 

i can't really find the right words to express how impressed i am with your project. i will stay tuned to any future updates. you're doing a GREAT job ...

 

The advantage is that a metal part that has been properly prepared and coated with POR-15 will not ever rust. Period. It will not chip or scratch, nor peel off. In fact, trying to take it off with even a wire wheel will take hours. The only way to remove POR-15 is with a grinder.

Lots of info can be found on their website at http://www.por15.com .

To all, I'm actually in the process of writing up the next update thread as we speak. I promise it will be interesting.

 

How did you work with this stuff Aaron? You lay under the car and paint it?

I am taking my project a few steps further then I was befor. I am trying to rent a rotisory and sand blasting alot of the car.