i cant reveal my secret!

 

Been busy helping dfoster with his build so I havent had a lot of time to work on my own project but I did clear out some of the engine bay today so I can reshoot it gloss black.
Before:


After:


driver fender liner still needs to come out and some other things. Ive got a fairly solid paint guy so im confident itll come out prety good for a garage paint shoot. Hopefully more at the end of the week but unfortunately its about to get cold

 

OMG look at the degreaser go... years of neglect here.


Why there was bondo up here I have no idea:


Sanding:


Masking and scuffing:


Some of the stuff we removed, chemicals used, my toolbox lol:


Finally some primer!


We will shoot the paint tomorrow. Heat lamp is on it tonight. Then I think I can finally start putting this thing back together.

 

Lets shoot some black paint!




2 coats of jet black base later... 1 coat of metallic mid coat:


And now 2 coats of clear for a final deep luster:






The metallic doesnt look quite so "sparkly" unless hit with a flash, its noticeable but not overwhelming. Love the way it came out!

 

More progress today. Got some stuff back in the engine bay (still painting brackets, coolant hard lines and vacuum hard lines. Dont mind the dust, had to sand some wood in the garage so dust got everywhere.




Fenders back on the car:


I couldnt decide on if i wanted to plasti-dip the fender liners where they show through to the engine bay, but they ended up cleaning up ok so I left them and reinstalled them.

 

Did a few more things today. Put the headlights back in. Im afraid the drivers side motor has an issue (never been powered up since I bought it) since its hard to crank:


Shot some paint on the wiper arms and the drivers side bracket for the harness:


And painted the power steering rack while I was in the middle of de-powering it:


Hopefully friday I can get it all back together and pick up the motor this weekend. Only 4 more working weekends to go before Steve kan shows up to put down some numbers!

 

Put the rack back in. Tucked some of the wires away (never liked the relay cluster on the passenger wheel well):

After the intercooler and radiator are in you'll barely notice its there.

Started putting the other harness back in place after painting the bracket. Everything is so dusty. Ill wash the bay before putting in the engine next weekend:


Picked up my Apex'i AVC-R boost controller. I wanted to put it below the radio but the pocket isnt big enough, so Ill most likely make a bracket for it and put it in the glove box.

Stuff I didnt take pics of was bleeding the brakes, reinstalling the de-powered steering rack, and test fitting my center a/c switch panel replacement. Its a nice one-off piece my friend is fabbing for me. Most of you probably wont like it but hey, to each their own.

 

love all the progress pics.

 

subscribed! nice work going on here.

what made you want to peak in the fuel tank? were you going to run a bigger pump anyway?

 

bigger pump was always in the plan, and i know the car had been sitting so when i pulled the pump hanger the rust in the tank was obvious.

 

Paint, even with flex additive, will chip most likely. I thought about plastidip and even test painted a spot. It looked good but I was worried about chemical resistance and ultimately wet with some maguiars interior stuff (fancy armor all) and as you can see, they look great.

 

Heres the donor motor. Just need to yank it.

 

Amazing what a little paint will do for the engine bay.... Transforms the whole car.

 

Sniff...

 

its ok christian. itll get a good tune on it this time (none of that e85 lol)

 

wow real nice work on the engine bay man!

 

I'll call it now. My motor will have lasted longer sitting not running for a few years in E85 than it will after you've had your hands on it.

 

youve lost your mind

 

Donor motor is out:




1.15 hotside:


Heres my ugly mug:


Aaaaaaaaaand its in. Just need to hook it all up:

 

I remember that red car and its smelly E85 exhaust gas, what's the plan for the rest of the shell?

 

It's not going anywhere. And until the plans get solidified, it's sitting/remaining unknown.

 

LOL everyone remembers e85 exhaust. its like following something that melts plastic for fuel

 

Hopefully your used to it. Thats what you'll be smelling when your trying to catch up to me.

LOL

 

It's a great smell.

But I'm interested to see what that thing will do on dyno juice.

 

oh brandon, we discussed this already. i have the big hot side