Thanks

Yes...I got some rather bad burns as my leather welding apron was lent out at the time

The undertray did a good job of reflecting the weld spatter off me, though

Seam welding the arches is a good preventative job imo - No gaps for moisture to lurk in and start rotting.

 

I'm loving your thread mate. You do great work.

 

Great job!

 

Great thread. Love the attention to detail.

The FD is an awesome car as it is. Doesn't need metric tons of aftermarket parts to make it 'better'.

 

Thanks guys, seems like a never ending project!

Couldn't agree more - Although I have deviated from my original "keep it standard" plan. Hopefully will end up with a fun/comfortable road car that sees the odd track day

Made some progress over the last few days...And some more sill butchering has taken place...This FD is now officially rust free

Will post up pics tonight.

 

The rear sub frame came out quite nice imo, considering I sprayed it with the schultz gun as I didn't want epoxy mastic in my bodywork guns

Made a huge mess with the cavity nozzle, but the result is smooth & shiny protected cavities, so I'm happy



The front sills we're damaged by a previous owner that obviously didn't understand how to jack a car.....You'd think after doing the damage the first time you'd learn..Nope...All four corners ruined

Cut back to good:


New sill in and painted to temp protect from rust (Laid on real thick, hence the lumpy texture, the sill is actually smooth). Will be stripped and filled when the car goes in for its repsray, but tbh, it looks stock & I'm quite pleased with it :





Both sides had the same treatment. The repaired section is a strip of 3mm steel bar, welded with full penetration to the inside 3 sections that make up the stock sill. Then a 4th .9mm piece of steel has been joined the the external sill and bent over to keep the stock look, this is then plug welded to the 3mm bar to create the same look at the stock spot welds. You wont damage that with a jack

The subframe has been out in the sun for nearly a week, so should be fully cured. Hoping to get it installed along with the diff and rear suspension this weekend

 

your post always make me happy and inspired...

 

Good to hear - Yours cant be far off done now?!

Had a fairly productive evening after work today

Subframe, charcoal canister, fuel lines & brake lines in






Fuel filter relocated:

 

Got some work done today.

Went over to Minotaur racing to pickup this monster of an intercooler:


If anyone is wondering, the car its sat on is a '59 sprite mk1 & my next project

Shamefully the intercooler has to go back tomorrow as its too big to fit an FD without cutting the chassis legs

Got the diff, drive shafts & most of the rear suspension in this evening. Copious amounts of copper slip used just incase it ever needs to come apart in future

Pics are kinda dark as I didn't finish until 9pm.







Ohlins painted, re-assembled and given a dose of ACF50, ready to go in tomorrow

 

Picked up this today from Minotaur Racing, going to run a single fuel rail for simplicity

The LIM is coated to reflect the turbo heat & hopefully help keep the IAT's lower.




Got the rear coilovers in, and couldn't resist test fitting the new wheels - I cant wait to drive this thing!








New IC test fit:



Will sit a little further forward when the PS lines are removed. Fits like a glove, nice and low, in the air flow

 

Hiya Gordon, thanks & yeah they're Toyo r888s. That one is actually the drivers side, was just the nearest wheel to test fit

Slowly getting there.. Will start work on the engine bay tomorrow

 

The car had all four wheels on the ground today..



......For five minutes



Safety first



Nice surprise, all in pretty good condition & def no welding required.



I am obviously the first person to remove the arch liners, every single one of these was intact :thumbsup:



Best tool for removing brake lines hands down imo.



Even if they are rotten!




Pleased with how good it is in the front end:

 

Power Steering out:



Oil coolers out..And now in the bin.



Undertray nice and tidy.



Steering rack out:


Subber out:



So now I'm left with this:













Will shot blast the suspension tomorrow & press in the new bushes.

 

Wow. I'm assuming the under car rust is from salt on the roads? That thing is a mess, and I would cry if my FD ever got even half that rusty...

 

Yeah they salt the roads a lot here. Its rust free in the rear now & the coatings I'm using will keep it that way for at least 30 years . The only rust left on the car is v.minor surface in the front wheel arches & will be gone this week .

It wasn't quite as bad as the pics made out. If the sill was not damaged from bad jacking, I wouldn't have noticed. I only discovered the sill rust by tapping a screw driver through the sill with a hammer. So I imagine there are FDs out there that are just as bad, but the owners don't know.

 

Shot blasted the front suspension & fitted the new bushes

All went fine apart from the two oil filled bushes. Had to cut them out as my 10 ton press didn't have enough grunt





Result:



Shot blasted the hubs and pressed in new wheel bearings. Ready for top coat tomorrow

 

Suspension painted:


All stonechip removed from arches, any rust rust converted & then painted with epoxy mastic



Chassis legs have been rust converted, coated in epoxy mastic & cavity waxed using the cavity gun

 

Brake line and boots were left on for shot blasting & painting as I'll be rebuilding the calipers after paint & replacing the brake line

 

cant see any of the pics.

 

Time to make a flickr account I guess...

 

Calipers in caliper primer:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/98724842@N07/9425012180/http://www.flickr.com/photos/98724842@N07/9425012180/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/98724842@N07/, on Flickr

Air con removed.....Permanently

Should have spent a little more time in prep work and it would have welded nicer...After frapping it wont notice, though

http://www.flickr.com/photos/98724842@N07/9422242815/http://www.flickr.com/photos/98724842@N07/9422242815/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/98724842@N07/, on Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/98724842@N07/9422241429/http://www.flickr.com/photos/98724842@N07/9422241429/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/98724842@N07/, on Flickr

Two holes for a bonnet open sensor for the old alarm, now welded up.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/98724842@N07/9425011594/http://www.flickr.com/photos/98724842@N07/9425011594/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/98724842@N07/, on Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/98724842@N07/9422240735/http://www.flickr.com/photos/98724842@N07/9422240735/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/98724842@N07/, on Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/98724842@N07/9422241821/http://www.flickr.com/photos/98724842@N07/9422241821/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/98724842@N07/, on Flickr

Fitted a DM brass shifter collar and a short shifter (Yes, my gearbox needs a good clean..).

http://www.flickr.com/photos/98724842@N07/9425010482/http://www.flickr.com/photos/98724842@N07/9425010482/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/98724842@N07/, on Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/98724842@N07/9425009988/http://www.flickr.com/photos/98724842@N07/9425009988/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/98724842@N07/, on Flickr

After the mixed views on short shifters...I didn't really know what to expect. Got to say, I love it, was sat on the garage floor shifting fast & making car noises

It feels very precise and solid, sounds like a bolt action. Also eliminated all the slop I had from my worn stock one, awesome :thumbsup:

 

Missing pic was upside down

Inside view of AC delete.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/98724842@N07/9422241429/http://www.flickr.com/photos/98724842@N07/9422241429/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/98724842@N07/, on Flickr

 

There are other updates, but I don't fancy going outside and getting wet to take pics

Had a little experiment, love how it looks

http://www.flickr.com/photos/98724842@N07/9442516917/http://www.flickr.com/photos/98724842@N07/9442516917/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/98724842@N07/, on Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/98724842@N07/9445305356/http://www.flickr.com/photos/98724842@N07/9445305356/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/98724842@N07/, on Flickr

 

Spent the last few days working on this....

http://www.flickr.com/photos/98724842@N07/9447376420/http://www.flickr.com/photos/98724842@N07/9447376420/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/98724842@N07/, on Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/98724842@N07/9444591237/http://www.flickr.com/photos/98724842@N07/9444591237/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/98724842@N07/, on Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/98724842@N07/9447375366/http://www.flickr.com/photos/98724842@N07/9447375366/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/98724842@N07/, on Flickr

All seals replaced & parts renovated/polished/plated by me

Shamefully...I'm probably not going to be using it as I'm now thinking of removing the ABS...Still not 100%...

 

Looking good Tom.

Shame that big intercooler didn't fit, it would have combated understeer forever! given the huge weight it had!