May 12th, 2008
Finally got the car down to the bare chassis, and loaded it up to be taken to the sand blaster. A week from the 12th I would be leaving for China for a month, so I was thrilled to have made some worthwhile progress.
June 10th, 2008
After returning from China, I took a few pics of the sandblast job. Unfortunately the light coat of primer was not adequate for the shell's outdoor storage, and some surface rust began to form...no biggie though.
The battery tray:
Overall, no surprises (ie. Bondo, etc) and the rusted areas were all well highlighted.
Also, at this time I began working on the front and rear suspension. Tearing these pieces apart is frustrating and time consuming, but I wanted to refreshen every part on the car.
Before:
After:
Still having trouble on the tie rod end and ball joint...any suggestions?
July 2nd, 2008
Picked up the RB30 Blocks from port in Wilmington, NC.
US Customs inspected:
July 5th, 2008
New ball joints and Energy Suspension Bushings arrived!
I also set up a makeshift spray booth in my shed to coat the suspension pieces. All were sprayed black with a few coats of clear to make them really shine.
July 9th, 2008
Rode up to Winston-Salem to pick up my RB26 long block. And of course had to make a pit stop at "cookout".
July 12th, 2008
Went to Harbor Freight at 8 am to finally purchase an engine hoist of my own (I'd been borrowing for all of my other projects).
Took the RB26 out of the P'up and mounted it on the engine stand to begin the degreasing/cleaning process.
My all time favorite cleaning product, "Oil Eater" available in bulk from Costco.