mikeatrpi

Lookin good Phil! What did your opponent run? v8 rx7 I suspect?

The current issue of Grassroots Motorsports (feb 2008) has an article on selecting driving schools. They list general track driving tips as well.

I'm sorry if I sound arrogant, that's not my intention. I'm only trying to point out that your decision isn't limited to "go" or "stay". There's also "find a new job" and "go back to school". Ask yourself what your life goals are for the next 1 year, 5 and 10 years. You don't need to share them with us. Just, think a little.

Perhaps I don't understand "baseline", but you're considering a relocation for a $24k job? If you're going to move, you might open up your options a little and look around. If you're not married to the company perhaps this is an opportunity to put your skills to work elsewhere.

Is it possible you accidentally had some oil in the air lines or blow gun when you dusted off the surface? And, does acetone leave a residue? I know lacquer thinner does, and therefore you shouldn't wipe the surface with it. Use a wax and grease remover, a 50/50 mix of rubbing alcohol and water, or aerosol glass cleaner followed by a tack cloth. I know that PPG MP170 epoxy primer is incompatible with rustoleum, when the epoxy is applied over rustoleum. I cannot tell you if the reverse is true. I know you're not using epoxy, but maybe someone who searches will find this info helpful. Oh, and to the etching primer guy - not to start a holy war but epoxy is generally accepted as superior.

I see it went for $102.50. Are you satisfied, considering the amount of work + time you put into it? And, what kind of paint did you use? It came out looking great!

Thanks dave, your post reminded me it was time to renew my subscription!

I wouldn't use rustoleum primer. Nothing adheres to it except rustoleum top coats. You can buy rattle can primer from your paint store, about $10-15 a can, or pick up a quart of 2k primer and spray it on for a marginal increase in price.

I have a 7" from harbor freight. It looks just like the EBay model linked above. I used meguiar's compounds with matching foam pads. Yellow with diamond cut, white with cleaner polish and black with machine glaze. I've found it helps if you slightly dampen the sponge with water. That, and periodically clean it of gunk.

Are you planning to power the compressor using the generator? FWIW we just bought a coleman 5000W generator from homedepot, $400, subaru engine. It cannot start the air compressor, which is a small 20 gallon unit. The generator can run two 'fridges, a freezer, a few heat exchanger blowers, some lights - at the same time - but the compressor was too much.

Hi I would check the battery tray and firewall too - that's probably why you have rot on that section of the subframe. On my ZX, I made patch panels for that section. I actually replaced part of the floor, and then made two sides and a "top" for the boxed part of the rail. I mig welded it all together. Took me a weekend per side. Yours looks similar. There are photos of my repair at the website in my signature.

Ah yes, I remember you - the kid with the most helpful turbo advice. "search and search some more". But, here- I'll throw you a bone. For the fenders - I'd take them off the car. Leave them in the sun to get warm and shape the metal. For the sharp bend you might use vice grips. For the dent on the smooth metal, use a hammer and dolly. You can even use a block of 2x4 as a dolly and a regular old hammer if you're careful. Do one side at a time so the car isn't out of commission for too long. Like TN said, bondo is porous. Apply bondo to bare metal for the best adhesion. That means use a angle grinder with a flap disc or just some 80 grit sandpaper to strip the paint. Always feather bondo out - put on multiple thin coats that are maybe 50% larger in diameter than the area you're working in. You want to hide the transition from metal to bondo. People drill holes and pull when they can't reach the back side of the panel. You can easily do that if you remove the fender - so don't drill. Always cover your bondo with something waterproof - you can buy nice aerosol primers at the autobody store for 10-15 a can. Explain to the counter man what you're doing and they can recommend a product. Other bondo tips - wear a dust mask - it smells and tastes pretty nasty. Mix up a small amount of bondo at a time. Many thin layers is better than 1 thick one. You can buy a cheese grater from autozone that will help you shape the bondo before it is fully cured. That will cut down on sandpaper usage. Spend the $4 on bondo applicator squeegees... if you leave leftover bondo on the blade you can flex the squeegee and dried bondo will crack off. Silly me, I thought they were disposable at first. You can use a cheap lacquer primer (the $2 cans at 'zone) as a guide coat when you think the panel is smooth. Spray it on, and sand it off. Wherever you have primer remaining is a low spot - more bondo. Wherever you sand to bare metal is a high spot and you need to get out the hammer again. You'll probably spend a saturday on each fender, time-wise.

Nice video clive and dave!

You mean, fix it up with him? You both get the father son time, you get his help, and he's less likely to drive it like an idiot if he knows how much work he put into it.

Joe I'd love to give you a call or exchange some emails so I can learn a little more about your setup. I ogled your car at the park last summer but I didn't realize what I was looking at! And a side question - would a T3 / T04E turbo be "too much" for my lowly NA->turbo build?

I haven't done it yet, so caveat emptor - turbo exhaust manifold and turbo are the essentials you'll need to plumb an oil feed line - usually a Tee off the pressure sending unit. oil drain line - tap the oil pan (people weld bungs, or JB-weld them) from the exhaust standpoint, you can either use the stock downpipe, or build your own. I imagine there will still need to be some custom exhaust work even with the stock downpipe. charge side - either use a stock turbo J pipe (compressor to throttle body), or you can plumb in an intercooler. Based on personal experience by contributors in this thread, looks like J pipe is do-able. then for the intake - depends if you want to keep the stock ECU if you keep the air flow sensor. Oh, and I believe you have to relocate the PCV on the bottom of the intake manifold so it clears the turbo. A question you might also ask- does the 83 NA distributor have the crank angle sensor like the 83 turbo's? Those are supposed to be super-simple to interface to megasquirt. Does anyone care to correct me? (please?) Edit - I forgot - fuel... bigger injectors are a must, yes?

Well, haggling is a two way street. You shouldn't have said the $800 bit... let him offer 500, you say deal if you split the difference from your 1000- likely sold for $750. I haggle for my cars. I try to do it for parts too, but most people don't try to bargain back. I presume they just assume its my final offer, and don't email or call me back. And I definitely agree with Trumpet. Those Cali people pay two dimes and a nickel for a rust free runner, but in the north its worth 500% of that!

Ah, ok. There's a couple of us in the hudson valley, a few nearby in CT, NJ and the city.

Thanks guys for the tips! I need to do some research on MSnS triggering off an 82 n/a distributor... I thought you needed an 83 with a CAS for that. I had budgeted $50 for a junkyard EDIS setup.

Very good info, X64. May I ask if you're running NA, Turbo, or "other" injectors? And the turbo - a stock T3 unit? Was it rebuilt?

nismo thanks for the tips. BTW I recognize you from zdriver. maxxxxxxx I'm going to remember your username. Perhaps we can watch each other's builds since it seems like we have similar goals. Just don't hold your breath for me... I move s l o w...

Thanks Ken + Ron. If you can't tell I'm evaluating adding a turbo to my NA engine, or just doing the full swap with a donor car. Based on your advice, the decision really is NA engine with flat tops and megasquirt versus a full turbo engine swap.

I can claim 2/3. A buddy used POR-15 on his Jeep. He said the prep was a pain with the two chemicals. Poor adhesion / peeling on clean or lightly rusted steel. He had some rust come back under the POR too. I've used Rust Bullet. Prep is easy - I wire brushed the scale off and sanded it lightly. Applied two coats and topcoated with rustoleum. I had some rust return where I did not get adequate coverage in a hard to reach place. I wish it wasn't so expensive. Edit - where in NY?

Yes, I've searched and continue to do so. Got a thread in the tool shed as a reminder too. I'm finding the archives to be full of conflicting information and a lot of folks saying "search" so I was hoping to find someone who had attempted this. The turbo P90 head has better flow characteristics on the exhaust side than the P79. I found one post with someone saying they "didn't think" a turbo manifold would bolt up, with many other posts implying it wasn't an issue. I cannot determine at what power levels the flow characteristics of the P79 versus P90 will impede performance noticeably. I've learned that swapping pistons means I'll need new bearings and to have the block checked. Have the crank turned. I've found people who have gotten away without some or all of this in the archives. Not many long term results posted in the archives however. I have found people who have installed a turbo onto the NA block, and even used the NA electronics. I can't tell how satisfied they are with their decisions, or how long the motors have lasted, or knowing know what they do now if they'd do it that way again. Can't find that in the archives. And I've read about relocating the PCV on the intake manifold, and about tapping the oil pan for a drain fitting. Thank you for the response. Maybe someone who searches weeks / years from now will find some of this useful.

Let me rephrase... Is it feasible to install dished turbo pistons in an F54 block and use a P79 head with a turbo exhaust manifold? Or am I better off running the flat tops and lower boost?