OldAndyAndTheSea Posted April 11, 2014 Author Share Posted April 11, 2014 Entering the final stretch!Sprayed the black for the two tone on the bumpers this morning.Just got back from picking up the door.I'm currently waiting for the black to set up a bit more, then I'm going back out there to finish the prep on the unibody.My goal is to spray the rest tomorrow morning....Or even sooner if I can manage.More throughout the day.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldAndyAndTheSea Posted April 12, 2014 Author Share Posted April 12, 2014 (edited) Well tonight, not the greatest of news, but not horrible either... I got to spray....But....A couple minutes after beginning to spray, the sun vanished (a lot sooner than I thought, whoops) and it cooled off quickly.This is what happens when you spray paint on a cold panel..... And then try to see if more paint will help the situation; Fun fact, it doesn't. Something I KNOW, however I almost always habitually try to "save it".I continued to spray the rest of the car with basecoat only. Luckily from initial inspection no defects elsewhere. However, lighting was poor at this point and I decided to wait and sand out the recoat lift/crackly cold paint defects in the morning, and spray once more when the temperature is up again.Looks like decent coverage overall, for the most part. I wont know for sure until I see it in the light in the morning.Some spots obviously need more, but I will wait til I touch up tomorrow.Hopefully, I'll have more luck then.Anything worth doing never comes easy.Days worked on vehicle to date: 37Total money spent on project to date: $889 Edited April 12, 2014 by OldAndyAndTheSea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldAndyAndTheSea Posted April 12, 2014 Author Share Posted April 12, 2014 Milestone achieved: Painted.Spraying the body went about as well as I could ask for, considering the conditions.I'm just glad to see no more crinkly paint.I'll assemble the second I won't damage the paint by touching it. :thumbup:HUZZAH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldAndyAndTheSea Posted April 13, 2014 Author Share Posted April 13, 2014 Today is still ongoing. Obviously, I'm very excited, and I plan on tinkering into the night until I get too tired to continue. Here are some half assed pictures taken for the update.Tomorrow I will go for that drive.Note the first picture is super compressed, and the tape line doesn't look like Legos in real life. Days worked on project to date: 38Total money spent on project to date: $889 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watson Posted April 13, 2014 Share Posted April 13, 2014 Wow, that paint looks good! Good job, man! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldAndyAndTheSea Posted April 13, 2014 Author Share Posted April 13, 2014 Thanks! Teaser.You'll know where I'll be... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tamo3 Posted April 13, 2014 Share Posted April 13, 2014 I'm so impress your dedication and your car looks great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seattlejester Posted April 13, 2014 Share Posted April 13, 2014 Really excited for you, stop teasing you tease and get back to work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldAndyAndTheSea Posted April 14, 2014 Author Share Posted April 14, 2014 ^^ thanks so much! Well I didn't get to drive to the store as I had hoped, to pick up some milk, but I did manage to take it down the road. Definitely needs bushings. I'll be buying those soon. Other than that, it's going to be perfect as a daily. It's weird once again driving a Z, and with power steering no less.It's still not done, but you can finally start to see it taking shape. Lots of stuff to go on the car yet. Most stuff is only held together by a couple bolts.Here's my $889 car. So far...(lighting was not optimal for photography, apologies, I'll get better photos in the better light tomorrow.)I'm going to leisurely bolt together some parts tonight. After work tomorrow, I will start driving the car, and working out any hiccups from non use.Days worked on project to date: 39Total money spent on project to date: $889 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldAndyAndTheSea Posted April 15, 2014 Author Share Posted April 15, 2014 Doesn't look like much, but lots of little things are getting tidied up, like...-Fenders bolted in place. Hood still needs adjustment-Most of interior reinstalledStill need to adjust the hood, and the doors to make them close properly... And lots of little details, like installing the door gaskets (the nice ones are on the doors outside, and it's dark and rainy). As well as general cleaning of the interior etc....But if the weather cooperates tomorrow (once again potentially calling for snow...) I will take the car out for another cruise around the Harbor.I sure hope so.Days worked on project to date: 40Total money spent on project to date: $889 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldAndyAndTheSea Posted April 17, 2014 Author Share Posted April 17, 2014 Well tonight.....I swapped out combination switches, as I had the typical "my dash lights, and running lights stopped working" symptoms. I have all lights once again. There was some corrosion on the switch, as I expected. Luckily the parts car had a REALLY nice one. I finally went for another drive. Clutch is pretty spongy, and the TPS is sticking a little. So throttle response/shifting leaves a little something to be desired. It took a while for the revs to drop. Could also be a combination of lots of other things. I'll investigate at my leisure.Here are the pics from after I returned. I know, I know. I still have to install the bumper side trim. That's about all that's left, body wise.I'll see if Youtube will like my unedited 10 minute GoPro video from a cold start driving through part of the harbor, lapping back to the garage.Doesn't sound too bad for being untuned, though. I certainly like it.All in all, a good day. I'm really thinking about taking it into work tomorrow. We'll see how ballsy I'm feeling in the morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watson Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 (edited) Wow! You want to come paint my car? Man, this is great. You made this for under $1000. Impressive! I thought I did good by not going over $5000... Edited April 17, 2014 by Watson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldAndyAndTheSea Posted April 17, 2014 Author Share Posted April 17, 2014 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watson Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Very nice! I actually quite like the Mack truck sound our cars seem to produce, especially with that turbo wine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldAndyAndTheSea Posted April 17, 2014 Author Share Posted April 17, 2014 Very nice! I actually quite like the Mack truck sound our cars seem to produce, especially with that turbo wine. Thanks, you and me both. Lots of people have asked me already. "Is it supposed to sound like that?" -"Yep" Up to 35 miles so far. No problems. Found and fixed a couple small vacuum leaks. Driveabliity improved dramatically. Going to take it for it's first jaunt into town for some top soil. LOVE it. Trim pieces, fuel filter, some replacement hose, and bushings are next on the list. Hopefully I don't break down in the meantime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldAndyAndTheSea Posted April 18, 2014 Author Share Posted April 18, 2014 (edited) Made it to town and back, with a couple hundred pounds of soil in the hatch; Car took it in stride. By sundown today, I've logged 114 miles.I think it's safe to say that if it were going to blow up, it would have at least shown signs by now. I'm happy! Definitely driving it to work in the morning. It gets better each time I drive it.What a great little car.Days worked on project to date: 43Total money spent on project to date: $889 Edited April 18, 2014 by OldAndyAndTheSea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldAndyAndTheSea Posted April 18, 2014 Author Share Posted April 18, 2014 Today, I installed the trim pieces, finally. It's starting to look complete, sans air dam.Things left to install:-Poly Bushings - Purchased +$125-Clutch slave cylinder -Purchased +$40 -Fuel Filter - and some replacement FI hose-Headlight covers-180 degree thermostat (I currently have a 160 in there, and the car fails to achieve the 170 degrees of coolant temp required to negate the warm up enrichment, so my slight stumbles are partially due to that.)Things left to purchase:-Tires-Struts (or re-purposed from the other car, not sure yet)-Air damBut I'm up to 160 miles or so on the car, since I've owned it. It REALLY likes to cruise at 60.Going out now for more drive time. Nevar enough!Ba Ba Ba Ba Ba ....I'm lovin' it!Days spent on project to date: 44Total money spent on project to date: $1054 (+165) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Domzs Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 Great job ! It turned out pretty good . Now it's time for a V8 ( LS1 ) . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldAndyAndTheSea Posted April 19, 2014 Author Share Posted April 19, 2014 (edited) Thanks! I say, "good enough for the girls I go with" And HAHAHA! This car would fall apart under the power. But in all seriousness. If I were to do a v8 swap, it'd definitely go into a s130. I dunno, check back in 5 years, I'll probably do something stupid with it. I never seem to leave well enough alone. Haha. Tonight was its first night on the roads. The headlights are pitiful compared to the Minis, but they certainly will suffice in the meantime.Super high quality illuminated dash lights.Rad!note the trip meter: mileage to dateIt got cold tonight (under 40 degrees), and rained. The motor is definitely running cold. I'll swap out that thermostat right before bed, so the gaskets have time to set a bit before I drive it again in the morning. Currently letting the motor cool so I don't Harvey Dent myself.It's certainly too soon in the season for the 160. That's like a mid August thermostat.Quick check of the external temp of the thermostat housing, about 3 minutes after stopping the car. Idling a bit before that.Gotta warm her up a little bit! Then she'll sing Edited April 19, 2014 by OldAndyAndTheSea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldAndyAndTheSea Posted April 20, 2014 Author Share Posted April 20, 2014 So I finally got around to changing out the thermostat. As suspected, the one in the car was a 160, which is a much hotter temperature thermostat than the current weather in upstate new york permits. With that thermostat the car failed the reach operating temperature, which on this car is 170 degrees. That's the degree at which the warm up enrichment stops. So I've been running slightly rich so far.Initially after changing the thermostat upon the first start, I just brought the car into the yard and let it idle, for a few minutes. A quick look at the infrared thermometer, bam. Operating temperature.Before I had only logged 160-165 degrees max at an idle.Success!And I'll say....the car's driveability, as could be expected, increased dramatically once again. Aside from a small manifold gasket exhaust leak in the bay, the car is running famously!Very happy.Also, since the car was in pretty cramped quarters when I made the exhaust, the exit out the car was a bit goofy looking, and as you can see from the pictures, actually burnt the urethane rear bumper partially, haha.Before:Extra crispy!Soo needless to say....A little exhaust modification was done today too. I am very pleased with how easy the exhaust is to service and maintain. I dropped the rear section, cut, and added a pie wedge to correct the exit angle.So far it's been a good day.Oh yeah, Happy Easter to those that celebrate! Hope everyone is enjoying themselves as much as I am. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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