Mac's 94 DB8 project thread AKA: Project Aeris.. ITR stuff, body work.. ect

[mac_24_seven]

It was pre-mixed in a tube (can't remember the name of the stuff).

I think what I did wrong is when I broke some off, I didn't mix it together (light gray stuff and dark gray stuff) :P

I think thats where I went wrong.

[Andrew]

Well, thats the hardener, which it seems you added none..

lol.... dummy

[mac_24_seven]

<sighs> Well, I removed the putty crap on my cluster and bought some JB weld. Figured out that I didnt mix it together like I shoudl have (ALWAYS READ THE DIRECTIONS!!! :P)

Anyway, so I put some JB weld on it and went to work.. Decided thazt it wasn't coming out the way I wanted too (flaking off and stuff, no good)

SO, I borrowed some fiberglass stuff from my dad. Now, I have messed w/fiberglass ONE other time in my life... and it didnt turn out good :P BUT, I'm older and wiser now and.. well.. <sighs> we'll see.


As of right now, I've fiberglassed the bottom half of the pods in and I'm gonna let ti dry all night before I work on the top half tomorrow. I'm gonna do evrything that I can to get my cluster/gauges in this weekend.

I'll update w/pic as soon as I'm done w/my mess :P

[klyph]

Originally Posted by Andrew

Well, thats the hardener, which it seems you added none..

Originally Posted by mac_24_seven

I'm older and wiser now

ORLY?

[Andrew]

Haha......

About the JB weld.... is it sandable? I didn't think it was.
Get some pics up of the glass!

[mac_24_seven]

Yes, I"m older and wiser.. IE: I have more of an idea of what the hell I'm doing :P

ANd yes, the JB weld in sandable.. but it wasnt coming out how I wanted, thus why I scratched it and started over.

But I got alot accomplished on my lil gauge cluster today I think it's gonna turn out pretty good, though I don't think I'm gonna be installing it this weekend or anything ( I really wanted to )... unless I can make some BIG strides on it tomrrow, but I think time is gonna be against me.. We'll see. I'll post pics at the end of the day to at least show my progress and get opinions.

I think you guys are gonna like it (hope so anyway :S)

I will however be done with shaving the license plate holes no matter what tomorrow. I'll have the DIY and whatnot w/pics as well when I update in the evening.

[mac_24_seven]

Alrighty then!

I am one, whipped white boy. My arms hurt.. My back hurts.. I've been hard at it today and actually got alot accomplished!

First of all.. My bumper.
Here is the step by step of what I did to shave the license plate holes.

Tools needed:

Safety goggles
Dremel w/grinding wheel
Rubbber gloves
Fiberglass kit
Bondoe
Bondoe smoother thing
Sanding bar thingy
220 grit dry/wet sandpaper
A good warm day, some time and music.

This is what we start out with.


Step 1: Tape off area around the holes
You really could probably skip this step, honestly.. But I did it anyway:P


Step 2: Grind off the raised part of the bumper
Be sure to have yoru goggles on, cause stuff flys around pretty good. Try to make it as smooth as you can.
On the driver side part, there was a little bracket behhind the holes that seemed to be built into the bumper. I just kept grinding untill I could remove it.


Step 3: Time for the fiberglass
If you've never messed w/fiberglass, I would strongly suggest practicing w/it and familiarize yourself w/mixing it and layering it and whatnot.
I cut out about a 2x2 square from the sheet of fiberglass. I then mized up the gelatin and added hardener. Next, I placed the square I cut over the holes and dipped my finger in the mixed gelatin and rubber it over the little square of fiberglass. I did this untill it was completely soaked. I tried not to get too much so it would'nt run, since it'll just be more that you have to sand in the future.


Step 4: Sand the fiberglass.
I used the 200 grit wet sandpaper along w/a lil rubber sanding bar thingy. I highly suggest using this, since if you sand it by hand only, you can leave grooves since yoru hand/fingers aren't flat. Using the bar, your sure to get a nice, even sand. I sanded it untill it was good and flush, holding the water hose so it was washing away all the residue. Periodically check the smoothness w/your finger.
WARNING!! DO NOT HAVE TAPE ON THE BUMPER WHEN YOU LAY THE FIBERGLASS!!!!
Unless you want this to happen...

i'm a n00b. I was trying to not get fiberglass resin all over the place.. but look what it got me. Hey, you live and learn.. I never said I was a pro :P
I ended up with this after I re-fiberlgassed the hole..


Step 5: Break out the Bondoe
Mixing the Bondoe isnt hard, just read the directions and be sure once you've added the hardener, to mix it up realll good, untill it's all a kinda reddish/pink color.
Using yoru handy dandy bondoe smoother/applicator thingy, apply bondoe over a good size area, making sure it's nice and flat (or at least as flat as you can get it).
Make it look like so.

Notice I've got it over an area much bigger than my holes.. That way, I'm sure to get bondoe evreywhere I need it to be. The excess you can just sand off.

Step 5: Sand her down!
Once you've let the bondoe get good and dry, break out the sander again and start sanding away. Be sure to sand over a good area, not spending too much time on one small spot, since you want it all to be level. Once your satisfied wthats it's good and smooth.. run yoru finger over the whole thing. Any bumpers or indention that you can feel...Thats bad. It'll show up when you paint. Either continue sanding or add more Bondoe and sand it down again. You want it as close to perfectly smooth as you possibly can.



And there ya have it folks.. Shaved bumper holes. I'm not finished with it yet.. I'll be painting the car soon (hopefully, and yes, I'LL be painting it.. my dad informs me of this today :P)
And speaking of painting, I know this has nothing to do with Imports, but this is the color my car is going to be. My dad has an extra gallon of this exact white that will be used on my car.
And, FYI, this is a 1987 Ford Ranger w/a hevily built 351 Windsor w/175 shot of the giggly stuff. With 150 hp jets w/worn out slicks, it went 10.6 @126 mph (yes, I have timeslips. PM if you want any more info on itm I doubt you will). You can thank my dad for being an incredible mechanic and turning this DAILY DRIVER (yes, it has a tag, all lights gets 14 mpg too) into a monster. A wonderful father/son project


Save this pic and zoom in on the rear tire.. You can see the wrinkle walls doing their job


Comments are always welcome on the DYI. If you have any other info or tips on how to make it beter, please, don't flame, just let me know and I'll be more than happy to revise it.

Up next.... Polishing wheels: The beginning.... (Que dramatic music)

[mac_24_seven]

Here's the work I did on the blades yesterday. This is a work in progress thing here.. I may be able to finish these wheels or I may get something different.. all depends. But, since I still have em, I'll do what I can.

I started out with this wheel, since it was teh worst and pretty much the only one w/curbing (not done by me)



I broke out the sandpaper and went to town on it.. AFter a good 15-20 mins, I ended up with this (the curbing was pretty deep :S)




I then proceeded to continue sanding down the rest of the wheel, intermittingly stopping to work on my front bumper and gauge cluster.
After another 10 mins or so on the ONE wheel, I stood back and admired my hard work and said..
"Man, this really sucks."

I packed up, went to my parents and broke out the air sander. After about 15-20 mins, I had this:

Air tools FTW!!!!!!




So, all the wheels are a good 90-95% done. I was having trouble around the edge of the lip w/the air sander, so I just left it alone and resolved to doing it later w/the correct sanding tools.
I believe the grit was 180 on the sandpaper, BTW.

So, after a few hours work, I was finished getting the factory finish off the wheels and any lil knicks and whatnot they accumulated over the years. Look for these baby's to be shining like chrome in the future!

And, since I had my wifes camera, I decided to snag some pics in a couple of cool places in town. It's a shame I'm a sucky photographer and my car looks like crap, or else they might actually be nice. When it's all painted and looking sweet, I'll have my wife snap some pics (she's a photographer :P)

Enjoy.
BTW, I apologize for the pics being ever so slightly blurry :S

The driver of the semi was in it watching TV w/his dowg when I pulled up. He looked out the window and I told em I was taking pics..He looked at me like I was a retard and went back to watching TV :P Freakin n00b.



Representin the walmart crew y0! :P I didn't think I was going to get over the crest of the hill.




Again, I apologize for the blurry pics.

Next up................. My gauge cluster ( Uber dramatic music plays...)

[Andrew]

Nice man!

Speaking of big-truck-little-car pics...




The guy got a good laugh out of it. He was the only truck in the entire row, so I decided to park next to him.

I should change his License plate to "Compensating".... and mine to "me too"

[mac_24_seven]

The links don't work.

And man, give me a call, dad took me for a ride in The Ranger.. I don't usually say something like this, but OM*G, freaking visceral mang. I was blown away and I know what to expect.

[Andrew]

There, thats better.
Looks great man!

[klyph]

Compensating
ROFL

[Andrew]

lol...

[mac_24_seven]

I had to create a new account to get these pics up.. Bandwidth exceeded.
I'll get the DIY up later .

Before:


Halfway there:


Almost:


Yay!



After:


Pics of the interior will be up tonight

[Andrew]

I bet I know why it messed up the pics man. I bet you moved the pictures into a different folder in Photobucket... that screws it up every time.
Rehost 'em you lazy cracka! I know FULL well your sitting at work watching Borat right now...

[klyph]

Are you spraypainting your carpet?
jk, what's that stuff in the can?

[Andrew]

Carpet dye

[klyph]

:captainobvious:

[Andrew]

Hehehe

[diefwd1]

body filler doesn't like to stick to anything less than an 80 grit scratch. I wouldn't have shaved the holes with fiberglass, but it's not necessarily a wrong way to do it. I am definatly liking the driving lights though. Sweet car dude.

[mac_24_seven]

Thanks man... I like em too.

[bafbrian]

What interior paint did you use for do that ?

[mac_24_seven]

Duplicolor Vinyl and Fabric dye

Good stuff

[mac_24_seven]

DANGER DANGER!!

The story:
As I was on my way home, there was a Semi truck driver who had pulled over on my side of the road, tightening straps.
So, I move over into the other lane, giving plenty of room so he's nice and safe. In the other lane, there were 4 or 5 cars coming, the first being a dump truck. I was in no danger but still, as I pulled back into my lane, I was thinking

" man, it sure would suck if I hit him head on"

And I noticed he was slowing down to turn. As I look back into my lane, out of the corner of my eye I see a freakin 4x4 piece of wood, around 10-12" long in my lane.. I had enough time to say " SH*TTTTTTTTTTTTTT" and ran it over.

I immediately pulled over and examined the damage, which was my lip torn.

Nothing else in the suspension seems to bemessed up, save for my front end alignment, which it pulls to the left fairly hard now

AND, to top it all off, I broke a belt or soething in my tire, thus the bulge (which was NOT ther before So, I have to get a new tire very soon




So this is what she looks like now


And to top it all off.. Look what else I found

See the bulge?

Boo to wood laying in the road. I'm always so caution abotu hitting ANYTHING, and the time I do hit something it's a big freaking piece of wood.

I'm just happy it hit my tire and not the middle of my car.. no telling what it woudl have done to my oilpan or other various parts if I would have ran it over compeltely.

[Andrew]

Man, I didn't know about the tire! that sucks!!
But, on the bright side, your lip lasted a LOT longer than we though it would!!