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Post by abc123 on Feb 13, 2016 20:14:14 GMT
If going the can route, I've used VHT roll bar paint on a few motorcycle frames and wheels. I've slammed it with wrenches plenty of times and it holds up. No primer required.
I think dietcoke is a fan of it as well
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Post by gwnwar on Feb 13, 2016 21:20:17 GMT
Time to get up into the attic and tap into the heating/ac pipe work to heat cool the garage. T pipe and some flex tubing and large slip ties..
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Post by zeitgeist on Feb 14, 2016 3:42:51 GMT
If going the can route, I've used VHT roll bar paint on a few motorcycle frames and wheels. I've slammed it with wrenches plenty of times and it holds up. No primer required. I think dietcoke is a fan of it as well I used VHT rollbar paint on my control arms. I didn't see it working as well for coverage and it had more runs than Rust o leum professional. Also it was $1 more per can that was 12 OZ vs 16 OZ for the Rust O leum. I used Rust O Leum textured paint on my Spec Neon and it held up really well. I used to drag big bins of spares and the floor jack over the side bars with no issues. |
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Post by zeitgeist on Feb 14, 2016 3:47:11 GMT
Time to get up into the attic and tap into the heating/ac pipe work to heat cool the garage. T pipe and some flex tubing and large slip ties.. Unfortunately I have water base board heat right now so nothing in the attic to tap into. However we are moving to forced air heat and adding central air conditioning next month so maybe I'll look into adding something then. The garage is insulated in the walls and ceiling and has an insulated roll up door. The portable heater has been pretty good. I used it for 30 mins and it was comfortable for an hour with it off. Unfortunately it uses a lot of propane. |
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Post by zeitgeist on Mar 6, 2016 0:37:49 GMT
Got a few things done over the last few days. First up I finished the steering rack rebuild by installing the Prothane poly bushings in the rack bolt holes and installed the new AC Delco inner tie rods. Word of warning to anyone using these from Rock Auto where I ordered them or other sources. The lock washers these come with is too small. I tried using them initially on one side believing they may intentionally be small to lock the round end to the rack so the flats would lock the inner tie rod end to the rack. Once I got close to almost tight the lock washer deformed excessively. Luckily I had the OEM Mazda lock washers which fit perfectly and don't deform at all since the hole size is larger . I used some locktite on the threads and dimpled the lock washer in the rack ends slots. Cleaned the rack bellows/boots and re-attached them with zip ties. It is all done except for waiting for the tie rod ends Flyin Miata is shipping.
Next up was install all the Prothane poly bushings. The diff mounts went well and easier than I expected. The tops pushed in with a little help seating them with a rubber mallet. I used some heat to separate the washers from lower bolt on mounts and then more heat and a wood chisel to remove the rest of the rubber from the washer/mounts. Tomorrow I will clean them some more and prime and paint them ready for install.
I tackled the control arms next. All went well but my neighbor stopped by to chat and see the build progress and I ended up pushing the short metal inserts for the rear lower control arms in the longer ends and had to take 2 out and start over. Not a big deal but messy and it added 1/2 hour of unneeded work. We talked more than I worked so I wasn't very efficient anyways but I got all the bushings in, greased and inner metal inserts lubed with anti-seize. Tomorrow I plan to drill and install the zerk fittings. Any suggestions on what zerks to use where or other tips from experience are appreciated? I have straight,45 degree and 90 degree versions in several sizes.
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Post by boileralum on Mar 7, 2016 15:06:20 GMT
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Post by zeitgeist on Mar 8, 2016 0:41:25 GMT
Thanks Rich. Unfortunately I did them already. I found some other guides and it went well. I need 4 extended thread/reach zerk fittings for the rear lower inside mounts. Other than those which I drilled and tapped I will use plugs on the upper rear inside where no zerks will clear and still be able to be reached. Not a huge deal as all it takes is removing the plug,install zerk, grease and reverse.
I also cleaned and primed a few odd parts yesterday.
Today I drilled the front and rear bulkhead panels then sanded and primed them. I then cleaned the chassis and primed it. I wire brushed the welded areas. Then I used scotchbrite pads to clean all the tubes and weld joints. After that I wiped it all down with lacquer thinner then a tack cloth. I primed 75% of the chassis. I lost track of time between the two days but estimate around 12 hours.
I ordered the last of my major parts other than tires/wheels. I have the Exocet fuel line kit, happy meal, some seals and gaskets coming from Flyin Miata. I ordered a Momo Mod 78 steering wheel, NRG 2.5 quick release and adapter from Miata cage. My tie rod ends and ball joints as well as as Redline fluids for diff and trans came today from Flyin Miata so I'm getting closer.
Tomorrow looks like great weather but I have to take care of house stuff so no work unfortunately on the car. I'll try and get some pictures posted.
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Post by zeitgeist on Mar 9, 2016 23:24:36 GMT
I got a good amount of things done today even with a late start after furnace guys came early and had alot to do for them. First up was draining the transmission and then changing the front cover gasket and input seal. After that I rebuilt the shifter with 5X racing bronze bushing and rebuild kit. I filled the turret with fresh Redline MT90 and same for the transmission. Next up was cleaning the clutch fork and lubing the pivot point and then re-assembling it with new throwout bearing and cleaned clutch fork boot.    Next I removed the clutch assembly and flywheel then pulled and replaced the engine rear main seal.  Here are some pics of the new parts including the AC Delco inner tie rods that have the too small lockwashers I ementioned earlier.  And more pics of the Prothane steering rack bushing kit and ball joint and tie rod dust covers.  I picked up Luke's exhaust from WV since he is going turbo.    I then replaced the clutch assembly and flywheel with the FM Happy Meal and 10.3lb flywheel.   Tomorrow I hope to flip the chassis back upright and get the top side primed. If the weather cooperates I hope to have it painted before the weekend is over. Next week onto the re-assembly of the roller skate. 5 hours of work today but satisfying if not the fastest. |
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Post by gwnwar on Mar 10, 2016 5:16:08 GMT
Remember to put a very light coat of grease on clutch splines..Hope you turned the clutch disc around on the aliening tool
before installing..
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Post by zeitgeist on Mar 11, 2016 1:07:18 GMT
Yes to both. I wanted to keep the friction surface off the bench since it wasn't clean. I lubed the splines and pivot points of the clutch fork without going overboard.
Today went OK but I didn't get as much done as I wanted due to a couple of damaged bolt/threads in the block. I re-attached the trans/PPF/Diff to the engine. Most of the bolts went in smoothly but the two on the left side(drivers side for North America et al) went in OK to start but had too much resistance for dirty threads or similar. I pulled them out and the threads looked rough. I cleaned them up with a wire brush and small file and cleaned the bolt holes in the block. No luck. I tried a local Fastenal also with no luck as they were out along with the 2 closest also. I bought a Tap and Die set and used that to freshen the threads on both bolts and bolt holes. Oddly they cut a decent amount of metal for what should have been just a clean up. In they went. One went smoothly and perfectly fine. The second seems bent a little as it would catch and release tension but went in OK. It torqued down fine. Unfortunately that ate up a fair bit of the day. I did get the chassis flipped back right side up and placed on saw horses then fully primed. The primer calls for 48 hour cure time so tomorrow I will start on assembling the subframes and suspension.
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Post by zeitgeist on Mar 12, 2016 2:29:52 GMT
Today I got the new MS motor mounts on as well as both subframes. I then assembled the complete front suspension minus the coil-overs since I haven't decided on which ones. I assembled almost the whole rear suspension. Both control arms and the passenger side axle is in with the upright connected to the lower control arm but I ran out of time and energy. Doing house stuff and car stuff is taxing but I accomplished a good amount of what I wanted to do. Tomorrow I hope to finish the suspension and mount the steering rack to the subframe. Once that is done I need to paint the chassis and get ready to mate the two. I guess I also need to paint the front and rear bulkhead panels and mount the front ones too. Getting excited now that there is some meaningful progress. I'll post pictures tomorrow. Four and half hours on the car and the same on the house.
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Post by jmills on Mar 14, 2016 21:55:41 GMT
You mentioned a windshield is required in Ohio, any idea what you're going to do to meet the requirement? I'm looking for any ideas more creative than weld together a bunch of C channel and hold it on with P clips to the frame..
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Post by zeitgeist on Mar 15, 2016 1:53:23 GMT
I plan to do something along those lines. I want to have a removable windshield that covers most of the area between the A pillar and top bar of the forward part of the race chassis cage parts. I expect that I will find some way to enclose it with tabs to mount it to the A pillar bars. I'm thinking 2 clamps on each A pillar. Since OH requires a windshield that is laminated safety glass and supposedly tall enough to look through from the seated position this way makes sense.
I was thinking about using some type of extruded aluminum channel instead of steel and using butyl or sealer to hold it in the frame. I expect I would use for registration/inspection purposes and for longer drives but not on track,autocross or regular drives in the area.
Another thought I had was to weld steel brackets on the inside of the A pillar bars and then have the windshield in a metal frame slide in from the top with clips or clamps to hold it from vibrating or sliding upward. Alternatively to using clamps to hold it in place would be to add an aluminum roof panel. I am thinking about this regardless as it would smooth airflow to the rear wing, provide some protection from debris and weather.
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Post by einy on Mar 15, 2016 16:24:23 GMT
Don't forget, you also need a functional wiper(s) that allows you to actuate it from a belted in seated position, and covers a field of view from left "top of the wheel" to right "top of the wheel" (at least according to the OSP officer who did my initial inspection). Wiper(s) can be manually actuated, or electric - your choice.
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Post by zeitgeist on Mar 15, 2016 18:22:23 GMT
Wipers I haven't decided how I plan to do them. I would like something light and simple but I don't know if the manual wiper set up will work and clear enough area even if I use longer wiper blades and/or arms.
Einy how is your windshield,wipers and bumper progress coming along?
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