My 6 year FC project

WE3RX7 · 02-12-2009, 11:44 PM

Got an extended weekend coming up with decent weather for February so I'm going to tackle a few things to get this phase of the project nearing completion.

I finished polishing both control arms. In a bit of hurry, but they turned out good enough for me for now. After I get the bushings pressed in I'm going to run it through a buffer and that should finish them up.

Bushings should be in on Sunday.

Subframe will be welded, reinforced, painted on Saturday.

POR15 undercoating should be done Monday and subframe will be back under the car!

After that, I'll hang the control arms and hopefully sometime next week I'll get the new wheel bearings put in and can put the hubs back on.

I will not be reinstalling the brakes though as I'm just trying to get the car back on the ground so I can make it roll onto a trailer and into its new home after we move

WE3RX7 · 02-16-2009, 09:04 PM

Finally, a "good" update.

I made use of the crazy nice feb weather and the extra day off today to start putting things back ON the car!

I started yesterday actually. Took the control arms to a friend's house and he was able to get the new MS bushings in place with ease. It took longer to talk about doing it, than actually doing it.

Then today, I took some simple green, concrete cleaner and a sanding block to the subframe to clean it up and paint it. Its had years of engines in and out and it just needed to be "fresh" for its new powerplant

While letting the subframe dry in between cleaning/coats of paint, I started to lay some coats of POR15 in the inner fenders. Overall, I'm ok with the end results, but it was a bit more PIA to apply than expected. I think it has to do w/ the weather and lack of consistent temps in my garage right now, but oh well.

Masked tons of little holes and applied a first "light" coat:

This is their "semi-gloss" black which came out MUCH glossier than I wanted. But oh well.

I coated all the way into the shock tower, and underside of the frame rail which showed rust from brake fluid getting trapped there between the subframe and body. Its all good to go now

Once all that had dried, I reinstalled the subframe:

Then the control arms:

Replaced all the lock washers and installed the new "fresh" hardware which was basically just cleaned and coated old hardware.

Finally, I was able to install my MS Lower Control Arm Brace that I've had for about 3 years now!! I know... i know....

It took the better half of 6 hours to do all this for the dry times, etc. I'm very happy now though and cant wait to get the rest of the suspension on.

Later this week, I hope to install the ball joints, wheel bearings, reinstall the spindle and hub.. and await the new brake kit and coilovers

I'm still up in the air about getting gachiri braces for the fenders... Either way, once this is done, its getting put on the ground and towed to the body shop for the rest of the paint and body work. That should be around April/May

02-12-2009, 11:44 PM	#1
WE3RX7 RCC Addict Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: VA Posts: 1,812 Rep Power: 19	Got an extended weekend coming up with decent weather for February so I'm going to tackle a few things to get this phase of the project nearing completion. I finished polishing both control arms. In a bit of hurry, but they turned out good enough for me for now. After I get the bushings pressed in I'm going to run it through a buffer and that should finish them up. Bushings should be in on Sunday. Subframe will be welded, reinforced, painted on Saturday. POR15 undercoating should be done Monday and subframe will be back under the car! After that, I'll hang the control arms and hopefully sometime next week I'll get the new wheel bearings put in and can put the hubs back on. I will not be reinstalling the brakes though as I'm just trying to get the car back on the ground so I can make it roll onto a trailer and into its new home after we move

02-16-2009, 09:04 PM	#2
WE3RX7 RCC Addict Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: VA Posts: 1,812 Rep Power: 19	Finally, a "good" update. I made use of the crazy nice feb weather and the extra day off today to start putting things back ON the car! I started yesterday actually. Took the control arms to a friend's house and he was able to get the new MS bushings in place with ease. It took longer to talk about doing it, than actually doing it. Then today, I took some simple green, concrete cleaner and a sanding block to the subframe to clean it up and paint it. Its had years of engines in and out and it just needed to be "fresh" for its new powerplant While letting the subframe dry in between cleaning/coats of paint, I started to lay some coats of POR15 in the inner fenders. Overall, I'm ok with the end results, but it was a bit more PIA to apply than expected. I think it has to do w/ the weather and lack of consistent temps in my garage right now, but oh well. Masked tons of little holes and applied a first "light" coat: This is their "semi-gloss" black which came out MUCH glossier than I wanted. But oh well. I coated all the way into the shock tower, and underside of the frame rail which showed rust from brake fluid getting trapped there between the subframe and body. Its all good to go now Once all that had dried, I reinstalled the subframe: Then the control arms: Replaced all the lock washers and installed the new "fresh" hardware which was basically just cleaned and coated old hardware. Finally, I was able to install my MS Lower Control Arm Brace that I've had for about 3 years now!! I know... i know.... It took the better half of 6 hours to do all this for the dry times, etc. I'm very happy now though and cant wait to get the rest of the suspension on. Later this week, I hope to install the ball joints, wheel bearings, reinstall the spindle and hub.. and await the new brake kit and coilovers I'm still up in the air about getting gachiri braces for the fenders... Either way, once this is done, its getting put on the ground and towed to the body shop for the rest of the paint and body work. That should be around April/May