Hapy Runs Again

Picking up where I left off last time, we had Hapy mostly in one piece, needing coolant. His exhaust was still in pieces, rear bumper on the ground and he had not started since June of 2024.

 

Coolant

full moon down the street

There is really no adventure here, but in the interest of being thorough, I topped off Hapy's coolant with some G40. I worked air bubbles out of his system by squeezing hoses, but they won't really fully work themselves free until the engine is running. So, after a couple more top-offs, I called it good and capped the overflow and coolant bottles.

 

Exhaust

The not-my-favorite, too-small-diameter, cheap exhaust installed on this engine all those years ago went back on. This was not my first choice, but I want Hapy running, so I'll circle-back on a new exhaust later. The old one came apart where the piping enters the muffler. I think the cheap muffler failed allowing the section of pipe to which the exhaust "downpipe" (we'll call it that: it's the pipe that leads from the turbo, but it does make it sound awfully grand) was welded to fall out of the muffler body. The weld is a good 4 inches from the end of the pipe which clearly fits inside the muffler body and sets inside an inner pipe within. I regret not taking a picture here; apologies.

 

ShadeTree mechanic'ing

So, I hung the muffler body by the support hook and then set to attaching the downpipe. There is one stud attached to the turbo that the 3-holed flange hangs on. Then, you swing the rest of it into place, square the gasket and send the other bolts (with washers) through. A 13mm spanner is needed for the lower bolt, but the other 2 can be approached with a socket. With the muffler swinging on its mount and the downpipe firmly a-fixed, I set the pipe into the muffler and literally hammered the muffler into the pipe with a rubber mallet. These parts will easily work themselves apart again, if I didn't do something. So, I went full shade-tree, and added a 1" angle bracket, screwed into the muffler and the pipe to hold it together. The picture on the right, here, tells the tale. Not a proud moment but that will all go to the landfill / recycler eventually.

 

Bumper

Feeling confident that Hapy would be a runner again very soon, I installed the rear bumper / tow hitch component. I detailed the original install of the tow hitch in Bus Tow Hitch. Re-install is not nearly as involved. 15mm socket needed. I set the hitch onto the TravisJack and lifted it close to where it would eventually sit and then balanced on the TravisJack while I set bolts. I fingered-on the left (driver) side and then the right (passenger) side, taking care not to drop the unit off the jack and onto me. I discovered that the exhaust pipe leaving the muffler hung in the way, but a solid kick with my boot resolved it without causing any damage to anything. Just needed some sudden blunt force. Once all 6 bolts were finger tight, I set the bumper where I wanted it depth and parallel-to-the rear-wise and torqued them down.

 

Injection Pump Prime

electrical connection cleaner

Any time I let Hapy sit undriven for a while, the injection pump loses prime. I believe this is because of a failing seal, but it's the one that's much harder to get to (and I don't have on-hand). So, I have let that sit to be solved another day. Enter the mighty MityVac. Since I disconnected the large fuel filter for the flywheel replacement, I was unsure if that filter was completely full, so I started with the line which enters the injection pump, moving to the return side of the pump next. This is relatively straightforward: disconnect the fuel line, apply vacuum with the MityVac (using the collection bottle between the pump and the fuel line, of course) until the collection bottle consistently gets fuel. Then, remove the vacuum contraption and reconnect the line. For the return line, I also clamped the return line from the injectors to the pump so I did not lose vacuum through them. Once the pump was full, I cracked the hard lines at the injectors with a 17mm spanner. This last bit of priming needs to be done by turning the ignition and counting to 5. Well, that's how I did it. When I returned to the engine compartment, each of the 4 injectors had some fuel sitting on top where the hard line connected. I snugged them back tight.

 

DeOx-it D5

Before I ran to the cab to give the engine a try, I wanted to make sure all of the plug-in bits were set. So, I went around the top of the engine, disconnecting, shooting-DeOxit D5 into the connectors and clicking them back together. This served 2 functions. First, a simple survey of the top of the engine allowed me to see if I had missed anything. Second, every electrical connection was confirmed a good-click connection and it was cleaned/deoxidized for a better connection. Having done this, and it only taking literally a minute, I intend to include a similar final survey when doing top-side maintenance going forward. Its so easy, and removes many possible variables to failures.

 

And Then It Happened

At this point, I felt that I had done everything I could to set up for a successful first start since June of 2024. I put the trans-axle into neutral turned the key to run and saw the familiar lights. With an inhale, I turned the key to start and after about 3 seconds he fired up. I didn't expect immediate, since fuel still needed to get pushed down into the injectors, but he started well and ran strong, arriving at a comfortable idle almost immediately. I left him run for a while, sitting in my shop in neutral while I checked for leaks and drips. There were none, which was little short of a miracle.

 

I thought about giving him a little test drive, but I have not solved for the electrical cord for the FrostHeater yet. Curious, though, I tried to ease him into gear, but he wouldn't. Knowing that he easily moved in and out of gear when the engine was not running, I concluded that the clutch cable needs adjusting.

Clutch Adjustment

This adjustment took a little bit of effort, but with a thicker spacer where the Bowden tube meets the mount on the transaxle, and another spacer on the adjuster, I was able to get the clutch to engage and disengage properly. The Bowden tube needs a curve in it to reduce clutch chatter, so this was needed regardless. The fact that I needed a spacer on the adjuster tells me that the cable that I replaced.. jeez.. almost 20 years ago... may be stretching. This is often a warning that the cable will fail soon. So, time to order a replacement.

I used a Velcro ties to hold the FrostHeater cable up and out of the way. But, before I wrapped it up, I tried the FrostHeater, and I think it might be broken. I'll have to do some research, but I expected the unit or at least the top hose to warm up to the touch a little bit. I did not notice any warming, so that effort may have been for nothing after all. Again, I will look into it and I may get a replacement unit, but I'll be pretty bummed if it was really only used a couple of times before it got damaged.

Here's a video of him running, probably 3 minutes after his first start in like 18 months.

 

 

 

I noticed that the rear lights were acting all weird, but a different kind of weird than usual after messing with the battery. So, I did not want to risk a drive-about. It seems like every time I touch the battery, the tail lights short-out such that stepping on the brakes completes an unexpected circuit. That's the usual. This time, the reverse lights were lit up and the blinkers were acting all strange, but only the rear. I think I may have done something with the reverse lights, like reversing the plugs when I wired up the switch, but I ran out of daylight before I could get after it. I'll diagnose and attempt to fix it next time. 

Thanks, as always for following along, and I'll post with any test-drive observations, and other improvements as they happen. At this point, I am thrilled that Hapy self-starts and can move around again--

Orange Peel

Brief post today. For the tl;dr folks, after I let the paint on Zed (1979 280ZX) cure, I looked at it more closely. I definitely did not have enough pressure at the gun, leading to the paint not atomizing well... resulting in some nice orange peel.. pretty much on everything. Today's post touches on that, and then finishes with the bumpers getting installed.

Before I start, today is Boo's birthday. Boo, you are amazing. I am so grateful we found each other, I simply can't express. Your support for my car projects, and tolerance for the corresponding messes has helped make these posts happen. Your embrace of a "Let's See" attitude has opened doors I would not have thought possible. You inspire me. Congratulations on another trip around the sun; I am looking forward to the next annual trip together again.

Sand Sand Sand

rear bumper installed

Why say it 3 times? Well, I spent 3 days sanding all the orange peel off Zed's exterior. After trying a few different grit combinations to get the orange peel off, I found wet sanding with 120 grit and following with 320 (also wet) removed the orange peel most effectively. This was not fast, however. I put in 3 6-hour days to get the orange peel gone. Fortunately, I had put 3 coats of base on, so I didn't burn through to primer very much. I still have almost an entire gallon of base, so when I have another full day available (maybe next weekend), I can shoot 2 new coats of base and then the clear.

Even after a wet sand, there is a residue. I washed everything with a mild no-residue-leaving car wash and the garden hose. With our warm dry weather, the puddles dried up quickly. I will still need to do my usual de-grease, tack-cloth routine, but I am starting out from a much better place than had I not washed it. 

Bumper Installs

front p-side

With the car sanded and clean, I decided to install the bumpers. If I learned anything from the side skirt installs it is that they will not go on effortlessly. Had I shot the pain perfectly, I would still probably have something to fix with regards to the bumpers after installing them. Unlike the side skirts, though, they were not nearly as non-compliant.

My method was similar. I started with a nice coating of contact cement on both the inside of the bumper and the steel bar it was attaching to. Ditto for the side panels. Once the cement was set up, I applied some of the clear epoxy on top of the cement along the top and face of the bumper bar. I then set the bumper in place. For the rear bumper, I re-used the M4 bolts to hold it in the right spot as the cement and epoxy set. I held the front bumper in place with a pair of long clamps just in front of the front wheels. To make sure the front held well, I spread a thin layer along the top seam, like I had with the side skirts. I know I know... this stuff is "sandable" (read: not really sandable), and I'll be scraping boogers before I can shoot the paint. I am willing to accept that, if the bumper holds firm. In the picture below, of the driver side, you can see the seam marked with a shiny line. That will need to be minimized for paint.

front d-side

The next morning, I tested the hold. I could lift the rear end of the car by holding onto the bottom of the rear bumper. That's a win. For the front, I removed the clamps, and pulled the bottom edges (near the tires) away from the car. The fender flexed a little bit, but the bumper did not budge. I will be scraping boogers, but it will hold.

Well, that's basically it for today. It has been a very labor-intense week for such a short post. That's how it goes some times, though: work for almost 40 hours and have little to show for it. If the weather holds ,and I can carve out the time, I hope to be shooting this weekend.

Thanks, as always, for following along-

Zed Body Kit Start

Last Summer, amid the economic restart following the CoViD-19 shutdowns, I ordered and received a fiberglass bodykit for a Datsun 280ZX. It arrived too late to be wrapped into the body work, and I ran out of warm weather anyway. Today, I restart the body work on Zed (1979 Datsun 280ZX), with hopes for having Zed painted before I run out of summer this year. Even though there is considerable Summer left, my time is less available this year than in years past. Boo has injured her arm/shoulder, preventing her from moving it per Dr orders, so I am doing a lot more not-car stuff these days (read: lawn care, housework, etc) which all take precious minutes. 

Back to Start

bumper gap set

While Zed was parked under a canopy / car port all winter, that is not the same as sitting in a climate-controlled garage. Or even an unheated garage. Rain does not fall straight down, and wind blows organic material around. So, when I was ready to focus on Zed, I had a few steps to just get him back to where I had left him last Summer. I had been using his interior as a staging area for parts and boxes while working on the sound/noise contain effort in Hapy (1972 VW camperbus). So, logically, the first thing to do was to vacate the interior and shop-vac it out.

Next, the body panels needed a cleaning. Rather than use a hose, I hand washed him with a bucket and scrubber sponge. Still, I was unable to free some of the green haze that had appeared. He would need a sanding in order for the next layer of paint to adhere anyway, so I left what remained to be addressed by the sanding. I pulled out the body kit that had been stashed inside and cleaned it too.

Front Fenders

d-side bumper

I had spent some time wrangling the front bumper last Summer. I could only get so far because I had not completely solved for the fenders yet. Now that the driver fender was ready, I could move forward. I started by simply mounting the fenders with M6 stainless bolts. When I fastened the bottoms, the fenders ballooned out into their proper shape. I had not realized how flat they had been sitting until then.

Rear Bumper

The rear bumper was the closest to being complete, and after spending so much time on just getting things back to the way I thought they were, I wanted a win. I started fiddling with it and I discovered that I had not really prepared the steel rear bumper hidden within: it had rust spots on it and it was still dirty from when I bought it. More cleaning with a bucket and a scrubber and then sanding, rust treatment and a shot of Rustoleum got it ready enough for use. No, I don't really like the idea of Rustoleum on this project anymore than I think you do, but this will protect the bumper well enough, and once I sand a key into it for the epoxy to grip into, the paint choice really won't matter much anymore. After the paint cured (or 48 hours later...), I re-attached the bumper, making sure the height was completely flat, with the same distance between the tail body panel and the top of the bumper. It is into things like this that so much time is lost. Bolting on a bumper takes, like 10 minutes. Getting it exactly height-right, took more like 30.

p-side bumper

Once the steel bumper was set, I returned the fiberglass bumper to position to get it exactly where I wanted it. After some time spent fiddling with it, I was able to set the bumper such that the gap is the same across the rear, from corner to corner, and the seams along the rear quarter panel were consistent as well. I drilled a hole inside each wheel well near the top of the bumper and set it for good with a pair of M4 bolts. With the height set, I set the spread (tilt in or tilt out of the bottom of the bumper) of the lower edge. I controlled this with a second set of holes lower in the panels. Again, I set 2 M4 bolts through the bumper into the rear wheel well. I may eliminate some of these bolts later, after the epoxy sets.

Side Skirts

setting the spread

With the rear bumper looking good, I shifted forward to the little skirtings that run under the doors. I was not 100% convinced these were necessary when I bought the kit, but now that I have them roughed in, I like them. These kits are one-size-fits-none. While that was not really true with the rear bumper, it was definitely true with these side skirts. The length is quite good, and the fit into the wheel wells was almost perfect. I say almost, because I had to cut a small chunk out of the top of the passenger side skirt for it to fit. The issue with these skirts is with the little lip that runs the length of the door jam. These are designed to sit on the outermost edge of the door threshold, but the design has 2 problems. First, the lip is fairly thick so the door does not easily close on top of it, if the door is set at the right height. Second, and perhaps more important, the lip is not at the correct angle from the outer edge of the skirting. So, if you set it in place on that outermost edge, either it is in the right spot, but completely blocks the door -or- the whole skirting curls under the car too much, not aligning with the fender lines and looking horrible. I resolved by cutting off the lip with a hacksaw. Yes, that is a rather destructive move. I considered all the plastic panels on the ToyoTruck and the panels that run under the doors do not have a lip hanging on the door sill. These will now be a same.

fun with Bondo

With the lip removed, I was better able to control the angles. Similar to how I managed the rear bumper, I first set the height by getting the under-the-door edge just a smidge below the door opening. I set the height temporarily with clamps and then bored holes, used more M4 bolts to hold the tops in place.  I added a bolt on each side, near the leading edge of the door, to hold the section of the skirting which will attach to the front fender in place. I will use this bolt for setting the epoxy, but will remove it, or cut the head off, after the epoxy sets. Next, I set the spread so the rear outer edges aligned with the rear bumper lower leading edges. Because of how the skirts were constructed, this left a small gap at the top rear of the skirt. If I pressed the top against the side of the car, the bottom of the skirt would stick out too far. The picture below shows how it lined up. Because of the curve of the body, it is not immediately visually clear that the bottoms align, but they do. 

Body Fill the Gaps

d-side skirt rear

Around the internet, Bondo is a four-letter word. No one admits to using it, but practically everyone does in some capacity. If I were a master fiberglass guy and had all the time in the world, I might have built-up the trailing edges of the side skirts with fiberglass. That would have been the "right" way to do it. I don't have that skill, nor the materials, and, like I indicated at the top, I really don't have that time. So, I chose Bondo, and went full-on ShadeTree with it.

I have the panels attached exactly where I want them, held on with bolts. I don't want to remove them apply some material grind some down, re-attach, wash-rinse-repeat, in hopes of getting it right. That could take all Summer and still might not look that great. I want to apply filler to the fiberglass but not create a Bondo-bond with the side of the car. To resolve, I grabbed some non-stick spray from my kitchen and shot the steel body panels where I needed to fill a gap. I then cleaned the fiberglass with oil/grease cleanser, leaving the non-stick on the steel and I filled the gaps with Bondo. Is this how a pro would do it? I sincerely doubt it. Did it work? It worked well enough to define the lines. Once teh Bondo set up, I freed the panels, leaving them loosely attached. There was not any Bondo stick to the steel. I sanded things smooth and did another pass to get the seams really clean. Last summer, I tried to resolve the don't-stick by taping plastic to the steel, but no matter how well I set the plastic, there were minute folds which appeared in the dried Bondo. The non-stick spray left a predictably smooth line.

Sanding

body sanding fun

I re-attached the rear bumper and the side skirts after sanding the Bondo smooth. Then, I set into sanding the entire car with 320-grit. As I mentioned above, simply cleaning the body was not enough. Besides, I chose to not sand the primer last year, believing it would better protect the paint over the winter. It needed to be sanded before the next coat, be it more primer or color. I will be priming the fiberglass body panels anyway, so I may shoot primer on the rest. I'll decide that later.

I am about 2/3 done with the sanding of the whole body (fiberglass and steel), working from the rear forward. Once the sanding is complete, I will be setting the height of the front bumper ends, and perfecting the front bumper seams like I did with the rear bumper and side skirts. After all that, the fiberglass will be removed one last time for priming.

That's it for today. Thanks, as always, for following along-

ToyoTruck Saga Continues

Earlier, I posted about a new arrival to the fleet (a 2006 Toyota Tacoma XRunner) and the smash into a post that followed. Today's post is the next step in that saga. 

 

Where Were We

front assembled

We got a $5k repair estimate, but insurance wouldn't pay (because the agent screwed up). So, I ordered the parts, and set about doing the work myself. With supply issues, it took an incredible amount of time for everything to arrive and the largest part, the hood, arrived with a big dent in it. I successfully replaced the fender, the 6-piece bumper and the fender liner. The radio antenna was so corroded, it could not be removed, so I had to replace it as well. The hood scoop was also degraded, so I ordered another one of those. I ended the post while waiting for supply chains to support a new hood, as well as deliver the replacement passenger-side flare and the hood scoop.

Hood Gets Hammered

I decided I could no longer wait for parts while the new truck occupied my best work bay (read: prevented me from working on Hapy). Besides, there was no way to know how long it would be before a new dent-free hood would be available again. So, I decided that I would do my best to get the old hood straight enough to fit without putting pressure on the new fender nor passenger front headlight. I started with my angle grinder, removing the remaining paint from the dented area. The leading edge of the hood had been crumpled under, against a lateral bulge that rests just rearward of that edge, along the underside of the hood (see the picture on the right). Since the lip was forced against that bulge, I was unable to get a tool between the two.

the damage from the underside

I started with the stud welder and a slide hammer kit I got from Harbor Freight when I started working on Zed (1978 280ZX). With the 2mm tip and studs, I was able to slowly move the leading edge of the hood away from the lateral bulge. After about 30 minutes, and a dozen studs, the edge had pulled back far enough for me to fit a dull chisel against the leading edge. By moving the chisel up and down the lip, giving it a few smacks every few millimeters, I was able to further shift the edge away.

Once the edge had been moved about a finger-width from the bulge, I started shifting from the hammer/chisel on the lip to the stud welder / slide hammer on the top of the hood and back. My hope was that I could get some of the original hood contour back while I got the edge pulled. I spent about 90 minutes in total before I felt that it was close enough to set on the truck to see how close I was getting.

Old Hood Finish Up

time to try fitting

I was satisfied enough with the hammer work to move the windshield washer hoses and the seal. I figured that if I was as close as I'd hoped, I wouldn't want to remove the hood simply to put these bits on it. Like so many things, the first time always takes longer than any subsequent attempt. I had the bits moved in minutes. The hood set quickly as well. Some cars have a great deal of adjust-ability when the hood is mounted, but this truck does not. Yes, there is some, but not more than an inch left-to-right at the front edge. I did not need much to get the hood evenly spaced between the fenders, though.

Similar to the hood removal, I set the front of the hood on my old plastic tool box so I could get to the hinge bolts. Before I slammed the hood down, I checked the height between the headlight and the hood edge on both the driver and passenger sides to make sure I wouldn't break the light housing. I found that I had over compensated with my hammering, but only by 1 or 2mm. I started a recurring cycle of identifying where the gap was, opening the hood, adjusting, and re-closing the hood. After 4 or 5 of these cycles, I was satisfied that it was good enough for now.

finished enough

The stud-welder took it's toll on the hood, however. Some of the studs were welded on so well, that my efforts with the slide hammer resulted in a small hole in the hood. I own that, though: I believe that I held the trigger a touch too long on those studs, setting too strong of a weld. Some of the other studs would not come off no matter how hard I hammered them. I ultimately had to cut them off, but there were bits left behind. So, I pulled out the angle grinder again, and ground the dent-damaged areas of the hood smooth to the touch. I shot the polished metal with some rattle-can automotive primer and then some basic black Rustoleum. The final-for-now product is pictured on the right. That passenger flare will be installed when it arrives. I haven't decided about the scoop insert.

Weeks Later, It's Done

At this point, I felt done enough with this project. Yes, some part of what I put together will need to come back apart for painting and when the passenger side wheel flare arrives, I will attach it. One day, I hope to have a better hood, and when that day comes I need to install the scoop insert as well. Since I would like to have the whole truck painted, I may take it to Beaverton Auto Body and have them do it. We already have a somewhat dated estimate, but at least we know what ballpark they are in. Of course, with inflation these days plus all the extra parts expenses I incurred, a re-shoot could be prohibitively expensive. Expensive enough to bring that work right back to my driveway to be shot in my home-made "booth" later. Oddly enough, the extra parts (scoop insert, p-side flare, and antenna) plus a second and future $500 hood still will still be less in parts than the Beaverton Auto Parts bid. And that number includes a hood I can't use, and I have not tried to sell off any parts I got and did not actually need.

That's it for today. I will return to the hood when I get one, and otherwise I will be focusing on Hapy again. Thanks, as always, for following along-

Enter ToyoTruck

Super long post today, and I still didn't get the project all the way done in one post. I did get most of the way, though, and I'll wrap it up next time. For today, I'll hit some background first, and then get into the adventure with this new-to-us truck. Since this started on Christmas 2021 and today is the first of March 2022, clearly this has been quite a saga. At the rate this is progressing, it will be competed mid-Summer.

Background - the setup

example image

When C returned for winter break from University, he left his car ('09 Subie) on campus. He needed a car while he was home so he could get to work, but we have a significantly reduced the operable fleet (sold Flash, sold K'Lack). So, we borrowed-as-a-prelude-to-buy Boo's sister Rose's Toyota Tacoma X-Runner. I am referring it ToyoTruck for now, though the interweb folks often call these "taco's". I suspect it will get a better name when it presents iteself. Rose has an older Ford truck that is getting a new engine swapped in, so this Toyota was kind of extra anyway. Clearly, having extra cars around is a family thing for us, and with the rehab we plan on doing on this house, having a pickup readily available for supply runs will be valuable. Anyway, C arrived home a few days before Christmas, just in time for some radical winter weather. We got snow, and ice, and more snow, some sleet, and melting followed by freezing. It was a full-blown winter stew. We let C use Boo's '09 Audi A4 (all wheel drive, newer M&S tires, etc) while Boo drove ToyoTruck. ToyoTruck is rear-wheel drive with mostly-worn-down summer highway tires. That would have been fine if it weren't for the winter weather. With Boo's new schedule, she has to report by 7:AM, which means leaving well before dawn, and right about at the overnight low temperature. This lead to a Christmas morning (yes, she worked Christmas morning) sliding-on-the-ice scenario which ended with the truck smacking a pole. The passenger fender, the bumper cover, passenger headlight, passenger fog light, the leading corner of the hood and some assorted little bits all were affected by the very low speed impact. The damage seemed minimal enough that Boo continued on to work. It wasn't until the next day that we got to access the damage in the daylight.

How Does that Insurance Commercial Go Again?

after post-smack

In the daylight, it looked pretty twisted, but it is mostly surface damage. I took a bunch of pictures and we tried to get a claim going with our insurance company. Turns out that insurance goes with the car, not the driver, so we needed to use Rose's insurance. We learned this while we were getting bids (~$5k) on the work. This is where insurance got interesting: even though Rose told Allstate she wanted "full coverage" the agent pulled a massive boner and failed to include collision (pays for damage to your car). How that meets the definition of "full coverage", I don't know, but I swear this feels like one of their ads... where they say the competitor will leave you hanging with a tagline like "if you don't have Allstate...". It appears that the Allstate ad is actually self-describing. Maybe their ad should be more like "if you let our agents do it, you're gonna get screwed". So, to sum this up: we borrowed a truck, slid into a pole causing ~$5k worth of damage and there's no insurance to fix it. Happy Christmas.

Paulie: Bodyman

Fast Times Camaro

To resolve, I tried my best Spicoli imitation: "Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools. I can fix it." Of course, the next scene in that movie (Fast Times at Ridgemont High) has that car, unrepaired, but tagged with Ridgemont sucks / Lincoln rules spray-paint. Instead of that, I'm actually going to repair it. I took the itemized bid and ordered all of the parts the body shop said needed to be replaced from CarParts.com. This cost about $1300US delivered. The bid had the parts for around $2k, so we are already ahead in the game. I will simply remove and install the parts I received, and hope I discover nothing else is wrong. The labor for the body panel removal/replacement was $900US. So, if I can get the truck back into one piece, I will have saved over half the bid. At $900US, using my usual price for my labor ($50/hr for simple math), I break even at 18 hours. On its surface, I think I can get way under that. I had a great experience with CarParts.com, by the way. The bumper cover was wrapped in thick plastic wrap inside a huge box and the fender was made-in-Taiwan steel double-wrapped in custom cardboard protecting it plus packing material between the wrapped fender and the box sides. The packaging of the headlights was equally protective. Some of the shipping, however, was spotty. We can credit GLS for losing and then claiming delivery of almost half the order. Ultimately, they got the parts to me, 2 weeks after they said they were delivered. That final delivery was curious in that the box appeared without a text nor email update, though I had been set up for both. Sneakily done, GLS.

 

Finally, with all the parts I had ordered in my garage, I was ready to get started. I had finally gotten the 2016 Sprinter seats installed into Hapy (See Hapy Seating Part 2), so I could shuffle vehicles around. Hapy went back into the driveway and ToyoTruck moved under the canopy so I can work out of the rain.

Body Panel Removals

2 replacement bits in

I started by removing the front grill, fog lights and bumper cover. Then, I pulled the headlights and removed the fender, leaving the hood for last. The grill is held to the top of the radiator support with 3 Phillips screws across the top. Down below, the electrical plugs for the fog lights are simple tab-lock plugs. Since I am replacing the fog-lights with the bumper, I left the old lights in the old bumper. For reference, just press the tabs and they wiggle out. With the plugs out, the fog lights can push through the bumper (after pressing inwards on the plastic retaining tabs). The bumper cover is held on with plastic push-on tabs across the top as well as a few from underneath. These pop free with a slotted screwdriver. Since they are 15+ years old, they will often fail on removal. There are also a few 10mm screws as well, all from below. The ends of the bumper cover tie into the inner wheel well plastic, but eventually, once the last fastener is free, the bumper just wiggles free.

I next removed the under-headlight trim bits. There is a small plastic push-on thing, like the ones that held the bumper cover, on the inside that attaches the trim bit to the headlight, but the rest of it just clicks into place... or out of place. The headlights are held in place with long Phillips-head bolts from the top, and 2 more on the sides (one connects to the lower radiator support, the other through the side of the fender). The lights unplug, but if they are stubborn, the bulbs which are not the main beam twist out with a 90* twist. Then, the plug can be wrestled free. The last big thing to remove is the fender itself. There are obvious bolts from above, but there is one hidden in the door jam near the top and one from the outside just rear of the wheel well. Of course, before final removal, the inner wheel well needs to be removed, and the antenna needs to be dealt with.

 

super-glued tabs on the flare

 

The Inevitable Annoying Bits

The antenna and the inner wheel well skin are the worst part of this parts exchange. The antenna had become heavily oxidized and corroded, completely freezing the top nut. I ultimately broke-off the lower antenna mast so I could continue and ordered a top-to-bottom replacement, adding another $140US to the parts costs. Even on my garage floor, I was unable to separate the antenna bit from the bent fender.

The plastic inner wheel well is held in place by ribbed plastic clips along the inner edge and in a couple spots in the middle. Along the outer edge of the fender, the fender, the inner wheel well and the outer faring (flare) are held together with Phillips/10mm screws. When the truck hit the pole, the 3 top mount points along the outer faring / flare all broke. I did not realize that until I was removing things. Rather than order a replacement ($130US plus delivery), I collected the mounting ears and super-glued them back onto the flare as shown in the picture. Once the superglue had set up, the tabs did not wiggle. Since they broke off so cleanly, I could see their original pitch. So, I simply matched that and held the tabs for a 15 count as the glue set.

With the big parts out of the way, we can see where the little bits that Beaverton Auto Body suggested replacing. There is a small plastic bit that looks like a tiny fist with the hole in it that is Phillips-screwed to the fender. This holds the edge of the bumper in the right spot relative to the fender. There are 2 long thin brackets which support the top and bottom of the bumper cover (and lower leading edge of the fender) which were definitely tweaked. The small triangular bit that attaches to the passenger-side front (front is front) of the radiator support, extends forward to the other end of the long thin bracket, had a subtle twist to it. All of these attach with 10mm bolts, and you can see them installed in the picture above captioned "2 replacement bits in". They are the ones with big white labels.

Start Re-Assembly

windshield washer lines pre-removal

I started with the small bits: the triangular bracket first, and then the support bracket on the passenger side. I decided that the driver side bracket was untouched by the accident, so replacement was unnecessary. I swapped out the driver-side headlight next, re-using the original under-headlight trim bit since it was undamaged. Then, I tackled the fender. It is surprising how much faster install can be when you know where the fasteners go. I started with the 2 most difficult: the one on the bottom, heading straight in from the outside, and the one from inside the door. The bottom bolt is really only difficult because of all the extra lower body trim that appears on the XRunner needs to be loosened and held out of the way. I fear that I will need to completely remove all of the panels on that side because of all the dirt and sand I found in there when I took it apart. That dirt/sand may prevent a clean, tight install. Anyway, with the hard bolts in, I ran the bolts in along the top edge and then the front pair into the new bracket. I am not thrilled with the gap along the hood, but I will concern myself with that once the new hood goes on. It is possible that the hood got tweaked beyond just the small dent in the front corner.

After the fender, I installed the passenger-side headlight and the replacement under-trim. Other than cannibalize plastic fasteners from the bent and broken old body panels, this was as far as I could get at this point. I ordered a set of plastic snap-fasteners, but they had not arrived yet. Also, I had not planned for the antenna, so I could not completely button-up the fender and wheel well anyway. Yes, I could have stopped the post here...

The Hood

only disconnect needed

I was able to source everything, except the hood, from CarParts.com. For the hood, I turned to eBay, and got burned with a hood that arrived with a dent. My cursory inspection upon delivery did not detect that the passenger side had a couple of bashes in it under the cardboard wrap. I had checked the other 3 sides, so lesson learned here: completely unwrap the entire thing before you sign. I didn't know the pair of dents were there until I went to install it after installing the inner wheel skin down below, sadly. So, if I want a clean hood, I will order, pay, wait for and move-bits onto a second hood. FFS. Of course, with the supply chain issues around the world, there is a very small set of these hoods in the western US. In fact, according to the local Toyota dealer, there aren't any.

 

Obviously, the hood is held to the truck by 2 large hinges. Additionally, the windshield washer nozzles are in the hood. There are a few other things to transfer to the new hood, so I simply disconnected the washer hose and removed the bolts to free the hood. Then, I set the old hood next to the new hood in my garage. Piece by piece, with the puppy (Tuukka) watching, I moved the washer nozzles, bits of hose, the sealing rubber bits and the front rubber feet. Those feet are pretty interesting: they are solid rubber and thread in. You set the height of the closed hood by turning them clock or anti-clock wise. Very clever design.

 

There is a sealing strip that runs along the rear edge of the hood, held on by little plastic fasteners. I was able to free them without damaging them by using a door panel removal tool. I expected the washer nozzles and hose to the the hard part, with the scoop insert to be a breeze. It was the opposite, with the hose retainer plastic bits and the washer nozzles popping off with only a little difficulty, but remaining intact for reuse. These bits are held in place by little plastic barbs that need to be pinched in for removal. I used a slotted screwdriver, working one side and then the other until each one was free.

Hood Scoop Insert

The hood scoop insert, however, has seen better days. The mounting studs all backed out of the scoop, rather than allow the nuts to back off the stud. The 2 front studs would not separate from the old hood at all, and last, during install into the new hood, it cracked. This plastic is over 15 years old, and based on the damaged paint on the top of the vehicle and the sand I found in the wheel liner, I think we can conclude that this truck lived at the beach for a while, getting salt water on it while driving on the wet sand. I suspect it was parked outside mostly, as well, further accelerating the aging of the exterior. I will accordingly reset expectations for any other exterior bits I touch going forward.

I ordered a replacement hood scoop insert (another $140US for parts), and started considering doing a complete respray of this thing once the damage has been resolved. Of course, with the way I have to keep buying parts, that respray may need to wait a while. Meanwhile, I was in a holding pattern waiting for parts... and I was looking for a hood, again. Yes, I could have stopped the post here as well.

The Bumper

dry-fitting the bumper

The bumper cover / assembly is actually 6 distinct plastic bits: the main bumper cover, of course, a decorative center piece below the grill, 2 end pieces and 2 lower valences (split in the middle). Of these parts, we damaged 3: the main cover, the passenger-side valence and passenger-side end. All of these parts are held together with these blue wedge-like plastic clips. I was able to salvage all but one (which disappeared), which tells us just how slow moving the crash was. While I waited for parts, I re-assembled the bumper bits, excluding the decorative center. I had thought that I could paint the bumper as an assembly, but, I realized that I would need to take it all apart to install the decorative bit anyway, so I will be taking this all apart to shoot it. Of course, I put all this together mentally after I had put the bumper together physically. LOLs.

Still, by having the bumper bits together, I could dry-fit the front end together. Also, this reduced a big pile of parts in my small garage, and it helped me understand what bits I could sell-off, and which I still needed. For example, I discovered that there are little rubber strips between the main bumper cover and both the lower valences and the end bits. In the upper dry-fit picture, you can see the old valences on the ground below. A keen eye could see the rubber seals on top. I will be re-claiming those rubber bits before I dispose of the broken plastic parts. As you can also see. I have not removed the protective film from the lights yet; no need to tempt fate.

More Parts Arrive...

dry-fitting with the grille

After another week of waiting, things I ordered during the tear-down / re-assembly started to appear on my doorstep. So, I got back to it, starting with the antenna.

 

The antenna arrives with a stretch of cable that's about 1/2 a meter long with a pair of mounting clips already attached. This cable passes through the side wall and the fire wall up behind the glove box, and then runs up into the A pillar where it plugs into another cable. This seems like a strange design, but it's how it is. To access everything, the glove box needs to come out and the passenger grab handle needs to come out. There are a couple of plastic retaining clips that need to be popped (the OEM replacement antenna arrives with new clips) and then it is ready for removal. I attached a string to the end of the antenna cable and pulled it out through the side wall. I moved the string from the old cable to the new and pulled the string, bringing the cable along the original path.

 

The plastic tabs were in the right spots, and they popped in. The one in the rear of the picture below was a little difficult, but only because it is in a hard-to-get-to spot. I found by getting the front edge of the clip (front is front) first, allowed me to put pressure on the rear edge with a slotted screwdriver, snapping it home. Once the cable was in, the panels were installed in the order I removed them. The leading edge of the A-pillar trim inserts into a slot on the edge of the dash (seen in picture below) while the upper end has a tab that also fits into a slot: idiot-proof. The grab handle only fits into the A-pillar trim one way, and, because of the tabs, the mounting bolts align without effort. Inside the fender, the cable has a rubber grommet to seal the pass-thru hole. The top of the lower mast is then passed up into the hole in the fender and the lower end is bolted to a mounting tab with a 10mm bolt. After all the wrestling with German over-engineering, I really like this Japanese design. I feel like the Tacoma was built with owner maintenance in mind. I finished up the antenna on top of the fender with the outer rubber bit and nut and then threaded on the upper mast.

The Inner Wheel Well

installing antenna

All I had left was the inner wheel well, but I didn't explain the assembly of the rest of the bumper. As I mentioned earlier, I assembled the bumper, but I needed the bits to mount it. This was a straight-forward matter of using the plastic snap-clips where they belonged, and using the 10mm screws where they belonged. Since I failed to take quality pictures during tear-down, this was not as smooth as it could have been. Still, it all went together, leaving the passenger side wheel well. I purchased a replacement inner skin because I saw that the original had been damaged in the accident. The new liner was an exact match, and fitting it was not as terrible as installing on the old Jettas, but it was pretty close. These plastic liner things are the absolute worst. I did the outer edge last, simply because this edge also held the flare in place and I felt trying to juggle 3 things which were not in any way attached was at least one too many. The inner edge was straightforward: set the plastic skin where it is supposed to be and slam the plastic bit through the holes. The challenge for me was getting the square holes in the skin to consistently align with the square holes in the under-body.

With the skin now held in place by a handful of plastic bits, the outer edge was easier. I started at rear bottom and worked my way up. Again, having pictures would have been helpful so I could confidently set the skin / fender / flare stack correctly. Absent that, I just considered where water would go. So, I put the inner skin "outside" the fender along the rear edge for the first 3 fasteners (block water kick-up from the tires from getting inside fender) and at a cut-out transitioned it "inside" (so water drips from above don't run under the inner skin). At this point, I attempted to mount the fender flare. The super glue repair I described above failed almost immediately, so I shifted to the hood.... at which point I discovered the dents and my progress halted again.

 

I am going to halt this post here, and pick it up in another one. This has gotten very long, matching the saga, and the truck is still not in one piece. And, again, I'm waiting for parts.

Thanks for following along and more next time-

Zed's Slow Crawl into Fall

It's time for another update on the slow-moving restoration effort on the 1979 Datsun 280ZX lovingly called "Zed". Completely unrelated to Zed, Nemo, the 1997 Audi A4 was sold to a family friend. While he is no longer a permanent resident of our driveway, I expect there will be some ShadeTree adventures as he is improved upon.

Where Were We

p-side front fender gap

We entered the Summer with the goal of having Zed painted before the weather changed from warm-dry to cold-wet. Some years, that change happens as late as Halloween. Other years, like 2019, we lose the end of August to things like wildfires or an early rainstorm. With such a wide range for when the end date might hit, I worked a bunch in the early Summer to set myself up for paint. This year, we have had multiple "false-fall" weather periods, and this week looks like solid rain, leading me to believe that the goal will not be reached.

Recall, we hit a snag with CoViD-19 related manufacturing delays on the body kit. I ordered the kit in May, and it delivered in August. During the delay, I perfected the body as best I could, got the final primer shot and clowned on other cars while I waited. Once the kit arrived, I let it sit in the sun on my deck for a couple of weeks to complete the off-gassing while I took a few camping trips. Of course, sitting outside like that allowed the various pieces to get dirty and have nature fall on then, so they are not as pristine-looking as they were on delivery day. Regardless, they need to be sanded, and primed at minimum before painting, so this just added a cleaning step before the sanding.

Front Bumper

d-side front fender gap

To prepare for the front fiberglass bumper install, I first needed to expose the steel bar wrapped inside the chrome and rubber bumper originally installed on Zed. I had removed the bumper, brackets and all, earlier for access to the radiator supports for primer shooting. The bracket-to-body bolts are 17mm, and there are 4 per side. The bracket-to-bumper nuts are 14mm, and, again, there are 4 per side. I addressed the surface rust on the brackets, shot them with the same finish primer and set them aside.

The original / stock bumper cover is held on with a myriad of bolts and screws. The (10mm?) bolts removed easily. The screws were so rusted on, I had to cut them off with a grinder. Once the steel bar was exposed, I could start test fitting the bumper. I spent a while just fiddling with it: setting it on, tilting it at various angles, etc until I could see how I wanted it. I temporarily mounted the front bumper brackets and the steel bar next, and sat the bumper cover on top. The original location of the bar was 1.5" too far forward.

To recess the front bumper, the gas in the mounts needs to be released, and then the bracket pushed backwards into itself. To release the gas, the steel bar needs to be removed and then a Phillips bolt head is exposed. Remove the bolt, and the gas is released. Then, push the end in. I measured the 1.5" and marked it so I knew when I had it in the right spot. At first, the brackets did not want to compress, even with the gas gone. I encouraged them with a rubber mallet and pushed until the bracket compressed to my mark.

Once compressed, I re-attached the steel bar, and then set the new bumper cover on the bar. This time, it set exactly right, though the ends initially appeared much wider than the fenders want to sit (witness the top two pictures). After about an hour of fiddling with it I found that when the ends of the fender rotated upwards (and the fiberglass shifted left-right a little bit, the steel bar readjusted, etc), they were much closer. Still, actual mounting to the fenders will wait until I have the fenders secured firmly. The fender bolts, like most of the others, have disappeared. The internet thinks these bolts should be M6x1, but I could not even start threading that size. They are also not M5x.8 as those fall right through. I tried generic slotted #12-24 machine bolts next since they are effectively "M5.5", though they also fell straight through. I will return to the M6 bolts and see if I just gunked up the threads with primer. Anyway, with the bumper in place, I can see that I will need to open up the turn signal indicator holes a little bit to allow for the lenses and bulbs to be maintained without removing the bumper. Also, I expect there will be some shaping needed where the hood opens since the bumper is 1.5" deeper.

Rear Bumper

The original rear bumper was the only real rust on this car, which is why we tossed it. I sourced a replacement bar and rear mounts from our friend in Hillsboro. After addressing the surface rust on the brackets similar to the front brackets, I acquired nuts to mount the brackets to the rear (M10x1.25) and attached them. I needed a washer between each of the outer holes on the mounts and the body to angle the mounts inward enough to fit the rear bumper. Onto the brackets, I set the steel bar and test fit the rear bumper. Again, the bracket pushed the bumper out too far to fit. So, I repeated the gas-out process, pushing the rear bumper in an inch. Unlike the front, the rear bumper does not provide an easy means of getting your fingers on the mounting nuts and studs. But, with some perseverance, I got one nut on each side so I could see how it set. As good as the front looked, the rear looked even better. The kit snugged into the body contours, as you can see in the picture below.

Setting the Gaps

p-side rear alignment

When C bought this car, it had been messed up by the prior owner in 2 ways. First, he stripped the interior in the interest of saving a few pounds because he wanted a drift car. Second, he drifted the car into something or someone, damaging the driver door and front fender. We replaced the front door with a donor from WA, but tried to straighten the fender. Off the car after many days of working on it, the fender looked great. Once I re-mounted the doors, hood and rear tailgate, however, the gap between the leading edge of the driver door and the trailing edge of the fender could not be resolved. The edge along the front valence (in front of the windscreen) and above the door also did not line up well. The fold in the driver-side fender had erased the trailing edge and attempts to re-establish it by my amateur hands did not get it there. The image below shows how far off the fender-to-door gap is; the misaligned edge above the door is slightly visible. The passenger side, however, gapped perfectly, with about 1/4" along all of the seams of both the door and the fender so I have a target for the driver side. I spent a couple of hours shifting the door around and improved the gap at the top, but the long edge between the fender and the door could not be resolved. I did not reproduce that edge on the fender quite right.

The efforts to straighten the driver fender has been instructive, but, I will be replacing it. Unfortunately, these panels have not been produced in years, so I needed to find one from a donor car and the one I found is not dent-free. Fortunately, the edges are perfect and it aligns properly with the hood, bumper and driver door. So, once the dents above the wheel well are coerced back into place, the panels will be right. I will then set the driver-side gaps so we have a solid base for the kit. Then, I'll finalize the placement of the bumpers.

Bumper Plan

Both the front and the rear bumper will require a little bit of fit and finish. The rear aligns very well, with only some small smoothing needed to achieve the line I am looking for. The front may require more, even after the fender fit has improved, the gaps are larger. I will see how much this gap closes once I send a couple of screws through. I expect I will need to add material to the inner edges of the bumper along the fenders to make it look right. Once I have the front and rear looking as I would like, I will shift to the two side panels that run under the doors between the wheel wells and then priming the kit.

I do not intend to seal the seams between the fender/quarter panels and the front/rear bumpers. Instead, I intend to have a clean, visible, seam line. This way if there is some kind of damage to the fiberglass from parking curbs or a small accident, the repair will not have to extend past that seal line. This also gives me the opportunity to try mixing flex additive into the fiberglass bumper paint. The "flex additive" increases the paint's willingness to bend without cracking. If I sealed the seam and painted the body as a whole, that flexing additive would need to be part of the paint on the seal or further up fender/quarter panel paint. Otherwise, there could be cracking at the seam, forcing the repair into the steel. This way, the bumper can be removed, repaired/replaced, painted and installed.

What's Next

The ultimate question remains: will the car get through paint before the weather changes? No, but I would rather have it look right than be hurriedly finished. First, I need to get the driver fender replacement undented and prepped. Then, I will get the body kit fitting completed with mounting holes drilled, etc. This would allow me to finish the kit separately (clean, sand, Bondo, sand, clean, possibly high-build primer, sand, clean, finish primer, sand, clean, paint) and then mount it when it's ready. I don't expect a weather miracle that would allow me to get all the way to the end of that task list, though. I expect the weather will turn for good before I'm through primer. Actual paint on the body and the kit will have to wait until next year.

Thanks, as always, for following along-

Zed Body Progress

With the weather shifting warm to cold to warm again, Zed (the 1979 280ZX) work has been a little bit on-again / off-again. With the weather returning to hot for what looks like the Summer, I shifted efforts back to Zed from the other projects (you've seen the posts)... well, until this past weekend when everything came to a complete stop due to the record-setting high temps (over 45*C / 113*F). Today's post focuses on Zed's body work again, solving for the missing rear bumper and getting after some priming. Again.

Bumpity Bump

A lingering question for Zed was how to solve for the rear bumper. The original was a rusted out mess, and donorZed was about as bad. I was considering how to construct something one-off custom, but decided that an off-the-shelf fiberglass kit was a better looking, and fastest-to-implement approach. Rather than just do the rear, I got a full kit, so the front-to-back is consistent. Of course, this will delay the paint a little bit, as I have more body panels to solve for. Plus there is the added delay introduced by shipping. Ultimately, Zed will look better, so it's worth it. The kit I ordered looks like the one pictured on the side here, without the big wing on the back. That's not my style, but everyone gets an opinion. Later, I will add louvers to the rear window since that window lets in a ton of heat in the summertime if left uncovered.

In order for the rear fiberglass to mount, I needed the rear bumper bar that sits inside the big rubber ugly. I reconnected with the local Z parts-hoarding-guy to whom we sold donorZed and bought a rear bumper bar, and mounts... for about 1/2 what we sold the entire donorZed to him for. Funny how this all works. Perhaps, in retrospect, I might have saved the original rubber bumper support bar and mounts. Anyway, next was clearing the rust off the bumper mounts, and getting them ready for action. I used multiple passes with Naval Jelly followed by a coat of Eastwood Rust Encapsulator and then a coat of rattle can primer. I will shoot these with the hinges and other tiny bits that we want the color of the finished body.

Following that, I removed the front bumper support (4 16mm bolts each side) and the bumper from the supports (4 14mm nuts each side). Next, I wanted to remove the rubber ugly wrapped around the bar so we were ready for when the fiberglass kit arrives. The Phillips screws that hold the ugly cover on, however, were rust-locked in place. Multiple passes with the Kroil didn't allow them to budge. So, I had to grind them off. It is interesting how much rust was on the bumpers and how little the rest of the car had. Those front bumper mounts had virtually no surface rust on them while the bumper itself had been impacted. These mounts will also get the color spray with the other bits I mentioned above.

Prime Time

Last, I finished enough of the Bondo cycle to feel that I could lay another round of hi-build primer. The Bondo-cycle took an awfully long time, and I got far too into it. I imagine I still missed a bunch of things and it still will not look as good as a real pro paint job, but at some point you just have to stop dicking with it and go. Otherwise, you will never get to enjoy the fruit of your labor. It's just labor. I am enjoying the heck out of bodywork though, which I kind of surprising. My first round of high-build primer was both too light and mostly sanded off so if you are concerned that there will be this huge stack of paint layers, rest assured, that is not happening. I did have to wait for the weather to get warm and dry enough, though.

Once the weather turned warm again, I acted like the primer had not happened before: restoring the masking, vacuuming and blowing air, cleaning the snot out of it, etc. so it was ready to get primed. Then, I laid the body panels out under the car-port cover again and repeated the multi-passes of primer, just like I did last Fall (See Zed Prime), with a few differences. My set-up this time did not include the in-line line drier nor extra pressure regulator. I had not gotten another disposable line-drier, and without it, I could not attach the regulator. So, I set up my pressure with test fan blows on one of the fenders instead. Total Roadkill. I figured I could reduce the moisture if I kept the air compressor tank warm, so I moved it into the sun. Since the air around here is super-dry right now (humidity below 30%), there isn't much moisture in the air to get compressed into the air line anyway. This may sound sketch, but the primer landed fine.

As to shooting, I did a light first coat to give subsequent coats something to adhere to, while also avoiding runs or sags. The sunlight was so bright, it was hard to really see the fan, since the color of the primer was the same as the target panel most of the time. Similar to the 1st shoot, I did not meaningfully stop between coats 1 and 2: fill the cup, shoot the cup, repeat. Why? Because, by the time I got all the way to the end of the light coat, the place where I had started had sat for longer than the minimal flash-dry period, and it was warm enough to dry fairly quickly. The surfaces were tacky when I went around for my heavy pass, which, I felt, was just right.

The 2mm tipped gun got clogged about halfway through my 2nd coat. As I attempted to unclog it, I lost about half of a shooting-cup (or about an actual imperial cup) of paint: it turned to Jello. I think I mis-measured the concentration of hardener. Could it have been from the lack of an air-drier? I dunno. Undaunted, I grabbed another gun which had not been drilled out to 2mm; it was a 1.8mm tip. I did not clean it first, I just blew a few seconds of primer through it and got back to the job. Yes, that was lazy and yes it could have allowed for some shipping oil/crud into the primer. I considered all this and used the first little bit of shooting to second-coat the nose section that will be mostly hidden from view (under fenders, radiator support, eg). More Roadkill; maybe that show is a bad influence on me. Anyway, I finished the pieces I had not gotten with a 2nd coat after I shot some hidden areas. I found that the 1.8 tip flowed better, gave a smoother finish and had a more predictable fan than the 2mm drilled tip. So, I take from that either (a) I drilled the tip wrong or (b) my 21gal compressor, pressure set up, gun and material were all better suited as a unit to the 1.8mm tip. I'm not sure how you drill wrong, so I think the difference is really tied to my compressor, and it's ability to keep up with the air-pressure demand of the 2mm tip. Regardless, I will be shooting this high-build with the 1.8 tip on a very warm / hot day from now on.

Reviewing the Prime

None of these changes, including the especially Roadkill-inspired ones, appear to have made much of a negative impact on the primed surface. Quite the contrary, actually. I started setting up the first gun at 10 and finished spraying by 2. I took an hour to clean up work area and the second gun (first gun went into the garbage) as I let the panels sit for the rest of the afternoon. Late the following afternoon, after the panels had sat in unseasonably warm temps (30*C+ or 85*F+) most of the day, I did some test sanding on the mostly-hidden areas with some 320 grit paper. The primer powdered smooth very quickly. If this is any indication, then this priming session was much better than the first. Perhaps this high-build poly-primer is more temperature sensitive than the Eastwood folks indicated on their site: warmer drier days are much better. The first time around (when it got into the lower 50's*F/11*C overnight after shooting), there was meaningful stippling on the surface. This time, when the overnight temps barely got below 70*F, the surface is much less dimpled. And, it sands smooth much more easily; like, a few passes with 320 and it's smooth. Last Fall, I tried pre-warming the panels inside my garage but that had no effect: the shell which sat outside the whole time had the same little dots peppering the surface. I think the real difference was the long warm days both the day of and after shooting.

Learnings

My big take-aways from the shooting the hi-build poly-primer from Eastwood: use a 1.8 tip and an in-line drier on a warm-to-hot day when the overnight temp will not fall below 18*C or 65*F for best results. Do a quick-coat first for the next heavier coat(s) to adhere to. Last, it is a good idea to have an extra gun as an emergency fall back in case you mess up the hardener concentration and jack up your gun in the middle of your spray-sesh.

Go Forward

Next, I will be sanding the rest of the body panels. Then, once it arrives, I will be handling the body kit. At some point, there will be paint, but I may shoot a urethane primer/sealer first (once Eastwood has it in stock and ships it to me). And, of course, the body kit will probably need some tweaks and then priming. I sincerely hope I can get it all done before the weather prevents it. While the Fall rainy season is a distance away, we cannot guess whether we will be revisited by toxic smoke again, scrapping late-Summer plans. For that matter, we are having triple-digit heat waves (40*C+) that are keeping me penned inside as effectively as the smoke did last summer. 

I expect that if I have to wait too long for the body kit, I will set up and shoot the parts that will not be impacted (like the underside of the hood, the hinges, the bumper mounts, etc) so I can make some headway and save myself some shooting time later while also getting a better feel for the equipment and material. Some of this stuff may not be terribly post-able, but I will try to at least put a little message here about the work.

Thanks, as always, for following along-