Zed Primed Again

I get that this is becoming almost comical in how cyclical the priming on Zed (1979 280ZX) has been. Today's post is another "Priming the 280ZX" posting. As much as I would like to say it is the last, I know there is one more primer shooting day coming, when the body kit arrives.

I did this work around another heat wave here in the Pacific NorthWest with temps pushing 40*C (104*F) at the peak. I spread out the final prep work over the full day Saturday and shot the primer Sunday morning. All of the other final sanding was after work in the heat of the day the week prior, causing me to literally pour sweat. Anyway, off we go.

Why More Primer

First, the obvious question... why more primer? For starters, this shoot was black 2k primer intended as the final coat of pre-paint. Hi-build primer can absolutely be your last coat of primer. In the reading I have done, many people have had great success with shooting their base/color coat(s) on top of the hi-build. I decided that I wanted a harder shell underneath the base than the hi-build provided. Also, the primer immediately under the paint is what is exposed when you get a rock chip. I think the light grey would show more than the black. Consider too, the color of your primer has a subtle impact on the color of your base coat, unless you put extra coats of color on to cover that. I felt that the black undertone beneath the gun-metal grey would darken the grey. Last, through the final rounds of Bondo, I sanded through to bare metal in a few spots. Those, at least, needed priming.

Preparation is Key

If you have read any of the posts about my efforts on Zed, this section is probably moot. Still, it is worth underscoring the importance of getting the panels as flat and straight as you can before you start spraying. Why? Because the paint is a very thin film of color laying on top of whatever your body shape is underneath. So, if it is lumpy, bumpy, or even deep scratched, it will show through. I performed many rounds of Bondo application and sanding, each time getting a little better at it, and each time getting the panels that little bit nicer. My final process has proven effective: mix a small batch (250ml / a US cup or so), applying slightly too much Bondo to the imperfection area on one pass (and don't touch it once it's applied), sand with less coarse paper (150 grit) for shaping and 400 for smoothing, and last, circle issues for further repair with chalk. This worked for me, and would probably work for others. The higher grit number means you use more paper and it takes longer to get the shape. I hand-block rather than use a DA orbital sander, which is additionally slower. I found this to be a fair price to avoid over-sanding.

Once sanded and smooth, the dust needs to be removed. Pigpen, my shop vacuum, is relatively effective at removing dust. The dust is so fine and Pigpen is so old that dust finds its way around the filter, creating a small cloud of dust around the canister (hence his new name of Pigpen, from Peanuts). I followed the vacuum with blowing compressed air on the panels (after the dust cloud passes) and then I set up for shooting. Since this shoot included the insides of the hood, tailgate and doors, there was considerably more prep than the last few cycles. I repaired the masking at this point as well.

For this spray session, I also prepared the hinges. I started with spray cleansers, but found they were not efficient with the 40 years of grease embedded in the hinge works. So, I grabbed a bucket, tossed in a dishwasher detergent pod and dropped the parts on top. I filled the bucket with a garden hose and then moved the parts around with a pry bar. I let the parts sit for an hour or so, agitating the bucket or moving the parts with the prybar periodically. I drained the dark grey wash water and rinsed the parts with the hose. All of the grease was completely gone.

Set Up

With the panels off the car, I need a wide area to shoot everything. I use a second carport space, laying a big blue tarp down as a floor. This keeps the dust away and protects the driveway. Onto the tarp, I arrange the panels to I can easily move from one to the other without drooping my air hose onto wet paint nor creating a weird maze to navigate while trying to spray. Once arranged, I blew off the panels again with compressed air and then cleaned the panels with oil/grease cleaner (Oil Eater). I do one last check, by holding the air hose and walking the area, making sure I can get to everything.

I have gotten relatively quick at getting the gun ready now. The 2k primer is a 4:1 mix. So, for a 20oz ($20US<) Harbor Freight purple gun that means 16oz:4oz of paint to reducer. I pulled a clean pickle jar out of my glass recycling to use as a mix jar. With a measuring cup and water from the kitchen, I marked a 16oz line and a 20oz line on the jar. My process was to pour in 16oz of primer to the first line and then add reducer to the upper line. A quick mix, and pour into the gun and I was ready to go. Doing it this way gave the air compressor time to catch up to me.

The Shoot

I checked my spray fan against some of the masked off glass, as well as the underside of the hood (it was flipped upside down so I could shoot that side first). With a decent fan, I started shooting around the radiator support first. I figured if there were any mishaps, better they happen in an area that will be almost completely hidden from view later. There were no real issues. I had a few "tiger stripes" where the gun would sporadically not produce a paint fan... resulting in what looks like a tiger stripe. I believe this could be attributed to either too much air pressure or a crappy gun. I will recalibrate for the next shoot. Overall, though, the primer laid down very well. Once all of the undersides were done, I sprayed out the rest of that batch and flipped the doors, hood and tailgate over. Then, I shot them. One thing I did this time was take advantage of the 1/2 squeeze on the trigger to blow air: If you press the trigger halfway, compressed air comes out, but the opening isn't big enough to pull paint. So, I was able to quick-blow the panel immediately before spraying. This trick will be more useful with the color, but it was good to practice it.

After I was done, and the primer all dry, I looked back over the spots where there were significant Bondo sections (again, not thick, just a wide area) and they look very good. Even the middle of the hood, where all eyes will be most of the time, the center ridgeline is exactly centered and looks just as I intended.

The pictures on the right show the before and after of the passenger rear quarter panel. I think they show how careful work can produce some pretty great results. I really like the satin glow. It shows the body contours very well, allowing me to look for remaining imperfections fairly easily when compared to the hi-build which sat flat. Everything looks pretty amazing to me, and I do not intend to pursue any additional rounds of Bondo on these panels nor the main shell. That is a huge milestone.

Next Step Musings

I am still waiting for the arrival of the body kit that I ordered in June. This is not a supply chain issue, really, it is about a manufacturer getting their business back operational after a CoViD shut down. I understand that my kit has been produced and is in transit. Depending on timing, I may 400-grit sand what I just shot and then plan for base coating the areas which are going to be either under the kit or under other body panels (like, maybe paint the front supports for the fenders, for example). I know I want to do those on a different day than the rest of the body, but I don't know how far ahead I want to get without the body kit in-hand. I understand that these kits are really one-size-fits-none-perfectly. So, there will probably be some shaping at least. Regardless, these kits need to be minimally surface sanded to remove the gel coat for paint to adhere. Last, I have read some advice about leaving newly formed fiberglass panels in the sun for a week so they get nice and warm help to complete their off-gassing / curing. Apparently, they will behave better over the long term if this is done. I recognize it sounds a little odd, but this came from someone who does these body kits all the time, so I'll trust it. If the kit arrives soon, I should still have time to finish the prep and paint before the weather turns... assuming the weather stays warm/dry until the middle of October like it usually does/used to. If necessary, I will switch it up and paint everything I can, leaving the body kit for next year.

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

Leisureland Road Report

What's this? A Road Report? That's right, my friends, Boo, Hapy and I took a trip to visit a small off-the-grid spot called "Leisureland" located between Eugene and Florence Oregon, near Swisshome. Today's post is your basic road report on our trip down and back. We tried out a couple new pieces of gear, but I will have a dedicated post about that later. Today, is just about the drive.

Pre-Launch

Swisshome not Sweethome

Looking back, the last time Hapy left town, it was August of 2019. That's 2 years since we went on a meaningful drive. Over those 2 years, I made many changes: new electrical bundle from front-to-back; completely re-wired the relays, fuses and such around the ECU in the spare tire well; new nozzles; Malone'd the ECU; fixed the limp mode; a new gauge for oil pressure and temp; new sensors for oil pressure and temp; added a furnace; the defroster was moved from the extra battery tray to under-belly; added/fixed side running lights; added a tow hitch; fixed the hi-beams and fixed the reverse lights. I think that's it, but I made so many changes, I may have missed something. I have also changed the oil in the engine and the oil in the transaxle. Each of these have been tested along the way, but there has not been a significant long-running test of everything. Hapy knows he has been loved on, though, so Boo and I were confident we would arrive at our destination. Looking back, he only failed to deliver us to our destination once since the TDI install; it is the return that has been fraught with perils. Still, we gave ourselves lots of time and cooler air by leaving the night before the day we intended to arrive.

river looking upstream

Packing for a camping trip, when you haven't taken one in 2 years, is almost like packing for your first trip ever. We started by removing everything unattached from the bus, and setting it under the big carport canopy. Then, we could be sure of what was going with us. That just addressed the gear, though. While we mostly have long dry warm Summers, Oregon can have unpredictable weather in the Summer, so we pack for extremes. Case-in-point, at 4Peaks our second year, we had a daytime high in the low 30's C (90's F) and an overnight low below freezing. Having winter parkas that morning seemed prescient, but it was just knowing Oregon and preparing for weird. Our destination this time was along the Siuslaw River, so we needed to pack for overnight cold (of course, because, weird), but bring swimsuits for playing in the river and everything in between. Even rain gear, which we didn't use, but it did rain overnight. We usually prepare chicken in a crockpot ahead of time, load up on food from the fridge and hit the grocery for a few final items plus ice. We ran our food supply at home down to almost nothing, so we needed to hit the store for most of our food. Since we planned to bounce through Eugene to pick up Boo's sister, we delayed the food and ice shopping for then.

To Eugene (Interstate)

river looking downstream

With Hapy loaded with gear, minimal groceries and our clothes for all seasons, we hit the road after dark. Here in Oregon in August, that's after 9PM. The route to Eugene is well-trod, and probably well documented in this blog. It is basically Interstate 5 from Tigard to Eugene with the only interruptions coming from our own needs for bathrooms, food/drink or just a break. With all the exterior lights working and the engine humming, it didn't feel like it had been 2 years, but it did feel long overdue. We did discover almost immediately that the dash lights behind the fuel gauge and the speedometer did not illuminate. The lights in the new gauge lit-up, though, so I mental-noted it for resolving. To keep our pace, I found with a flashlight that when the RPM's were around 2700, the speedo sat at 55. So, I used my tach to keep the speed.

We greatly enjoyed the drive, pulling into the rest area just north of Coburg to catch a quick nap. There were many others already doing the same. Vagabonding has become second nature, even if it had been 2 years. Still, the gear was moved, the curtains up and we were ready to sleep in less than 10 minutes. We got back on the road and over to Boo's sister's place without event.

To Leisureland (smaller and smaller roads)

OR 126 leading out of Eugene is a simple 2-lane road with a pair of yellow lines down the middle. The departure from Eugene into the great empty just west is not terribly dramatic either. Evidence of population appears less and less on the sides of the road until there is nothing, and you enter the forest. The turn off for Leisureland is a virtually unmarked road, that turns immediately onto a bridge over the Siuslaw River. Then, we turn onto a single-lane, twisty gravel road rolling past small homesteads for a few miles. Hapy took the road easily. From start to finish, Hapy's engine temp did not rise above 196, and that peak was on the steep just south of Salem near the Enchanted Forest.

Fire Routing

"porch kitty"
on the lot couch

I won't detail on the weekend; it was a family event, but it was really relaxing. The pictures show the beauty and a pair of domestic animals hanging out with us. Porch Kitty, in particular, made herself at home around Hapy, sleeping on the lot couch often. There was much resting, swimming and visiting. On Sunday, members left practically in the reverse order in which they arrived, leaving Boo, her sister and me as the last to leave. It was at this point that we learned a forest fire had started 5 miles down the road in a large pile of old railroad ties. Our oldest, K, made it past the fire, and called 911 to report it. 15 minutes behind him, K2 was prevented from passing because the fire had reached the road. He was sent back to Leisureland for new directions.

The gravel road continues past Leisureland for another 5 miles or so before reaching route 36 near Mapleton. Any other time one drives out that way, you can double-back onto OR-126. This time, however, there was a wreck blocking OR-126, so the exit was the other way through Deadwood, around Triangle Lake to US-99. This added a couple of hours to our drive home, but except for the US-99 stretch, it was a true pleasure. Once we hit US-99, the driving became more difficult. I believe Hapy's alignment had been negatively impacted by the slow, but deep-ditch-strewn, off-road driving on the Leisureland property getting to and from our camping location. Regardless, once Hapy got up over 50mph, the steering was highly interactive, reminding me of the steering before I fixed a bunch of things a few years ago (See Drag Link and Tie Rods). I am having the alignment done later this week at the same shop: HM Motorsports. In fact, when I called them, they asked if it was for the bus they did a few years ago. 

Home Again

Walter swims

We dropped Boo's sister off at her place in Eugene, and while we would have liked to visit, evening was approaching and the dash lights still were not operating. So, we had an abbreviated visit and headed for I-5. This last leg of our journey was the most difficult. We had gusting head winds that came in on an angle, so we had the worst wind conditions: head wind, cross wind and gusting. The wind was then amplified by passing big-rigs which create a considerable push-away side-force when the front passes and a pull-towards side-force when the rear passes... and then the tailwind wake. All of these wind forces were further complicated by Hapy's steering / alignment. We could drive for 30-45 minutes before I had to take a break and stretch/massage my shoulders.

The effort to keep Hapy on the road took a toll. In Albany, we stopped for some food. To me, Albany also represents a change in the surrounding countryside. South of Albany is very open prairie or farmland right up to the freeway. North of Albany, there are more trees along the freeway to buffer the wind, and there are more hills.  Eventually, the sides of the freeway are lined with forest, muting the crosswind. Also, with the consumption of dinner, more time passed, allowing the sun to drop more, which in turn reduces the intensity of the wind. So, once we were out of Albany, and into Salem, the difficulty of managing Hapy's steering was much reduced (but not eliminated). Climbing the big hill by the Enchanted Forest just south of Salem, an alarm tripped in the computer. I silenced it, noting that I needed to see what code was unexpectedly thrown after we got home. Hapy ran fine, neither his temps nor oil pressure did anything interesting, though the temp peaked near 196 again. So, we pushed on, but not quite as hard. It is interesting that this hill is the hardest part in both directions.

We pulled into the driveway after dark (after 9PM), and quickly unloaded. Boo and I have become a very efficient team, leveraging the carport as a staging area so the bus can be emptied front-to-back. From there, personal items and perishables are brought inside and the camping gear is returned to the bus. As such, we have far less work to prepare for the next trip. We emptied coolers, sorted out laundry and rested with a beverage before heading for bed.

The following day at lunch, I checked the codes: (P1550-boost intermittent and then P0380-glowplug pending). I cleared them and Hapy continued to run great; he did not throw another alarm. So, I think I just pushed him a little too hard, pushing for too much power and the pressure sensor readings did not match what the ECU was expecting. Regardless, I will keep an eye on it, and will check the hoses on the boost side before our next trip.

CoViD-delta Observed

Along the drive, in both directions, we stopped for restrooms, or whatever. Even though the CDC is showing CoViD-19 spikes that have driven almost the entire state into the red (high risk), 95% of the people we encountered were mask-less and not keeping their distance. This included the WinCo for groceries, public restrooms on the Interstate and to-go counter from a fast food joint. Clearly, the message about what I have heard called "the Selfish Surge" of CoViD-delta is not getting through. Boo and I wore masks and got puzzled looks from people. I heard one woman explaining to a passerby in the grocery store that she was concerned about her child going to school, but she wasn't wearing a mask and her husband wasn't getting the vax. Like pretty much everyone, I am tired of CoViD, being safe, staying home, wearing a mask, etc. I did all those things, got my shots, encouraged pretty much everyone to do the same, and yet here we are. I know there are many folks who cannot get the vaccine: kids under 12, resistant persons, folks who can't get time off because their employers are bastards, etc. Still, that leaves a large group of persons who won't get the CoVax just because they don't want to. Those are the persons we can thank for this surge. Unfortunately, while many will die on that sword, not all of them will be persons who had the power to make that choice.

Hapy Birthday

Hapy's birthday approaches. I send out this reminder to whoever is around NorthWest Oregon over Labor Day: we are celebrating his 50th birthday (3-September) at LL Stub Stewart State Park. Boo arranged for a duet to play on Saturday, 4-Sep, under a 10x10 in the middle of the meadow. I don't know what else she has in store, but she likes parties, especially parties with some activities. The duet, I'm sure, is just one. Drinking and smoking are not pre-arranged activities, but I expect they will be visited regularly throughout. I am assuming that CoViD numbers will retreat and we will still be able to hold the party. If not, then there will be one more casualty of the Selfish Surge. May it not be so. Please get your CoVax, wear that mask, gritting your teeth behind it if necessary. But, let's just get through this alive. We can all complain about it together afterwards. Without masks.

That's it for now. As always, thanks for following along.

Smogging Oliver

Today, I cover the events around Shade Tree over the past week. While there was little real progress, there was a lot of activity.

Zed Body Update

No posting this Summer is complete without some reference to the body work on Zed. I have finished the Bondo-cycles on the hood, and the shell. All I have left to resolve are 2 spots: one near the passenger door opening on the passenger fender and one small anomaly on the driver fender near the headlight bucket. The hood has been incredibly time consuming, but I know that it will be what we see the most (while driving), so I wanted it as clean as I could get it. It still isn't perfect, but I am running out of Summer to get the paint shot. Once smooth, I shop-vac'd the hood clean, and moved it into the garage with the other completed panels. This last piece freed that canopy of parts, clearing the path for Oliver to get out of the garage.

Oliver DEQ

the kind of weather I
don't want to test Oliver

I am watching the calendar. Convertible season is probably about half-over, and Oliver, the 1978 MGB, had not been out of the garage yet. His tags expired during the CoViD lockdown, and he has been blocked into the garage with cars or car parts for the better part of 2 years. With the way cleared, and an unexpected weekday off work, I ran him to the DEQ in Sherwood. The queue was short (4 cars in my lane), but the news was bad. My emissions were double the legal limit for both CO and Hydro-Carbons. While a fail test is $0US, it takes an hour just to get there and back plus the time in the queue, it could be 2+ hours to get through. This was the case for me. And, I failed, so I get to do it again... once I figure out what the issue is.

That's Rich

After all that time with the ColorTune, I clearly didn't get it right. One of the behaviors I noticed on the drive to DEQ was the bog-from-start. What does that mean? A bog happens when you are at a standing stop, on level ground and move your foot from the brake to the gas pedal and depress it to leave the stop line, and instead of the engine rev'ing up and pulling.... it sputters a second first. That sputter, often called a "bog" happens when the fuel mixture is too rich. The gas depress feeds too much fuel into the warmed up carb, acting like an unwelcome choke. The carb reacts by, effectively choking, until it can catch up and start running again.

I chose to spend some time trying to resolve this in yet another new way. Rather than playing with the screws sitting at idle, or using the ColorTune spark plug, I used a "bog test". I'll get to that in a second. First, I got Oliver home from DEQ, cooled off with some lunch and checked his sparkplugs. They were black, confirming what the DEQ printout said. With a slotted screwdriver with me, I set out to lean the carb with my little bog test.

Bog Testing

This is something that I came up with, and may not actually be a good idea. Why? Because, when your engine gets too lean, it can become dangerously hot, potentially causing damage. So, you may not want to experiment this way with your ride. Your car, your choices.

This process is simple. I used small side streets around my house to do this over and over again. First, we get the engine up to normal operating temperature. Then, we run a from-stop-to-moving test by simply pressing the accelerator pedal, expecting the car to move forward without a hiccup. When we hiccup instead, I pull over, pop the hood and turn the idle-mixture screws in a little bit (reducing fuel in the mixture), the same amount on both sides. Make only one change, make it small and then retest. In my case, I made 1/8 turn adjustments so I wouldn't over-lean it. Then, I took another drive, focusing on the behavior from standing still to in-motion. I did this little test a few times, and then noticed that I had to correct my idle speed, so I did. 

Undeterred, I continued to test-for-bog and then adjust more lean. Unfortunately, it got too hot outside (over 35*C or 95*F) for me to keep doing this so I stopped before I completely eliminated the from-stop bog. Because of how much I leaned the carb (over 1/2 a turn), I recognize just how over-rich I had the carb before. As I drove back to the house, I noticed how much quicker Oliver felt. It seems that my over-rich was killing some idle-circuit driving performance as well.

I intend to return to this experimenting, but I grow concerned that the convertible season will end before Boo and I have really gotten even a picnic out of it. So, we may go full scofflaw and just take a drive, punting the DEQ and such until after Hapy's birthday.

Shade Tree with G

K2's friend G dropped by this past weekend to do his front brakes. He has been experiencing a wump-wump-wump feeling when lightly engaging his brakes and concluded that one or both of his front rotors were warped. Inspecting the brakes during removal, the meat on the brake pads looked really good. Like almost brand new. I figured that maybe the shop that did the brakes didn't replace the rotors. They did, however, clearly use air tools on the fasteners as we had to use a sledgehammer on the wrench to break them free. Air tools are great for solving for a long bolt, but if you can't set the torque with it, you probably shouldn't run all the way to the gun clicking. Otherwise, you may very well over torque. Anyway, we got the rotors replaced and discovered that the replacement pads he had were for rears, not fronts. So, contrary to what most would want to do, we re-installed his old-almost-new pads. The brakes tested very well, with no noise, and no wump-wump-wump.

One last closing thought.... Have you noticed the increase in the CoVid news lately? Well, if you look at the CDC website, especially the time-lapse thing, you might see why. That is some scary stuff. Prepare for another round of shut-downs, or at least lots of masking and such. Things are going very poorly in the US right now.

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