Lots of pictures and information for all!! (Page 4/8)
NYRED85GT AUG 18, 12:12 PM
I am using an industrial rustoleum spray paint. First I get the metal as clean as possible with a wire brush on my angle grinder, then 2 coats of primer made for slightly rusted metal, then 3+ coats of high gloss black to finish it off.

That movie was funny as hell! I wish I could do stuff like that, but my computer kung-fu isn't too good.

Mike
gaas88 AUG 19, 08:25 PM
I could never do that. Anyone who has the presence of mind and patience to tackle such a job is truly a fan of the Fiero. You sir are a credit to the Fiero community! My hats off to you..........great job!
NYRED85GT AUG 19, 10:16 PM
Most of my day was spent working on the old girl. I am letting the upper and lower front control arms dry for the next few days and I am almost finished painting the front knuckles and brake mounts. Lowering springs and new front outer tie rods are on order to finish off the front suspension. The drivers side rocker and the front and rear inside corners have been cut out. That took me about 5 hours (with lunch and dinner brakes) to do. Over the next few days I will be killing the lite surface rust, welding in the new rocker, and painting it. So more pictures to come. Then I will weld in patches to fill the body plugs in the floor pan and paint. MAJOR WELDING AND RUST REPAIR WILL BE DONE!!!!! Then I just have to figure out where everything goes and assemble the car....... Now that is going to be fun.

Mike
Lewis87GT AUG 23, 03:26 PM
--I am a rookie like many of you guys so DO NOT BE INTIMIDATED!! Have some faith in yourself and you will see positive results!--

Yeah that would be me too. I have not worked on my car for about a month, you have inspired me. My car passed inspection, is street legal and runs well, but I know I have to deal with the rust sooner than later. Keep the updates coming, I'm sure updating the thread also inspires you to keep going.

I fixing the rust issues yourself is the way you like handling your hobby, I say do it your way no matter what advise you get to the contrary.
NYRED85GT AUG 28, 01:35 AM
Ok a little more progress has been made. Last week it rained a lot and it was too humid to paint anything so I spent some time on my other LEGAL hobby:
AK-47 parts kit is the core of this build, but in a bullpup format. This is the third firearm I have built in the past few years.

Next build is going to use these 71 round drum magazines and be a bullpup configuration also muahahahaha.....


Ok back on topic..... Everything shown here is the drivers side rocker panel area.
Front corner:

Cut out the bottom of the rocker with an angle grinder and I an using a chisel to break the spot welds:

Rust knocked loose and the bottom of the rocker:
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All the dust on the floor, dirt caked in the rocker, and loose rust knocked free:


Everything in this segment is the front drivers corner only.

Need to remove one piece of rusted sheet metal:

Closer look:

Inside foot area- the surface rust is very light here on the floor pan:
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Looking where the rocker panel is cut out. There are 3 pieces of sheet metal that come together here and the middle one is the one that you will see rusted out. The outer pieces are usually intact:

Use a chisel to break the spot welds and so you can seperate the 3 pieces:
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The middle piece has been seperated and cut out:
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Showing what is left of the front corner after it is removed:
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Outside front corner view:

The gap is supposed to be there (red arrow). The square tube that I am going to weld in will bridge the gap and be seam welded:

Looking down the length of the rocker:



Next is the rear drivers corner only.

Looking straight up at the rear corner:

This is the seatbelt mount. I need to remove this so I can fit the square tube into the rocker:

It is a pain in the butt to remove because there are ALOT of spot welds!
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Showing the removed piece and the hole I will be patching:
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And here are some other progress pics.
Front firewall being fitted in place:

Front closer to completion:

Front suspension getting painted:


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Rack and pinion- I have new boots on it now thanks to The Fiero Store!

Spare tire tub has been painted high gloss black with paint made for plastic:

I am going to try and make this mount work on my 3.4 DOHC project. It is two seperate mounts cut and welded together. This makes 2 mounting points for the engine, 2 for the transmission, and I might weld another engine mount on it later. The reason for it is I will be adding a turbo next year and I need the strength- might not need a "dog bone" mount if I add a 3rd engine mount.



Enjoy!

Mike

[This message has been edited by NYRED85GT (edited 08-28-2007).]

NYRED85GT OCT 06, 02:19 PM
First is the drivers side rocker area:

Cut out and cleaned up with a wire wheel on my angle grinder. Front inside corner has been cut out because of rust.


Welding in new sheet metal on the front inside corner-rocker view.


Cut a patch to perfectly fit. It stayed in all by itself.




Square tube is in and getting welded at the rear.

Square tube getting welded at the bottom.

Me in action.
NYRED85GT OCT 06, 02:26 PM
Now the floor pan. Look above and you will see what it used to look like.

Wire burshed to clean off the surface rust and loose paint.


Three of the four patches welded in so far. Still wet coat of primer on it.


Last patch on the drivers side.
Top view.

Bottom view.

Inside front corner patch.
NYRED85GT OCT 06, 02:30 PM
Front end is done except for brakes. The anti-sway bar was not mounted in the correct place, now it is......don't ask hehe....




I have about 1/4"-3/16" of clearance here.

[This message has been edited by NYRED85GT (edited 10-06-2007).]

NYRED85GT OCT 06, 02:56 PM
Engine is mounted on the 2 transmission mounts and resting on the stock position engine mount. I have not drilled a hole to connect the poly mount to DOHC engine bracket when these were taken.



Newer pictures!!
All of the bolts that came with the mounts that I bought second hand were either too short or too small diameter for what I have planned for next year. SO I bought some #12 metric grade 10.9 with the integral washers (the nuts and bolts flare out so you don't need to put washers in them).
Front transmission mount.

Rear transmission mount.

Under the crank pully mount with a 1/2" grade 8 bolt connecting the DOHC bracket to the poly mount.

This is posted above also, but here is the mount I am using on the pully side. It was made using two seperate mounts that were welded together to make sort of a "girdle." I think I will be adding another mount to the trunk side so more will be welded on.

Here the the big Dodge truck mount.


Prototype mount bracket for the Dodge mount at the firewall side. I need to make another so that I can get a socket through the bottom to tighten the nut.

Possible dog bone mount? Just a thought at this point.

Lining up the engine!

Ohhh getting closer!

Trimmed hinge. I will be welding the trimmed part back on so that it will also bolt up to the bolt on the bottom.



Need to trim the "dog bone" mount some more. I have like 1mm of clearance from what I guessed it needed to be cut.

Deck lid hits this lift point. It will be coming off soon....

How much room there is.




Headlights I found at Advanced Auto. They are smaller, have brighter low beams, and are high beam/low beam all in one. The only thing is that they use a different 3 prong connector? Is there any reason I couln't just unsolder and resolder it to match the Fiero connector?
NYRED85GT OCT 11, 07:03 PM
Bump in the night.