There are a couple of issues with the exterior of the car that will get addressed eventually. Some of it will get done while the frames are being exchanged because the parts that need refinishing will have to come off the car anyway. Others will take more thought.
The front and rear bumpers have their original finishes. They don't look too bad from across the room, however up close they have issues. The front is rippled slightly and the top of the rear bumper has stress cracks. The rear bumper will probably come off during the swap, so I will have the guys at Bremseth fix it up for me.
Both bumpers are the original semigloss black. When I had my '83 repainted (by Bremseth, by the way - they did an awesome job), I stayed with the semigloss front bumper but went with a gloss rear. I'm not sure what to do about the bumpers on FrankEnSPRIT. I think I may want them painted body color. Matching the finish may be a trick given how old the paint is.
The character line molding needs to be replaced. It has some sun damage and it is coming off the car on the right front corner. This stuff is still available so it should not be a problem.
The side marker lamps have a rubber mount tha
t holds the lenses and a bright trim piece. These are dry-rotted and will be replaced. I think Moss Motors still has these new. I've seen them used on eBay now and again.
The CHMSL has a cracked housing. This is also black, so would be a good candidate for painting to match the body. If I do the bumpers, this will get painted too - after it is replaced.
The inner door seals are dried out as well.
The mirrors look pretty good. The mounting pads have discolored. If I can find replacements, I will change them out when I take the door panels off to redye them.
The front screen deep in the lower air dam is the only place where I have found rust. Bremseth found a guy to make a stainless mesh replacement on the '83 that really came out nice. I may do that again once I know what the final shape of the air dam will be. With the possibility of splitting the oil cooler like the later cars, I may want to use an '83 version that has some divisions in it already, or modify the '87 to better direct airflow.
The biggest problem is the top. The car has the composite roof with the old-style post and clip retainers at the rear. The top can't be removed without unscrewing the posts. Fortunately there is access to them from the engine compartment. This is not a new problem, as the top has some damage to it from someone trying to either pry the top off from the outside or push the top off from the inside, as the fibreglass around the posts is broken. This may be a simple matter of adjusting the clips. I think I will wait until the car is on the new frame, as the fact that the engine is out and that the rear frame brace had not been installed for several years may have allowed the body to change shape a bit. It was an effort to put the brace back in, with lots of raising and lowering of the car with a floor jack under the lower frame hoop to get the frame to open up enough to get the bolts in. On the plus side, those tiny posts and clips really secure the top.
I'll reserve judgement on the paint until I can polish it up. I've started using a system from Griot's Garage that is pretty slick. I have always been uneasy about using a power polishing system as I was afraid of burning the finish. The random orbital machine in this system is clutched so the pad will stop moving before the paint is damaged. It really works, and they have a good line of polishes to work with. It will be a good project to do while I'm waiting for parts.
The front and rear bumpers have their original finishes. They don't look too bad from across the room, however up close they have issues. The front is rippled slightly and the top of the rear bumper has stress cracks. The rear bumper will probably come off during the swap, so I will have the guys at Bremseth fix it up for me.
Both bumpers are the original semigloss black. When I had my '83 repainted (by Bremseth, by the way - they did an awesome job), I stayed with the semigloss front bumper but went with a gloss rear. I'm not sure what to do about the bumpers on FrankEnSPRIT. I think I may want them painted body color. Matching the finish may be a trick given how old the paint is.
The character line molding needs to be replaced. It has some sun damage and it is coming off the car on the right front corner. This stuff is still available so it should not be a problem.
The side marker lamps have a rubber mount tha
t holds the lenses and a bright trim piece. These are dry-rotted and will be replaced. I think Moss Motors still has these new. I've seen them used on eBay now and again.The CHMSL has a cracked housing. This is also black, so would be a good candidate for painting to match the body. If I do the bumpers, this will get painted too - after it is replaced.
The inner door seals are dried out as well.
The mirrors look pretty good. The mounting pads have discolored. If I can find replacements, I will change them out when I take the door panels off to redye them.
The front screen deep in the lower air dam is the only place where I have found rust. Bremseth found a guy to make a stainless mesh replacement on the '83 that really came out nice. I may do that again once I know what the final shape of the air dam will be. With the possibility of splitting the oil cooler like the later cars, I may want to use an '83 version that has some divisions in it already, or modify the '87 to better direct airflow.
The biggest problem is the top. The car has the composite roof with the old-style post and clip retainers at the rear. The top can't be removed without unscrewing the posts. Fortunately there is access to them from the engine compartment. This is not a new problem, as the top has some damage to it from someone trying to either pry the top off from the outside or push the top off from the inside, as the fibreglass around the posts is broken. This may be a simple matter of adjusting the clips. I think I will wait until the car is on the new frame, as the fact that the engine is out and that the rear frame brace had not been installed for several years may have allowed the body to change shape a bit. It was an effort to put the brace back in, with lots of raising and lowering of the car with a floor jack under the lower frame hoop to get the frame to open up enough to get the bolts in. On the plus side, those tiny posts and clips really secure the top.
I'll reserve judgement on the paint until I can polish it up. I've started using a system from Griot's Garage that is pretty slick. I have always been uneasy about using a power polishing system as I was afraid of burning the finish. The random orbital machine in this system is clutched so the pad will stop moving before the paint is damaged. It really works, and they have a good line of polishes to work with. It will be a good project to do while I'm waiting for parts.
0 comments:
Post a Comment