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Driving Miss Swan....The Continuing Story

60K views 566 replies 25 participants last post by  drjim 
#1 · (Edited)
WELL....I figured it's about time I start a thread about the car in the section it actually belongs in!

This is a continuation of the thread I started here.


Current "State of the Interior"




I finished getting rid of the "middle" plastic part of the bushing in the shift fork of the transmission today so I can install the "Billy Bushing" from BillyM's ShiftGasm kit, refill the trans, and then drop in the V3 Short Throw Shifter I bought from George at Raptor Racing when he had them on sale.

After spending a couple of hours digging at the plastic with an X-Acto knife, I figured there had to be a better/easier way, so I ended up using a flex shaft adapter in my cordless Dremel tool, and an 80-grit sanding drum, to remove the rest of the plastic part of the bushing.

I bought some adapters for my shop vac at Home Depot that included some small nozzles for hard-to-reach areas, and had that running as close to the sanding drum as I could get it so it would suck out the plastic that was being ground away.

Every few minutes I'd stop and suck all the crud out, and after about half an hour, all the plastic was removed, and I had a nice clean metal surface to bond Billy's bushing to. I test fit the bushing, and while it's not as tight as I expected, I'm sure the JB Weld will hold it in place.

I just finished a solvent flush through the top of the trans, and after that sits a bit to completely dry, I'll read the instructions again, mix up a batch of JB Weld, and glue that sucker in there!


SHINY!





Billy Bushing Been Bonded!





I'm busy most of tomorrow on the Iowa doing some radio stuff, so that will give me well over 24 hours of cure time for the JB Weld. Monday I'll refill the trans, bolt in the V3 shifter, reinstall the boot and my new shift knob, and take her out for a spin.

Tuesday the seats will come out so I can reattach the gas flap/hatch release levers to the floor (they've been floating since I bought the car), and the carpet will come out so I can clean the floor pan and start installing the new carpet.

My wife has volunteered to "steam clean" the seats for me (thanks for all the suggestions!), so we'll go rent a carpet cleaner with the upholstery attachments so she can tackle that project. I'll probably pull the seat backs off so I can tighten up the cargo netting on the back while the seats are out of the car.

And while the interior is mostly out, I'll finally be able to remove the wiring harness for the Sony 10-CD changer that used to live back by the tire changing tools compartment so I can sell the head unit and changer on eBay.

Stay tuned....this should start to get interesting!

- Jim
 
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#524 ·
That will be a good winter time fun for you,Jim.

The restrictions for the equipment is to keep it down to driving skills,NOT cubic dollar stuff. Been there.
The AMG transponders may be cheaper to buy on E Bay,used.BROKEN EARS ARE OK
Some ESC's are a nightmare to program.Better to set your driving style at your radio. I like a LOT of "drag brake",similar to a LOT of compression for slowing down for a corner.ABS,if you will.

You will meet a lot of racers at that track that can help with your set up.
Perhaps there is minimum weight restriction.Approved bodies and ride height rules as well.
It really is not about the equipment,but the set up and.... TIRES!

OH,we are getting back to our Supra's,now?
Yes,this was a derailment.
 
#525 ·
yuk-yuk!

We should go start an R/C car thread over at the water cooler.....

I noticed a couple of the transponders were glued in on some of the cars I looked at. Hey, it's lighter than using hardware!

The rules are here: http://www.usvintagetransam.com/rules/

The ESC is not allowed to adjust the timing, the motors have to meet certain specs, and the battery pack is restricted to a 2S of no more than 7000mAh. Tires are all the same, treaded, no belts, and the rim width, offset, and style, is restricted. The style has to be "period correct", which means I'll either be using 8-spoke "Minilite" rims, or 5-spoke "American Torq-Thrust" rims.

Yep, be a nice warm place with friendly folks to spend the occasional "snow day".
 
#526 ·
Those rules are fine,but out dated. Novak is out of business. I read the rules carefully.
"Blinky" ESC's are a good rule. Tire restrictions are MANY.There IS a minimum weight restriction. No rule about ceramic bearings,other than in the brush less motor. It's to keep the cars pretty equal. Good.
No front diff one ways. Use the largest MAH hard case battery allowed @ 100 C.They do.
ROAR approved 25.5 BL motors.
The rest is driving skill and suspension set ups. Fun class!

I have some speed secrets,when you are ready,Jim.:naughty:
 
#527 ·
Time to dust this thread off and get back to work on Ms. Swan!

Cleaned up, swept out, and decluttered half the garage today. Tomorrow I'm going to work on the "Toyota Side" of the garage, and get it cleaned up.

Plans for the warmer weather are to finish repainting the front bumper, get the front grill, fogs, and signal lamps back together, and DRIVE her a bunch. Even though the full-synthetic oil in her only has a couple of hundred miles, it's going to get changed the first time I take her out and get her warmed up.

New carpet will be coming, along with replacing the heater core while the interior is out. The door panels/cards and rear interior trim is going to a local shop, along with the glove box lid and wire support from the leather shift boot so they can all get repaired. The wife has volunteered to clean the seat fabric once I have the seats out, and I'll clean and lube the seat tracks before I turn the seats over to her.

Window tracks and mechanism will get cleaned, lubed, and adjusted while the door panels are off, and my slick JDM aftermarket mirrors will go on.

Should be a good, fun Summer this year, and I'm looking forward to attending some local car stuff, although I haven't connected with any other "Import People" here.

Been here 2-1/2 years, and I still haven't met the guy a block-and-a-half away with the SDR MKIV!
 
#528 ·
Doc, sounds like a plan Sir!!
 
#529 ·
Some of you follow me on FakeBook, but I haven't posted any updates here, so I thought I should let my original MKII Family know what's been going on.

Big project(s) for this summer are to finish the bumper refurbishment, get the nose all back together, and then DRIVE her a bunch this summer. I'd like to replace the carpeting, too, but we'll see.

Got the bumper all sanded, ground out the cracks and dings, filled them with the 3M/Bondo bumper repair stuff, and sanded it down. I dropped the ball at this point by using too rough a grit, and no primer other than the adhesion promoter, which is clear, and pretty thin.

This is the first coat of the filler in the dings I could easily see.

14900


Sanded them all out,

14901


And then, because I was over anxious to get some color on it, I sprayed the Dupli-Color "Trim and Bumper Paint" on it.

14902




After the paint cured overnight, I knew I'd be redoing it. The finest grit I used was 150, and it left some nasty sanding scratches. It's hard to get a decent picture, but this one might give you an idea how BAD it looks.

14903


And I also found several good-sized dings I missed on the sides of the bumper because they just didn't show up in the sanded paint.

SO.......I ground out the dings, ordered some more flexible bumper repair resin, and this time I ordered several cans of SEM "Primer for Flexible Parts" so I can have a guide-coat to spot the low/high areas and fill them before I spray the topcoat on.

Oh, well, this is the first time I've ever done this type of repair, so live and learn!
 
#530 ·
My upper bumper looks the SAME way! Lack of preparation and the wrong type of paint was used. Fish eyes!
Lower bumper looks OK, still.(y)
I ordered the prep and the clear from SEM with Amazon. Sandpaper? Good=all the way to 1500. I have lots of tape and wax remover in stock, already. EZ mask on a roll, too. I am NOT a body man at all. Maybe I'll be happy with the results, IF I do it right, this time. ;) Thanks, Jim.
 
#531 ·
I'm not much of a body-and-paint guy either, Dave!

I should have known better, and I do "know better", but got in a hurry. Even though the surface felt smooth with my fingers, my touch didn't pick up the deep scratches.

Time to start sanding again.
 
#532 ·
I did my front bumper like two decades ago with some rattle can products after scuffing a corner, indeed I think it was the duplicolor bumper and trim paint. I sanded it and polished it out to a gloss and it looked pretty good the first few years. By about ten years ago it was starting to show some fine spider webbing and now I'm starting to get anxious to repaint the whole car, but I guess ten to twenty years isn't a bad service life for a rattle can job.
 
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#534 ·
Annnnnd....Here We Go Again!

Ground out the dings I missed, feathered the paint around them so the filler would have some additional are to stick in/on, and then sanded the whole shebang again, this time with 150 grit.

14910


The black paint works great for a "guide coat", and wonder of wonders, after I'd sanded it down it's much smoother. Hopefully the flexible parts primer is thick enough that it will fill in some of the minor pits and scratches that will remain after I get the filler applied and sanded out.

I'd considered pulling the cover off and having a body shop do it, but I just can't bear to pull a nicely fitting part off the car and then fight with it getting it back on.

And if you think my body and paint skills suck, you should see my panel alignment skills, or lack thereof!
 
#536 ·
This is not, and never will be (in my lifetime!), a "Pebble Beach" car. When I was doing the big push to get ready for Supras in Vegas, I got to the point where I said "Screw it! It's Cosmetic!", and pressed on regardless.

Now I'm trying to correct some of the worst cosmetic issues, and the front bumper is number one on my Hit List. Along with getting the paint acceptable, I also have to fix the lower edge of the airdam where the front edge of the engine undercover usually attaches. My undercover was missing when I got the car, and it allowed the lower edge to snag on things. It's not too badly beat up, but I've got to get some aluminum angle mounted on it to keep it from hanging down, snagging on things, and looking really "unsightly".

Then I can get the grill installed, along with the lamps/turn signals, my NEW side mirrors, and get out there and DRIVE THIS THING!

I might have a line on a heated/secure garage I can rent for the winter, and get all my mechanical work knocked out while it's too crummy to drive it this winter.
 
#537 ·
Don't waste your time with that Duplicolor bumper paint. It will look terrible no matter what. It kind of has the sheen of spotchy shiny primer. Sand it down to 320 or 400. You should really prime it first and block it out to find all the flaws. I would recommend using gloss paint so its OEM, but if you really want Satin look at SEM bumper paint instead.
 
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#538 ·
I still have my virgin undercover and I painted the top of it FLAT WHITE. Why? So I can see the tools and nuts that I drop down there. Also, it reflects the light better than boring black.

You have motivated me to do a bumper DO-OVER.
Is your car lowered a little ,Jim?

Bumper and attached parts and YES, your new race car side mirrors!!!!!!!!!!!

Fort Collins gets that white stuff. I will not drive my Supra in that crap ever again.
Who wants L type snow tires? NO ONE.

If the heated and secure garage is for rent, go for it. More space for other projects at your place.
Looking out of the door from my shed in February. I don't like it!
 
#539 · (Edited)
If I hadn't blown it on the surface prep, the Dupli-Color would have looked acceptable to me. In the places where the bumper and paint were still OK, the recoat looked fine. It was a uniform sheen, and was a 99% match for the wiper arms and window trim I redid.

And I have SEM Flexible Parts Primer on the way. It'll get a couple of coats of that, and I'll hand block it with 600 or 800.

The whole car needs to be painted, and I don't have the resources to do that. It was never waxed in it's life, unless you count the car wash "spray wax" it might have had, and the paint is critically thin in places. Doing a "100% nice" bumper would be a waste, and would likely look out of place on the car.
 
#540 ·
Yeah, we get the white stuff here, too, Dave! We got clipped with 24" of light, fluffy stuff last winter, and with the 20MPH winds blowing it and drifting it, the whole town just about shutdown for a couple of days. Took me two days to plow the driveway and sidewalk. My cordless electric snowblower had enough juice in the batteries to make one 24" path down the sidewalk, and several 24" cuts down the driveway. Then the batteries pooped out, and they take TEN HOURS to fully recharge.

I'm getting a gas-powered one for the coming winter!

This car will never be intentionally driven in snow, and if I get caught in the rain, well, that happens, but I'd probably pull under a shelter and wait it out.

Yes, those "Magic Mirrors" I bought from another forum member here. I guess I'm not as into these cars as some of you guys are. I thought they were neater than sliced bread when they first came out, but never knew anybody who owned one, so never got into the Japan-only stuff that was out there. They're very nice mirrors, and I like them because the mirror is larger than those useless things that Toyota put on the cars, but I just don't understand why people get rabid over them. I supposed they're like some very low-production "Holy Grail" radios like I'm more used to dealing with! Maybe I should look at these as the "Hallicrafters SX-88" of mirrors.....
 
#541 ·
Yes, I am VERY envious of those mirrors, Jim!

Dang white stuff from the sky.

If it's fluffy and NO ONE has walked in it, my rotary lawnmower worked well and I have even tried my leaf blower turned up to ELEVEN.

Just for fun, try a snow plow on your over-powered R/C truck. The LIPO's do NOT like the cold temperatures.
A light dusting is great to play in the snow, anyway.4WD rocks. (y)
 
#544 ·
The little truck isn't "overpowered". It's a "550 size" brushed motor, and I run it on 2S LiPo batteries. My NEW R/C is a monster, 6S, dual packs, and a 2040kV motor with a Castle ESC. It's an ARRMA "Limitless", and I built it for "Speed Running" which is like a Bonneville car. I've only had it up to 70MPH because it's hard to find a flat road with a 1/4 mile STRAIGHT section I can use. It should be able to break 120MPH, and with some tweaks, these cars are doing 150MPH.

I'll think of you every time I look in the mirrors, Dave!!
 
#542 ·
The Duplicolor isn't too bad, but the big difference between rattle can and a real quality automotive paint is how long it will last and resist fading and cracking.

150 is really coarse, I wouldn't touch urethane with anything that coarse, it will leave permanent scratches you will have to fill to hide. Maybe the outer layers of regular bondo, but switch to like 220 to start with for this kind of stuff. Then hit it with the primer and block sand with 320 to 400. You can usually stop there, but black is the most difficult color, a quick once over with 600 isn't a bad idea before putting down the color coat.

I assume you're using a flexible bumper filler too and not regular bondo. That flexible stuff isn't much fun to sand, but at least it won't crack on you.
 
#543 ·
The Duplicolor isn't too bad, but the big difference between rattle can and a real quality automotive paint is how long it will last and resist fading and cracking.

150 is really coarse, I wouldn't touch urethane with anything that coarse, it will leave permanent scratches you will have to fill to hide. Maybe the outer layers of regular bondo, but switch to like 220 to start with for this kind of stuff. Then hit it with the primer and block sand with 320 to 400. You can usually stop there, but black is the most difficult color, a quick once over with 600 isn't a bad idea before putting down the color coat.

I assume you're using a flexible bumper filler too and not regular bondo. That flexible stuff isn't much fun to sand, but at least it won't crack on you.
Yeah, I totally blew it with the grit I used at first. The Bondo "Flexible Bumper Repair" resin said to start with 80 grit, and I should have STOPPED as soon as I'd scuffed the paint around the dings. I didn't, and sanded the whole bumper with it to get the cruddy paint and surface off the bumper.

This time I started with 150, and it did a nice job of leveling out the new paint and smoothing the surface. I have enough left (more on the way!) to fill in the dings I missed the first couple of times, and I'll do that today. It's not too bad to sand once it's fully cured, so I always wait 24 hrs before I sand it.

I'll do the "primer/sand/primer/sand" routine a few times after the primer gets here, and probably start that with 320 grit. I'll finish with 600 or 800 before I spray it black again.

I'm not too concerned about the durability because the car is garaged, and won't sit outside for weeks on end like it did back in Long Beach. The UV up at 5100' here in Colorado plays havoc with coatings used outdoors. "Thompson's Water Seal" is only good for two years before you have to recoat the wood, and everybody uses some local stuff that's made to resist UV.
 
#548 ·
My undercover WAS a PITA to R & R until I screwed in some 6 mm studs and used plastic wing nuts.
It's rather easy to line up the mounting holes. Legit!
I painted the bottom white also. Krylon Fusion for plastic works OK.

Cool, I didn't see the pic last night. I might just have to do the "Quick Release Undercover" thing like you did.

Where'd you get the studs? And where'd you get the airdam extension?

BTW, yes, the car is lowered about 1" in the front, and 3/4" in the rear, per George at Raptor. When I did the suspension rebuild I replaced the springs with the "stock height" springs he sells. They're also a bit stiffer than OEM, and between the 45-series tires, the Raptor springs, and the KYB Gas-A-Just shocks, it rides "just right" to me, and handles like a Go Kart!

I LOVES me my Supra! Just gotta get her back on the road ASAP.

The SEM "Flexible Parts Primer Surfacer" came in today, and now I'm waiting for some SEM "Bumper Bite" to arrive. The Bumper Bite is like "spot putty" for the urethane bumpers. It's specifically made to fill in deep sanding scratches and the "rough spots" the bumpers get if the paint chalks off enough to expose the urethane, which degrades from weather and UV. Found out about it in the MKII group on FakeBook, and wish I would have heard of it a month ago, because I'd be finished by now......
 
#549 ·
The little air dam extension is an EZ lip, but it was not easy to install. Many screws!
Ebay had what I needed. 6 mm X 1 " studs and those wing nuts are for some roof rack accessory. Also, 6 mm.
These would work for studs, but the photo is wrong.
Wing nuts? Something like these:
Not brass, though and not from China.:confused:
 
#550 ·
I have a NON-China source for the "wing nuts" or knobs, so no biggie. They're used on zillions of industrial products I have experience with. Davies Molding (formerly Harry-Davies; they made RADIO knobs so I know them) has them in 3-arm and 4-arm, thermoplastic or thermosetting, with M6x1 brass inserts. A dab of antisieze would keep them from corroding together, or even a little blue LocTite.

I think I've seen other more "rigid" airdam/spoiler/splitter extension adapted from other cars. I'll take some measurements and scribble some notes while I'm down there.

It's hard enough to get this car over the curb into the driveway; not sure I want anything hanging down even further!
 
#551 ·
You will damage a rigid air dam. The EZ lip is rubber; goof proof. My car is at stock height. If carry too much in the back, the muffler drags. Normal.

Brass inserts will be fine with anti-sneeze! I think that inserts are aluminum.:rolleyes:
I haven't used lock-tite on 'em. Not much load on those.
Most mine a 3 wing type. Actually, I would prefer just a knob type .Maybe ORANGE! Blue.
 
#552 ·
Been too damn hot in the garage the last few days to do much other than hand-sand the front bumper. Finally received the "Bumper Bite" a guy on FB recommended, and some more of the flexible filler material. The temps are supposed to drop later in the week, so hopefully by then I'll have it sanded, filled, sanded, etc, and it'll be ready to paint again.

We've been getting clipped with high 90's, and 10~12% humidity, and working in that heat, even with my shop fan blowing, addles my brains after about 45 minutes.....
 
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