Resto mod from rolling shell

[Texasissouth]

https://www.amazon.com/PlastiKote-47...omotive&sr=1-1

Do you think this is the same formula as the previous Weld-Thru? Seems like they got bought by Valspar...

[Rallyrolla]

Nice work on the bracing, you probly dont need to reinforce the rear shock mount sinne its not running true coilovers with coils and springs all in one place, with a suspension like that you need a good shock mount but for mk2 suspension id say stock is good enough,
For front bracing why dont you make a front Strut tower Brace that Also cuts back into the the middle of the firewall like this? 🙂
*see attached pic
Im sure that would be the best for rigedy?
You plan running full Interior in the rear? Im sure the ill look sick with the bracing and interior!

Also making a cage that you can Weld into the a and b pillar and the roof aswell would make heaps of difference for strength of car

[Texasissouth]

I'll probably be running about half the interior. I'd like to keep a lot of it, but I'm not putting the back seats back in. I also don't know what my plans are for carpeting either. I'll put some of the plastic trims back around the pillars, just need to cut holes out for the bracing. And then put the factory storage cover back over.

The problem with directly to the middle like that is the firewall is so thin, I'd need the full 6x6' patch. If you're tying it to a corner you're gonna get stronger results. Though it is a trade off, the picture you provided would also prevent more left/right tower movement, which is better for rigidity, but which would also mean more stress on the thin firewall.

Hopefully this week I'll get at least one corner reinforcement in.

I'm trying to avoid full cage work if I can. It's expensive, heavy, and I don't plan to track in any way that would require a cage if at all.

[Texasissouth]

Ran out of Weld Tru primer. Ordered some more of the plastikote stuff, but didn't check shipping, checked today and it's not supposed to get here til dec 10 - jan 16 So I just ordered some copper based U-Pol for now, should get here much sooner and be less fume-y. But significantly more $$$$$


Anyway, made the corner reinforcements out of 1/8" plate. That area is kind of tricky, cause it's super bent, goes like 95 degrees, 20 degrees, 10 degrees. So I bent on the brake, then cut and welded and then bent with a hammer. Brake is only rated to 17 gauge, but 17 gauge wide and this is less wide so it worked fine.











I also tried to fill in the antenna hole as I'm probably never going to use the radio in this car, just Android Auto. I didn't do a great job, not sure if it's bad enough to do a couple more passes, or if body filler will make up the dips.

[SupraFiend]

Yeah that primer looks like the same stuff. Hopefully they didn't just use the Valspar formula and phase out the entire Plastikote line. Doesn't do me much good though, I don't really want to get in the habit of ordering this stuff online. So far so good for the copper stuff I'm testing.

I see also from that link that Krylon has a weld thru, I think I might be able to get that here locally. Might have to test it too.

Hey RallyRolla, the rear bracing isn't so much about adding strength for coil overs, but improving the horrible chassis twist these cars suffer from. If you check out my Mk2 Structural Analysis guide, you'll see there are some huge compromises in the back end of these cars the way they were engineered. On my black 86 I whipped up a simple bolt in bar using angle aluminum and it made a major difference in feel to the car on the track. I've been meaning to do something on par with what Texas is doing right now for years.

Different solutions for different uses. Your cars are all pretty much dedicated drift/track sluts, full cages and tube frame conversions being the norm. Others here couldn't live with anything more intrusive then the aluminum brace I made, myself and Tex are somewhere in between.

[Texasissouth]

Upol Copper sticks so much harder than the platikote stuff. Plastikote I could scrape off with my fingernail, upol not as much.

Having a lot of trouble welding on the bottom seam of these plates, that's for sure.

[Texasissouth]

Got the corner pieces welded in. Next up I gotta bolt the hood on for now, check clearances and then weld in the tabs. I swapped to a fresh tank of gas and oh man what a difference that made. I wish I had done it before the main plate.

[Texasissouth]

I've been researching paints and primers and sealers, as that's gonna be important with the next step. Seems like Pro Form is a Canadian company eh? It's not readily buyable down here in the States it seems, so I was leaning towards a 3M Urethane option.

However 3M says it's sealers (which would probably extend to most market sealers) doesn't play well with acid etch primers, and it seems like most places like JalopyJournal have made the switch over to epoxy primers, which is all well and good, except Acid Etch is pretty much tailor made for something like this, no paint booth, non-ideal conditions and so forth. So AE is probably the way to go for me.

The question is, should I then be going AE primer, let sit for a while, then a different primer over it and THEN Seam Seal? However it seems like some primers don't play well with AE either (unlike Epoxy which cures, AE can always be remixed/removed with solvents).

Why is painting so complicated?



https://www.amazon.com/3M-Urethane-S...s%2C324&sr=8-5

[SupraFiend]

I don't know, but it is. I have a combination of products I use that occasionally results in my paint wrinkling up and flaking off, and I have never quite nailed down the sequence to avoid the condition (or I forgot it lol).

For the work you are doing right now (engine bay), I would; Acid Etch, then seam seal, move on, let it cure fully, then come back and primer over it with epoxy or whatever if you are after a nice paint job, then paint. The problems I generally run into with incompatibilities and paint wrinkling seems to be with paint in the 1 to 6 week old window. Once its fully cured it doesn't seem to matter.

For under chassis stuff that you will inevitably rocker guard or undercoat, I would acid etch, then paint (I just use spray paint for that stuff), then seam sealer with black sealer, then undercoat it all when its all done.

The epoxy primer is for your exposed surfaces where you intend to spend some time sanding to get a perfectly level surface and really nice paint finish. Acid Etch is too thin for that.

[Texasissouth]

Wrapped up the bracing for the front, next up is patching a hole in the front sheet metal.





Had to stitch back in the thin sheet where I ground it off the thicker top plate.