End of season

Right, well I haven't posted in a while, mainly cos' all I've done is waited for the ABS sensors, with shaking hands read the mail every morning to see if they've come. No, they haven't, and finally I've decided to give up for this year and start taking the car apart soon again.

I figured this would be a good time to sketch out the plans for next year, for you readers & myself.
The idea is again that what I disassemble, I plan to do it once and for all.

So this years supposed to be about interior and finishing what I would've wanted to do this year, being mostly the front end of the body & suspension. The reason being, I want to have the alarm and wideband gauge and maybe a lil the stereos as well in the car before its seriously on the road.

So, #1 I'm going to take off the interior around the rear windows, as I'm going to get them tinted in a few weeks, or thats the plan.

#2, Here's a shot of the stock interior. It may not seem bad in a photograph, but to be honest, I can't understand why they've chosen this brownish color to the interior. Luckily most of it is hard plastic so it can be painted, which is probably what I'm going to do for the most parts.

I'd love to get a carpenter redo the whole interior with leather, but that costs a hell of a lot of money which I'd rather spend elsewhere.. and let's face it, sometimes even I need to think about what kind of car I am reconditioning. It's not an old classic, or much of a sports car even. While I wouldn't change it for a lot of cars it just isn't sensible throwing thousands at it for ridiclously luxurious reasons.


Anyways, the plan is to use matt black with semi gloss lac on the plastics, replace some of the fabrics (doors, center arm rest) with red leatherette, and I'm probably going to exchange the carpets to brand new red as I believe I've found a place where they make new ones pretty cheap if you bring the old ones. The headliner I think I'm gonna put in black as well. I'm not sure about the details yet, I guess I'll just whip it, or try to Photoshop it later.

#3 I'm going to install the boost meter I already have --->


And I intend to buy the wideband gauge and fit it the same time, probably this one; Innovate Motorsport






Then I also want to fit the alarm system as well. I've been looking at this one, it's pretty cheap and it's got all the gizmos you can hope for;

Falcon Predator Evo4+, 2-way, turbotimer, remotestart, etc. Some people are against cheap alarms but at least the last cheap one I installed has worked like a charm for 2 years. And after all, alarm system is pretty simple electronics.

 

Besides that, I'm going to fit a new sound system, as no car of mine is ready without it. Nothing too fancy as I don't really listen to music that loud anymore, but I'm thinking of a 80-100€ class midbass and tweeter set (probably without an amplifier), 2 x 10" subwoofers or use the one I already have (Rainbow Hammer 12"), need a new amplifier anyway, and to the rear I'm prolly gonna go with some of the better 4"x6" as thats the stock size and it's fine by me. I'll also need a new stereo unit, this time I'm thinking Pioneer, don't know how much I'm willing to spend on it yet.

 

 If I can afford it, I'd really like to buy a set of these as well. But that comes last to the interior as they are easy to change afterward.

Also, getting some small things like putting my aftermarket wheel on,getting the dials below, changing red LEDs to the rest of the buttons inside, nifty stuff like that.

#3, The front end. Some of you may remember how I left it.

And I want it to be like the rest of the car, so it means new brakes, new shocks, some grinding and painting (:D), sandblasting and powderpainting.. This time, I'm expecting it to be a lot shorter project, though as the area is a lot smaller, heh. 

If I can afford it I'm looking to get the Subaru 2 piston calipers, and I'd really really really would want the D2 adjustable coil overs, but I'm not all too sure I can afford it yet.

Then some tweaking in the engine bay, I'm thinking

Replacing the old shabby nonbrand one with a Fujita or Apexi filter, and if there's time, build a heatshield / air venting system for it.

And of course, to top it all, and being the reason behind a lot of this work, the boost controller. :P

So that's all I'm thinking. Truth is, I probably won't get everything done and bought, but as I go, I pick the ones that seem the most important. The key again is to do things so that I wouldn't have to ever take off the interior again, same goes for the front end stuff.

So there you have it, we will see what it turns out to be, reporting back in a few weeks with the tinted windows hopefully!

Mike signing out.

Wax on, wax off

Hmm, I don't feel like biting onto the remaining problems such as one of the exhaust sections need to be remade and the third brake light isn't working right now, just in case I don't finish it before it's time for inspection.

Yes, I'm determined to inspect it if possible and drive it as long as weathers permit.. which'd hopefully be a few weeks, but won't know yet. It all depends on when I get my last part in, should be any day now.

Anyways, I wrapped up my sleeves to do something that brings the car more ready to the road then, which'd be thorough 5 hour session of washing & waxing. :)

These are the waxes I used. Yes, three. :D Starting up with cleaning/general wax Autoglym Super Resin Polish, adding up TurtleWax Red Color Magic (colour wax) and finishing up with Autoglym Extra Gloss Protection.

Normally you'd use those Autoglyms but don't put anything in the middle for a superb wax job.  My paint job is horrid though so I figured it might make up a little, the colour wax. And it did, to some extent, I mean it's not like it saved the day but it certainly sort of shaded out the flaws a bit, which was everything I expected.

But adding the Extra Gloss at the end, it sort of highlighted the flaws and I think it fucked up the red wax layer a bit as the polishing cloth kept coming out red. Where the paint quality was good enough, such as the hood and doors, the result was awesome as always.

So here's it done. Looking back at it, it could've used a lil more polishing but I was dying of hunger and had to leave it like that. It'll prolly look pretty good after a wash.

In the end considering how big the flaws on the paint job are on the roof etc. I'm happy that it's able to look as good as it does now. :)

So, probably next update is from the road :) Unless something goes wrong again >.>

Found the cause

I found what was making the rumble sound.. This time it's a video episode. :D


So yeah, I ended up leveling them with a Dremel & grinding stone, finishing up with emery cloth. I hope they work now as I'm aware that break discs don't really like being subject to grinding and such.. If it still fails to work I could take them to a machinery to have them surface them but it sounds like a lot of trouble & money.

But thats just jolly joy, having bought the best (?) aftermarket brake discs commonly available, they're bad out of the box. I think it was corrosion caused, the discs should've been greased better & in a plastic bag..

Anyways, I'm thinking of taking the Probe to the inspection still, as it would be best for next winter projects. There's something I need to do in another city with the car, you'll see. .)

All work no play makes Mike mad

Yeahh, I sweated my ass off to get the car ready for inspection and on the road, pulled long days ending up yesterday night 2AM when I put the interior back in, which made the car ready. Or so I thought.

So today morning I woke up at 6AM, got some gasoline and headed to the garage. First, while running & warming the car before taking off I heard a dripping sound.. Luckily it was "only" a leaking exhaust connection and most likely condensed water.. or a blown head gasket? no way..

Well nevertheless I should get a yes stamp from the inspection place so I went on. After clearing the gravel road to my garage and hitting the freeway, I boosted for the first time. Man what a feeling, but something quite else when after that thick smoke starts coming from under the hood.. Blown head gasket? no way.. I take the car aside to a parking lot and start investigating. I localiced the smoke to the catalysator or the bend before it (maybe it broke due to my shitty exhaust), but before I could tell for sure it stopped.

Alright.. maybe this car will still survive the inspection, although I certainly won't take it anywhere long since it seems quite prone to failure.. After a mile though, loud bangbangbang starts sounding from the rear left wheel, and after a while the right one joins in. I'm not sure what makes the sound even now but then I just pulled over, called the inspection place "not coming, maybe next year" and made a U turn, driving 30km/h back to my garage.

What a fucking piss it was. And I was thinking of heading to Vantaa today with after the inspection.

Lesson; Optimistics get disappointed most often.

And sorry no pics or vids, was gonna do it after and besides I certainly don't wanna remember this day for very long :D Right now I regret buying the damn thing in the first place, and every thing that happened after it.. But I think it'll go away when I cool down and get it working.. :)

Mad Mike signing out. Happy f'in winter.

Ranting

Yeah, I had a good 4 days off the work but I got busy with other stuff. Part willingly, as the first day was a disaster; I started cleaning the old ABS sensors to see if they would at least look alright fitted, just so I could get the car inspected and drive it for even a short while before weather turns constant shit (not maany weeks now), and saw this;

Yeah, it's a Mazda code. Guess which model? 626 GD, the one which looks different in the picture than the Probe one. Fuckin' hell. This whole 3 months that Ive been waiting for some guy trying to get his stuff shipped to him so I could get the sensors, I could've bought them from a number of places who stock them & are able to ship them right away.

Problem is, Mark's got my money. Well no, he doesn't have it either anymore, as he claims he's paid the guy who's supposed to ship those goddamn sensors. I swear to god if I don't get them in a month or two I'll buy a ticket from Norwegian, fly there myself and demand myself some rights with a 4 foot breaker bar ffrom that motherfucker who can't ship stuff in _3 months_. I mean where is it coming from, the fucking Moon?

And yeah, the sensors are the only thing standing in between me riding the Probe out there and not.

You wanna know what else's up? The Raybestos caliper I ordered from Rockauto US. Turns out the handbrake lever on it did nothing, so I had to disassemble the old caliper and the new Raybestos and make at least one of 'em work.

In the end, the Raybestos one was seemingly assembled by a half blind one handed chimpanzee, as a) all of the bolts were overtorqued b) there were two snaprings which hold the piston dust boot in place, only one belongs there (at this point I'm like wtf?) c) a locking ring wasn't fully seated, but was inserted in a groove like half an inch higher that where it's supposed to be, resulting in the adjusting spindle to come loose and letting brake fluid all over the place.

Yeah, talk about QUALITY brake products. I rreally wanted to give them some good ol' customer support but they don't even have an email where to send it to. Never Raybestos again.

So, having tackled the caliper problem I begun the exchange waterpump / cam & crank oil seals / timing belt / thermostat -mission. First day I spent mostly trying to open the crankshaft bolt, in the using a 6 foot extension, resulting in some nasty noises from the transmission (I was following the manual and trying to take it off with wheels on ground, 4th gear, parking brake on) so I left it at that and made a prayer that nothing broke (don't know yet).

Anyway, next morning I came in, looked at my impact gun which usually hasn't been quite the performer, shot it for like second and it came off. What do ya know. Well I got most of it done before I left today, only need to check that everything is working & no leaks and put some covers on.

Oh, and the thermostat was boxed without a gasket. Brilliant, fingers crossed that the old gasket works still (of course it won't). Yes, of course I had taken off the housing before I bothered to open the box.




So yeah it's a totally succesful and satisfying day offs. I'm just glad to get back to job, that's all. :D

Fresh Air

Dropped by the garage to mend my daily driver. I needed to take the Probe out of the garage for that and got a lil' carried. :D

Just wanted to post a pic for proof that I actually rode the car the other day for a very short trip, so it's in running condition as you can see. It was f'kin awesome. Still need to do the timing belt, drop the abs sensors and put the interior in and it's ready, expecting to do that next week. :)


Until then, comrades!

Short visit

Got a day at the garage again, unfortunately won't get another one in a while. But next time I do I got 4 days so I'm expecting to do the last small bits. If the ABS sensors drop in that is, as I can't put the interior together without them.

Well I put the exhaust back together and welded the last connecting points. Something I'll never do again, the exhaust is probably pretty shit, but it'll have to do for now. I forgot to take any pics though, but you've seen it before haven't you.

I do have a pic of this weird mold that has appeared on the surface of the underbody... I need to talk to the landlord if we can add some air vents to the garage or something.

lol.

Back from Da Lab

Yeah right, I just got back from the garage. I was on fire the 2 days I was there so I got basicly everything done that can be done now expect the timing belt & water pump exchange + fitting the exhaust back in.

I didn't take much pictures as it was basicly doing small things here & there but here's two pics, one is the new handbrake cables fitted and other is a pic of draining the transaxle oil.. There was about a litre or two missing so it's good that I did it.. Didn't finish though as I had to leave in a hurry but left it dripping.

Well I'm not having any more garage time for a few weeks really so it'll take some time still but.. We're getting there. :)

Home

Well the other day was a bit of useless. I only got the exhaust done, the attaching points gave me a serious headache but I got them done somehow..

It's pretty tight in there to begin with and fitting a 2,5" inch exhaust isn't making it any easier, but eventually I got it done. I might have to use my metal zip ties over the rear axle block to prevent the exhaust from hitting it when driving to a bump etc.. Next time I need to make an exhaust, I'll pay someone else to do it, thats for sure.

Well I then removed it and applied RST coating on it, so here it is.

Going back Fri, hopefully I'll get a lot done as I won't be doing the car any more this month. I hope that it would be a matter of just fitting the exhaust back in, packing up the interior and doing the timing belt before it's done after those two days.

And of course fitting the ABS sensors, it's been a month since I paid for them and haven't received yet... :(

Finally

It's been a week (which felt like ages) but I'm back again.

Yes, it's alive..! It's been so long. The fault was the inertia switch, as I remembered one of the cables was broken, and after mending it the engine fired up no probs. :)

Yes, I did record a vid, although it's mostly a lot of stupid babbling with my bad english, I couldn't help my mouth cos' of all the excitement. :P I gotta say I'm glad it worked.. and can't wait to get it on the road. I'll probably get to drive for a month barely but hell, that's all I ask for.

Well here's the vid.



Now I've got tomorrow still, I started finishing up the exhaust but turns out I need to do the attaching points again, weld em' this time, I was trying to get away with these kind of cable attachers and bolts. Oh well I've begun it and expect to finish tomorrow among other things. :)

Oh, you can't hear it on the vid, but the exhaust is really loud. :D Well it's not like it sounds too much to the inside so it's all good. There is so much bass and volume involved it's hard to describe the sound.. But I like it.

Well, report more after few days. Only got 3 days this month for garaging left so I hope to get things done!

Not so fast

Well, I'm back home again. I got the exhaust done, although I still need to paint it and try to fiddle around to fit it better, now its touching the rear axle and the body at one point. I changed the oils, filled up the tank, cranked the engine but thats as far as I got. The engine wouldn't start & run.

It was 2 AM when I got to this point so I didn't even try to repair it, I was settled when I found out both of the hoses from the fuel pump didn't have fuel in them, and the electric connectors had power, and in the test mode the fuel pump didn't sound, as according to Haynes, it should.


So I'm guessing it's a bad fuel pump, I'm gonna open the tank/fuel pump lid next time which'd be next sunday & monday, to see whats going on. I already ordered the Walbro pump though but it'll take 3 weeks to arrive, it's an upgrade anyway to the almost 20 year old pump so I didn't hesitate on buying it even if there's something stupid like corroded connector leads.

Now I shot a few vids so I could edit a cool video where I start the engine & show off the new exhaust sounds, feels kinda stupid to watch it afterwards. :D

Here's the last clip I shot before I realized the video is not gonna have the ending I'd hoped.

EDIT: Now I think I know whats going on. Thanks to the original Ford manual, I found out that there's an inertia switch that shuts off the pump in case rollover or major collision. Or in the case of noticing that some inertia switch I saw in the LH wheelwell had the other of the cables almost on the lose, hanging on the very last hair of the cable, which I then tore apart.

I wonder if I should cancel the fuel pump order..

We be burnin'

Yess, it's garage times again. Still got tomorrow to toy around with, finished for the day. So far I've been able to position the exhaust in it's place, and remove it to weld the connection points. Halfway through that, expecting to weld & position the rest tomorrow and hopefully start the engine after this long to find out whether it's leaking or not. Then I'm gonna remove it again to put some paint on it.. Anything besides that oughta be dreamin' for a single day.

I'm not much of a welder and my machines aren't that good so to maximise the success ratio I bought myself an automatic darkening welding mask, which has been really a bless so far. It makes welding so easy for me, A+ mates.

Anyways, here's a pic of the exhaust tip peeking out while the exhaust was installed and a pic of few welds I've made.

Well, so much for that. Maybe next time I'll post up with a vid of the start session. :)

Grave news

Today, I'm not updating my blog sbout anything new I've done, that'd be anytime during this weekend cos' tomorrow I'm heading to Lahti again with a bag full of new tools to play with, heh. Alas, it's payday.

However, I have received a email with dark, dark news for my Probe, and every Probe out there. It seems that the beginning of the end for this particular model is growing speed. I browse a lot of parts dealers' catalogues and it wasn't long ago when I noticed that RockAuto and if I remember right, also FordProbeStore, had cut their selection. The rear ABS sensors came a real PITA to find, and I haven't heard from them in 2 weeks so there's no telling if I'll get them anyway.

Now the email that I got from RockAuto.com that on an estimate of a _200 items_ are being taken off the catalogue again, as a wholesaler is closing out on this model. It is sad news indeed as when I look at the list, there's a lot of small parts like electrical, vacuum, valves, most of all special parts, that's gonna be really hard to find in the future; not that it's very easy now either. What will be left is mostly the basic parts, and I'm sure the other vendors are to follow.

The list of RockAuto closeout sale items Ford Probe

But you could've see it coming from a far away. The Probes that serve as daily driver are starting to disappear as many of them are corroding beyond repair (to a reasonable repair extent) and others seem to fill up their mileage. The people who realy value this model, especially those, for reasons other than its low cost / what you get, is a handful, and it is not enough to maintain a classic status for this car. And when you think of it, in most parts of the world it was never thought of anything of the sort, as a lot of people have always loathed it and are probably happy to see it go extinct slowly.

It is sad to see such a beautiful model, in my opinion, a classical example of everything that's great in 90s sports motors, fade away slowly.

I know I'll manage somehow as long as this car's mine, but it certainly will be a lot more difficult day by day, gathering the parts as the renovation goes on.


Let's keep our Probes running and ride & mend them with pride until the day you couldn't find even an oil filter to it!

Love to all Probe'ists out there.

One small step for mankind, one giant leap for a human

Back from 2 days offs again. After 8 months of being air-borne, the Probe has safely reached the ground with all 4 wheels. :) So hurray for that !

 Evidence

Again I wasted a lot of my time doing various things but I did get a good 12 hours at the garage again. Driving back home I calculated that on an estimate it should 3-5 day offs and the car is ready for inspection. Well, that means it's earliest at the end of August or more likely sometime during September but at least it's coming and I'll get to drive the car this "summer". (I'm thinking of calling the car my autumn car instead of a summer car if this happens ever again during the next years :D)

I got the tank installed, which was a bit of a PITA, but it's done. Again I need to put some more undercoating cos' I sure got some loose putting the tank in place. Wish I had some good buddies and a group garage so I wouldn't have to struggle through these kinds of situations on my own. :P

Didn't even bother to put the antirust chems on the bottom of the tank yet, cos' I know now that they don't stay if you fiddle around. :D Will put though, soon.


Next time which'd be Fri-Sun I'm aiming to get the exhaust together, weld it, test it (hopefully, need to change oils and stuff before I can fire up the engine) and paint it with heat paint, which'd make me so much closer to the completion. :)

Until then!

Progress my friends

Well I'm back to dull & gray, doing doubleshifts over the weekend again, but I spent two days at the garage again, although those hours were shared with doing that and running around for people and stuffs. Anyhow, I got the brake assy in place and bleed, thanks to gf for help. :) My piping only leaked from 2 places, but a lil' tightening seemed to do the job :D Will have get a better look before hitting the streets to make sure that nothing leaks anymore, but it seems that DIY brake pipes can be done and will work. :) So a lil bit proud.

I also spent crazy amounts of money again on the car, bought the timing belt set & waterpump and ordered the rear ABS sensors.. Even though money's not an issue right now it's really starting to piss me off how much money I've spent on this car, even though I've only ridden it for a few hundred kilometres, and can't even tell if I really like the car or not yet. Oh well, I hope it'll all be worth it when it's on the roll; well truth be told it won't be worth the money if you think what else you can buy with the 2,5k, but hell it's my hobby and curse, maybe on some twisted sexual level it'll be worth it. :D....

If. There's still a few excite-moments such as if the fuel lines are gonna leak or if the engine is even gonna fire up after all this time. Looking at things closer now, I think my garage is a bit damp cos' all of the shit that was rusted when I got there are rusted a lot more now, for example the piping for the exhaust is already gathering rust on the surface. Gotta hurry up or I'll have to get welding again ;D

Anyways, a pair'o pics.

 Nice :)

After a week I'll be expecting to assemble the side skirt and tank and start shaping the exhaust, which'd be basicly the last part needed. Then I need to do some maintenance before it's ready for the streets.. and the MOT inspector.

One step closer

So the brake discs came, they didn't do the blackening cos' they didn't have a pool ready for that, but instead a yellow one (looks golden, nice) :)

Also I got a original Ford Probe workshop manual from the US.. 30e, 110e from a local shop so that's a bargain!

Next week thu and fri at the garage so looking forward to get things done!

 

Until then!

Ching ching

Yeah, it's payday and I decided to buy an exhaust. Originally I wanted to buy the Simons 2,5" catback factory made 626 GD exhaust, but after placing the order they gave me the delivery time; about 2 years. The production is ceased and wont be continued until there's enough orders..

So fuck that, I went to the shop and bought myself a Simons RST 2,5" backbox with oval tip, Simons black series round muffler for middlepipe, and some straights and bends 2,5". However I'm a virgin in making exhausts and not famous for welding skills so we'll see. :D Let's try anyway, it's a hobby, right. :)

 

Anyways, no exciting photos this time, as I only tightened the bolts to torque that I installed last time, removed the abs ring from the brake discs which was a struggle, tip to anyone doing the same, 

Hit the studs inside with a big hammer that the wheel attach to, then bring em back and cut em so they come out of the brake disc. This way you can help your removal procedure by tapping it from the inside, through the stud holes. However I recommend using CRC, heat and a puller as well, to minimize damages.

Also some other tedious jobs I finished, and last but not least, anyone who's watched my blog know's whats going on here;

Yeah, it's on the ground bitch ! ;) (..the front)

Back

Well I almost finished the rear end suspension assembly. The stabilizer bar end links are giving me hell, I don't understand why can't they simply make longer bolts so you could just position it in place and bolt up, instead of having to jack up different parts of suspension to get the bushings under pressure and jam the bolt etc.. It's such a PITA.

Anyway I noticed that the rear blue endlink bushings are actually polyurethane so that's a PERFORMANCE MOD ;) Expecting over 10 bhp..

Anyways, once I get my brake discs blackened and installed, I'm ready to lower the car after 7 months of hard work & sacrificing every spare time I've had. Of course there's still a load of stuff to do after that, putting in the tank and the exhaust, bleeding the brakes, the engine needs new water pump and timing belt, engine and transaxle oils, refrigant & thermostat exchange, the sideskirt needs to be put on, put the inside panels back in and repair some of the electronic stuff that isn't working...

Come think of it, I'm lucky if I'll drive this baby this summer.. Dam'.

Anyways, a pic of the progress. :)

Looks worth the time, though :P

Long time no see

But here I am again, yesterday and this day and then it's off to Vantaa again.. Better than nothing, and yesterday I got a lot done so. Next week I'm expecting to come for 2 days more so guess that amounts to something. Wish I could have like a whole week vacation so I could pack this mofo up and be done with it.

So I managed to get a great deal on the rear Brembo discs, so there's no considering anymore, they'r mine now :)

Highly recommend Varaosa Expert Lahti for anyone looking for parts... The service is just astonishing and I'm gonna pick that shop as my #1 parts supply from now on for that reason.

 

Next week this guy promised to put a black electric coating for a few tenners on 'em, sweet :) (mustapassivointi, don't know the correct English word)

 

I also got 'round about doing these, finally. I probably spent more time thinking about how I should do this than what it actually took to get it done.. Well here they are :) 

 

Also the assembly is progressing, I installed the steelbraided brake hoses and fuel filler pipe assembly. Everytime I assemble something the antirust coating just comes off, which's a bitch.. Oh well not that much anymore :)

Today I'm expecting to get a little further on the assembly, yesterday I ran out for a few  beers though so that might slow me down a bit, dam'.

Anyways, catch you later! 

Update

Well summer is here and on my day offs I still find myself at the garage. This damn thing should be ready by now.. Well, luckily, we're getting there. :)

During past 2 days, I installed a lot of stuff, the front ends ready now. The rear still needs some work. I also put some antirust chems on the tank so thats the last recondition stuff I can think of, that I need to do.

Although the shots a bit shaken, it's not hard to guess what's new here, is it. :P

I also got the lining all ready, shields and everything. It actually went in pretty well afterwards thinking, and the bends and the length of the pipes were near perfect. So zip tieing and bending against the old pipes works. :)

I also got my STS and shifter assembly installed. :) That stick came just to the height I wished it did, so it's all good. It looks even better from below but unfortunately dont have a pic from that..

Also I bought the last parts msising and a tune up kit; transaxle oil, engine oil, refrigant and distilled water and some NGK sparkplugs. Already installed the plugs, didn't have the patience to wait until timing belt change when I would've had to take them off anyway.. :D LOL @ me.

Oh well, we're making progress but due to my wotrk it will be two weeks before I can work on Probe again.. Hopefully then I'll get the rear end on its wheels as well.


Until then !

Double trouble

Well this weekend was a struggle to try and fit the lining assy, which i eventually managed thankfully. My gf decided to come and help so we managed get everything to the point that everything can be put back in.

She also painted moustache on my poster girl and scribbled stuff on my paint stands, girls in the garage, heh.

So i also put some other things in already and looking forward to continue with the assembly. The body protectant is giving me a head ache though as that bitch just doesn't wanna dry up.. >:(

Oh well, about two weekends and its on its wheels :) dont know exactly when is that going to be though as my summer job begins tomorrow, that's gonna keep me busy i guess..

Now some pics, as usual :)

Right O'

So tired, but now its all done. All the parts in the bin are done, only two of them need another layer of paint, which I run out of again.

Next weekend I'll get some parts installed and finish up with the ones still left. For some reason though, while installing some parts (couldn't fight the urge, heh) I noticed the undercoating isn't dry yet.. I hope there's nothing wrong with it, maybe it just takes time cos the garage is pretty cold still.

Anyhow some last parts in paint and a pic of the now almost empty parts to do -bin. :) note the short throw shifter in the first pic. :p just a nifty mod though.

I found new Brembo discs from ebay cheap, even though my budget doesn't allow it I've decided to wait until I can afford them, cos those old weren't very good to begin with but looking at them now there's no way I can disregard the fact that it'd be just stupid to try and run with them anymore.

Now, the pics. :)

Turning tables

Another weekend at the garage, although a lil short on hours cos' everyday I've had to do something. There's still tomorrow (hopefully, unless the apocalypse is true :D) which ought to be a whole day.

I've been prepping the last parts left so far

These are the latter horizontal links for the rear axle, in paint. I'm going to change them to brand new during next winter (couldn't now cos didnt have the money) but they'll do for now, hopefully. :)

Here are the caliper brackets and exhaust hanger that is bolted to the rear axle, in paint. The color is 100% match to the powder paint they used, so thats cool.. Still thinking of doing the calipers, but I guess it sort of looks stupid to have red in the rear and rusty on the front. :D If I find the time I will though, otherwise that too will have to wait until next winter.

I also re-installed the first one of the parts taken off. :)) Can't tell how good it felt to put something back in, after so long time, click that ratchet to the "tighten" mode.. At some point I didn't even feel that I'll ever come to this, but behold and see !

Wish I could bolt just about everything there's ready but unfortunately if I install them in the wrong order, I won't be able to crawl in the pit anymore.

So basicly the order starts with the lining assembly, continuing to shifter assembly, filler pipe and tank, rear axle and exhaust. After all that I'll notice the lines are leaking and have to disassemble it again, probably. :D

Anyways, maybe some more pics after tomorrow.. Until then !

Blast

So heres most of the parts left aluminium blasted. Wish i had a blasting closet back at home, de rusting is such a blast with that one :p

Anyways, tomorrow to the garage, a little more prep for the parts and maybe start assembly :)