Coming along great...
I ended up taking the rear bumperettes off mine...they kept smashing the tail lights when dropping into ruts.
Looking great so far.
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Coming along great...
I ended up taking the rear bumperettes off mine...they kept smashing the tail lights when dropping into ruts.
Looking great so far.
Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk
was able to finally get back to this thread, man, what a job you have done
how you finally finished?
or side tracked to something else?
Not finished yet, my kids are killing me for that...
I am currently working on brake lines for it.
I got sidetracked a bit with a UN GU that I was able to get my hands on...
Back to the GQ, finally!
I have resumed the work on the GQ by the bonnet, time to tidy up things there. To begin with, I have installed these bonnet stoppers I got form China:
Attachment 87188
Put back the freshened-up cyclone with some adhesive foam where it press against the left fender.
Attachment 87208
Attachment 87207
Attachment 87209
Next, I installed the fuel filter/lift pump bracket and the vacuum solenoid that goes next to it. When I took the rubber boot out of the solenoid to give it a good clean, a small foam thing just disintegrated in my hand. I figured it was an air filter as a vacuum solenoid needs to VENT AIR IN to equalize pressure, so the need for the filter.
Attachment 87189
Kitchen sponge looked like a perfect candidate, so when the wife was not near, I took my chances, LOL. Hole punchers for the job and the sponge was quickly returned to the kitchen with a "new factory feature".
Attachment 87190
Attachment 87191
All put together, with the zinc plated bracket:
Attachment 87192 Attachment 87193 Attachment 87194
Attachment 87195
I have also been cleaning absolutely every electric connection, fuse holder, relay holder etc. I've been taking them apart, rinsing/washing, spraying with contacts cleaner and putting back together.
Attachment 87196
Attachment 87197
Engine bay harnesses were all fugly, with crispy dry corrugated wraps, super dirty with a lot of dried mud in between the wires.
Attachment 87199
Attachment 87198
Some harness diagrams over the garage walls since the going back and forth over the computer to check was being a PITA.
Attachment 87200
Attachment 87201 Attachment 87202
Some interesting surprises when getting up and personal with the harness: a winch sub-harness and fog harness already built-in.
Attachment 87203
And one mystery harness branch with connector not present on the FSM diagram.
Attachment 87204 Attachment 87205
Just waiting for an order of some OEM-style nylon clamps that have a self hooking thing to attach to panel holes to arrive, to properly attach the harnesses to their original spots as I have cut most of those clamps when unwrapping.
I have been unrapping each individual harness branch, cleaning the wires (sometimes even washing with soap and water), checking for cracks or exposed wires and fixing it, re-wrapping 100% of the harness with that fireproof harness cloth tape and re-wrapping the corrugated hose protected sections with new corrugated hose. I am very happy with the result, that cloth tape has a very professional look.
Attachment 87206
I have replaced the H4 headlight connector with a new one, although I later found it a useless change as the new H4 connector that I was able to source was as low quality as the one that was previously there (and was also not OEM). The connector at the end of the combination light harness was missing on the left side harness and was very crispy on the other side, so I have replaced both with an different, but new, waterproof EFI connector.
Attachment 87210
Attachment 87211
Attachment 87212
Also took the chance to splice into the parking light and turning light leads of the combination harness to have the halo of the LED headlight cabled for DRL and turning functions (the halo blinks amber for turning).
Attachment 87213
Can I ask how you cleaned up the front flare with the paint on it? I have one like that as a replacement to my set.Quote:
Originally Posted by BrazilianY60
thanks
Have not done that yet PeeBee. The wider tires are currently on the GU as I am a bit skeptic about my brake job capabilities and the possibility of ruining the bronze/gold paint with brake fluid so the GQ currently has the narrow steelies on it. And BTW, the brake flaring tool I ordered for this job has just been delivered this arvo. I reckon I will have these renewed/painted before moving those tires back to the GQ, to avoid throwing stones on the paint job. I'll keep you posted.Quote:
Originally Posted by PeeBee
I have followed the great instructions from the forum in order to fully flush my cooling system. This is the topic I have based myself onto:
DIY TD42 Cooling System Overhaul
Unfortunately on my GQ the TD42 block drain plug was absolutely unreacheable. Add to that a brake booster and master, as my car is LWD... Only solution seeming possible was to reach from the left side wheel, well where in the majority of recommendations I found online, there is a removable rubber screen that gives you line of sight to the drain plug. Mine didn't have that rubber screen but was all sheet metal instead. I took @PeeBee advise and cut it out. IŽll hand made a rubber screen for it later, to keep dust and debris out of the engine bay.
Attachment 87299 Attachment 87300
Attachment 87301 Attachment 87302
With the block drain open, not much water came out to be honest. Most of it came from the radiator. To make sure I was expelling anything old in there, I connected the garden hose to the block-to-heater core fitting and blocked the other end with my thumb to force water to come out of the drain plug. Once I was happy with it, put the plug back with some teflon tape. Including some minor waste while running the engine with the radiator cap open to vent any air bubbles, it took shy of 12 liters of coolant.
I also took the chance to replace the coolant expansion bottle with a new aftermarket one.
Attachment 87303
Attachment 87304
Thought this radiator cap would be cool. I am going to keep a "normal one" in the car just in case.
Attachment 87305
That cap is pretty cool. Can you please post a link for buying the cap? There are so many online, I don't want to order the wrong size.
Hi Muddie, I bought it locally, but it is for sure the same you see on eBay, AliExpress, etc.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005...d=6GvWZ07xZN7F
On the add above, it is the one called "big head 0.9bar".
It does fit, it does seal, there is spring tension to it and the gauge marks correctly. I have measured the temp at the top of the thermostat housing with an infrared thermometer and it matches (in order of magnitude, at least).
My main concern is if it will leak through the gauge. Time will tell.
Now with the GQ moving inside the garage under its own power, it was time to secure the doors closed. Got the box labeled "locks and window lifters" from the "My-Patrol-In-A-Million-Parts" shelf and stared at the locks, levers and rods for a while. Not that complicated to be honest. They were just the way I have disassembled the car in 2020, that is, full of crud, so first step would be cleaning.
Attachment 87314
Attachment 87315
Here are just barn door stuff, but I have done this for all 6 doors.
Attachment 87316
The fixed side of the locks (latches? loops?) have all been zinc plated a while ago. Time to put them to use.
Attachment 87326
Attachment 87325
Attachment 87320 Attachment 87322 Attachment 87318
Attachment 87319
Attachment 87321
Attachment 87317
Attachment 87323
Attachment 87324
New rubber door stops:
Attachment 87327 Attachment 87328
Attachment 87329
Some good old fashion door lock sounds!
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/qrIqnBpkojI
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/HolFc4jECeM
Every day looking more like a real car! The dream goes on!
Attachment 87330
Since the first rides I noticed play and clunks from the steering links ball joints, and the dust boots were very old and cracky as well. Took the links off and went shopping for similar sized ball joints.
Closest in size I found was this one for an old Ford truck we had locally called F-1000. Unfortunately, with that truck being IFS, there was just one ball joint thread direction and I wanted ball joints that worked in pairs, one threading left, one threading right. Also, being this Ford a very old truck around here, I was only being able to find parts with far from OEM quality.
Attachment 87650
I decided then to go a tad bigger, and picked Mercedes-Benz delivery trucks ball joints. They can be easily found here, cost is low, and you can find OEM quality parts. Oh, and they work in pairs just like I wanted.
Attachment 87651
Side by side comparison. Just a tad bigger. It doesn't seem in the picture though.
Attachment 87652
Trying on the knuckle, the tapered pin is just a hair wider than the original one.
Attachment 87654
Attachment 87653
Now, to find the means to widen the holes of pitman and knuckles. Searching around I learned that the tool for the job was a tapered end mill, a machining shop tool, not a shed tool. And it was bloody expensive! Kind of tool the machinist buy to produce 100s parts a day otherwise it doesn't pay for itself. Ok, so I would have to pay someone to do it for me then. Ringed several machining shops in town and none had the tool. Turned out that mostly only car parts manufacturers used expensive tools like that on production line kind of environment. Time to get creative...
I have talked to A LOT of people about this and ended up discovering, in another state where most of the brazilian car part manufacturers are, a place that buys industrial used metal to re-sell or on a last resort, recycle. They have steam pipes, high pressure valves, a lot of cool stuff that you can spend a day there admiring and... tools. Enlisted a friend that lives some 50km from the place to go there investigate this for me and he sent me these pictures. Jackpot! He paid about the price of a six-pack for a pair of milling tools!
Attachment 87674 Attachment 87673
Took tools to the machine shop that did all the PU suspension bushes I am using on the GQ for the guy to test them for me. I was not sure if they would cut or not, maybe they could be dull. It turned out that they were cutting metal like butter. The guy's theory is that in a big industry that produces 1000 parts a day, they have to replace the tools before they dull, otherwise they may end up with 1000 out of spec parts at the end of a work day. Also, as my plan was to use the tool in the car without taking the knuckles out, the guy gave me this sample cast iron block with two straight/parallel holes for me to practice, because according to him, the tool was cutting cast iron so easily that I could end up ruining my knuckles.
Attachment 87657
Attachment 87658
I was able to make the tapered pin seat properly on the test block after using the tool. All good.
Attachment 87659
I have lost the pictures of the mechanical tubes I have bought to do the new steering links, they were massive, very thick wall. Anyway, after machining, they were looking like this:
Attachment 87660
Attachment 87661
Attachment 87662
I like shiny stuff so I had to zinc plate them.
Attachment 87663
Attachment 87664
Attachment 87665
Attachment 87666
Putting the milling tool to work:
Attachment 87667
This small amount of material on the floor is all it takes to fit the new ball joint tapered pin.
Attachment 87668
Pitman arm before the milling tool. The top of the pin sits about half way into the castle nut.
Attachment 87669
Pitman arm after the milling tool.
Attachment 87670
Final result:
Attachment 87672
Attachment 87671
And the reason for me wanting the ball joint ends to have left and right threads, for anyone that don't know, now I can loosen-up the clamps and turn the bars one direction to shorten it and the other to lengthen it. Easy peasy to do alignments.
I've been working on windows/glasses, window regulators and sound deadening latelly. Windshield was cracked, 1st row windows were ok, 2nd row windows were stained by a reflective metal/material as well as the 3rd row/trunk windows. Sliding window frame and glasses are ok, but the rubber channels are toast. Barn door windows were damaged with a grinder, unbelievable. It seems that on my GQ, all glasses from the 2nd row to the rear were OEM metallic, but not like a film tint, more like a metal layer deposit on the glass surface, and that layer has been poorly removed from the side glasses somehow leaving behind a lot of stains and the barn doors were attacked with a grinder, you could see the circles of the abrasive disk.
Barn door and 2nd row glasses situation:
Attachment 87963 Attachment 87964 Attachment 87965
3rd row/trunk glass; here you can see a bit of the reflective metal material/deposit on the edges:
Attachment 87966
Windshield situation was sorted in 2022 while the body was being repaired. I was able to import from a nearby country a replacement (not OEM) windshield but could not find any replacement windshield weatherstrip, but the shop was able to find me an OEM strip. I was glad to have it sorted but the OEM strip costed me more than the windshield itself. This wood crate is sitting under my bed since then. Happy missus... Green glass for the win at least.
Attachment 87967
Attachment 87968
Attachment 87969
Attachment 87970
I was considering to have new glasses cut for the barn doors until I got my hands on a donor car. The very first thing i did with it was to take the barn doors glasses off. Unfortunately the donor car has clear glasses while my car has green ones. Well, it is what it is, just glad to have all those glasses available anyway.
Attachment 87971
Fast forward to 2024, after searching all over town for window weather strips from all car and truck models available here and the effort to adapt one of those, I finally found barn door replacement ones in RoadRuner.com.au. The add said aussie made replacement, made to OEM spec, perfect fit, and the price was much better then OEM so I have ordered them. When they arrived, I went straight to business... Cleaning the donor car barn door glasses I realized the had an old an stinky tint film.
Attachment 87973
Attachment 87972
I have left the glasses under the hot sun for a couple of hours to easy the removal of the tint film. Super careful and smooth pull and... it started pulling the defrost tracks! Bugger! Heated it some more with a heat gun, twice the care, and it was still coming off. It appears though that just the track protection paint came off. Maybe the actual metal resistance track will still work.
Attachment 87974
Attachment 87975
Attachment 87976
Back to the RoadRunner barn door replacement weather strips:
Attachment 87977
Attachment 87978[
An absolute perfect fit. That made for a very happy brazilian!
Attachment 87979
After I did all the cleaning on the large barn door window and was ready to install it, I discovered that the second plastic bag on the box was actually a windshield weatherstrip mistakenly shipped in place of the large barn door strip.
Attachment 87980
This was me working on the garage Sunday arvo so I just sent RoadRunner lads an email and picked something else to work on the GQ. Guess what... Brazil Sunday arvo is Australia Monday morning and less than 30 minutes later I got a reply from the lads apologizing for the mistake and were shipping the correct item right away! Can you f*ng imagine reporting a wrong item received and having another one shipped overseas 30 minutes later?! Mind boggling for me! I offered them to ship the windshield strip back to them, despite shipping cost being probably more than the item itself, and they politely refused the offer and told me to keep it. This was my first order with them and I didn't know the quality of the strips, so it was a test purchase. If I hadn't bought the OEM windshield strip years before, I would certainly use this replacement one (and pay for it, off course), because I liked the quality of the strips very much. I have then placed other orders for bailey channels, brake flex hoses and whatnot.
Maybe some 10 to 15 days later I got the correct item and it went straight into its place.
Attachment 87981
Attachment 87982
Took me some time to put together the required material for working on the doors glasses.
Bailey channels were easy, got them from RoadRunner. Rear doors quarter windows (the fixed ones) strips were the harder to get. Had to go OEM from Amayama. Despite Amayama being in Japan, I got the item shipped from UAE, go figure. Another curiosity on the quarter windows, is that the one on the left side is actually clear, not green. It has been replaced at some point in time.
Attachment 87983
For sound deadening, I got a butyl rope to fill the gap between the doors "safety" bars and the metal skin. I have also sourced locally butyl+foil sheets for sound deadening the rest of the skin doors. This is a heavy material and too expensive for my likings, so I ended up buying just two boxes to give it a try. The amount of sheets provided for good internal deadening of all 6 doors.
The butyl rope and where I have used it:
Attachment 87984 Attachment 87985
The butyl sheets and where I have used them:
Attachment 87986
Attachment 87987
Attachment 87988
Attachment 87989
Bailey channels in place and now I have 4 working rolling windows with a temporary manual crank!
Attachment 87990
Attachment 87991
Attachment 87993 Attachment 87992
Attachment 87994
Attachment 87995
Honorable mention to the hidden philips screw on the removable metal channel for the quarter window, what a prick!
Attachment 87996
I am now only missing the installation of the windshield and the 3rd row/trunk side windows. Those 3 glasses should be installed only after the roof lining is in place, because the lining flips over the sheet metal lip where the weather strip attaches, such that the liner doesn't rely only on the glue to stay tight. But I am in a bit of a pickle with the roof liner, as I want the interior upholstery of this car to be something special to me and I am not good with choosing colors to go together. I will probably open a new thread asking for some help about that.
I have yet to decide what to do regarding the sliding window as well. Glass is good, frame is good but inner channel is bad and loose and the external strip is toasted. I am inclined to have a new glass cut using the other side as a template. That glass would be flat though, as I don't think any of the glass places here would be able to heat it to obtain that slightly curved angle. I could also make a "DAZWING" :049: although I have no use for it.
I have also taken all the locks off and lubed them, along with the regulators, with that white sticky lithium soap grease. Locks were originally installed super clean but dry because I knew they would be coming away again. Doors now miss only the electric motors for the power windows and power locks. I have yet to clean, test, refurbish each one of those.
Getting the Patrol ready for the upholsterer work on the roof lining, I had some tasks to complete before handing the car over to the guy. Roof lights, rear view mirror and roof sound deadening required fixing/working on.Quote:
Originally Posted by BrazilianY60
Roof Lights:
The lens from the 18 wheeler side marker has a smaller diameter than the Patrol one, so it fits inside the roof light base. I have used a small Dremel disk to cut the slot for the lever and drilled new holes for screwing lens and light base all at once.
Attachment 88089 Attachment 88090
Attachment 88088 Attachment 88091
It looked quite ok. I know these lenses are available at PatrolApart, but for the simulation I ran, one pair of lenses would arrive here after tax for the same price as one brand new 285 tire. Someday, maybe.
Attachment 88092
Attachment 88093
Attachment 88094
Rear View Mirror:
My rear view mirror had the centerpiece security collision thing missing (guess why), and I have opted to fix it.
Attachment 88095
Found a washer with OD slightly bigger then the ID of the mirror base and a very small ID. Filed the OD of the washer to match and cut some slots to it for the glue to grab and keep it from spinning under tork. Pressed a rivnut to the washer and glued it all to the mirror base.
Attachment 88097
Attachment 88096
Attachment 88098
Attachment 88099
Attachment 88100
Roof Sound Deadening:
Attachment 88101
First stage which is butyl rubber for holding steel panels from flapping and resonating is done. Second stage which is heat insulation will be done over the weekend. I'll have it finished and post the complete work once it is done.
Hey Brazzy,Quote:
Originally Posted by BrazilianY60
I have a TI over windscreen light with the big double illuminators if you want it - can post it to you . You just need to run a Pos and Neg power cable across to the centre of the windscreen, now is the time to do it before the upholsterer does his magic. It screws into factory holes. Let me know. Phil
That is a nice offer mate, I really appreciate it! Can you find an online picture of how it fits around the mirror? Reason I ask is because my GQ model is SGL and it has the clinometer around the mirror, so this lights of yours may be incompatible. If they can work together, I'm in for it!Quote:
Originally Posted by PeeBee
Do you think it is compatible with this?
Attachment 88107
Attachment 88109
It attaches around the mirror on these two holes.
Attachment 88110
Attachment 88108
Searched for GQ TI map reading lights and found these images:
Attachment 88111
Attachment 88112
Map reading light and clinometer are mutually exclusive... either one or the other...
But thanks for the offer mate, very generous of yours, I really appreciate it!
I saw multiple times the videos from the Car Builders blokes on YouTube, they have great knowledge of their trade and have some very nice products. Being sound deadening products very heavy, shipping from Australia would not work for me. I tried my best to apply the knowledge they share using locally available products.
For what they call stage 1, steel panel vibration dampening, I was able to source foil covered butyl rubber sheets, very similar to what they use on their videos, and I was very happy with the quality of the product. Something sold locally under the name of Technoise. There are a lot of videos online of people fully covering the roof and floor at this stage, but the CB blokes themselves tell this is not really necessary. If you make sure flat steel sheet areas have at least patches of the product, you should be good. I opted for such approach to save on the material and weight, as this is quite heavy.
Attachment 88136
Then for stage 2, heat shielding and sound absorption, I could not find anything exactly as CB sells. I went on finding closed cell products (for heat) and open cell products (for sound). Found a local manufacturer with several products on their line and a very well spoken technician to explain and provide orientation on where to use their products, how to apply, etc. I ended up buying the recommended product for the roof and sample amounts of every other product they had to see the difference myself. The product I picked for the roof is a soft foam made out of PVC and poly-ure-thing this and that. It is their product with highest heat blocking graduation other then the specific stuff for engine compartment/under the bonnet usage. It absorbs sound as well but the heat part is where it is supposed to ace.
Attachment 88137
Now I have to wait for the upholsterer to finish the roof lining and install the windshield. After that, he will let me take the single-seater Patrol home for a weekend to work on the floor deadening and then return the car to him to work on the carpet. He has already picked the best parts of two complete seat sets to make just one out of it. Seat structures are already blasted and painted. Yet to start is the foam work and the cover work.
I told him to bin the rest except for something on the driver side for that weekend sound deadening operation.
Door cards are maybe 80% done already.
Your system is very similar to what I did, and the ride is quieter and a bit cooler as well. Only challenge might be fitting the spring hoops and the roof sheet. I went with a 4 way stretch front runner carpet which was glued in place. The outcome was good for me.
There was nothing on the roof before, so it should be a lot better now. First time restoring a car and first time sound deadening, so let's see how it behaves.
I don't plan to glue the carpet, otherwise if I need to remove it, it would tear the deadening material.
Hi PB. I finally have something to show you regarding the flares.Quote:
Originally Posted by PeeBee
The cleanup was manual, no chemicals. It was painted without proper plastic painting preparation before, so it was chipping very easily. After that, sanding and prepping with something over here called "plastic sealant". I've seen it called "adhesion promoter" as well. I is basically a primer appropriate for plastic, it adheres better and it provides some level of flex allowance without cracking. Once prepared, a couple of runs of filling primer and sanding and then polyester paint.
Some "bondo" was used along the edge of the yellow tape and later sanded down to nothing basically to highlight that line/shape dividing the flat face and the rounded face of the flare.
Oh, forgot to mention that before it all some missing tabs were made of cuts of a random broken plastic bumper and melted/welded into place with a later coat of epoxy glue with fiberglass cloth. These were not drilled yet, to allow for better fitment when the time comes (drilling and possibly trimming as well).
Attachment 88192
Attachment 88193
Thats a spectacular outcome, great job! I ended up with a pile of flares of differing quality and all needed attention in the area of the mounting tabs. I ended up manufacturing the rear guards for the tray chop, and they bought a set of light weight aftermarket front flares. Initially I was not happy with the mounting system and almost headed down the pathway of new ones ex PAP, but in the end I discarded the supplied mounting system and bolted the flares on instead of using the plastic push tabs. Once completed the job came out really well. They dont feel as strong or robust as the factory units, certainly are thinner, but I just need to be aware of not leaning on them when working on the car. Now that I have the side steps/sliders in place I can work on the front guard protection rails to the bullbar, which will further improve their life.
It was time to do upholstery and I had not yet picked the colors. The only think I was sure was that I didn't want to go with the original gray. I suppose brand new it looks good, but I had been living with it so disgustingly ugly and dirty that I'd like it not to be part of the new look and feel of the car. I took a tour to all the upholstery material shops in town looking for inspiration but it was hard. At one of the stores, I saw this tan/orange synthetic material that rang me a bell. I am sick for the UAE Super Safari GUs they have there, and the interior seems a lot like that color in my opinion.
Attachment 88205
I also had a feeling the roof lining should be light in color, to make the interior lighter, shinier. I found this cloth to be very close to the "Honda shoreline beige" metallic paint used on the bottom part of the body.
Attachment 88206
Then, at the paintshop, I found a matching plain/non-metallic color for the beige from an old Benz truck from the 70's.
Attachment 88213
Was looking for a plain color to match the tan/orange but only found a metallic one. Didn't seem too shiny though, so I gave it a try and got samples of both colors. I used the dashboard from the donor car for color tests.
Attachment 88207
Attachment 88208
The orange paint, although metallic, was a close match in my opinion.
Attachment 88209
The beige was spot on identical.
Attachment 88210
It even matched the beige interior of my GU.
Attachment 88211
Attachment 88212
I had an idea of how the car interior would look in beige, from the GU experience, but was having a hard time imagining the car interior in orange. I got 1m of the synthetic material to cover things and look from afar to give me brains some kickstart.
Attachment 88214
Attachment 88215 Attachment 88216
Attachment 88217
Attachment 88218
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Attachment 88220
And I didn't like it! Too out of place. Maybe someday on the GU, to make it look like the UAE ones. This one requires something more out of the 80's.
Thinking about color schemes from the 80's and 90's and how car makers were really bolder than today, I remember some cars with a full red/burgundy or blue/navy interiors. Bumped into this picture on the internet and spent some time admiring it.
Attachment 88221
Fark! That is a comfy, nice looking interior! Blue it is! These are the samples I got with the upholsterer to absorb it over the weekend before biting the bullet.
Attachment 88222
On the next monday the GQ was left at the upholsterer for a full blue interior! All parts that need painting would be painted by me, any assembling will be done by me. He will do all the leather and carpet and cloth and sewing stuff. He sure due "turnkey" stuff, but I just didn't want to. I want to put things together myself.
Looking good mate. Your not going to want to drive it when its done.
Blue interior is a winner for me. That other colour is just yuck!
Took a blue leather sample to the paintshop and they came up with a perfect match formula.
Attachment 88223
On the following pictures, if I say something is blue and it seems gray, you have to take my word for it that it is navy blue just like the picture above. It turns out that cellphone camera does a bunch of auto correcting things that are not wrong and make the blue look gray all the time...
Separated all the required parts for painting (and of course later found out that I had missed a lot of other parts, so a new batch to be done).
Attachment 88225
Gave all the parts a wash with some strong car washing products, they came out brand new.
Attachment 88226
1st batch of blue parts.
Attachment 88227
Here you can see that although they seem gray, the color matches the blue leather sample (that also looks gray in the picture). Here I chose not to sand down the plastic scars to not lose the texture on the interior parts.
Attachment 88228
More blue parts (and there will be a 3rd batch still).
Attachment 88229
The dash foam covered in blue leather that I got back from the upholsterer.
Attachment 88230
And here a mock-up of the dash parts.
Attachment 88231
Quite the opposite mate! It isn't done and I am already eager to drive it!Quote:
Originally Posted by mudski
Once the seats are ready, he will install just the driver's one and I'll bring it home for a weekend. I will then proceed with the floor sound deadening and return it to him on a monday for him to continue with the carpet.
Roof lining installed! With all blue handles in place!
Attachment 88232
I hadn't washed the pinch welds because I am still looking for navy blue ones to replace them all. No luck so far. I'll give it some more time and if I can't find anything decent, I may need to use black ones.
Is the plastic paint a special type of paint? How does it go with the usual wear a tear of daily use?
Automotive paint, just the prep is different with the use of an adhesion promoter. Then, after the paint some heavy coats of clear coat to be the sacrificial surface. With use things will eventually need touch ups.
You can use a product avail here called BIN22 which etches the surface of just about everything and then you apply paint over it - have paint a pile of stuff with it at home.
Started to work on the floor sound deadening and noticed this hole that I either didn't notice before or never understood how someone could have done such damage to a firewall. Front collision could have sent the engine against the firewall? Maybe.
But then after years working on the car and learning from here and also from my own sweat replacing the TB45 on my GU, I now know that the bell housing top bolts are a pain in the but to reach. Looking closer at it, I believe someone at some point got really pissed with it and punched a hole through the firewall. The (AUS) driver side bolt does not have a corresponding hole but has a nice dent/crack on its direction, so I suppose that one is now reachable from the engine bay. Thought about fixing it but then, fark it... I would never do something like this but since it is already done, I will benefit from it in the future when I need to replace a clutch or something. I have only bent the sharp edges back in and sealed it with the butyl material used on the sound deadening. On the engine side I sealed it with a more heat resistant material.
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In 1985, a Nissan engineer was designing the upcoming Y60 series. He realises the difficulty that mechanics will have accessing that bolt in the future. He draws that particular hole in the plans, with a rubber plug to be installed. A day later, a tight-fisted Bean counter scrutinises the plans and spots the hole. He does a quick calculation and deduces it will cost Nissan 2 cents to punch the hole and 3 cents to obtain and fit the plug. He multiplies it by the expected run of GQs and screws every poor bastard over by removing that well thought out addition. You are lucky to have that hole :)
I have sound deadening almost finished now. I have covered the whole floor pan covered with 3 layers of different products, except for the trunk, where different products (yet to be acquired) will be tried. On the higher part of the firewall I will also try something different.
Passenger side (AUS driver) start, then using the rear A/C piping cover to find the plastic bushes that I forgot to take a "before" picture and that side complete with the A/C piping in place.
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Then driver side (AUS passenger) start, some work over the transmission tunnel and that side complete.
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Final result of the 1st layer (butyl).
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Second layer was (I think) open cell foam.
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Nothing of the 1st layer was left exposed, I am missing a picture here.
Then, to cover it all, the 3rd layer was (this I am pretty sure) closed cell foam. This time I covered even the A/C piping covers. I was contemplating "what if" I need to take this pipes off and then, well, there is nothing there to damage, places where people step over it are covered with a steel plate so I did it. I am missing a picture of the 3rd layer also, it was very late on a Sunday, tired, I totally forgot.
On the firewall I remember when taking the old stuff out that it was a very thick vinyl panel with a very thick layer of that bitumen impregnated wool. Always remembered that when watching Car Builders videos and they showing their mass loaded vinyl product. So, for the firewall, in the absence of a similar product of the shelf, I plan make it myself from the basic components as I can buy those here. Plan is to glue them together, template the shape, cuts and wholes and transfer those.
For the trunk I am going to use butyl on the wheel wells (wheel arches?) as this would probably benefit the region from gravel expelled by the tires, but I will wait for the time I tackle the rear fridge installation to make sure it will fit. The trunk floor I am not much keen of glueing anything as I see it as a zone more susceptible to getting dirty and requiring some cleaning or washing, even though with a lot of care. So for the trunk I am considering something similar to what I have in plan for the firewall but thinner.
Found the picture of the steering links tube, it was on my GU picture folder.Quote:
Originally Posted by BrazilianY60
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