"Operation Shit-box
Restore"
"Operation Rust Intercept"
I officially want to call this, "Operation Shit-box
Restore", but that will not keep me mentally motivated.
Hmmm, maybe I will break it up a bit. It's official, it will
start with stage one, "Operation Rust Intercept". Using the
latest technology, I will inhibit the spread of rust on this
vehicle before it recycles itself back into the earth.
I will do everything short of sending it out to be
bead-blasted, which is just too expensive and is just not
needed on this car. I am going to repair all rust and rust
spots.
The next stage will be prepping it for paint. One of my good
buddies, Rob, is a good auto body guy that owes me a few
favors, so this should not kill me, money-wise. With the
amount of time that I have, this current stage will take me
easily into September or October.
I will keep the pictures coming and write some more about the nice '93 Firebird Formula and what that needs.
Updates
07/25/07:
Every part is coming out. I have
successfully fought off all rust on the radiator support and
the bumper which of course gets covered by a bumper cover.
But rust is rust and it shall be gone. You can see by some
of these pics and future pics to come that this will be a
long and hard battle. Many wire brushes and Dremel sanding
bits will be lost. Rust has a lot of patience and will
pounce when I least expect it so I must keep my guard up. I
must stay the course! To back down now it would only
embolden the rust to do further destruction. With the help
of my closest allies (my buddies Matt and Rob and my pops) I
shall win this battle because good always wins over evil.
I am currently taking apart the suspension on the drivers
side. Every part will be cleaned, inspected and painted. All
bushings, joints and anything that moves or needs to be
greased will be replaced with new if needed. I would like to
get a new set of vented rotors to avoid the typical Chevy
warpage. I am also going to get a nice new pair of struts
and calipers. I have to assume that the ones I have now are
frozen solid.
7/28/07: Anyway, tip of the day. If
you want to shave some weight off your car real easy this is
what you do. Pull of a front tire and scrape off all the
crap build up on your a-arms. I can not believe the amount
of crap on these a-arms. Anyway, the struts are out, the
caliper and rotor assembly is disconnected from the a-arm
which is disconnected from the car. Everything will be
cleaned and wire wheeled. I will bring the a-arm down to 'Gulfies'
wheel alignment on Carleton avenue in Islip to put in a new
ball joint and bushings. One of the mechanics at the shop I
work at told me not to sock the a-arms down to the k-frame
until the car is almost done and on its feet. When the
weight of the motor is back in I will reach in and sock home
the a-arm connection before I go for the first test drive.
He said if I sock them home while the car is in the air the
bushings will get hurt when the weight of the car pushes
them into the right position. This guy is old school but he
knows his stuff. When he talks I listen.
I am finished with the drivers side wheel well. I went in
there with a high speed wire wheel and cleaned off
everything which revealed a bunch more spots of forming rust
which have all been repaired. I also refilled some seems
with plastic inside the well. I primed, painted and
undercoated. Every is going smooth, of course until I have
to spend money.
