Titan85

iTrader: (1)

The interior was originally red. I still have most of the parts, but I think you are looking for black so my parts won't really help you much. Would you happen to have the part that goes on the back of the headliner for a t-top in gray?

black89ws6

I should have it, in parts from another car. If not, I will have the one from my car when I get the black interior replaced.

Titan85

iTrader: (1)

Ok, its been a while but a lot has happened. The engine bay is finally painted and the car is ready to have the engine put back in. I still have to change the spark plugs, oil, plug wires, cap, rotor, and do some painting (on the engine) before I put the engine back in.

I never painted a car before this and I am amazed at the finish clear gives the car. Its like a piece of glass with only 2 coats. My advice to anyone before spraying clear is make sure you have some serious ventilation. There was soo much over spray in the air that I could not see the back of the car while standing at the front of it.

It came out pretty nice, minus a few bugs and a messed up part that was my fault . I was spraying the second coat and accidentally leaned up against the side of the car. I just about killed myself, then realized the fender would cover it up so its not a huge deal.

duderjay

hey titan

That por15 you used. Whats the prep work like??

I want to do the underneath of my car i just have surface rust. Did you have to do any grinding or sand blasting?

I want to know what I am getting into this winter.

thanks and once again nice work

Tobias05

engine bay looks awesome! wish i had the time and motivation to "restore" my car, instead of just replace parts.

Titan85

iTrader: (1)

I did have to do quite a bit of prep work before I put the POR-15 on. I used a wire brush to take off any loose rust and particles. I used some 80 grit sandpaper in some areas to rough up the floor pan so the POR-15 could stick to it. After all the rust was off and the surface was roughed up, I used POR-15's Marine Clean to clean all the grease and junk off the floor pan then followed it with Metal Ready. After all that (about two weeks of work) I put two coats of POR-15 over it.

Yeah, it takes a ton of time and work to redo a car. I basically found that out the hard way , but it should be worth it.

So far I have the horns, alarm, new hood release cable, vacuum cylinder (charcoal canister or whatever it really is), power brake booster/master cylinder, and cruise control servo back in the engine bay. I've also been working on putting new convoluted tubing on all the wires, which is turning out to be one heck of a job with all those wires going everywhere.

I am hoping to get the brake lines, blower motor/AC box installed tomorrow and hopefully get the motor cleaned up and the plenum back on, but that all depends on if I can find my dang torx set and some runner gaskets.

Darned tools with legs...

1FastZ

Looking great ma, keep up the good work.

Tobias05

proper ATAF bro!

Titan85

iTrader: (1)

I had a lot of free time today so I got a good amount of work done. The blower motor/AC box, brake lines, and fuel lines are in place. Those dang fuel lines took something like 2 hours to get just right .

I decided to paint the valve covers with Duplicolor Cast Aluminum engine enamel mainly because I am cheap. No sense putting a ton of money into engine dress up only to get a new engine in a year or so. I got them sanded and the primer on so far. Tomorrow is looking like more wiring harness work, painting the valve covers, installing the plenum and water pump, and putting the new spark plugs in.

I am hoping to have the engine back in the car by friday or saturday and have it running by midweek. The only big things left are getting the transmission ready to go (new seal, fluid, and tail) and getting the engine wired up once it is mounted.

You lost me on that one. Probably a stupid question, but whats ATAF? I was thinking Athletic Trainers Association of Florida but I don't think that works here lol.

lordmetalz28

iTrader: (1)

i must look at 5 iroc,s a year enquiring about buying them. you wont believe how many people try and pass off thier 5.0tpi as 350,s i check the vins and confront them and they just stick to thier story as i walk away. when i bought mine i drove 250 miles under the impression it was a 350. when it was in reality a 305tpi. which dosent bother me that much cause its a very very torquey motor. i confronted the guy and he didnt hide anything and apologized to me. then i jewed him down to 1500$ lol. just becareful out there

black89ws6

All Tools Accounted For

Titan85

iTrader: (1)

Not too much going on at the moment, just trying to get the motor ready and back in the car. Some bots are causing lots of problems. One of the thermostat housing bolts broke when I was taking it off and then my easy out broke when I was trying to use it to get the bolt out.

To top off the day, I was putting a new bolt in for the exhaust manifold and it stripped some threads out of the block for no apparent reason. Now I can't even get the old bolt back in. To make that even more fun, I got a little angry and threw the bolt down which then bounced off the floor and landed on the roof of the car, chipping the primer. I had to leave the garage at that point .

So, after taking a day off to cool down, I decided to make the bracket for mounting my secondary fuse box. I decided to put it in the rear storage compartment because I couldn't find any room under the dash for it. I just used some 1/8x3/4'' aluminum and some bolts.

Basically, the cardboard insert will go in front of the bracket and then the fusebox in front of the cardboard. I am going to cut a hole for the wires to go through the insert and then screw the fuse box through the insert and into the bracket. Should make a nice concealed area that still has easy access for replacing fuses.

Titan85

iTrader: (1)

The past week has been all about wiring. Its going pretty quick now that I spent some money on a descent soldering gun. The power windows, keyless entry, defrost, and dash light are all wired now.

I also rigged my new driving lights for testing. I went a little cheap on them due to budget restrictions. I believe I payed $30 for the set at Walmart (yes, I said it...Walmart). They have 55 Watt H3 halogen bulbs. I didn't expect much from them, but I was suprised at how bright they actually are. The down side of them is I had to do a lot of modification for their wiring, but thats not a big deal. The main issue is going to be mounting them.

I finally have the LED strip in the vent wired. I have it wired to a mini light up rocker switch for now, but I am probably going to change it to a better quality full size rocker switch. I attached some pictures of it finally operational for those who were interested before.

Still working on getting the motor in also...

Duane's 91 Z/28

iTrader: (1)

Hey man, great job on the build!! I just found your thread and went through the whole thing. Keep it up!!!

Titan85

iTrader: (1)

I decided to do a bit more work on the engine than I had initially planned on doing. I decided to put Hedman 68470 headers on it. After ordering them, I realized that it would be easiest to change my pulley setup to the 88 and up style (serpentine belt). I pulled the brackets, air conditioning, alternator, and power steering pump from my parts car. I also got a new water pump to fit the new setup.

It looks like I am going to have to get a blasting box and clean up the brackets with some plastic abrasives due to corrosion. I am probably going to put some money into an underdrive pulley set for the crank and alternator.

I also figured that since everything is off the block again, why not just paint it. I decided to go with low gloss black Duplicolor engine enamel (500 degree).

Titan85

iTrader: (1)

Still working on getting the engine all set up the way I want it. I have most of the sand blasting on the accessory brackets and pulleys done and some of the painting.

I repainted my headers because the coating they came with was junk and missing in some spots. I went with VHT silver paint. I did two coats of primer and 4 coats of color. Probably overkill, but I want to beat the rust. I only have the RH side header done so far. The blasting takes forever with my blasting box.

I just got my under drive pulleys from tpiparts.net. I installed the crank pulley, but am lost as to how I am going to get the alternator pulley off. If anyone has some ideas on how it comes off, I would greatly appreciate it.

Titan85

iTrader: (1)

Well, its been a year of working on the car now. Time flies when your buried in work . Its been a long journey (with a lot longer to go) and a lot more expensive than first expected, but that tends to happen the first time around.

I've been working on getting the engine in and the door hinges rebuilt. Everything is set for the engine to go in, just need to put an o2 sensor bung in the header, get a bolt out of the intake manifold, and get the power steering pump pulley back on.

I finally decided on the greasable hing pins from TDS and started taking the hinges apart. I am replacing everything, upper pins, lower pins, lower detent pins and rollers, and springs.

I also decided that I should replace the old and cracked brake hoses. Picked two fronts up from AutoZone for $17 a piece. Now just have to do something about the calipers, just as soon as I have money .

wulfgar the pen

yup soon i will be starting basicly the sdame project this winter, with my 88 sc, hopefully it won't take as long, but i guess i have more to do....keep up the good work

allenfre

Looks like a very tough job from here. Since you are removing your engine, what paint are you planning to apply on your bay?

Titan85

iTrader: (1)

I used self-etching primer over the bare metal spots and then put down some filler primer. Once I sanded the filler primer, I put two coats of PPG Deltron 2000 DBC black basecoat down followed by two coats of clear. I went with Transtar acryleic urethane clear due to budget restrictions.

Titan85

iTrader: (1)

I finished putting in the new door pins last week. I must say that I am pretty impressed with the difference they made. The door was dropping about 1/2 and inch when I opened it and it was not lining up properly with the quarter panel. Now that the new pins are in, the door does not drop at all and lines up perfectly. TDS made a great product and I'll definitely be doing the other door shortly.

I also got motivated to get the motor back in the car. I finally got the power steering pump pulley back on and put my alternator underdrive pulley on. Now that the pulleys are all set up, I was able to figure out my belt path and length. I just ran some electrical tape through it to get an idea of how the belt will go on and get the length.

Once I get the thermostat housing bolt situation resolved, the motor will be going back in. Just waiting on some money for the fuel lines .

92RS_Ttop

iTrader: (3)

Just a suggestion, I wouldnt run the belt that way. I don't think you'll get enough tension on it. The better way to route it would be like I have it in the (admittedly crude) drawing I attached below. That is how it was routed from the factory on the smog delete cars.

Titan85

iTrader: (1)

Thanks a ton for the advice. Its been so long since I took the old belt off that I forgot how it went on . Glad you pointed that out.

92RS_Ttop

iTrader: (3)

No problem. I spent a few hours trying to figure out the routing last year when I pulled the smog pump off my V6 and the belt had been off my engine for a few months as well. The belt comes close to rubbing across the top of the water pump, but I haven't seen any signs of it rubbing or any other problems in the 3k miles since I installed it that way.

Titan85

iTrader: (1)

The motor is finally back at home in the car after more than a year! Its just bolted in. Im hoping to get a good start on the wiring tomorrow. Doesn't look to pretty yet. Just dropped it in then ran in to watch the superbowl.

Now all thats left is to get the tranny in, get the motor running, get the wiring done, paint it, and get it back together . Still a few more months to go...

Ricco

Motor looks good man. What belt did you use? Do you have a P/N?

Titan85

iTrader: (1)

The belt is from Napa (made by Gates). I believe I ended up going with a 94.5 inch belt. I still have the sleeve in the garage so I'll get the number and post it tomorrow for you.

92RS_Ttop

iTrader: (3)

Engine looks great! Where did you get those plug wire holders? I've never seen anything like those.

GeeJenn91RSV8

Good work titan. You're doing the right thing by taking your time with the project. It will all pay off in the end.

Titan85

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for all the compliments guys! Can't wait to get it running. The wire looms are from Summit ($43 - http://store.summitracing.com/partde...5&autoview=sku). A little pricey, but they really look good. My only complaint is that the 8.5mm wires make it a really tight fit. The belt number (Napa) is 060938.

I got some of the wiring done today. Everything is laid out in the basic locations, but I still have to hook up all the grounds and fun stuff. Looks like I am going to have to wait on the wiring that hooks to the back of the motor until I put the transmission in. The motor is leaning back pretty bad without the transmission to hold it up.

1986Z28OWNER

iTrader: (1)

any updates?

Titan85

iTrader: (1)

The motor, transmission, drive shaft, and torque arm are all in. I am currently working on getting the passenger side header to clear the heater hoses. The driver side header is in and fits well, just needs some brake line routing changes. Motor is ready to run other than the header and a transmission line.

The motor should be running by the end of the week. I'll try to get some pictures up a little later today.

Titan85

iTrader: (1)

Since the last good update, I installed the transmission, drive shaft, torque arm, and headers. I decided to go with polyurethane transmission and torque arm mounts. I was pretty impressed with how much better they seem than the stock rubber ones. The real test will be on the road though, and they will definitely be tested .

After messing with the passenger side header, I finally got it to fit without hitting the heater hose too bad. I ended up pulling the heater hose setup off of my 89 parts car because its a little smaller. The header just fits, although I am concerned about it touching the metal part of the hose setup a little bit.

Now I have to get the wiring all finished up, get a tranny line on, install lower radiator hose, fill the radiator, and work out my vacuum line routing. After that, its good to go. Getting pretty excited to start this thing. Should sound awesome, especially with open headers .

Titan85

iTrader: (1)

I finally got the car started! I went round and round trying to figure out why it would crank, but not start. I screwed with the timing like crazy. Turns out, the fuel pump was bad. I found that out after I decided to spray some fuel into the intake. It got a little interesting when it decided to back fire out of the intake and catch the spray bottle of fuel on fire . Nothing a fire extinguisher and some running couldn't handle. I had fuel, but no where near the amount of pressure that I needed. I went to the store, got a pump, popped it in, and it started right up.

I had some fun waking up the neighbors. Gotta love how you can feel your boots shaking when you are standing next to a V8 with open headers . Now its time to finish up the wiring, weld in a 1/4 panel patch, put a new drivers door on, paint it, and put the interior back in. Then its road time!!

bigdavesiroc

looking good. keep it up.

Titan85

iTrader: (1)

I finally have some updates to post about. First off, the motor is running and the car is mobile again for the first time in a year and a half! I just finished wiring the alarm system (yes, its finally 100% done) and all the cars wiring minus the auto dimming/compass/thermometer mirror that I have yet to buy.

Of coarse there is a downside to everything . I found out the radiator is leaking around the upper hose connection (where it is welded to the radiator). So now I am looking at getting a cheapy remake of the 91 radiator from the Zone to hold me over until I get a new motor.

I also decided to just trash the certi-fit junk fenders after another three hours of trying to make them fit. So I will be getting some new ones somewhere. I also need to put a new quarter and door on.

To top off all the bad news, after becoming a bit more educated in the body work department, I found out the primer on the car is crap. Now I will be stripping it again and putting some k-36 down.

Learning sure aint cheap or quick, but I guess it comes with the territory. Here are some pics of the car the way it is now. O, and I had to throw in a picture of the result of my "throttle response test" .

87SnowFlake

looks great!...i was thinking about paintingmy tpi unit black just like yours, but i never saw it before but it looks great and so ill definately have to do that to mine

sunbound

WOW. Now i know about how long its going to take me when I do my camaro. Its the same color as yours used to be, but started out with grey interior (its pretty ratty now).

Good job man. One question, what kind of paint booth did you set up? Did you ever set up some kind of "serious ventilation"?

Titan85

iTrader: (1)

I didn't get too serious about the paint booth. I just hung plastic on the walls and ceiling to keep over spray from sticking to my walls. When I primed the car, I had no ventilation. However, I did put a fan in to pull some of the air out when I did the clear on the engine bay. I am going to try something a little better this time around because there was so much over spray from the clear in the air I couldn't see what I was doing .

I attached a picture of my $25 paint booth

sunbound

I always wondered how well that would work. What type of spray gun do you use? whow many other times have you painted a car? etc... I'm thinking of trying to paint my car myself when the time comes (when i get off my butt, have a lot more freetime, and some extra cash laying around).

Jon

Titan85

iTrader: (1)

I used a cheapy $70 gravity feed gun. This was actually my first time doing anything with automotive paint. Pretty much anyone can do it if you are willing to put the time and money into it.

sunbound

OK, that gives me some hope that given the time and money this will work out.

Thanks man

Jon

Titan85

iTrader: (1)

Im back for another update! Things are moving pretty fast now that I have the things I need to do the work. I decided to put a new outer quarter on and to put a patch in the wheel house while I am in there. I spent my day off getting a quarter off of my parts car. It took me something like five hours because it was my first time.

I finally got my hands on a welder and started putting patches in the floor. I also decided to junk my crappy certi-fit replacement fenders and fix my stock ones. Its been quite a project getting them into decent shape since they have been sitting as bare metal for 8 months in my garage, not to mention the dents to fix.

All in all, things are coming along pretty good. I am hoping to have this thing on the road by the end of June or mid July. I guess we will see what happens

Titan85

iTrader: (1)

I borrowed a welder from a guy I work with and went to work patching rust holes. I had only done a little welding before this job so the first patches I did didn't come out so good. All in all it worked out pretty good and I got everything welded up (I hope).

I had rust in the classic areas like the driver and passenger forward floor pan, but not very bad. The worst part was the driver side wheel house that was just gone. I spent this week repairing that massive hole and welding in my rear shoulder belt brackets while I was in there. It actually came out pretty nice and I only caught the car on fire a few times .

I also started removing the passenger side quarter panel. It should get real interesting over the next few weeks.

Titan85

iTrader: (1)

The hole in the wheel well is all patched up now. I also got the seat belt mounts welded in while I was there.

I've spent the last week getting the old quarter off and the new one all ready to go. Most of the time was spent doing a patch on the inner wheel well. The inner lip was gone so I cut a patch off of my parts car and welded it in. It took a lot of fitting to get it right, but all in all it came out pretty good.

The new panel fits pretty good. Final fitting will be tomorrow and I will hopefully get it on by thursday. A lot to do and not so much time.

Titan85

iTrader: (1)

Ok, I finally have some updates... a lot of them. Sorry I wasn't able to get anything up earlier, just been really busy. To start with, the quarter panel is now installed. It took every bit of a week and a half but that was with one to two hours a night. Its definitely not perfect, but it did come out pretty darn good. I am happy with the results, especially considering that it was my first quarter (don't ask why I decided to do it myself, I don't even know ).

I used a combination of panel adhesive and welding to put the panel on. I used the adhesive on the outer area by putting a two inch backing piece on and leaving a 1/4 inch gap between the new and old panels. The inner and outer wheel well lips are also bonded together to help prevent rust. I used plug welds in the place of all the spot welds I drilled out when taking the panel off.

Here are some pictures of that project.

Titan85

iTrader: (1)

I am now moving into the paint prep stage (yes, for the second time ). I originally used Nason Select Prime, which after becoming more educated, I found to be junk. It was a primer that uses a 1:1 mixing ratio with thinner . I decided to strip the car back down and put some self-etching and epoxy primer in the high probability rust areas then spray K36 on top of that (4:1 primer to hardener mixing). The K36 will make things way better and give me some peace of mind, which makes it all worth it.

I have to say that I am thankful that I decided to strip the car again. I have found rust forming under the primer on almost every panel so far. Not bad rust, just very minor surface rust, but that would have kept growing and growing. The reason there was rust growing is because I left some areas bare for a week before priming last time, due to my ignorance and lack of experience.

More updates next week. No work will be done this weekend though, heading to Eldora Speedway to watch the sprints!

1FastZ

Keep up the good work Man, she will be together sooner than you think.

1991_305RS

What happened? Did you give up? lol

propaintball96

^ i know right? lets see what happened to the beast!