Patcon

If it wasn't necessary, I would do the full rotisserie thing. I have done it. The further you take the car apart, the longer it takes to get back on the road. You would be better off fixing the car up. Making sure there's no significant rust and enjoying putting miles on it. I have found it works best to remove the battery tray from the car, so you can get it good and clean under there. On my next one, I might use Rivnuts to mount it back. That makes it easier to get painted all around and underneath properly

The Captain's job is too point out the Obvious. That's what he gets paid to do He is very good at his job!

I wouldn't use silicone. It can cause painting problems later How about making a thin piece of stainless sheeting. The thinner the better. Make it the same exact dimensions as the vent grill with the two holes. Get some black seam sealer and affix the stainless to the top side of the hatch and then use a little seam sealer to mount the vent grill down. Excess seam sealer can be wiped off with lacquer thinner before it cures. Down properly, the seam sealer should seal everything up nicely

I use to be a perfectionist, I have gotten older so I've grown out of that into the next closest thing! 🤣

Ohhh! Now you're adding pressure! 😉 If it's not, you and I will get a few beers and then we won't care. 🙂

I dont really have a good recommendation. What I would recommend is to not do anything that isn't reversal. Early hatches have gotten very expensive if they can be sourced at all!!

I can struggle with being obsessive. It makes me good at my job, but it can bog my projects down. I keep telling myself I cant see the back of the car from the driver's seat and it doesn't matter. How's that working out? 🙂

I also worked on the tail light panel some on the right side. I noticed it wasn't flat so I started messing with it and it was badly oil canned. So I worked on shrinking it. I might could have made one video if I knew how to work my phone but I obviously don't The area I tried to shrink got better but I couldn't get it right. So I eventually cut a relief cut and welded it up. That made it very acceptable. I may have over heated the first couple of spots and sometimes that makes it difficult to get it shrunk all the way down. It's also possible when I reinstalled the the tail light panel, I put that oil can in it and it just wouldn't shrink enough. I also don't have a shrinking hammer and dolly. That might have helped especially when you have it hot

So I found an issue when test fitting the tail light finishers. The gaps on either end were different About a tenth of an inch different. So what I did was oval out the holes in the top edge of the panels so they can all shift to the right. After that, the gaps were identical. I also noticed something in the bumper indentions on either side. The spot welds on the right side are nice and uniform On the left side, not so much... So I am assuming the ones on the left reflect the impact from a wreck on the rear of the car. The floor board shifted forward enough to pull all the spot welds forward and make them look pulled forward This was the current status at the end of the weekend

Edited, moving on

Somebody probably has proof. Zcon Atlanta at road Atlanta but I don't...

Whats the next badge up??? I want one!

Is it bad, I can quote that whole scene??? Actually, I can probably quote most of that movie...

I agree, there are some cons. I tried to plate something the other day and couldn't get acceptable results. That's what happens when you let things sit. It's also very time consuming to plate unless you have a BIG setup. I have been disappointed by a couple of commercial platers. I'm glad TPP is gonna take your plating. Please update my other thread when you get your hardware back The vintage hardware many times looks different from the new stuff. Sometimes the heads are different sizes. Also the vintage hardware have numbers on them "7's" or "9's"

If you have 30 psi at idle, I would consider that very good

I try the following when I have blow through issues: Turn the welder down (I have 12 settings on mine and have had to use #1 on certain areas of the car) Really short trigger burst Feed out more wire from the tip Put a piece of copper behind is to help distribute heat Is the gas too high

Thats a cool technique!

I don't understand. Where were you blowing through??

As a simple equation, most people divide the weight by hp 2300/325=7.0769 Thats close enough for government work. Anything below 10 moves really good; below 5 is scary fast! So 7 is really solid...

Superb, Rich!

The Rebello would be 7.07#s per horse The proto 8.75#s per horse. There are some missing pieces though. Modern suspension of the Proto would be a plus but there are aftermarket options that are competitive ABS is nice but I grew up without it and wouldn't miss it. The S30 is lighter and would be much more "tossable" if the contact patch was similar Might need some good brake upgrades The modern car would have some nice things built in: bluetooth, heated seats, leather, delay wipe, power mirrors and windows. All of which could be overcome My choice would be the S30... But I'm biased 😉

The Japanese steel was very good and the cross hatching in the cylinder bores is still visible after years of driving. Even on high mileage cars. I have found rust up high inside of the quarter panels and it is just from humidity. Cars from ocean communities can be be really rusty in the worst way from the salty air getting inside all the body cavities. I would think, the ideal way to do a proper rust treatment. Would be to find somebody to dip the car to remove all the rust but they would need to dip it when clean for a rust prevention. Passivating, galavanizing, zinc dip or zinc rich primer. I know people that offer stripper dip tank services but finding the second part might be th he problem

Check valve lash. You sound like you have a noisy lifter or two. I don't think its an exhaust leak...

I would argue that the steel used was excellent. Just look at how well the blocks hold cross hatching. The problem with the early cars wasn't the steel, it was the complete absense of any rust prevention. They didn't start galvanizing bodies until 78 or so??? A modern car would get a full passivating dip, so thats not a problem. Also modern cars use a wide range of exotic alloys to make them light but pass crash test. So not a significant issue. Also most modern cars are mono coupes, no frames anymore...

If you need a main bearing, its due for a complete rebuild. Try to pinpoint the issue before throwing parts at it