Further progress on the body tub. The fender lowers are fabbed and ready, as are the inner close-out panels. The last few days saw some final fitting and tweaks. They also saw some scraping and peeling of an oil-based seam sealer that is simply the black goo of death.
I finally progressed enough to start applying some POR-15 rust protection. That stuff is sticky, stinky, and travels everywhere. But it works. I got it on all the areas that will be covered up once I close up the rear end. While it was drying between and after coats, I addressed the openings where the bumperettes mount to the rear end. The metal was all stretched, dented, and torn, so it was easier to just patch in new metal rather than try to save what was there. Of course, the grinding and cutting put some metal dust into my drying POR15, which you can see in the video. Not to worry, though. These areas are completely hidden, so this will have no impact. I also got to start spraying some of the Car Rep epoxy primer. I like the way it sprays. Apparently there is a new formulation coming out in the spring, so I'm looking forward to trying that. What I know is that I couldn't scrape this stuff off with a screwdriver once it set, so it should form a really good base for later paint. I did have some minor crazing where I sprayed it over the POR15, but I think that's because the POR itself had not fully set up yet, and was still gassing off. Where the primer went over metal directly, it was smooth as glass. So chalk that up to operator error! Without further ado... the video.
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And the work on the rear tub continues.
There was a lot of really bad rust behind the wheel wells on the lower fender areas on both sides, though much worse on the driver's side. There were large holes where the metal had rusted completely away, and also thin areas where the metal was almost gone. So the job was to cut out the bad, rusted areas and replace them with welded in metal patches. Because the area has a lot of compound curves, the metal patches had to be properly shaped and fabricated. I used hammers, dollies, my own special proprietary bender (a workmate table opened slightly), and an english wheel to shape the metal, then welded it into place. The video of this process was quite long, so I split it into two episodes. Here they are below. Once the tub got straightened and shaped, it was time to cut out the badly rusted area behind the wheels. Cutting this area away also gave access to the close-out panels, which were also badly rusted, and the fender supports along the wheel wells, which were all but completely gone.
Some time ago, I had borrowed an english wheel from Doug, a member of the Saskatchewan British Car Club. The main purpose for borrowing it was for the lower fenders. I could buy the parts, but I wanted to make them. For starters, its a whole bunch cheaper! But it also gave me the flexibility to cut where I wanted to cut, and not be forced to make someone else's work fit. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Before I could shape and install the fender lowers, I had to deal with the supports that held them in place at the wheel wells. I also repaired the passenger side close-out panel, and used that for a template from which I fabricated a new close-out panel for the driver's side. Unfortunately, somewhere along the line (probably when my phone hit the concrete!) the video file corrupted and was unusable. At least the part where the actual fabrication happened. On the plus side, the inners are pretty boring anyway. mostly flat or single-plane bends, so nothing that anyone with a welder and a pencil couldn't duplicate. One modification I did make to the close-out panels, however, was to include a drain hole. There was no drain hole in the stock Bugeye, but this area was notorious for rusting, as evidenced by my car. My theory was, if I could let the water out, there would be less chance of rust. However, the location immediately behind the wheels leads to a lot of potential spray and debris being flung into the area. So to counter this, I made a simple shroud to cover the drain hole so material couldn't get driven into the bottom of the fender area. Sorry the video failed. I hope the photos can be helpful to anyone who wants a reference pic. So I was told to be as active as I could without pain during my surgery recovery. If I've got to be active, I may as well work on the car, right? I've been consistently right on the edge of overdoing it. Sometimes stepping over the edge a bit, if I must admit. But here I am.
This blog entry covers enough time and work that it produced enough material for three videos, linked below. I started with the removal of the last bits of the old tub that needed to go in order to make way for the new turtle deck. The original plan was to install the deck right away, but when I saw how wonderfully open the rear became, I just had to take advantage of it for the metal working. If nothing else, the lighting was miles better! Also this past week, I removed the boot floor, which allowed me access from below to start on the metal work on the rear tub. I started out with basic dent removal. The second video is a continuation of the work on the tub. The video just got too long to do as a single episode. In the second vid, I get into the shaping of the metal. I explain how to use heat to shrink the metal to avoid the dreaded "oil can" effect, and I go over some techniques for contouring and shaping the metal using hammers, dollies, and spoons. Of course, if you're shaping a car, then both sides had better match! That's what I graduated to with the third video. I used my contour gauge to measure the shape, and then hammered and dollied the other side to match, so everything is symmetrical. One thing I cannot stress enough when doing metalwork... wear hearing protection! Ear plugs are your friend. I SAID EARPLUGS ARE YOUR FRIEND! Enjoy the videos! Moving onward. This past week I finished stripping the paint off the rear tub and also off of the turtle deck. I also cut the opening where the new turtle deck will be installed. This gave me great access to the inside of the boot. I did a video of this process, so not too many photos. Progress overall was slowed significantly by some health problems that resulted in a surgery following a months-long wait for an operating room to open up. (Thanks, COVID!) So apparently the bit I've been calling the rear shroud is properly titled the "turtle deck". Either way, this is the upper skin of the rear part of the body. Where a trunk or boot lid would normally be. When my brother got the car, this had been cut out to improve access to the boot area. Unfortunately, whomever did the cutting did not understand the physics of a unibody car, and cut a major support structure (there is a beam just below the skin, which was removed).
I managed to find a used turtle deck from Autofarm in Ontario, Canada. You can see it in previous blog posts. When they cut it, they cut it large, and left some trim pieces on. That's awesome and wonderful, but now it's time to get rid of the pieces I don't need, and get it ready to install. This is the first of a series of videos I took while working on the rear tub. It's basically a metal and bodywork series. I took some photos, but by and large, the next several entries will be more video than photo based. It makes it much easier to explain what I'm doing. I hope you like how it turns out. OK, I'm just sticking this in here on this date because it's before I did all the bodywork on the tub. In this entry, I want to talk about the choices I made regarding paint/primer for the Heirloom Austin, and why I made some of those choices. The reason I'm putting it in at this point is because I thought it might just make sense to put everything regarding the paint in one entry as opposed having it spread across several random posts. I also put together a video, (for which I pulled excerpts from several of the videos you will see later), and tried to explain my thinking in that format, as well. I've attached that video to this blog entry.
To get right to the point, I've elected to use an epoxy paint on the Heirloom Austin. I've done this because epoxy is very durable, being highly resistant to both chemicals (such as brake fluid and gasoline) and abrasion (such as flung rocks, wayward shopping carts, and curious kids/photographers at car shows). Now comes the interesting kicker. The epoxy I've chosen... wait for it... comes in rattle cans (aka spray bombs)! I know, I know. But this was a carefully considered decision. I cover a lot of the reasons in the vid, but I'll go over them here, as well. (Video link at bottom, and here) I will start by saying that, at first, the thought of rattle cans never even entered my mind as a possibilty. I'm a trained automotive painter. The first place my brain went was to professional, body-shop brand paints. PPG, Sikkens, RM/Glasurit, or my personal favourite (both to look at and to work with) -- House of Kolor. (DuPont was never a consideration. Worked with it for a short time. Never again.) My supplier for House Of Kolor is D&E Autobody Supply in Vernon, BC. Christa is great! And they ship. But HOK is pretty pricey stuff, and the shipping would add up, as well. Plus, with HOK being solvent based, and me spraying in my garage as opposed to a proper spray booth, there are certain, shall we say, aromatic considerations. (Not to mention the possiblility of a large *boom* should something unfortunate happen between fumes and electrical tools/outlets/lighting in said garage.) I'm also a guy who likes to know his options and make decisions based on information rather than sheer instinct. So I set about gathering information on what was available within my area, or reasonable driving distance should I need something unexpected or in a hurry. There are a few options available to me from a couple of companies, and so I started gathering price info on these options. One of the other issues I am dealing with is that I do not have the same paint guns and equipment that I had when I was in the industry. Most of the guns got sold or left behind, and of course my air source was invariably a gigantic shop compressor, so I am used to having basically unlimited air supply. I'll get more into the equipment needs later, but at the moment, I'll focus on the air source issue. This is the first moment that made me sit back and kind of go, "damn". I live in a small town. There are a couple of small body shops, but nothing where I could go and rent some time in a booth. My local English Car Club (Saskatchewan British Car Club) has two chapters, the closest of which is almost a 2-hour drive. And while they offer great support, I'm not aware of any members having a spray booth. Same goes for local classic car clubs. Booths aren't easy to find. And even without the booth, shooting in a garage is doable -- especially with some creative use of fans, filters, and 8-mil construction vapour barrier -- but compressors large enough to power a spray gun (and a fresh air mask!) are not exactly portable, or cheap. These are hard to find and even harder to borrow when you have just moved to a new town. So, what to do? Well, I remember when I was still in the industry, some people were starting to use roll-on primers. Yes, you read that correctly. Roll-on automotive primer. That wouldn't solve the air source issue when it came time to paint, but it would allow me to kick that particular can down the road a bit. Okay, so let's look into the roll-on option. I'm going to go off on a bit of a tangent here, but bear with me. I'm a big believer in using a single "paint system". When I say "paint system", I mean a single line or lines of a single brand that have been developed and tested to work together. For example, House of Kolor. HOK primers are designed to work with HOK basecoats, reducers, clears, activators, and additives. They are tested to make sure that the products will work together to make a good final result. HOK primers are NOT tested to work with other brands, such as Sikkens or PPG. They may work. Or their chemistry may be completely incompatible. Using them together may cause wrinkling, lifting, loss of gloss, lack of adhesion, fish eyes... even full-on chemical reactions. I used HOK as an example, but it applies to all brands, across the board. PPG paint over a BASF primer may work or it may not. It may look like it works... for a month or so... and then problems start appearing. Painting is hard enough without introducing unnecessary variables like this. So I won't do it. So, what does that mean for me on this project? It means that whatever paint system I decide upon, that system needs to have a roll-on primer. The search was a short one. The PPG Shop Line has a primer that is not designed primarily as a roll-on, but can be used as one. Another option was Eastwood, which is basically mail-order (at least in my area). I've never worked with Eastwood before. I've heard some reviewers that love it, others not so much. I know it's definitely a budget-conscious option. And they have a roll-on primer. Okay, so that's another option. What else is out there? It was during my research that I spoke to a body shop supplier and the subject of rattle cans came up. I hadn't considered the possiblity as a real option to this point for a couple of reasons. Firstly, most rattle cans are 1K product, which means they air-dry. (Think Rustoleum or Krylon) This is a far less durable product than a 2K (2 component) paint, which cures through chemical reaction between the product and an activator or hardener. Stone chips, sun fading, scratching and generally amateurish appearance are downsides of 1K products, and I want this car to look good for many years after it's done. Secondly, while 2K products ARE available in rattle cans, they way in which they work causes a lot of potential expensive waste. Generally in a 2K rattle can, the activator is in a separate compartment within the can, and released when the user pulls a tab and then shakes the can to mix the product. This mixing starts the curing process, which is a chemical reaction, and has a time limit (also known as "pot life"). The usual pot life on a 2K product is about an hour. That means that whatever product does not get used in an hour is useless and must be thrown away. So if you only have to do a spot of, say 3-4 square feet (the size of one of my doors, for example), and the can covers a maximum of 22 square feet, that means you are throwing out between 3/4 and 7/8 of your can. This is not only wasteful, but horrifically expensive. The body shop supplier told me about another rattle can alternative. The company is called Car Rep, and they're a Finnish company that has been providing their product in Europe for several years. They sell a 2K rattle can that uses different technology, and does NOT have the pot life limitations of other 2K rattle cans. Even better, they have a complete paint system, including epoxy primer, epoxy high-build primer, epoxy colour coat, and polyeurethane clear coat, all in rattle cans. And as an added bonus, they also have optional high-atomization nozzles available, which means less rattle-can orange peel to wet-sand later. Downside? Well, rattle cans cover about 20-30 square feet per can, depending on the product. Calculating in primer, build primer, paint, and clear over a whole car... that adds up to a lot of cans. And quickly. So, me being me, I started to do the math. I roughly calculated the surface area of the car. 560 sq ft, inside and out. Plus wheels and mechanical bits in the suspension. That's for a bugeye Sprite, which is a very small car, by the way. Smaller than a Miata by quite a margin. Then I made a comparison. I calculated how many cans of each product it would take to cover the area with the desired number of coats. Then I used PPG's coverage numbers from their Technical Data Sheets to calculate how much of their product I would need to cover the same area. I should note, the PPG cost includes the price of the product, its hardener/activator, and its reducer (solvent). I allowed for two coats of build primer on the outer surfaces only, two full coats of colour (in and out), and clear coat only on the outside surfaces of the car (not the inners, under hood, floors or underside). It came out as follows: Epoxy Primer: PPG Omni MP170/175 Epoxy: $230 Car Rep Epoxy Primer: $600 (26 cans) Build Primer: PPG Omni MP281/MS250: $280 Car Rep Epoxy Hi Build: $575 (25 cans) Color Coat: PPG Omni Base/hardener $700 Car Rep Epoxy Color Coat: $830 (36 Cans) Clear Coat: PPG MC161 Clear/hardener $400 Car Rep Polyurethane Clear: $550 (22 cans) Gun Cleaner: 5 Gal gun wash $ 60 NA Total: PPG Omni bodyshop paint $1670 Car Rep Epoxy system: $2555 So yeah. Rattle cans cost about $900 more than the paint. For cans that sit on the shelf. But if you want the paint to go onto the actual car, then you need some other stuff, as mentioned above. In order to shoot bodyshop paint, you need paint guns. I used to have a gun for clear (Sata 3000 RP), two guns for basecoat -- one for water base, one for solvent base (both were Sata 3000 HVLPs). Those guns ran about $700 apiece. Not sure what the new Sata 5000 line sells for, but they aren't cheap. I also had a DeVilbiss for sealer (about $400) and a 3M plastic gun for primer (about $120). I'm not saying you need this level of gun or this many of them, I'm just saying that's what I used in the industry. Realistically, a DeVilbiss Finish Line set will run you $400 for a Chinese-made set including a basecoat gun and clear gun, plus another $100-$150 for a primer gun. So there's $500 - $550 of that $900 price difference gone already. (Plus don't forget you need to clean your guns after every use. I calculated in 5 gallons of cleaner, but that's probably about half of what you will use, not to mention the time and mess!) But your biggest cost will be the compressor. In fact, a compressor capable of shooting paint (Minimum 18 gallons per minute of airflow, recommended 22-25 gpm) will run you more money than the paint. I've seen them on sale for $1800, if it's a really good sale. Add in the dessicant and oil filter, and you are looking at over $2000. Also, if you are shooting paint, you should have an air dryer. (Moisture in paint causes fisheyes!) Tack on another $1500. So between your compressor/dryer setup plus your guns, you are already at $3500, which is $1000 MORE than the cost of all the rattle cans you will need. And you haven't bought your paint yet! How well does the Car Rep work? I'll find out and let you know, because that's what I'm going with. I based this decision on a number of factors: cost; ease of clean-up; ease of use; less equipment filling my precious garage space (if you've seen the videos, you know how tight my work space is!). Basically, it makes sense for me to try this stuff out. As you can tell by reading, I didn't make this decision on a whim. If it works, this stuff is a big win for guys like me who just do their own thing in the garage. Like I said, we'll find out. Today was a bit all over the place. I removed the steering rack and column from the car, which, along with the front brake lines, were the only mechanical pieces left on the body. I did this mostly on video, so there aren't a lot of photos. But the video is informative, I hope. Also, I set up the rotisserie pivots and tack-welded them together. Because my welder is, well, crap, I would rather not risk producing welds with poor (or no) penetration on pieces that will be supporting the weight of the car. A friend of mine has a good stick welder that gets plenty hot, so there is no need to take chances. I likely will replace this welder in the not too distant future, but for now, it's good for sheet metal. I wouldn't trust it with anything heavier or more structural than that. The video is here I should also mention that I bought a bunch of used parts from a gentleman in the USA. They arrived just recently, as well. I got beehive lights (original in box!), a washer fluid bottle, telescoping arm for the bonnet, a replacement for my heater box and heater/battery shelf, and some other bits and bobs. Check out the photos below. Wow, it's been a while. I pulled my shocks out in late December and sent them off before Jan 1. I got the rest of the front end taken apart a short time later. Then life got in the way of the car stuff. The cold didn't help, either. I have a single garage, with no room to work unless the main door is open, so the weather needs to be somewhat cooperative. And here it is... April. The weather is now nice enough to do some work outside. Before getting started on the actual car, I built a cart to roll it around. I also built the two main legs for the rotisserie. Lumber prices are going crazy right now what with COVID and all, and I had a chance to get some at the old prices, so I jumped on it. Plans for the cart are here: (NOTE: I tried to get some free CAD software to work, but its all geared toward 3D modelling, and I just wanted a simple drafting app. No luck. Nothing. So I drew it by hand and scanned it. Same for the rotisserie.) And here are the plans for the rotisserie Basically, these are all built with 4x4s, 2x4s, and lag bolts. One sheet of 1/2" plywood was also used. The rotisserie mounting/pivot assemblies are covered in another video/blog post, but I know what I'm going to do with them, so they are also included on the plan.
Once the cart was made, it took myself and one buddy to lift the car (with the rear end/diff/axle and springs still attached), while my wife wheeled the cart under the car. We set it down basically right on the pinch welds, and it fit perfectly. The rear end removal was a pain. Actually, the axles and diff assembly came out rather easily. But the radius arms had some rust issues with a few of the bolts, so that took a while. A couple of the bolts didn't survive, and will require replacement. I was planning on replacing all the suspension bolts anyway, so no big loss. One of them will have to be drilled, though, so I'll have to figure out how to do that without damaging the radius arm mounting bracket. The YouTube video is HERE After tearing down the front end and sending the shocks for rebuild, I got on the horn with a couple of vendors, who were very helpful. Gerard from Gerard's Garage was a wealth of information, and greatly informed my decisions when it came to the front end. I knew I wanted to swap in disc brakes on the front. Thus the purchase of the front end as shown previously. But Gerard was great in helping to fill in the blanks. Which parts should be replaced? Which ones can be refurbished? Which ones are necessary/not necessary for the conversion to the different hubs and steering that goes with the front brake change? Through this process, I ordered a bunch of parts through Gerard. This way, I was sure everything would be compatible, as the front end is certainly not something I wish to assemble with any guesswork. Parts ordered from Gerard included front discs, calipers, pads, steel braided brake lines, wheel bearings, tie rod ends, and lower A Arms. The A Arms are the higher quality ones. I ordered these because my old A Arms, which I originally thought were ok, had quite a bit of corrosion in the pivot areas and threads. While I was at it, I also had Gerard re-sleeve my original master cylinder to 3/4 inch in order to accomodate the front disc conversion. Because of this change, I elected to not use the stock Bugeye rear wheel cylinders (which are designed for a 7/8 in bore master cylinder), but instead replace them with appropriate, 3/4 inch rear wheel cylinders. These also came from Gerard's Garage, along with a new clutch slave cylinder. The other vendor I spoke with was Dave from The Bugeye Guy. He offers a complete major front end rebuild kit, including kingpins, bushings, pivots, etc. I had him include poly bushings for the front end. While I was at it, I also ordered his complete set of screws/fasteners to attach the cockpit surrounds. All of these parts arrived today. It's quite like Christmas! |
AuthorMy name is Ash. Archives
September 2021
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