Leftynridge complete restoration build thread

leftynridge

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winsauce;1664413 said:
found your build thread, lookin good sir... keep up the good work

Thanks Tyler. Just trying to build something that will last me a long time.

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Kai;1664276 said:
This sounds great - but your images are HUGE (in filesize, not resolution) to download. On my broadband connection the thread has taken 20 minutes and STILL hasn't finished loading, and stalled out on about half the images! :(

Thanks for letting me know. I had no idea that it was taken that long for some people. Have any idea on how to resize the images on image shack.
 

leftynridge

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Just got finished cleaning and painting the axle carrier and rear upper control arms. Also got in new parking brake pads.

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Chambers

Now you know
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Oooo, I like the blue. My dad told me that he cleaned up and painted the suspension in old 89 Corvette years ago, a similar blue and purple and always had compliments when people peered beyond the wheels.
 

leftynridge

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So the ups man stopped by today and delivered some more goodies for me. These are fully adjustable rear control arms, toe arms, traction arms, and adjustable end links by Wes at Beech Performance.

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her are the front and rear camber bolts with grease fittings also done by Wes at Beech Performance. These babies will never seize again.
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lithium14

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Awesome stuff here... very inspiring, my baby needs to undergo the same suspension overhaul/upgrade, nice to have references!! LoL keep up the good work and awesome pics ^^
 

leftynridge

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Grandavi;1665952 said:
Is this going to be another one of those.. "I would tell you how much it costs, but I would have to kill you afterwards..." builds? : )

Very nice..

No I wouldn't Say that at all because I'm sure Wes would not mind given you a quote on the items if thats what you are talking about. However, I was one of a few to purchase these during a promotional sale. So you would have to talk to Wes about cost now. But about other things I would be more then happy to tell you the cost.

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lithium14;1666011 said:
Awesome stuff here... very inspiring, my baby needs to undergo the same suspension overhaul/upgrade, nice to have references!! LoL keep up the good work and awesome pics ^^

Thank you very much. Will do.
 

shaeff

Kurt is FTMFW x2!!!!
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Mar 30, 2005
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leftynridge;1664266 said:
Hey Shaeff just wondering what grade of steel is that you used to reinforce the subframe and where can I get it?

I bought the steel at Lowes or Home Depot. It's plenty good for that type of stuff. I recently reinforced the rear subframe on my M3 and used good quality scrap steel that I got for free.
 

leftynridge

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leftynridge

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Well the undercoating finally dried and it turned out great. Anyone that plans on undercoating there car 3m professional grade rubberized undercoating is awesome or 3m rubberized undercoating part number 08881 is awesome as well. It took me about 9 cans at $10 a pop. Getting it professionally done is more like $250. So to me it was like a steal.
 

Grandavi

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Sep 25, 2008
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I did undercoating and rust proofing for GM about 15 years back. Things may have changed since then, but generally, the tools and system were made for speed and bare minimum coverage (meaning, do it just right... no more than that.. and if you miss a spot.. nobody would really know). Bear in mind, this wsa a dealership, I was trained by the undercoating/rust proofing supplier and it had nothing to do with GM itself. The undercoating was sprayed on using the same technique as a paint gun, and it was not meant to do a complete coverage, just "prone" or noticable areas. Likewise, the rust proofing was a wax/oil compound that was sprayed inside of all panels with holes.

What a lot of people who get it professionally done dont realise is that you are usually supposed to follow a maintenance schedule (having the car checked every 6 months) so that problem areas can be solved before they are problem areas.. lol. For my 88, I am rustproofing the car myself, but with the interior totally off and paying attention to where the metal forms a joint. Where the wheel well meets the quarter panel on our car is a bad area for rust, but a lot of people never get to see the holes in the front of the wheel wells (rear) where the undercoating was perforated. This allows for water to get into the panel behind the door and crawl into the rocker plates. That rust is not seen until it fails.. especially when you have plastic covering the metal in front of the wheel.

Hopefully professionals now have looked at each car as an individual, rather than an overall job. They all have different quirks (as seen with MKII and MKIII Hatches. MKII will rust.. the MKIII isn't so prone to it.

Most people are suprised when they strip the interior out and find rust on the strut pillars or the metal under the hatch window.. never even thinking that perhaps the seal leaks there (you wont see it unless you strip your interior out .. )

I believe the statement has been that 85% of cars that are not on the road, were removed by rust.
 

leftynridge

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[/QUOTE]I believe the statement has been that 85% of cars that are not on the road, were removed by rust.[/QUOTE]

This statement I can believe. lol. I kinda lucked out with my car. It is a original black 88 turbo hardtop that came from the south and it has no rust. I have had the interior completely stripped out and it is in great condition.
 

lithium14

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Hence... I am not excited to see what's going on under the surface when I get to that part of my resto.... lmao
 

Grandavi

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Sep 25, 2008
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I had my rust repaired, but after seeing this thread, I am thinking of stripping the car completely down and rebuilding from the ground up. More expensive and time consuming.. but in the end I would be far happier.
 

lithium14

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Grandavi;1669639 said:
I had my rust repaired, but after seeing this thread, I am thinking of stripping the car completely down and rebuilding from the ground up. More expensive and time consuming.. but in the end I would be far happier.

::werd::