SE RezErection!!!

[DirtyGaze]

Last night I tried playing with the subframe mounts from an idea I had.  Seems like it would work but Iggys right, the bolts probably wont stay.  Anyway, got the car back on its own 4 feet again as a roller.  Then got better pics of the diff mount.


4X4in

There could be some rubbing issues goin on here, lol.





The diff bushing looks like it would be a perfect fit if i took the whole front lip off...but that doesnt make a whole lotta sense.  Anyone installed MMR Diff bushing before?  Also looks like theres some kind of bracket in there that can be taken off with a lot of work.  Not sure though

[Wolf Dilworth]

Iggy is 100% correct, I removed the doubler from my plates.  Those plates are an integral part of your rear sub-frame strength.  there is a considerable lateral load on that plate and you do not want any wiggle in there.  Adding a rubber grommet is just plain stupid, not brilliant.

Realize, there are only three mounting points that carry the entire load of your rear suspension, you and Andrew are clearly not engineers, for your safety and those who may be driving near you, do not try to re-engineer Nissan's design. 
Post Merge: 02:09:32 AM / 02-Jul-11
Find someone with a lathe to cut-down the MMR bushing, I do not know why it is so large, mine slipped in with just a few light taps from a mallet.  As for the bracket you reffered to, it is a doubler and adds critical strength to the mount area.  DO NOT remove it, that would be a very big error.

Simply cut the bushing using a lathe... Not a saw blade.  You want both faces of the bushing parallel.  If you do not have a lathe or know someone, pay a shop to do it.  Most reasonable shops will do it for less than the cost of a case of Coronas.

Otherwise, everything is looking good.

[DirtyGaze]

Iggy is 100% correct, I removed the doubler from my plates.  Those plates are an integral part of your rear sub-frame strength.  there is a considerable lateral load on that plate and you do not want any wiggle in there.  Adding a rubber grommet is just plain stupid, not brilliant.

Realize, there are only three mounting points that carry the entire load of your rear suspension, you and Andrew are clearly not engineers, for your safety and those who may be driving near you, do not try to re-engineer Nissan's design. 
Post Merge: 11:09:32 PM / 01-Jul-11
Find someone with a lathe to cut-down the MMR bushing, I do not know why it is so large, mine slipped in with just a few light taps from a mallet.  As for the bracket you reffered to, it is a doubler and adds critical strength to the mount area.  DO NOT remove it, that would be a very big error.

Simply cut the bushing using a lathe... Not a saw blade.  You want both faces of the bushing parallel.  If you do not have a lathe or know someone, pay a shop to do it.  Most reasonable shops will do it for less than the cost of a case of Coronas.

Otherwise, everything is looking good.

For sure, I just like bouncing ideas around.  I got someone cutting down the bushing at work on tuesday and I understand the integral strength Id lose from removing the bracket thats inside the mounting point...Im just confused as shit that its so much bigger, lol.  Everyone Ive talked too said theirs slipped right in w/ no modification needed and I havent been able to get a hold of MMR to figure this shit out (terrible customer service).
As for the mounting bracket, it was an idea that seemed like it would work great at first, then slowly started to see that it wouldnt work at all.  From the way the bracket cups the lower portion of the MMR bushings, it looked like thats how the guys (engineers?) at MMR designed it.  Again, never seen someone install an MMR subframe set, so I was playing through some ideas since I actually can, lol.

Appreciate the help guys, Ill be drilling out the "nub" of the subframe mounting brackets soon and installing properly.  Slow progress is being made this weekend and Ill come back with some pics soon.  As for now though, I just gave her a wash since she was just full of all sorts of filth.




This seems to be some damage to the bottom of the passenger side door. 

[Prolowtone]

Looks like someone did a quick shitty bondo job.

[DirtyGaze]

Looks like someone did a quick shitty bondo job.

Lol its so terrible..the pic somehow made it look better.  Ill dive into that another night though.

So tonight I bought some dry ice..10 pounds for 11 bucks!  Is that normal?  Could have sworn it used to be like twice that price.  Anyway, got most of the sound deadening out, still got more to do tomorrow.  Also went to the yards this weekend and got a lot of black interior peices for less than 30 bucks.  Half off days rock!

Black glove box, rear handles, and AC Controls

Close up of handles and AC Controls

These peices are the leather covered interior thats mounted between the hatch and the roof.  The thinner peice is the metal bar that mounts the roof lining to the roof next to the front window.


I also scored this FLAWLESS AMAZING black headliner.  No pics yet, its still at Gustards awaiting me to go back and pic her up.

...And it starts




This is after I vacuumed all the remaining little stuff up. 


Still need to get the black stuff off the rear wheel wells (ideas?) and finish the drivers side and firewall.  Another night though...  THANK YOU, YOUVE ALL BEEN GREAT AND GOOD NIGHT!

[tommy]

Just use a scrapper and finish up with varsol or any other thinner, that's what I did,

Actually, I only used a scraperand thinner to remove all the sound deadning inside and under the car (no dryice), as well as strip all the undercoating from under the car... it's not so much of a chore, you just need some time, took me 3 full days (but I also had 1/4inch thick antirust grease under the whole floor and trunk area as well as inside the trunk...

this is the nasty stuff that you're happy not to have on your car...

this is just the truck area, the whole car would've filled the whole bucket, maybe more

[Prolowtone]

Damn.. thats alot of shit

[DirtyGaze]

Hahaha oh god, looks like what I throw up after a rediculous night.  Thats just gnarly.

[Wolf Dilworth]

I am just curious why you are removing all the sound deadening when you appear to be installing a full interior?  If you are going to "track" the car why bother with an interior.  If you plan to Daily Drive as well, then you should have left the stuff there, not really saving much weight and your passengers would have appreciated it.  "Dual-Duty" cars are usually not very good at either.

But hey, that is just the old fart talking again...

Peace.

[seishuku]

Fuck passengers, if they want a comfortable ride, they shouldn't be in an 80's car in the first place!

Not much weight savings? I pulled out well over 50LBS of sound deadening out of my S12, that's a good chunk IMO. 50LBS I didn't have to lose!
Besides, there are better and lighter sound suppression material out there, like Lizard Skin.

[Wolf Dilworth]

Fifty pounds ain't squat.  I found a copy of the article that I first read back when you would have been playing "horsey" on your daddy's back.  Basically they took a 7000 lbs Caddy and shaved over half of the weight off (4000 lbs) and only gained four (slightly less than) seconds in the quarter mile and an increase of just 20mph in the trap speed.  Woo Hoo!

Humorous read though.

The .jpgs read from the bottom up.
http://www.cadillacpower.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2666

[seishuku]

Who said anything about drag racing?

[CamInHead]

4 seconds onthe quarter is a pretty decent improvement no ?
I agree "dual duty" motors rarely work though

[DirtyGaze]

To clear up confusion, this car build means more to me than just a car build.  My mother has cancer and has had it for 4 years now.  Doctors told her recently that she has no more than 2 years if they keep her on heavy meds, but she will die.  My mom has asked that they help her live out 1 more year comfortably and her wish was to see me finish a project that I start.  Im not new to S chassis's but its been about 4 years since Ive last played with cars (WoW was a major factor in my life for a minute...kinda used it to escape the reality I guess).  I never finished one of those cars, and Im taking the opportunity to do everything Ive ever wanted to do to a car to this car. 

This car will be dailyd if need be, but its more or less the fun car.  I wont be installing full interior, I only want the APPEARANCE of full interior.  The trim peices that Im leaving dont weigh much, which is fine.  As for the sound deadening, I know removing it will increase heat in the cabin and sound...but I enjoy the sound.  I enjoy the mechanical feel and sounds of car. 

Theres really only 1 main goal for this car - CLEAN!  Im looking to make a car that can inspire others.  A car that I can be proud to call my own.  A car that is everything I love and nothing I dont.  Im not trying to reinvent the S12, Im just looking to make a damn fine example of one.

[Wolf Dilworth]

That is cool DG, I hope you can complete your project on schedule.  It will be quite a trip.  Mine took nearly a year but I was not rushing and actually I still need a good paint job...  But as many car enthusiasts know, you never really finish the project, there is always some tweaking and fidgeting.

I hope the best for your mom.  I lost my older brother several years ago to a whole cluster of tumors in the brain, inoperable, but thankfully rapid and relatively painless.

[DirtyGaze]

That is cool DG, I hope you can complete your project on schedule.  It will be quite a trip.  Mine took nearly a year but I was not rushing and actually I still need a good paint job...  But as many car enthusiasts know, you never really finish the project, there is always some tweaking and fidgeting.

I hope the best for your mom.  I lost my older brother several years ago to a whole cluster of tumors in the brain, inoperable, but thankfully rapid and relatively painless.

Thanks for the kind words, and Im sorry to hear about your brother. 

"But as many car enthusiasts know, you never really finish the project, there is always some tweaking and fidgeting."  Truer words have never been spoken, lol.

I dont want my thread to have any negative feelings from it so Im going to get back on track.  Yesterday, I was feeling a little under the weather and no amount rest or food could get me in the garage before 7pm (it was bloody hot yesterday).  I got a bit more of the sound deadening out, but the dry ice melted too quick to get it all, plus i have some hard to reach places still to go.  Im a lazy bastard and havenââ,¬â,,¢t taken out the pedals yet so anyone know of a good way to get the crap behind the pedals?  With...*ahem*...without taking out the pedals?  Previous homeowner left half a bottle of paint thinner that Ill be trying out tonight per Tommys advice

Just use a scrapper and finish up with varsol or any other thinner, that's what I did

(Ive also researched this subject quite a bit and paint thinner, torchs, and acetone seem to be among the top picks to get the remaining crap out.)

Hopefully more exciting updates soon!

[tommy]

Acetone will eat right through the paint way faster than varsol, so be quick with it, and wear glove, that shit is crazy toxic, but it works sooo well
Post Merge: 06:32:56 PM / 05-Jul-11
oh yeah, a wire wheel on an angle grinder will get the little bits and pieces everywhere really fast, makes a nice mess afterward that you have to vaccum, but that's how I did the finishing before prepping for paint

[rednucleus]

I think your bug is a Giant Water Beetle (google for some cool videos). They will freak you out even if you're sober! By the way, they have a nasty bite too!

[DirtyGaze]

Awesome!  Its good to know I didnt act like a bitch for no reason then, lol.  I actually found this pic of the bug recently.

If you cant tell, thats him stuck on a Dodge Neon Floor Mat...why?  Cuz thats how I killed it.  Threw a mat on him and stepped on him (I was still really hig...uhh...drunk)

[Prolowtone]

Lol Nice. Keep up the work dude. Im sure you will succeed in completing you project... till you realize this or that can be tweaked or upgraded....