School me on stance (now a build thread) by Zeeuwvw

6 minute(s) of a 99 minute read

I met my goal for the weekend. 

After five applications of filler it was smooth enough to throw some primer on there. For some reason the stuff I got was black. Oh well. 

Now I need to alternate between sanding and priming while working up to a fine grit paper. Then it'll be rolled outside (after I put the suspension back together) for the final coat. 

I think it came out pretty good. You might never know that a new panel was welded in. Plus I smoothed out the where the side panels meet.

6/1/2010

It was a very long weekend for the bug. I am really trying to get it ready for Motorstadt but everything is taking longer then expected (this is normal). 

The last two weeks have been a sanding frenzy. In the end I got her all smoothed out to 800 grit.

Before I could lay paint I needed to get the car mobile so I started on the brakes. 

Here we have the dual circuit master cylinder. I also took the opportunity to bend up some new lines and clean/POR15 the whole area.

I've also been chipping away at the spindles. I replaced and reamed new new king pin pushings before POR15ing the whole thing. They are CB performance 2.5" drop spindles.

Then the brakes with braided stainless hoses.

Finally I was able to mount the front wheels and get the car on the ground. This is good inspiration.

Time for paint. I rigged up a high tech paint booth in the garage thanks to some plastic and a tent on loan from Joe. Damn it was hot in there.

Then I let the paint fly. I'm using a single stage PPG custom mixed to match. This is my first time using a paint gun so I had trouble getting a good finish. First it was too light and bumpy. Then too thick and dripping. I'm going to try and wet sand out some drips this week and maybe touch up a few spots. I'm also going to paint further up the sides as it looks crappy with the seam right there. Overall I am happy with the prep work but my application and the color matching do not do it justice.

Yesterday I was hoping to make even more progress but I was without power for the better part of the day. I did manage to get the inner fenders stripped down and POR'd. 

I've got a ton of work to do in the next two weeks. Hopefully the 4-day weekend I scheduled will allow it all to come together. 

6/7/2010

Key turned at it runs.....poorly. I'm finishing up the suspension, fenders, tail lights and test fitting the wheels. Joe is going to come over tomorrow and try to dial it in. 

Video or at least pics to follow. 

6/8/2010

Well, this is a pretty boring video, and I forgot to adjust the clutch. It's all I got for now though.

The exhaust sounds really nice. It's got a low rumble that makes the engine sound much bigger then it is. 

The valves were set at .006" for the intial build. I plan to re-adjust them to the .002" you recommended tonight. Joe has a flow tester to synch the carbs and a light to adjust the timing. Hopefully it will be ready to go engine wise tonight. Then I just have to worry about some lighting issues to make it road worthy. After that I'd like to do the top and window seals if there is time to make it water-proof. 

Here's a couple more pics. I really slacked on progress shots. Hopefully I'll take some good ones when the weather is nice again.

Also, big thanks to Tony for helping with getting the engine in on Sunday. I couldn't have done it without you man. 

6/9/2010

Joe worked his magic tonight and it's running great. I drove it to the shop to get some fuses and such with no (major) issues. Sort of forgot that there was no license plate but oh well.

Tomorrow:

- Change oil

- Adjust valves

- Perform shade-tree alignment

- Replace headlight

- Slot bump brackets to allow decklid to fit

After that it will basically be road worthy and legal. Then it's cosmetic stuff.

Driving it to work tomorrow if the weather isn't too bad. 

6/9/2010

Here is tha hotness!

Tonight I aligned the car, changed the oil, and fixed a broken headlight. 

I got it on the highway and she actually pulls pretty well. The speedometer said I was doing 80 mph but I have a hunch it's slightly off.

Still more to do....:ugh!: