The RamThis Accord Update Thread!!!

Allright, things are moving along and I dont want to clutter up the board anymore with multiple threads, so I'm putting all updates here from now on.

As of tonight, I now have all my new front and rear window trim pieces ordered with the clips that are needed, and new cowl clips.

My carpet order is pending getting some samples to check that I'm gettin the right shade of Blue.

Im going to look for some bumper covers at a local body parts store because shipping on the two covers from PartsTrain.com was going to run close to a hundred dollars!! Yikes.

And soon I will be getting my paint and clearcoat and getting ready to paint the car.

And at the same time, I gotta finish pulling my wire harness and engine out, and start putting in the LXI harness and rebuild that engine. Then it gets painted and dropped in.

Yep, its all that simple, right? LOL :rockon:

Dude, look on ebay, I got a front bumper new shipped for $85.

BUMPER COVER honda ACCORD 88-89 rear primed lx ex auto
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BUMPE...spagenameZWD1V



BUMPER COVER honda ACCORD 88-89 front primed lx ex car
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BUMPE...spagenameZWD1V

Time for Pics!!!
http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4123.JPG
http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4231.JPG
http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4230.JPG
http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4233.JPG
http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4236.JPG
http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4237.JPG
http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4234.JPG
http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4238.JPG
http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4241.JPG
http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4242.JPG

And, WTF is this thing? It had some vacuum hoses going to it, I never knew it was there until I pulled the fenders and started pulling the vacuum crap off the driver side wheel well, then saw alot of hoses went to this box. One of the bolts is behind the headlight motor, so the box might stay lol.
http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4240.JPG

i wish i had the time to take my car apart.....the fun part is puting it back together....:lol:

HOLY FLYING MONKEY SHIT! I thought my car was a mess.

Man I really need to get started on my parts car :)
Good job RamThis :D :thumbup:

There is a body supply store not far from here that has great prices, Eagle Auto Body in Grand Prarie Tx. I can drive out there and save alot of shipping on the bumpers, and I'm sure their prices will be very competitive, the have been on a few other parts I've just priced out, plus a couple friends from my old job used them. I didnt even think about Eagle until I went to finish my order on PartsTrain and saw the shipping, then I rememberd that local place and wondered why I even thought about ordering such big pieces on line lol.

Even the eBay deals have some nasty shipping charges.....

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by picopop

Man I really need to get started on my parts car :)
Good job RamThis :D :thumbup:

---

Parts Car???? That's not my Parts car, thats MY CAR LOL. My parts car, oddly enough, still runs and drives LMAO. How depressing is that??? :Owned:

This is what the Parts Car looks like right now.....

http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...00_4121_2_.JPG

http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...00_4120_2_.JPG

http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...00_4119_2_.JPG

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by RamThis

Parts Car???? That's not my Parts car, thats MY CAR LOL. My parts car, oddly enough, still runs and drives LMAO. How depressing is that??? :Owned:

---

:uh: Sorry :rolleyes: lol

hahahaha at the parts car running and driving. should bolt some seats in and take it for a spin like that. lmao.....your local city doesn't object to you disassembling a vehicle in your driveway like that? well anyway, looks like you're going really good with your project. reminds me of when i had my eclipse stripped down. well, just the dash out. that was a pain. hope to see the finished product soon.

remember to use carbed exhaust valves when you rebuild the head. clay the cylinders to make sure there's no contact with the piston. the carb exhaust valves are marginally longer from what i've been reading.

lol yeah u shud drive the parts car, it should be pretty quick without all that weight ::)

and maybe im used to our NZ roads cause i laughed when i saw this:
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...untitled-1.jpg

Man i'm sorry but is it even possible to get all that shyt back together? lol

Send me the parts car turn signal harnesses.

Man you got that thing torn down. Make sure to pull the sway bars and bigger brakes to put onto your car. You will like the added performance. Good luck with everything. I believe that box is for the carb, but I am really not sure.

You laugh, but I HAVE driven it that way!!!! Not far, just around the block. but I have to kneel down on one knee and drive with the other foot, and hang on to the steering wheel for dear life LOL. You would not believe the laughs I got from some of the neighbors..... :rofl:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by RamThis

You laugh, but I HAVE driven it that way!!!! Not far, just around the block. but I have to kneel down on one knee and drive with the other foot, and hang on to the steering wheel for dear life LOL. You would not believe the laughs I got from some of the neighbors..... :rofl:

---

tell your wife to record you like that you can post it...lol i bet its fast as hell..i bet you stiped at least 1/3of of the weight.....you should make it a convertable b4 you get rid of it..lol

o man all the things u can do!!! hahahahhaha id love to see vids of that driving

I'll see what I can do. :)

Well, took my first trip to a couple wrecking yards today. Man, what a mess those places are lol. Did see a few useful parts, like doors and interior pieces, tail lights, LOTS of sunroofs. Found a car just like mine, same color, with beautiful new looking seats, EXCEPT, the rear seat upper part was totally sun eaten, you could just put your finger right through the damn fabric. I was SOOO dissapointed when I saw that. Oh well. I might go back for the front seats and the rear lower part though.

But I did score this for ten bucks..... :cool:

(no not the damn cat!!!)

http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/data/500/Visor1.jpg

http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/data/500/Visor3.jpg

http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/data/500/Visor2.jpg

Damm I HATE YOU...:D j/k lol

damn you got jiped...i paid 5 bucks for 3 rainguards for the window....i wish i can find a sunroof one but then i want m car to look sleak.

I may or may not use it. It was just sort of a boost of confidence to start working on the sunroof in my car, knowing I have a sunroof specific part for it to try out. Only thing I dont like about it is the fact that it sets on the paint. I will probalby put some trim adhesive under it so it wont move around and scratch the paint while I see if I like it or not.

Do all of them just have those two little metal clips that go under the roof skin to hold the visor down? Seemed a bit cheesy to me but I guess if it works......:dunno:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jigga225

Man i'm sorry but is it even possible to get all that shyt back together? lol

---

Damn straight it's possible!! I've had worse taken apart and put back together so this wont be that bad. I have every part labeled, and each part's fasteners are individually taped on with the part.

I've split John Deere cab tractors to put in new clutches and do differential gears in the rear cases, this is just hobby stuff here lol.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by BITESIZE

Send me the parts car turn signal harnesses.

---

Will do. :beer:

You painting the car in the garage? I bet your neighbors are thinking "When is he going to get rid of that damn torn up eyesore"? LOL

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by RamThis

Will do. :beer:

---

PM SENT

Ok I started figuring out some of my bracketry that will be needed for the sunroof grafting. Looks like it will be doable, just a bit tedious. I have two of the rear brackets made, and I'm about to go out and cut the rear support from under the roof of the donor car and use the whole rear support in my car.

Anyway here we go....

The brackets are just made with some cut out pieces of some C-Purling (sp?) from the building my buddy and I built. It's fairly thick steel, plenty strong enough to do the job, yet not so thick that I can't work with it. A Die Cutter is all I need to cut the bracket pieces out.
http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4280.JPG

Underside of the donor car roof skin, rear. Attach points outlined.
http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...2_outlines.JPG

And the underside of my car's roof skin, rear.
http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4283.JPG

Underside of the donor car roof skin, front. Attach points outlined.
http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...5_outlines.JPG

And the underside of my car's roof skin, front
http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4284.JPG

And one of my brackets I've started on. Once I get them all made and in place with magnets, I will take alot of cross-measurements to get everything aligned perfectly before welding the nuts to the backside of the brackets and then welding the brackets in permanently. I'd thought about making a thin metal template of the sunroof bolt pattern to hold the brackets in place while I weld them in.

http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4286.JPG

http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4288.JPG

http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4287.JPG

And finally, the relationship between the bracket I made, and where the factory attach point is....

Factory
http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4291.JPG

Mine
http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4290.JPG

That's pretty sweet. Make a template or extra set. I would like a stock sunroof in my hatch before I get the body work and paint all done.

Looking good, knew all it took was some fabing up to make it work. Looks like you hold the copyrights to that patent. lol

:lol: I guess this turned out to be more of a job then just an EFI-swap huh?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ddude2uc

You painting the car in the garage? I bet your neighbors are thinking "When is he going to get rid of that damn torn up eyesore"? LOL

---

Yep, garage paint job. Neighbors dont see it much, as I keep both cars in the garage when I'm not working on them. Neighbors are very good about my mechanic habit though lol. I try not to make much noise after about 9PM, so if I'm running the grinder or the air compressor is running or whatever, I just close the garage door until Im done making alot of noise after that time. I'm a night owl anyways. I guess as much work as I put into my yard and landscaping and keeping my house looking beautiful, they dont seem to mind my noisy habits. Could be worse, I could let my yard and house go to hell, and leave crap everywhere. At least I try to keep the image of my place very nice, so it kinda covers up the occasional torn down car in the driveway LOL.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Legend_master

:lol: I guess this turned out to be more of a job then just an EFI-swap huh?

---

Somehow, it always does, dont know how, but it does..... :dunno:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by BITESIZE

That's pretty sweet. Make a template or extra set. I would like a stock sunroof in my hatch before I get the body work and paint all done.

---

If'n I makes me a template, I'll make some copies and you can have one. I'll try to take a few measurements of how far from the roof skin the brackets need to be and such.

But, I'm not sure this type of sunroof will fit a hatch, will it? This thing goes damn near from the front to the back of the roof. Didnt someone mention the hatches had an easier sunroof to swap out? Like it was put in after the cars were built?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by RamThis

Somehow, it always does, dont know how, but it does..... :dunno:

---

I call it the 3gee Ebola Virus. My warped rotors turned into an 11" rotor swap and full suspension rebuild :violin: .

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by RamThis

Well, took my first trip to a couple wrecking yards today. Man, what a mess those places are lol. Did see a few useful parts, like doors and interior pieces, tail lights, LOTS of sunroofs. Found a car just like mine, same color, with beautiful new looking seats, EXCEPT, the rear seat upper part was totally sun eaten, you could just put your finger right through the damn fabric. I was SOOO dissapointed when I saw that. Oh well. I might go back for the front seats and the rear lower part though.
But I did score this for ten bucks..... :cool:
(no not the damn cat!!!)
http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/data/500/Visor1.jpg
http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/data/500/Visor3.jpg
http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/data/500/Visor2.jpg

---

can u tell me please how the hell you get them off the doors?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Legend_master

I call it the 3gee Ebola Virus. My warped rotors turned into an 11" rotor swap and full suspension rebuild :violin: .

---

Well, at some point, I'm gonna have to put an end to the madness. I've decided to let it get this out of hand, but I'm not getting into any other major body mods, this is my one major mod above and beyond the EFI swap that Im allowing myself. I just have this thing about, if I think it can be done, I will go out all to prove to myself that I can indeed do it. This one may bite me in the ass, but the vision I have on how to get it finished sure seems straightforward. Let's see if it really works like I think it will.... :help:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Overdosed A18A

can u tell me please how the hell you get them off the doors?

---

Umm, that's not off the door lol. That's the sunroof visor. Two clips, has a nut and a phillips head screw, takes about two minutes at most to remove this one.

Dont know how the door ones work, never seen em.....

Write all the demension on paper with brackets, spacing, so forth. Then make a how to on it on here & sell it. Seems like the American way to me. (knew it could be done with fab work)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by RamThis

If'n I makes me a template, I'll make some copies and you can have one. I'll try to take a few measurements of how far from the roof skin the brackets need to be and such.
But, I'm not sure this type of sunroof will fit a hatch, will it? This thing goes damn near from the front to the back of the roof. Didnt someone mention the hatches had an easier sunroof to swap out? Like it was put in after the cars were built?

---

If that's the case, it'd be nice to be able to put one in alot easier.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ddude2uc

Write all the demension on paper with brackets, spacing, so forth. Then make a how to on it on here & sell it. Seems like the American way to me. (knew it could be done with fab work)

---

Well, with the age of these cars, the difficulty of the work to make one of these sunroofs fit, and the proliferation of aftermarket sunroofs, I dont think many people are as hard headed as me to actually tackle this project LOL. I'm probably going about putting in a sunroof in my car about the hardest way possible, making it to match the factory's setup. When the easy way would be to use a universal sunroof and be done with it lol.

I'm definitely going to get measurements and such and help with what I can if someone needs help tackling this job, though as I said before, I dont think many would want to do such a tedious job....:bong:

Good point RamThis. That is some serious work into messing with the sunroof. BTW, excellent job tackling such a complicated task. :thumbup:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ddude2uc

Good point RamThis. That is some serious work into messing with the sunroof. BTW, excellent job tackling such a complicated task. :thumbup:

---

Biggest reason I'm doing it is, just because I wound up with a sunroof in my donor car. That's it lol. Had this donor car not had a sunroof, the idea would have never crossed my mind, and I'd be much farther ahead with my EFI swap..... :uh:
Thanks for the props!! Hope it all works out in the end....:ugh2:

You might as well go for it!! It's all free!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by BITESIZE

You might as well go for it!! It's all free!

---

Yeah, but sometimes I wish I could just leave shit alone, ya know?? LOL :slap:

Oh, and both rear side brackets are made now. I have them just about dead nuts on center. Now I got what, a dozen more??? LOL.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by RamThis

Yeah, but sometimes I wish I could just leave shit alone, ya know?? LOL :slap:

---

I'm the same way, if it's not broken, I still fuck with it!

Well, got both rear side mounts made and measured out, and cut the rear sub-structure mount from the donor car, fit in my car perfectly with no other cutting or adjustments, man did I feel good!!

I borrowed a small 110 MIG welder from my buddy. He told me the tank had enough gas to do at least what I was going to be doing. I got the two nuts welded on the backside of the brackets I made, and ran out of gas. Damnit. So, Im screwed tonight. Had hoped to weld in the back brackets tonight, mock up the rest using the sunroof as an "oklahoma blueprint" and make the rest of my mounts, and possibly have the hole cut tonight in the roof. Well, without being able to sure up the rear mounts, I cant do anything else now. Bummer.

Guess I gotta wait till tomorrow night after I get the tank filled so I can weld up the back mounts and continue on....

A couple or so pics to come later.....

Ok, it's pix-o-rama night!!
Got ALOT done with the sunroof conversion. I realized too late I had been going about this all wrong, but was able to save some work tonight after I figured out how I should have done this in the first place. Oh well, live and learn huh.
I started by cutting the substructure in a way that It would fit past the body of the car inside if I were to pull it straight down. I used the forward edges of the front cross pillar as guides as to where to cut those webs, and the two holes for the sunvisor clip screws gave me a reference point for the middle web's line. After I cut it and left it still attached to the skin around the sunroof opening, I then made a compass and marked an even 1" line around the opening on the roof skin. I then cut through the roof skin only. Using a pneumatic scraper, I released the adhesive between the skin past the cutout part, and the substructure I had cut loose earlier. The unit came out as a whole piece! I used the template that I made of the location of the original hole to mark and cut a location hole in my car, and once I get the substructure aligned, I will cut the hole an inch bigger so the two skins will butt up to eachother, not overlap, because overlapping the skins would mean the sunroof would be recessed a bit and we dont want that. So, the point Im at now is, measure all the attach points, cut my roof out an inch bigger to facilitate the skins, tack weld it in with the little MIG welder, then put the sunroof in for a test fitting and make sure nothing binds. If all goes well, I will then load the car on a trailer, take it to a friend's house, and we will TIG the whole thing up really, really solid. Once that's done, it's paint and body time baby!!!! Yeah!!
Anyways, heres the pix of what I have done so far....
http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4346.JPG
http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4349.JPG
http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4353.JPG
http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4350.JPG
http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4357.JPG
http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4359.JPG
http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4358.JPG
http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4362.JPG
http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4361.JPG
http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4363.JPG

http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4365.JPG

http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4366.JPG

The Gaping hole in the donor car lol....
http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...m/100_4367.JPG

http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4368.JPG

http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4369.JPG

Looks good, and a damn lot of worky! SWEET!

thats my one wanna-do to-do...what did u use to cut the hole?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Listen2myBASS

thats my one wanna-do to-do...what did u use to cut the hole?

---

A 90* Pneumatic Die Grinder with a 3" cutoff wheel. Makes alot of noise and dust/sparks, but it's about the most precise, cleanest cut you can make.

Had I been smart, I woulda cut the WHOLE understructure out as one piece, instead of messing with trying to make my own rear mounts. Hindsight is 20/20 they say.....

Knowing what I know now, I think I could do the swap in a couple evenings.

Allright, another big milestone in the Honda!! The sunroof is OFFICIALLY IN!! All the welding is not done and what not, but it fits, opens, and closes perfect. I now have one of the few LX models with a sunroof!!! Kick Ass!!

Now I gotta get it to my friends house this weekend to TIG it all up solid, then I can do the body work. Until then, I will continue with the LXI swap. WooHoo!!!

http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4370.JPG

http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4375.JPG

http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4373.JPG

http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4372.JPG


And to make today all that much better, about two or three minutes after I crawled out of the car from bolting the sunroof in and closing it the first time, the FedEx truck showed up, with my new front and rear window trim!!

http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4374.jpg

You paid a pretty penny for that window trim dident you? As for the sunroof, all I can say is WOW thats fucking awsome. Make sure to run the drain plugs properly so you dont get any water dumping in the car.

Neato, now for lots of bondo and fiberglassn!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Legend_master

You paid a pretty penny for that window trim dident you? As for the sunroof, all I can say is WOW thats fucking awsome. Make sure to run the drain plugs properly so you dont get any water dumping in the car.

---

Nah it wasnt that much, about $160 for the upper front, all the rear trim, upper rear corner piece clips, and all the black pop in clips for the cowl cover.

Yep, that's on the list too, going to pull the drain lines and duckbills out of the donor car and put them in mine.

youve done this type of work before I hope, its a little more delicate than splitting tractors,, lol
and foresight is very important. your a brave fer shure.... I hope you can keep up with all the bolts, diff lengths and crap like that.... and warning, large projects where your making major changes in more than one area can get very frustrating and getting burned out is risky... stay focused, keep your eyeon the ball.

Nope this is my first time tearing down a car this far. And, my first time cutting and welding body panels. But I'm a fast learner and a self-teacher on most of what I do. I can watch it done and usually have most of it figured out and learn as I go with my own project until I master it. What better car to hone my skills on than a 17 year old import huh LOL.

But yeah, burnout is always a possibility. That's why the thing sat for about 10 months after I initially got it running, because the timing belt slipped a few teeth when I was test starting it, and it pissed me off so bad that I didnt even touch the car for nearly a year LOL. But for some reason, this project is different. I dont dread going out to work on it, I enjoy it. Hope it stays that way lol.

Ramthis = supastaw!

Nice, you putting a bead between the tacks or filling it in?

sick bro! cant wait till its all done!

That is some FANTASTIC work you did there RamThis :rockon:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by picopop

That is some FANTASTIC work you did there RamThis :rockon:

---

pico lets do it on my dx...LOL

CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!

I think we have a Future AOM here!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MessyHonda

pico lets do it on my dx...LOL

---

Ummmmm Ya Know that just doesnt sound right if ya read over a couple of times. :( lol j/k
But Ya we take the one out of my donor car and drive over to RamThis house and see if he will install it for us :D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by picopop

Ummmmm Ya Know that just doesnt sound right if ya read over a couple of times. :( lol j/k
But Ya we take the one out of my donor car and drive over to RamThis house and see if he will install it for us :D

---

lol..... i love the moon roofs:rockon:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by picopop

Ummmmm Ya Know that just doesnt sound right if ya read over a couple of times. :( lol j/k
But Ya we take the one out of my donor car and drive over to RamThis house and see if he will install it for us :D

---

LOL you are dirty.....no more porn watching...lol yeah...lets just UPS RamThis...overnight....should cost less than a airplane ticket.

At least cut some holes in the box for me..... :slap:


Yeah, the rest of the seam will get welded up, just not going to do it with the wire welder. You cant leave the open gap like that anyway, it will flex and any filler you put in there will crack and chip out and all kinds of crap lol. I just have it stitched together to hold it steady for the final TIG'ing, then I get to use some Fibre-Fill and some fine grain skim coat to finalize the shape, then alot of block sanding and buildup primer.

I sincerely hope after all this work, once it's all done, SOMEONE nominates me for AOM LOL. Though it doesnt matter, I'm doing this just because I enjoy it and want a nice newer looking car but dont have the money for a new car, so I'll make the blue wonder as new as I can!!

You will be AOM sometime down the ride...
























































Maybe in 5 years.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by BITESIZE

You will be AOM sometime down the ride...
Maybe in 5 years.

---

dont be mean.....maybe 2 or 3...lol:bandance:

Ye of little faith. I can have it done in a year and a half LMAO. :rockon:

Shit, at that rate, you should be good to go next fall if sooner.

Actually, the plan is to have it done by Xmas lol.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by RamThis

At least cut some holes in the box for me..... :slap:
Yeah, the rest of the seam will get welded up, just not going to do it with the wire welder. You cant leave the open gap like that anyway, it will flex and any filler you put in there will crack and chip out and all kinds of crap lol. I just have it stitched together to hold it steady for the final TIG'ing, then I get to use some Fibre-Fill and some fine grain skim coat to finalize the shape, then alot of block sanding and buildup primer.
I sincerely hope after all this work, once it's all done, SOMEONE nominates me for AOM LOL. Though it doesnt matter, I'm doing this just because I enjoy it and want a nice newer looking car but dont have the money for a new car, so I'll make the blue wonder as new as I can!!

---

The factorys, Im sure Honda of America is doing this as well as other manufactors and bodyshops use a special epoxy glue gun that mixes when you pull the trigger, for glueing the braces on the inside of flat panels. No welding or tacking required. This glue is the real thing, Kent Automotive sells it . look Kent on the www.

Yeah I had planned to use some body sealant/adhesive to pookie up around the roof cross braces, otherwise the roof will rattle and all kinds of crap. The welding I plan to do is where I cut the sections out and have to stitch them back together in my car.

That stuff you mentioned sounds like some good adhesive. I will keep it in mind if I ever do anything like this again, have it on hand before I start the project so I can just glue the panels in place first, and weld the ends up afterwards.

Allright MORE stuff done.....

Could not get the car moved this weekend to TIG up the sunroof grafting. Oh well, next weekend I guess. So, I spent the day finishing up pulling my engine and starting to clean up my engine bay.

http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4392.JPG

http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4393.JPG

http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4391.JPG

http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4390.JPG

http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4398.JPG


See that crappy old window trim, I got brand new trim to replace it!!!!

http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4396.JPG


The worst dent on the car that I have to fix, other than the bodywork I have to do around the sunroof....

http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4400.JPG

http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4407.JPG


Engine Bay after being soaked with degreaser spray for a couple hours, and pressure washed with my 3500 PSI pressure washer. Still did not get rid of areas of this white film in places. So I soaked it down in some engine detailer, and I'll hook up the hot water and pressure wash it with hot water later.

http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4412.JPG

http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4413.JPG

http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4416.JPG

http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4421.JPG


And, my Carpet came in!!!!!

http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4383.JPG

Carotman was right on, the two small samples they sent me, vs a cutout of my old carpet. Ocean blue is the lighter square sample, it would have definitely been wrong.

http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4380.JPG

WOW that looks clean, I absolutely cannot wait to see what that's going to look like when you are done. I hope you use those alloy wheels when it is all said and done. They will look much better then the hubs.

I'm going to use the stockers for a while until I can get some nice aftermarket 15's. Really will suck though since I JUST put brand new tires all the way around, Toyo's, and bought new OEM style wheel covers. At least what I have will look super clean and OEM for now anyway. I really want some 5 point star rims of some design, not sure what yet. Thinking of a dark metallic grey with polished outer rim, I LOVE that look on the 3G's. Should look great on a monochrome Laurel Blue car too.

wow what kind of degreaser did you use?....i wish i had a preasure washer....all i have is my thumb over the hose...lol

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by RamThis

I'm going to use the stockers for a while until I can get some nice aftermarket 15's. Really will suck though since I JUST put brand new tires all the way around, Toyo's, and bought new OEM style wheel covers. At least what I have will look super clean and OEM for now anyway. I really want some 5 point star rims of some design, not sure what yet. Thinking of a dark metallic grey with polished outer rim, I LOVE that look on the 3G's. Should look great on a monochrome Laurel Blue car too.

---

you are not going to transfer the front bigger lx-i brakes?...remember also do the sway bars.

The degreaser I used was cheapo Awful Zone degreaser. Just soaked it down, let it set an hour or so, soaked it again, went and had dinner and such, then came back out and pressure washed it again. Not a spot of grease under there, you could almost eat off that frame!

As for the brakes, maybe when my car needs new pads in the front I will. I also just put brand new rotors and pads on the front end 13K miles ago LOL. I want to get some use out of the stuff I already put on new before I go "upgrading" LOL.

I did alot of this stuff not expecting to be restoring the car to near new condition. But, at the time, it HAD to have this stuff replaced anyway because I needed it running and safe. I also want to do a 2" drop with some new lowering coils and new struts but that will have to come later. I'm thinking next spring/summer I will have a suspension/brake/wheel frenzy........

I was showing my wife the pictures you have posted and she is very impressed,(we both are) with the quality of the work you have done.
:thumbup: for all the excellent work you are doing.

Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Pop!!!!! :cheers:

I am hoping this car will turn out really, really clean when all is said and done. I never thought I'd be digging this deep into this car when I towed it home a couple years ago lol.

Well, bodywork has started. Last night I took the car over to my friends house and we sured up everything. He told me that the stitch welds I did around the sunroof are all that a body tech ever does in that situation. So, hope he's right, cause it's getting bondo'ed over tomorrow. Woulda done it tonight but my tube of body filler from earlier this summer somehow hardened. That shit aint cheap either!!

Once I get the body repainted, I'll install the PGM-FI harness after I clean it up good and re-loom anything that needs it, and start re-installing the interor while I get started on the engine.

This stupid car is turning into one hell of a project!!!

I'll get some pics of the bodywork tomorrow.....

This is looking good. I wish I could do that to my car, but its my DD. I look forward to coming back here and seeing the progress you've made. Keep up the good work.

you're an inspiration man most people would just look for an lxi that's a lot of work you have done i feel like a lazy bum now and for the rims have you seen 88lxi68...those are really nice

Thanks guys!

And do you have a pic of those rims? I'd like to see them. I'll search some too and see what I come up with.



I went and bought some short strand fiberglass filler for around the sunroof area, some finishing filler, and a fancy bondo board, which will be SOOO much nicer than having to cut a cardboard box flap off to mix up my bondo on LOL. I also got some body seam sealer to use on my roof spans to make the roof nice and solid and support it against the spanners while I re-establish the shape with some skim coats of filler. The welding warped it just a bit right around the seam, not bad, but it will take some filler about 1/16"-1/8" at most to bring up the low spots, and I hammered down the high spots to below surface a bit.

I also bought the paint today. 2 Quarts of Dupont ChromaBase Laurel Blue. They had two variations, one was a bit darker than the other. I chose the one that was a bit darker, and it was the exact same color code as mine anyway (after 17 years I think mine had just faded to a bit lighter blue)

I also moved my othe work bench and my big Snap-On box back from my buddy's shop where I was working, I now am unemployed, time to look for more work LOL. Maybe I will have time to get the majority of the paint done before I find another job though!!

Sorry havent taken any pics yet but I will get some up within the day......

Allright, its picture time again amigos. :naughty:

Today I did away with the pesky seams on the roof in the back. After some roughing of the surface with some 80 grit and a good cleaning out of the channels, they got filled with fiberglass filler, smoothed over, and blended in. Still just a tad more blending to do in order to make it perfect though, but it's damn close. Cool thing is I could see where they brazed the body together right in that spot from the factory. I always wondered what was under that paint right there.

I also deleted the antenna on top, good riddance. I'm going to be using an internal antenna of some sort, still looking around. Any suggestions?


Ok so here are the seams, cleaned and ready to be filled. I know, to do it "right" it should have been bridged and welded in with some metal, but I'm just trying to get this done so that's why I used the fiberglass filler, should resist cracking out really well. If not, oh well I'll do it again later lol. But I'm really confident this will hold for a long long time.

http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4485.JPG

http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4484.JPG

Filled and ready to shape

http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4497.JPG

http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4495.JPG

Here is the filler I used. This is also the base filler around the sunroof opening, to resist flex and cracking. This stuff is great for deeper fills, it's almost more of a resin and cut up fiberglass cloth than anything, so it makes a super strong base fill for the thick areas or places that will flex, and then you blend on top of that with your blending filler. Should be no chance of any filler cracking down the road (literally LOL)

http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4487.JPG

Easy sanding blending filler...

http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4488.JPG

And this is the product I used to seal between the roof cross supports and the roof skin itself. Due to the warpage in a few places, there were a few areas that would "oilcan", and needed support. I injected this between the skin and subframe of the roof, not only for support, but it also will adhere the subframe to the skin making it that much stronger. This modified roof is one solid mofo now. Will be easier to re-establish it's shape too with it supported right.

http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4500.JPG

Oh and can't forget the paint!! 2 quarts ran about $170. Hoping that will cover the car and the extras I plan to paint.....

http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4489.JPG

Fiberglass filler knocked down and shaped, ready for the blending filler....

http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4502.JPG

First layer of blending filler on the other side, blended in, but I can feel a slighty high spot still that needs to be blended around, so I will hit it again with a bit more filler in some strategic places and re-block it out, should make my work invisible (which is the key to good body work!)

http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4509.JPG

And finally, say bye bye rooftop antenna!!! We welded in a patch over the hole, and it got covered with f'glass filler. It'll be blended in later as well....

http://www.dodgetrucks.org/gallery/d...0/100_4506.JPG

Beautiful work as always RamThis. :thumbup:

Just need lots more of it lol.

https://www.3geez.com/forum/showthread.php?t=56097 86lxi68's pics

yup starting to look good.....keep up the good work....i cant wait to see it painted :thumbup:

I can appreciate the hard work you're doing, I've been block sanding and filling for a while now on my car and it takes alot of time! I can't wait to see your final projects outcome.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 87lxiaccord

https://www.3geez.com/forum/showthread.php?t=56097 86lxi68's pics

---

Ok yeah I seen them before, those are nice rims. Not exactly what I'm looking for though, I like five spoke rims best, with a fatter spoke. But those would take a close second!