My Engine Committed Suicide Yesterday
03-28-2011, 10:45 PM
#343
MMMmmm... I honestly don't think so. The main issue is obviously lack of funding. The list of things that need to be ordered for the car is currently at $21,990.74. I currently have about $3500 of that now. I should be able to knock over $11k off of the list by the end of the year. Which would get me a complete rolling chassis, with fuel system, suspension, rear, assembled engine, and transmission. I'd still need a lot of things, but it will be huge progress.
If I had all of the money in the world and could order everything tomorrow would I have it on the road this year?... Doubtful. It is just me working on the car on my days off of work and I've never done anything like this before. All of this is really 100% new to me. With that said it takes me much longer to do normal tasks than it does someone who has done things like this before. Another issue is I'm trying to do things on the best budget I can. If I can save $20 here and there it adds up, but sometimes I just don't know exactly what I need to complete the task at hand. I then need to call people or do tons of research on here which may take me a week to order enough parts to get one or two tasks done, but not actually completed.
Honestly, I could really use help. If I could get someone to come over once in a while that had some general knowledge like I do things would go much quicker. The issue is I can't ever get any of my friends to help me or anyone really for that matter so it is just me slowly plodding away at things. A perfect example would be that driver side kick panel I wrapped. I probably have a total of 4.5 or so hours in that one panel. I still have to wrap 7 or so more panels, OUCH... If I had someone to help me that could be done in a couple days versus taking me two weeks by myself.
I got the wrap as a complete kit from Specialized Stainless. They are / were (not sure if they still are) a sponsor on here. The kits were on clearance for half price and I snatched one up. I'm not sure if they still sell them.
The material is actually leather with a clothe backing. It is decently thick, but conforms pretty well with the heat gun. You have to sand the panels front and 2'' or so of the back with 100 grit, clean it with MEK, carefully apply the glue to the panel, material, and apply the material. You have to be careful in laying it down and use the supplied roller to get it to lay flat / remove the air bubbles.
I've never done anything like this before, but as long as you are careful it turns out very well. There are some tricky spots on the panel I wrapped so far and you can see those pictures in the last couple posts. It is very time consuming work and kind of boring with the prep, but the results are fantastic. I'll keep of the pictures of the finished product as not to bore everyone with pictures of sanded panels. I may get some work done on the passenger side kick panel this week, but my schedule is kind of crazy.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
I ordered a couple small things today; a gauge, and some more gauge angle rings. Like was mentioned above I've been working on researching parts so there may be some more ordering coming soon. The next couple things on my list are getting a 6 point roll bar, mini tubs finished, new seats, gauge overlays, and some LED stuff. All of which is being put on the back burner because I'm either waiting on responses from people or can't find what I need.
On a bright not the post man delivered one very Chinese package that was drop shipped from DDM tuning.
It is a 55W 880 kit for the fog lights. My memory isn't quite sure on the bulbs, but they should be 500K or so. They should be the same as the headlights, but it took so long for them to be delivered I don't remember. They do come with one really odd warning though:
I still need to either go to the junkyard, find someone selling them, or track down some sort of glass lensed fog light housing. The ones I bought a while ago were advertised as being from the years that had glass housings, but when they showed up they were very much plastic.
If I had all of the money in the world and could order everything tomorrow would I have it on the road this year?... Doubtful. It is just me working on the car on my days off of work and I've never done anything like this before. All of this is really 100% new to me. With that said it takes me much longer to do normal tasks than it does someone who has done things like this before. Another issue is I'm trying to do things on the best budget I can. If I can save $20 here and there it adds up, but sometimes I just don't know exactly what I need to complete the task at hand. I then need to call people or do tons of research on here which may take me a week to order enough parts to get one or two tasks done, but not actually completed.
Honestly, I could really use help. If I could get someone to come over once in a while that had some general knowledge like I do things would go much quicker. The issue is I can't ever get any of my friends to help me or anyone really for that matter so it is just me slowly plodding away at things. A perfect example would be that driver side kick panel I wrapped. I probably have a total of 4.5 or so hours in that one panel. I still have to wrap 7 or so more panels, OUCH... If I had someone to help me that could be done in a couple days versus taking me two weeks by myself.
The material is actually leather with a clothe backing. It is decently thick, but conforms pretty well with the heat gun. You have to sand the panels front and 2'' or so of the back with 100 grit, clean it with MEK, carefully apply the glue to the panel, material, and apply the material. You have to be careful in laying it down and use the supplied roller to get it to lay flat / remove the air bubbles.
I've never done anything like this before, but as long as you are careful it turns out very well. There are some tricky spots on the panel I wrapped so far and you can see those pictures in the last couple posts. It is very time consuming work and kind of boring with the prep, but the results are fantastic. I'll keep of the pictures of the finished product as not to bore everyone with pictures of sanded panels. I may get some work done on the passenger side kick panel this week, but my schedule is kind of crazy.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
I ordered a couple small things today; a gauge, and some more gauge angle rings. Like was mentioned above I've been working on researching parts so there may be some more ordering coming soon. The next couple things on my list are getting a 6 point roll bar, mini tubs finished, new seats, gauge overlays, and some LED stuff. All of which is being put on the back burner because I'm either waiting on responses from people or can't find what I need.
On a bright not the post man delivered one very Chinese package that was drop shipped from DDM tuning.
It is a 55W 880 kit for the fog lights. My memory isn't quite sure on the bulbs, but they should be 500K or so. They should be the same as the headlights, but it took so long for them to be delivered I don't remember. They do come with one really odd warning though:
I still need to either go to the junkyard, find someone selling them, or track down some sort of glass lensed fog light housing. The ones I bought a while ago were advertised as being from the years that had glass housings, but when they showed up they were very much plastic.
03-29-2011, 03:51 AM
#344
On The Tree
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Midlothian, TX
Posts: 121
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
If you don't mind me asking the $3k check you got, was it from the insurance company? I had the exact same thing happen to me and I'm still fighting them on it.
03-29-2011, 10:00 PM
#345
Who is your insurance company and why are they trying to deny your claim? If you have comprehensive coverage they should cover it.
03-29-2011, 11:07 PM
#346
On The Tree
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Midlothian, TX
Posts: 121
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
State Farm and thats what I thought. Just to drop the oil pan is 5hrs labor, and thats an expensive risk if it turns out that an injector leaking down is to blame. They're trying to tell me that all the water in the back of the intake is just condensation.
04-20-2011, 09:39 PM
#348
4/7/11
The A pillars will make you want to kill someone. Pre warn the people around you that you will be getting very angry over the next few hours.
I had to see what it looked like in the car…
More sanded panels ready to be wrapped.
The A pillars will make you want to kill someone. Pre warn the people around you that you will be getting very angry over the next few hours.
I had to see what it looked like in the car…
More sanded panels ready to be wrapped.
04-20-2011, 09:40 PM
#349
4/14/11
The A pillar panels are by far the largest pain in the *** in existence to wrap. Their convex figure refuses to agree with the material. When following the main contour down the panel it is a constant battle with attempting to stop the material from bunching up and wrinkling.
With the way the panel contours it pulls the material towards one side or the other. I had to fight it back towards the centerline of the panel as it was going to make the end too short to wrap the top of the panel.
Progress:
Finished:
6LE Bezel Wrapped, but not quite trimmed yet.
I’m still not sure on how I want to trim the rest of the radio bezel to fit the unit. There isn’t much room on the back to adhere the material to. It would almost be overlapping in some areas and I’m not sure if that’s what I’d want. If anyone has any advice or pictures on how they trimmed and wrapped the opening / rear of the panel I’m all ears. Here’s what I have so far.
The A pillar panels are by far the largest pain in the *** in existence to wrap. Their convex figure refuses to agree with the material. When following the main contour down the panel it is a constant battle with attempting to stop the material from bunching up and wrinkling.
With the way the panel contours it pulls the material towards one side or the other. I had to fight it back towards the centerline of the panel as it was going to make the end too short to wrap the top of the panel.
Progress:
Finished:
6LE Bezel Wrapped, but not quite trimmed yet.
I’m still not sure on how I want to trim the rest of the radio bezel to fit the unit. There isn’t much room on the back to adhere the material to. It would almost be overlapping in some areas and I’m not sure if that’s what I’d want. If anyone has any advice or pictures on how they trimmed and wrapped the opening / rear of the panel I’m all ears. Here’s what I have so far.
04-20-2011, 09:41 PM
#350
4/16/11
I finally devoted my whole morning and afternoon towards finishing this leather wrapping project and made some good progress. My goal was to finish all of the small pieces that I had to do. That didn’t come to fruition, but I did garner some steam towards feeling like I could get it done if I just sat down and did it.
All of the small panels:
Sanded:
Just as everyone else’s is, my center console lid is cracked:
I broke out some PVC plastic glue and with a Q tip did my best bonding job:
I started with the small panels that the rear of the T tops seal into. They were impossible to due in one piece without having to seam the material. Unfortunately, that left some visible white lines on the material where it was cut once installed.
That was all taken care of by my friend Mr. Black Marker.
Driver’s Side:
Both door panel switches:
I noticed that the charcoal door panels with the ebony accents look like garbage. I’m going to have to save up for some nice ebony door panels later on once I get the car running. Either that or figure out some way to make them match the rest of the interior. I thought about wrapping the whole door panel, but I’m not sure if I want to take on that kind of a task right now.
I’m going to work on the car a lot tomorrow and hopefully knock out most of these interior panels. My main issue now is that my 95 Camaro DD finally gave out on me. It made it to 174,988 miles and finally lost a head gasket in a traffic jam. A large truck full of trees decided to break down in the left lane on 95 North and completely **** me over. My radiator fan decided to give up the ghost and to take my engine along with it. I’m going to limp it to work and back until I can get something figured out, but I’m not too excited about the whole series of events and future prospects. The only minute bright side of the situation is that my 93 now has a donor for all of the parts missing from it.
I finally devoted my whole morning and afternoon towards finishing this leather wrapping project and made some good progress. My goal was to finish all of the small pieces that I had to do. That didn’t come to fruition, but I did garner some steam towards feeling like I could get it done if I just sat down and did it.
All of the small panels:
Sanded:
Just as everyone else’s is, my center console lid is cracked:
I broke out some PVC plastic glue and with a Q tip did my best bonding job:
I started with the small panels that the rear of the T tops seal into. They were impossible to due in one piece without having to seam the material. Unfortunately, that left some visible white lines on the material where it was cut once installed.
That was all taken care of by my friend Mr. Black Marker.
Driver’s Side:
Both door panel switches:
I noticed that the charcoal door panels with the ebony accents look like garbage. I’m going to have to save up for some nice ebony door panels later on once I get the car running. Either that or figure out some way to make them match the rest of the interior. I thought about wrapping the whole door panel, but I’m not sure if I want to take on that kind of a task right now.
I’m going to work on the car a lot tomorrow and hopefully knock out most of these interior panels. My main issue now is that my 95 Camaro DD finally gave out on me. It made it to 174,988 miles and finally lost a head gasket in a traffic jam. A large truck full of trees decided to break down in the left lane on 95 North and completely **** me over. My radiator fan decided to give up the ghost and to take my engine along with it. I’m going to limp it to work and back until I can get something figured out, but I’m not too excited about the whole series of events and future prospects. The only minute bright side of the situation is that my 93 now has a donor for all of the parts missing from it.
04-22-2011, 12:17 AM
#352
By the middle of February the cold was gone this year. Last year was the exact opposite with record lows all over the state that killed all sorts of people, animals, and plants. I walk around in my bathing suit every day once it gets warm. I've got some more pictures from earlier today which by chance also include my feet that I'll get up tomorrow.
04-22-2011, 10:50 AM
#353
I'm kind of confused... Why don't you just spend the money to get your car running again, and not waste time/effort/money on non-essentials like wrapping the interior (which can be done regardless of whether or not the car runs)? You don't need a 9" or a 12 bolt to drive it around like a grandma... You don't need a big *** turbo for that either... I'm just pointing out, it blew up in 2007, and at this moment, you're a used C5 Z06 away from your goal...
Last edited by ZexGX; 04-22-2011 at 11:04 AM.
04-22-2011, 05:16 PM
#354
TECH Resident
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Redondo Beach, CA
Posts: 966
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I'm kind of confused... Why don't you just spend the money to get your car running again, and not waste time/effort/money on non-essentials like wrapping the interior (which can be done regardless of whether or not the car runs)? You don't need a 9" or a 12 bolt to drive it around like a grandma... You don't need a big *** turbo for that either... I'm just pointing out, it blew up in 2007, and at this moment, you're a used C5 Z06 away from your goal...
04-22-2011, 09:02 PM
#356
I'm kind of confused... Why don't you just spend the money to get your car running again, and not waste time/effort/money on non-essentials like wrapping the interior (which can be done regardless of whether or not the car runs)? You don't need a 9" or a 12 bolt to drive it around like a grandma... You don't need a big *** turbo for that either... I'm just pointing out, it blew up in 2007, and at this moment, you're a used C5 Z06 away from your goal...
I've worked out my list of things I need to do for the car in the most logical order I could towards getting things done efficiently. I don't want to put stock 806 heads on the car and then change them out down the road costing me more money, time, and effort. When, instead I could just wait a few months, get things done on another part of the car, and buy the needed heads down the road preventing redundant and unneeded work.
My worst fear is after spending a small fortune on parts is driving the car for two months and have something blow up. I don't exactly plan on driving like a granny either... That's what I have a slow *** 95 V6 Camaro for. Granted it may be dead now, but I haven't messed with it yet. I know a lot of the work I'm doing to the car now seems excessive or unneeded, but it is all just parts of putting the puzzle together. It'll look really good when it is done. Just bear with me.
Thank you. I can finally see things starting to come together. Congratulations on getting your heads / cam swap done. I'm sure it has to feel great to get something that involved finished. Getting this car fired up is going to be a huge accomplishment once I finally get it done. I don't think I'll know what to do with myself when that day comes.
04-23-2011, 04:33 AM
#357
Here are the pictures from Thursday. I mostly did a really crappy job of wrapping the center console lid. It was a pain in the *** with all of the outward spreading contours. Thankfully, the bottom of the lid will only be seen by myself and most of it is covered.
Here's the bottom wrapped and looking like garbage:
With the cover back on it looking a little better:
Installed:
There's those two slight wrinkles in the back, but they are out of sight fromt both the driver and passenger seats so it doesn't matter too much.
This was honestly the most difficult panel I've wrapped so far. The A pillars sucked, but at least I could got them right after spending a ton of time on them. This piece was basically impossible to get 100% right so I just settled with the way it ended up as I knew it wasn't going to get any better.
Here's the bottom wrapped and looking like garbage:
With the cover back on it looking a little better:
Installed:
There's those two slight wrinkles in the back, but they are out of sight fromt both the driver and passenger seats so it doesn't matter too much.
This was honestly the most difficult panel I've wrapped so far. The A pillars sucked, but at least I could got them right after spending a ton of time on them. This piece was basically impossible to get 100% right so I just settled with the way it ended up as I knew it wasn't going to get any better.
