SLC: 1989 Zinno coupe. Superlight, Super Functional *6spd swap inside*

[SpeedRacer85]

I like your style, keep up the good work...

[eduTechnic]

Looking good man! I'm in Layton. I'm interested to see how the wheel re-wrap turns out. I saw that wheel on KSL and told myself "probably not" after hearing quotes my brother got on getting it redone. If you can do it yourself that's awesome. I'd be really interested to help you out with the sunroof delete so I can copy you...

[mitchlikesbikes]

got all of my tuneup stuff from oreilly and blunttech so i started that today.

today i got the new timing belt, tensioner, and water pump on. i haven't put the covers back on because they're soaking in degreaser overnight so i can put them on nice and clean. will be going back together with new radiator hoses, thermostat, new accessory belt, new spark plugs, and a couple other small things.

some of the parts:



greasy engine parts off:



before yanking old water pump/belt/tensioner:



will be putting it all back together tomorrow or sunday, and i'll upload more pics during the reassembly. crossing my fingers that i didn't mess the timing up since i had to get pretty aggressive to get the belt on the new tensioner. i guess i'll find out eventually

[mitchlikesbikes]

bought an mtech1 wheel locally today. probably gonna rewrap it eventually but for now i might just rock the bare plastic. (the original leather is already gone)

[mitchlikesbikes]

I used por15 5-6 years ago to paint some areas that had surface rust. The areas that i painted ended up rotting out because i didnt use a sealant over the paint, if you look at the undercarriage the whole thing is actually primed and then undercoated with some serious stuff. The por15 just chipped off from road desbri and caused major rust.

I ended up cutting out the rot (very similar to what you are doing) patched it up and painted with epoxy primer followed by a sealant and an undercoat the undercoat was more of a why the hell not thing im sure the sealant alone would have been fine.

Also when you put the fenders back on its important to seal the edges where it meets the body and also the fender liner. water mud salt and snow will pack up in there otherwise, ask me how i know

I riveted in the majority of my patches, i worked as a aircraft structural mechanic for a few years (probably shot over 100000 rivets) and i prefer it for body work over welding, most will call it ghetto but i hate welding sheetmetal especially because it burns off all the primer thats in the areas inside the unibody that you cant see.

thanks for the heads up. i was planning on going over the por15 on the exterior with an undercoating to help with that so i think i should be okay.

i do have a ton of rivets that i could use but i trust welds a bit more and i like the look of welds better. i will be riveting my sunroof delete panel though.

seeing as the car is only going to be driven in the summer i've debated even keeping fender liners since i only have one (and it's damaged at that) but i will probably end up finding some new ones just for the sake of security.

[catalyst.]

I used por15 5-6 years ago to paint some areas that had surface rust. The areas that i painted ended up rotting out because i didnt use a sealant over the paint, if you look at the undercarriage the whole thing is actually primed and then undercoated with some serious stuff. The por15 just chipped off from road desbri and caused major rust.

I ended up cutting out the rot (very similar to what you are doing) patched it up and painted with epoxy primer followed by a sealant and an undercoat the undercoat was more of a why the hell not thing im sure the sealant alone would have been fine.

Also when you put the fenders back on its important to seal the edges where it meets the body and also the fender liner. water mud salt and snow will pack up in there otherwise, ask me how i know

I riveted in the majority of my patches, i worked as a aircraft structural mechanic for a few years (probably shot over 100000 rivets) and i prefer it for body work over welding, most will call it ghetto but i hate welding sheetmetal especially because it burns off all the primer thats in the areas inside the unibody that you cant see.

[mitchlikesbikes]

Damn. Keep it up.

thanks man, and will do.


still trying not to get too caught up in the interior stuff again for a bit. trying to take a little break and get motivated while i work on other "bolt-unbolt" type stuff.

put in a huge order with both blunttech and oreilly last night for tune up stuff for the m20. hoses, plugs, belts, timing belt tensioner, new boot for steering rack, etc etc.

need to order shifter rebuild stuff next.

[Joe G]

Damn. Keep it up.

[mitchlikesbikes]

got some work done on the car again today.

i've pretty much stripped the heater box at this point. i grinded off all the uneccessary plastic brackets and pulled the AC evaporator core, and all of the cables to actuate the vents. basically i'm sealing all vents shut aside from the defroster. i didn't get any pictures of this because it's not all that exciting anyway. i also started prepping the dash for flocking. i filled the cracks with epoxy and sanded them. at this point i pretty much just need to clean it up and flock it.

also cut some more cancer out of the floor and started preparing it for patches. i will also be patching the holes for the heater box drains since i won't have carpet and i'll know instantly if my heater core is leaking. so no need for a drain through the body.

pics of rust removal:

driver side exterior:



chunk of cancer that was removed prior to the previous picture being taken:



passenger side ready for patchwork:

[mitchlikesbikes]

decided to take a break from the annoying and shitty interior prep work today. i yanked my AC and power steering. i was under the impression that i would definitely need a new steering rack but after draining a quart+ of stopleak that the moron PO put in out of the system and cranking the wheel to purge it all out of the rack it actually feels pretty solid and smooth. i plan on upgrading to a z3 or e36 rack at some point anyway but if i can get by on this one for now then i'll definitely be happy. it felt really good to actually focus and finish some stuff up today. when i'm working on the inside my back gets tired and i lose focus really fast.

i reorganized the garage today to help me get through the next steps a little easier.

anyway, on to the pics.

stopleak and fluid were draining for at least a half hour. the stuff is like jelly when it's cold.



this was toward the beginning of the draining



bare radiator with AC gone. need to figure out what i'm gonna do for an electric fan now.



power steering pump and banjo bolts out



AC tank thing. anyone know what this even does? i'm assuming since i deleted AC i probably don't need it.



Ac condenser out. this thing is stupid heavy.

[mitchlikesbikes]

did some more wire wheeling today, this time on the passenger side. found some rust up near the pinch weld so i decided to just drill the spot welds and cut out a chunk to replace. por15 incoming

[mitchlikesbikes]

Where in SLC are you at?

i live near 33rd and 7th.


quick update: started wire wheeling the rest of the sound deadening and got started on the seam sealer too. huge pain in the ass here, there's seam sealer for days. so messy. driver side front is almost done though, thinking about doing some stitch welding when i put the roll bar in.

[anokES]

Where in SLC are you at?

[mitchlikesbikes]

some progress happening, i got some dry ice today and stripped all the sound deadening. i ran out before i could do the trunk but the whole inside is done.

wiring is 90% done. just need to mock everything up and finish my harnesses for my gauges and radio. and i need to extend the reverse light switch wiring so it can run through the dash area rather than across the floor. once i do this i won't have any wires running across the floor any more.

some pics:

starting things:



another progress on pass side



random front end shot



driver side mostly done. getting to the stuff under the pedals was a huge pain in the ass



pass side done. complete with two rust holes i have to patch :(



between both floors and the rear seat area i filled up more than half of a 5 gallon bucket. weighed probably 15lbs+

[mitchlikesbikes]

small update for today:

i received my new 12 volt plug today (i'm mounting one in the dash or HVAC panel to make it even easier to lose my center console)

it uses 1/4" spade connectors just like the original so i can retain the stock wiring for it. only $5 on ebay so hopefully it works well.



today i also ordered my new amp for my stereo. it is a pyle 2 channel unit. basically this amp is palm sized and will power the 2 speakers in the front that i am keeping (back speakers are staying out). the amp has a direct aux port so i won't even need a head unit for this setup. the amp will be hidden in the glove box so i don't have to worry about a bulky head unit taking up space in the dash or attracting thieves that are still dumb enough to steal stereo decks. these amps are also less than $20 on ebay. reviews of quality are mixed but at this price i can run through 4 of them before i hit the same price as a decent head unit.




should be receiving all of my door panel stuff this week so i can tentatively get started on that. wiring is very close to being done as well. i have split braided loom that will be going on soon. just need to weed out a few more wires, finish the harness for my VDO gauges, and then test everything.

oh and my new bumper should be on the way soon too, kinda getting sketched out about how long the guy is taking to respond. anybody have experience with "e30partsguy"? its only been a couple days but i'm really hoping for an update :(