Firewall Paint and Bracket Installation
After painting the undercarriage and firewall, I was able to reinstall the brackets. I used the soft body rivets where called for.
I sandblasted the hood catches and painted them with black ceramic engine paint, which gave a smooth, even coating. I was pleased with the results but am interested in how long it will last. I have not yet cut the hole for the air conditioning box. That will be added to the A/C walkthrough.
Fender Seals
Next I installed the fender upper seals. I bought the upper seal as a single strip and cut it to length. Using the stainless staples, I made indentations on the seal so I knew where to drill the small holes. I pushed each staple through the corresponding holes and pressed against it while a helper bend the tangs over. I still need to install the front fork seal, a-arm dust cover, and the side seal, but these require the fork and radiator support to be in place for proper placement. I plan to use the same method for these as well (except for the a-arm seal).
Headlight Header Bar Installation
After the long time between the headlight header bar repair and installation, moisture had penetrated the masking tape I placed over the mating surface, and minor rust had formed. I removed the rust and prepped the surface for the SEM 39747 Panel Adhesive. It seemed to work very well for the front bar. It has a 90 min work time.
I covered the metal with ample adhesive and used a rubber gloved finger to smear it over the entire bonded surface. I placed small washers into it and added a couple more strips of adhesive. The washers prevent all the adhesive from getting squeezed out during clamping.
I sanded the area under the surround with 150 grit to provide a good bonding surface. I positioned the bar by hand, then held it in place with two clamps near the center. Next I installed the headlight buckets on the front support and header bar, and fender brackets at the outside to make sure that the holes will all line up after the adhesive sets. I had to place extra clamps in the center to adequately seat the surround against the bar, but everything else seemed a good fit. After checking that everything was lined up, I let the adhesive cure for a couple days.
Cowl
Work on the cowl consists of removing old sealant and cleaning surfaces, blocking off the astro-vent holes, fabricating a new steering column support backer plate, and resealing and painting the cowl.
The astro-vent holes must be blocked so the cabin is sealed off from the outside when MaxAir is selected on the climate control. This was very straight forward. I sanded around each hole on the cowl side, and placed aluminum tape to seal it off from the inside. Then I used epoxy and fiberglass to permanently close it off from the cowl side. There are one on each side.
The steering column support backer is body riveted to the cowl, with the backer plate on the cowl side. The original was rusted nearly through and I was unable to source a replacement. I felt mild steel would deform over time and decided to use medium carbon steel. I purchased a 1' x 1' x 1/16" piece and used the rust out line of the original piece to get measurements. I drew the piece out on the steel plate and cut it with a wheel. I put it in place and traced the four bolt holes and two rivet holes from the back side. I drilled the holes out at my drill press, cleaned the edges of the workpiece with sand paper, wiped it down with acetone, and painted it with VHT direct to metal black epoxy paint.
Engine Bay & Firewall Cont.
I had intended to pick this back up in the spring of 2016, but made the decision to finish the rear body mount and structural repairs first. That way, I could mix enough grey paint to cover the firewall and underneath the rear end. Cleaning up the rear undercarriage and performing the repair work took the better part of two summers and I actually didn't get the engine bay and fire wall painted until late summer of 2017. Even then, there are a few other minor things that I did in 2018, and a couple things that still need accomplished. I'll pick up where I left off
Modifications:
- Firewall hole enlarged to accommodate addition of air conditioning.
- Aftermarket wiring harness
Upgrades:
- Hy-tech Metal Shield #1267 insulating paint