57 replies to this topic

[belacane]

This "is" coming from a "Red-neck", so no "flaming" please....

I have done some, "get me by", type repairs over the years. But thinking that boot repair beats me,,, hands down......

:headbang::headbang::cool:

[belacane]

The rear wheel wells has some pretty nasty rust... so that needed to be tackled asap and the first stages of it happened this weekend!
(p.s both wheel wells were welded up, but I don't have a complete set of photos from each, so this is a bit of a hodge-podge to show the process)

Here's some photos of before:




First, we just cut out the rusted spots:


This was all that was left of the actual sheet metal from the wheel well on one of the sides:


And sanded away the rest of the rust:


The holes had to be patched up, so another piece of sheet metal was welded on:


A few layers of paint probably wouldn't hurt


The new piece to be welded on, note the holes left to secure it to the strut mount:


And it's on:


The other side (holes not filled in yet):


Of course, there's a good deal of grinding still to do and some painting.

In the mean time, I'm loving how my brat looks without the top on!!!!
Pretty productive weekend :-p:cool:

Edited by belacane, 19 November 2012 - 12:45 PM.

[TheLoyale]

That turned out great! Glad this car is getting the full treatment.

[belacane]

I need to change this thread to be called 'New Orleans Brat'... I'm headed down there to live at the end of December!

[belacane]

She's back!

 

I recently moved to New Orleans, and since I had no one to drive down with me, my little brat stayed in Chicago until just a little bit ago. She's with me again down here and Boy did I miss her!

 

Fixed a few things already. A closer look at the her rear, and the brake squeal turned out to be a wheel bearing in dire need of replacement, so that's done! 

 

She seems to have developed a nice exhaust leak while she was away, but as long as it's not dangerous or illegal, I kind of like the sound  , so I'm not going to do anything with that for now.

 

Next up:

 

- finish grinding down the welds on the bed

- rear disk brake swap

- install the cool little prosport oil pressure gauge I just got, since the one in my cluster has gone kaput again

- paint job (I'm probably going to have this done by someone else. I don't have the right kind of space, time or proper tools to it myself at the moment. I plan to keep the color)

 

Also waiting on Idasho's aux input mod for the oem radio. Electrical is not my strong point yet. Can't wait to have my own music again!

 

 

peace all  

[belacane]

Since moving, I finally had some time to spend with my brat. 

Ground down some of the welds from the wheel wells, and also added an AUX input to my radio. LOVING IT so far!

 

Edited by belacane, 18 May 2013 - 09:13 PM.

[belacane]

And she's down...sort of.

On my wat home the other day, she started getting right up by the red line on my temp gauge, so I pulled over immediately, smelled and looked for leaks, and noticed that the coolant overflow tank that the previous owner had put in was empty. Poured in some water, but it disappeared again.

There's evidence of a rad leak and I have yet to get under her and check around the water pump or the bypass hose. The fans work fine, and I'm gonna replace the thermostat anyhow...

More updates after I haul her into work on my day off to take a real look.

In the mean time, I miss driving her

This is my first time dealing with this problem. Any ideas or hints or tips are most welcome of course

[belacane]

She's back up and running now!

It didn't initially show it, but after a little investigation it was obvious that the radiator was cracked and leaking. A simple replace (i opted for a brand new rad) and she's on the road again!