gutting, AIV removal, fun <now with valve cover refinishing!>

Post by **EnzoRWD** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 9:24 am

Despite the window mishap <see post in technical> i had a good day working on the car this weekend. i took out my AIV stuph using nico's great sticky.

I plugged the lines with bolts and tight hose clamps but when i drove the car back to storage it was kinda making a hiss or something when the motor revved down. so i picked up some hi temp sealer and ill ooze it on the bolts and retighten. let it dry before running and see if the sound stops. engine bay before: engine bay after: plugged lines, as of now these are hard to see. the exhaust line<which i think is leaking> is on the right, the little vacuum lines are down to the left. there plugged with bitty little wood screw. OOPs. works for now.

Post by **EnzoRWD** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 9:24 am

ahhh then to gutting. fairly simple. take off pop on clippy things, remove screws, remove crap. found some rust chillin back there, gotta sand the stuff down soon. for some dumb reason its like 40 degrees up in WI, so ill have to wait till it gets down around 0 to take out that tar. first stage:took out carpet, amp, subs expensive weight: next stage:out with the liner, part of back seat:

Post by **EnzoRWD** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 9:24 am

some other pics from saturday. car in machine shop, morning:

under the knife, noon:

removing AIV, note helpful NICO printout: broken mirror

new <used> mirror! dang, i knew everyone was dying to see that tyte USDM push-it-in-with-your-hand folding mirror

Post by **crzycav86** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 9:24 am

Cool. How much weight do you think you saved by gutting the interior?

Post by **EnzoRWD** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 9:24 am

mm dont know. once i remove everything im going to use a big scale at the shop and weigh it all. im interested to find out. the stuff ive taken out so far isnt very heavy at all. but theres a bunch to go still-Enzo

Post by **EnzoRWD** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 9:24 am

ahh another day workin on the car. im in the process of sanding and painting the valve cover. anyone have hints on how to sand this sucker? its going well enough but i cant get some spots with the paper and dremel chews up the alu too much. here's the cover after i took it off. dirty dayum clean valvetrain for 165K miles. gotta love the KA saran wrap locks in freshness. keeps out critters squeaky clean cover after one crappy night of sanding. arrrghhhh PITA! heres the car going back to sleep in the hut. sssshhhhh!

-Enzo

Post by **MR2NER** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 9:24 am

sweet, any improvements after pluggin the aiv.

Post by **EnzoRWD** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 9:24 am

i picked up the silicone sealer but havent applied it yet. Im going to take out the bolts, ooze em up, stick em back in and retighten the clamps. i just wanted to be sure. theres not a whole lot of pressue/vacuum going on there....-Enzoand i might have to resort to aircraft alu stripper for the valve cover. but i really dont want to use the ****. we'll see what happens..

Post by **midwestdrifter** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 9:24 am

my friend found these awsome caps for what you plugged with that bolt. they are called heater plugs....or something like that. they are in the alert/help isle in autozone (with the thermostats.) they look like little rubber caps. it will really clean up your bay.

Website · Post by **TurboKA37** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 9:24 am

ive been wanting to sand and refinish my valve cover also. i havent been able to find a decent write-up or instructions on how to do so tho. if you could add any helpful hints and materials you used once your done, id appreciate that.

Post by **EnzoRWD** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 9:24 am

alright, i had to break down and buy aircraft alu stripper. lemme tell anyone wanting to paint the valve cover, use this! had to clean it twice with the stuff, but it took the paint right off. nasty stuff. i got some on my arm <was using gloves and mask> and it burned like hell. ahh well. after i took off the last of the old finish, i cleaned with carb cleaner and degreaser again, sanded with 500 grit, then washed with water. finally ready to paint. i put on three or four coats of metalcast, with two hours like the instructions say. looks damn nice right now. i havent uploaded the pics, but its dry now and oh so shiny. im half afraid to sand the letters down and clear coat it. i sure hope the clear coat doesnt ruin my wonderful finish. i dont think i can leave the letters bare alu though, so bleh.chemical warfare: me vs. nasty gold paint finally ready to paint. drying. looks like azz in the pic sorry its hella pretty now. w00t note the tyte corks in the spark plug wire wells.

Post by **Repo Man** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 9:24 am

Looking good man! I know there is some reason I sold this car but right now I can't think of a single freaking one...

I'm glad to see it wound up in the hands of a true enthusiast such as yourself and is living the good life. Hehe.

Post by **EnzoRWD** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 9:24 am

hahaha yeah im sure glad u did sell it. i love this car! dont worry, she'll be in better than new shape soon enough. i got some kazama stuff in the basement, im replacing everything in the front suspension before summer. no more bushings for me. muwahahahaback to the purple. heres some better pics. paints a lil bit soft, so no sanding till tomorrow. still not sure if i want to! argh. the suspense.painted. dont mind the ghetto billet oil cap. ill pick up a nismo knockoff sometime. or a real nismo if i find a hundred dollars chillin on the sidewalk. errr nm i still wouldnt. a pic of its virgin shine

Post by **Smurf6x6** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 9:24 am

I remember me going though all that painting mine gun metal. Sanded the letters and clearing it. Only to have my friend put a crack on it and scrach the **** out of it.:angryfire .

Post by **flyfishz** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 9:24 am

My son and I am about to strip and paint the 240 valve cover.

The aluminum stripper is a good idea, but Jasco Varnish works as well and can be had at any home depot or paint store for about $5

wear gloves burns bad without gloves. brush on wipe off. easy deal

Website · Post by **TurboKA37** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 9:24 am

what are you going to use to apply this Jasco Varnish? wire brush? also, does it matter if you get some on the bottom of the valve cover or does it wash off easily?

Post by **flyfishz** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 9:24 am

any paint brush will do... plan on trowing it away after. shouldn't harm the bottom of the cover...does not need a wire brush.

let is sit a few minutes... it will blister as it takes of the paint. Don't let sit for ten minutes or anything. just paint it on and wipe it off

Doing my son's Friday

Post by **flyfishz** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 9:24 am

jasco varnish Remover... forgot to type remover above...

Website · Post by **TurboKA37** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 9:24 am

thanks, ill look for it when i plan to do this

Post by **Charlie240sxt** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 9:24 am

Sand blaster work better:) or would it mess the alm up??

Post by **Altiman94** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 9:24 am

good lookin ride. Didn't know it was yours repoman. What's up with the new 240 in your avatar?

Post by **EnzoRWD** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 9:24 am

well, i didnt sand the letters. i tested the clearcoat over the purple paint, and i dissovled it. sooo its all purple. still looks good. put it back together this morning, and took out most of the tar in the back. thanks god for cold weather. came off in big sheets. simple. whack with hammer, pull off sheets, chisel small remains with flat head. i got cold, so i went home. it almost all out tho. and dayum its some heavy stuff. like nissan sprayed down black lead to keep out road noise.heres the finished product! heres the tar removal. first pic is in the back seat. err where it used to be. whereever you see white is where tar used to be. again, white = used to be tar. this is the trunk. excuse the rust.

that box o tar is quite heavy.... which is good.-Enzo

Post by **Altiman94** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 9:24 am

why all the work to save a few pounds? Youg onna make it into a track-only car?

Website · Post by **TurboKA37** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 9:24 am

yea, you could also go on a diet and ud save that much weight and ud also be healthier

Post by **Altiman94** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 9:24 am

^agreed

Post by **EnzoRWD** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 9:24 am

all that work? hmm didnt seem so hard to me. must be the cold weather.and i know it wont make a bit of difference dirving, but i want to. so as ppl say, do what makes you happy, not the forums...:-P^ thats me sticking out my tongue!hahahaah-Enzooooo

Post by **Altiman94** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 9:24 am

join the army

Post by **Hellion240sx** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 9:24 am

LOL. how much does the dashoard weight???? anyone? i want to know if a fiberglass one would do better? as in weight wise. thanks

o yeah good job on the valve cover i have to remember this post, so when i do mines. how did you get the spots where the sandpaper and the dremel couldnt get to????? or did you just use the jan something or other varnish remover? orthe aircraft alum remover??? how much wasthe aircraft stuff??? and where did you get it???thanks again

Post by **flyfishz** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 9:24 am

I think the valve cover looks great! Good Job.

Post by **EnzoRWD** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 9:24 am

Hellion240sx wrote:LOL. how much does the dashoard weight???? anyone? i want to know if a fiberglass one would do better? as in weight wise. thanks

o yeah good job on the valve cover i have to remember this post, so when i do mines. how did you get the spots where the sandpaper and the dremel couldnt get to????? or did you just use the jan something or other varnish remover? orthe aircraft alum remover??? how much wasthe aircraft stuff??? and where did you get it???thanks again

ok, i dont know how much the dash weighs. hmm too hardcore for me

for the hard to reach spots, i gave up on the sandpaper and bought that aircraft stripper. it was like 5 bucks at checker auto parts. almost any auto store should have something, i had to spray it down and brush it twice, but it got every last bit of paint off.then, remember to sand down the big open regions with 500 or 600 grit paper or the paint with darken all the scratches...-Enzo

gutting, AIV removal, fun <now with valve cover refinishing!>

gutting, <VALVE COVER DONE!!>

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