Fixed a few things

Shawn's car, under construction...




(Engine shot taken by Treefish)



Went to Shawn's today to kill some time and to fix a few little things here and there. There's a bunch of little things here and there that needed to be fixed on the car.

Done in 4 hours:
- ate at zaxby's
- went to autozone
- brake booster vac line leak
- intake box replaced with new autozone special intake
- valve cover tightened down
- turn signals all fixed
- tow hook near exhaust cut off
- tightened down radiator (attempted.. with zipties)
- swapped s14 seats for s13 seats

Vac Leak
First off there was a idle problem, found a problem in the brake booster hose line; it kept coming undone, apparently whoever did the swap used a bigger hose and it was preventing the hoseline from being holstered properly in place. Shawn's dad hooked it up with some hoseline and I got it made!

Intake
The intake box was totally ghetto rigged, there was a usage of packing strap on the intake box and it was halfway missing, so we replaced it with an autozone store special intake....which is nothing more than an APC intake LOLOLOL. Added at least 2000 whp, going to the dyno soon to check my numbers.

Valve Cover
WTF? I saw a loose bolt on the valve cover and tightened it down, then Shawn went around to re-tighten all of the bolts and yeah....none of them were really tight, awesome isn't it?

Turn Signals
I was wondering why my turn signals weren't working. I thought it was just the bulbs, took the housing out and they weren't even wired!!! LOL? I fixed that..the driver side turn signal was being a bitch, but I swapped my clear corners for Shawn's amber ones and they seemed to work fine after that. Guess they didn't like being clear.

Tow Hook
The tow hook was making an annoying noise on the exhaust everytime you start the car up or move, so something had to be done, we jacked the car up and Shawn cut the tow hook bracket right above the exhaust, and wow, it's a million times better now.

Radiator
Didn't quite fix it but we added a ziptie to temporarily hold down the radiator support. There's no fan shroud in my engine bay and I need to source one soon.

Seats
I've got a Recaro racing seat for the driver's side. Seeing Shawn's seat I gave him my S14 seats that came with the car because I really didn't need them. I swapped his s13 seats for my S14 seats. Yay? Not really a gain on my part...

Still a few more things here and there to fix, but the most of the small headaches are gone! Upgrades coming soon!


things to fix/upgrade
- battery tie down
- power steering pump / powersteering belt
- air conditioning core
- radiator support
- fan shroud
- brake pads/rotors
- S14 VLSD
- S14 seatbelts
- Stance GR+ Coilovers
- front windshield
- wheels
- debadge rear
- remove side moldings
- led tail lights
- aero
- repaint

Prologue

I bought the car this week. Came with a few things, was hard to not buy it considering I just sold my AE86 and I was trying to save the money for better things. I stumbled across a coupe from someone on 240atlanta that they had up for sale. With all the problems in it, it's still a good deal.

1993 Nissan 240SX SE Coupe

Exterior
- 80,000 miles on chassis
- Straight/clean (has a few small dents)

Engine
- 5 Speed S15 SR20DE (non turbo)
- RSR Exhaust Magic GT2

Drivetrain
- Open differential (will be changed asap)
- Worn pads/rotors (will be changed)
- No power steering

Suspension/Wheels/tires
- Crappy stock 15's with crappy tires (3 same, 1 different)
- Skunk2 springs
- KYB AGX shocks (front)
- Tokico HTS shocks (rear)

Interior
- HUD (speedo shows up on window)
- S14 stock seats
- Perfect (for the most part) with no blemishes
- Nismo Shifter
- Broadway Mirror
- Working Heat
- No AC

project lock up

Been working on a film set. It's a fight movie. Check out my cool makeup! its not real. Project is to be announced. Later release date in 2009.

Autographs

Lisa Klassen, rally driver, sent me a nice little card in the mail :)

Priming your Car: Part 8 (Rinse)

8. Rinse (20~30 minutes):
- A hose
- Sham F***kin WOW!!!




1. Rinse the car off with water, where areas are wet, wipe them down with the shammy so you can remove any dust/grain/residue from the paintjob.

2. Be sure to keep the sham always soaked and the car soaked, this is just a process of wipedown.

3. Repeat until satisfied. You are done at this point. Enjoy.





If I forgot anything, just reply. Peace and have fun.

Priming your Car: Part 7 (Painting)

7. Painting (2 hours):
- Lots of cans of Primer
- A steady hand
- Patience

1. You're ready to paint. Now you need to make sure you apply the coat evenly. You can prep the spray cans by sitting them in warm/hot water for 5 minutes to allow for even paint flow. This should/will reduce paint spatter (I can't guarantee it because not every rattle can is created equal).

2. Shake the can. Start spraying light/even coats across the car. Make sure you stand at least 3 feet and spray in a left to right motion nice and steady. It helps to listen to music.



3. Continue spraying til you have completed your first coat. BE SURE NOT TO OVERSPRAY, you'll have run in some areas if you do, practice on small sections first then move onto bigger sections.



4. Once you have completed the painting process, it will dry up by spots, this is normal.

5. Repeat this process til you are satisfied with the prime coat.

6. Allow the paint to cure/dry overnight.

7. Once the car is dried overnight, unravel your masterwork!!! : )

Priming your Car: Part 6 (Final prep)

6. Final Prepping (20 minutes):
- Red shop rags
- Sandpaper
- Wax and Grease Remover

1. Give the car one final inspection before painting the car, check for any missed rust spots, uneven surfaces, etc etc.

2. Once you have checked and sanded everything, wipe the car down with a dry shop rag.

3. After wiping the car down, use the 3M Wax and Grease remover and apply it to the shop rag, then apply it to the entire vehicle on the metallic parts. Continue until all parts have been wiped down.

4. Once all the parts have been wiped down, DO NOT TOUCH ANY PART OF THE VEHICLE YOU APPLIED IT TO! Your skin has oil and touching the body will cause the paint to bubble or have funny sections in it.

Priming your Car: Part 5 (Sanding)

5. Sanding (4 hours):
- Sandpaper
- Orbital Buffer
- Respirator Masks






1. After Masking everything off, apply sandpaper to the car body by rubbing it in a backwards/forwards motion. Depending on what kind of sandpaper and shape you use, it may apply differently, I used an electric orbital buffer with a 5" diameter sander.

2. When sanding the body down, start in one area, you do not have to go all the way down to the metal, but I decided to just to make sure there weren't pitted areas or any hidden bondo/rust spots I missed.



3. If you get areas down to bare metal do not let it sit naked for too long, I would highly recommend sanding a car in an enclosed environment.

4. Continue sanding the car down to either prime or paint, depending on what condition your car is in, optimally you want an even level surface to paint on so I just went through the entire car with the sander with my friend (he got to use the orbital while I was sanding by hand...lucky haha).

5. Once you have finally sanded the car down to an even state, take some shop rags and wipe the dust away. Allow the car to sit for a while and take a break. There's probably small dust in the air and you need to wait for it to calm down before continuing to the painting stage.

*Note:
It will get very dusty if you are in a non-ventilated area, keep this in mind before you paint the car to let the dust sit or escape in whatever means possible. Be sure to wear a respirator mask while sanding your vehicle down and possibly protective goggles as well. Also make sure to check for pitted areas and any small hidden rust spots or bondo spots that need to be pulled out or filled in.

Priming your Car: Part 4 (Masking)

4. Masking (6 hours):
- Masking Tape
- Newspaper
- Patience

I personally believe this is the most important part. Masking is what makes or breaks your paint job, what separates you from the amateurs. I luckily had a friend who use to tape off cars for his dad's shop, so he helped me along the way.






1. Start off by using the 3M masking tape. Tape off the weather stripping and any areas you don't want to get painted.

2. After masking off the areas, cover the windows with taped down masking material, I used newspaper, you can use painter's plastic if you want to and have the material/money for them. Keep in mind when you use newspaper to not over spray the areas as it will soak through.

3. Take careful aim to tape off things like door handles, keyholes (if you can remove them that would be ideal), and antennas.

4. Remove tail lights and bumpers if you want to cover all the areas. I chose to leave the bumpers intact.

5. Don't forget to cover the wheel wells up with something, make sure you cover your "pretty" wheels as well, you don't want paint getting in them.

6. Take a break, that was alot of hours of work. The hardest part is over.

Priming your Car: Part 3 (Time)

3. Estimated time spent:
- 6 hours to mask
- 4 hours to sand
- 20 minutes to pre-wipe down (before spraying)
- 2 hours to prime
- A night to dry
- 30 minutes to post-wipe down (after spraying)

Me and my friend did the work in one sitting minus the night of drying/washing car off. We wanted it done in a night so we did it...

*Note: This was my first time using spray paint, I've done roll-on paint jobs before and I don't like it, just because of all the wet sanding involved. I'd rather spray paint.

Priming your Car: Part 2 (Materials)

2. Materials Used:


- Black & Decker 5" Orbital Sander ($40~50)
- 300~320 Grit Sandpaper (for the body of the car) (~$11)
- 3M Wax and Grease Remover (~$8 )
- Shamwow or similar material (must be this type of material) ($10~20)
- Rustoleum Automobile Primer 8-12 cans ($3~7/can)
- 3M Blue Tape ($~3/roll)
- 3M Respirator Mask ($30~60)
- Red shop rags
- Lots of newspaper (free, got a bunch of pepboys newsadverts)

*Note: I estimated material costs, I had no budget in mind other than to get what I needed to get the job done, you can spend more or less finding alternative tools, the Orbital sander is optional but it will make sanding it smooth a lot better. I would highly recommend a power tool sander.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND A RESPIRATOR MASK
Please do not work in a closed environment without one, breathing in the fumes is unhealthy and you will possibly die/ lose a lot of brain cells. Do not overlook this.

Priming your Car: Part 1 (Intro)

First write-up, bear with me. I'm doing this simple and straightforward, nothing too complex, it's written in plain English. I'm still working on this post should be done when I get back tonight, but I'll leave it posted up for people to get started on.


Before Pictures:








After Pictures:





1. Introduction:
I'm not a professional painter , nor do I claim to be, I'm just posting this because this is what worked for me and it came out ok.

So some people have seen my car in real life, noticing it's primed. I barely used enough, only 8 cans, yes I was going to do more to the prime stage, but figured it was temporary, this is just something for everyone to note that even you can come out with a decent rattle can job (if done right).

I re-primered my AE86 because the original prime was coming off, and some light surface rust. I'll show you what you can do to take this off.

I'll go through what you need and what is important, first off, I estimated I spent around $250 or less on all the materials, not sure to be exact but it was quite cheap. Yes you can take your car to Maaco but they don't do prep work, priming your car is a great thing to do before taking it to someone like them.

People who ask why I did this, it's because the state the car was in. It needed a re-prime. I'm writing this up for anyone who unfortunately has the same condition paint that I did.

Depending on your budget, you may go higher or lower, this is just what I found that worked. I don't have pictures of the materials I used (it's all in the garage, I'm lazy to take pics) so just make reference of what the stuff looks like and what fits your needs.

Under each section I posted what you need for that job just in case you forget. This should help you out if you are confused.


Note on Bondo:
I am not covering bondo as my car has no dents and/or bondo'd areas from the previous owner. I originally wanted to use some in light areas, but decided against it, bondo can crack and when used some people tend to over-do it and use it like a sculpting tool. Really trashy. In an ideal world I would weld metal to the body.

Work Overload.

I have too much on my plate. I need to slow down, it seems like I can never just have a steady flow, I always have a nonstop flow. On top of school and work, this is all the side stuff I have.


For example, this is how my weekend has gone.

Friday/Saturday Workout 11PM to 5AM
Saturday - Work 9AM-4PM
Saturday - Sleep til 8PM
Saturday - Design vinyl 9PM
Saturday - Workout 10PM-4AM
Sunday - Sleep 5AM
Sunday - Wake up 7AM
Sunday - Film shoot 9AM-3PM
Sunday - After/relax 4PM-6PM
Sunday - Sleep 6PM-10PM
Sunday - Workout 10PM-3AM
Monday - Class 12PM

Design
- 3 Full vinyl drift car designs
- Recreate my personal portfolio site
- Music CD cover design
- Music company design

Movies/Film
- Choreography for a movie
- Music video

Stickers.

I don't really put stickers on my car, but I started putting some on my computer, yeah I was hella bored. The smaller picture is the opposite side of the computer.

Gifts from the UK.

Alex (Treefish) brought me back some goodies from the UK. Starting with a Pantone Wallet. Yes, indeed, graphic design nerdy and great. Thanks!

He also brought back some paper "material". A calendar, stickers, and two car magazines ("FAST Car" and "MAX POWER"). Both are ridiculously ricey and filled with topless chicks (I don't mind that at all), but the cars are tasteless indeed.



And last but not least, an awesome new drift charm
(keychain for now), Detonator. Sweet.

The Garage

Haven't done much lately, thought I might take some pictures of the 86 in the garage. I'm planning on ripping the rest of the AC stuff out of the car since the lines have been cut. I also am ordering a new power steering belt so I can have powersteering on. I have a new head unit that needs to be installed for stereo music as well and I plan on ordering black later model interior door panels from some for sale thread on Club4ag. Other than that, nothing too dramatic. Just here and there things.

Hite, Crisp. Refreshing.

So I went to SuperH today, ate at the foodcourt, love the place. I picked up some usual drinks, Calpico. This time I decided to try out "hite" beer. It's actually light, crisp, and tasty, just like the label says....