[Gregski]

finally final preparations, seal off the work area, mop the floor to keep the dust from flying up, one last final wipe down with a tack cloth, and we're ready for show time, I tell ya this baby is soo clean you could ... well, spray paint it

[Gregski]

here are some action shots of the wet first coat of primer, all I can say is the best day to shoot primer in the winter is yesterday or tomorrow if you catch my drift, I tell ya the day before was glorious so I spent it buying the materials and driving around town like a pin head, the day of was border line too cold for shooting epoxy below 60 degreeish and the following day was warm again, go figure - I know, cry me a river is what all of you folks with the white powder on the grown are thinking

[Gregski]

here are some pictures of the primed rear end, I think I took these like a week later, I love the way it turned out, it looks so much better and more importantly it seals and protects the car way better than rattle cans would, (as far as pictures I am learning sometimes natural light is your friend sometimes your enemy, and shadows are better than bright sun light)

[Gregski]

My high school biology teacher used to say "There's never time to do it right, but there's always time to do it over" well Mr. Kelly was right.

With those words reverberating in my head I decided to grow a pair and remove the rear quarter extensions. Better late than never right? All that stood between me and them being off, were 3 bolts on the inside of the trunk and 1 phillips screw on the bottom on the outside.

Removing them allows us to examine the Amazing Goop that was used to plug up the trim holes, not bad actually, you can see how it rolled up like some toothpaste, but it's held on solid. I will shoot those when I spray the doors.

Question though, the back side seems like it has a groove for a rubber gasket, I wonder if mine are missing that piece and weather it's worth getting for the reassembly I would think so?

[BA98GT]

Damn, that's alot of work. Prolly gonna use this thread when I paint mine. I was going to wrap it, but I decided to got satin black paint instead

[Gregski]

Phase 1 - The Rusted Roof - COMPLETED

Phase 2 - The Trunk and Rear End - COMPLETED

Intermission: So you gotta ask, what's up with that stupid "Optimus Prime" title? Who's Optimus Prime? Well some of you may be too young to remember, other's too old, but to the rest of us Miami Vice, The A Team, and ... [wait for it] ... Transformer watching 80's generation, Optimus Prime was one bad @ss dude! He was an 18 wheeler semi truck that could change to a robot, yeah you heard me. LOL Those of you who know what I'm talking about give this post a bump, those of you who may have owned Optimus, two bumps, LOL

i like this picture of Optimus because he's all dirty looking kinda like my car started out not to mention he's blue and needs a paint job, I think his real color is red

[Countryboy_99]

bump

[Gregski]

Ladies and Gentlemen, from a suburb garage in California... The Doors!

[Gregski]

well here we go some more boring detail that must be done, all of you thinking, come on man really you're gonna show us every little part, those of you thinking that, ask yourself what happens when you forget to put the "little" spark plugs back in - nothing!

removing the armrest pads, that's not a screw driver it's a socket on the end, I thought it would have been a phillips screw but nope

[Gregski]

Still trying to get the door panels off, but first the inside door handle, and the window handle had to come off. Easy jobs but still had to be done.

Note: If possible I put the screws / bolts back into their original locations instead of zip loc bags or cardboard boxes, makes re assembly that much easier.

[Gregski]

Finally the door panel is off, let's see what lurks under it?

Right away I notice the black ugly sticky hardened goop that will have to come off. Question is how will I do that?

Notice I don't gorilla anything, although I am making a promise to myself that this baby will get all BRAND NEW interior, (and I hope you help me keep that promise when I try to cheap out, and oh I will try, lol) nothing is just ripped off or destroyed, who knows someone may want those pieces, and or I may use them for something like templates, or vinyl paint practice, etc. Good idea to keep everything around in as good of a condition as you can, it's also good practice for removing the new pieces later and reinstalling them. You want to practice good habits. Otherwise installation becomes no longer the reversal of uninstallation.

[Gregski]

well to do things right the doors had to come off, here's how I did it alone, using nothing but some love juice, a 1/2 inch socket, and a ratchet... oh yeah a jack and a block of wood (optional)

by the way I bought this jack at COSTCO and I love it, it is awesome low and sturdy

[Gregski]

Um ok that's nice, but how do we know you did the other side? And can we see that jack trick again.

... for crying out loud!

[Gregski]

There is sure a lot of bits on these doors. Some used bits will find their way back on the doors, others such as the weatherstripping will get replace with brand new bits.

Here I remove the weatherstrip and the door window rear upper seal, (say that ten times fast!) lol

I keep all the small parts even if they are going to be replaced with new ones just so I know what to order later.

[Gregski]

OK, a few more things, removed the screws from the door latch and just shoved it inside the door. Then I had to cut the rubber door bumpers off using a box cutter after trying to pry them out with a flat screw driver to no avail, they are just too brittle and stubborn to come out. After that it was time to go to town with a 4 inch wire wheel on my cheapo angle grinder.

[v606er]

This is a fascinating thread. I didn't read it, but I got the jist from the pictures. I'll have to come back when I have a bit more time.


Keep it up!

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by v606er This is a fascinating thread. I didn't read it, ...

I don't read it either, maybe I should, lol, jk

[ChrisJ]

Nice

[Gregski]

Tired of sanding around the door handles I decided it was time for them to come off. Each door handle was held on by a deceivingly long phillips screw and a 3/8 nut inside the door. A little WD40 on the cotter pin and the handle was off, oh yeah and yes i lost the cotter pin that held the rod to the handle, when it went flying accross the driveway in the dark, no worries you usually wanna replace cotter pins anyway (at least that's what keep telling myself).

[Gregski]

Tired of sanding around the door handles I decided it was time for them to come off. Each door handle was held on by a deceivingly long phillips screw and a 3/8 nut inside the door. A little WD40 on the cotter pin and the handle was off, oh yeah and yes i lost the cotter pin that held the rod to the handle, when it went flying accross the driveway in the dark, no worries you usually wanna replace cotter pins anyway (at least that's what keep telling myself).