BUILD-OFF CHALLENGE: Dirty Cossack's Build Options

[JoeDees]

Pics of the other side of hell.

[JoeDees]

Is it crazy that after I drilled out and cut around the cover, the post ripped off wih a few quick blows with the rubber mallet?

[Andyrew]

Sorry to hear about your health issues! Hopefully it doesnt impact your career...

[mbseto]

Shelf looks good. Hope they can do something good with the shoulder.

[JoeDees]

Shop soundtrack: Euro 2016 Final (Sunday), some MLB, and my rockabilly Pandora station.

Doesn't seem like the most productive weekend if you just go by picture quantity, but I think it was a good one none the less. I had some more cancerous metal to remove on the driver side jack point, and since I knew I was removing a layer at a seam I decided to install my car dolly to use as support to prevent sagging: the dolly in the center + rotisserie holding ends + door braces seemed to hold it square, not that I think I really removed enough to truly endanger a sag. I started by using that Eastwood green stuff inside the longs (that shit is nasty, wear long sleeves, gloves, and a face shield), then went into cutting out a difficult area. Treated some rust with naval jelly, weld thru primed etc wasting time before I used the under-coating gun and hose to spray the eastwood heavy duty anti-rust in the long (see note above about nasty and getting everywhere). My pre-inspection with an old web cam showed very minimal rust, and my post inspection shows I got good coverage.

Sunday started with taking the dog to the dogpark since she was running like a nut in the house and backyard, but when we got there she chilled...then when we got home it was back to crazy...a harbinger of the day to come... In the garage I used Saturday's paper model and 18 gauge sheet to finish fabricating the patch. It took a while because some areas were almost impossible to reach and the cuts on the car were all kinds of crooked. Got it fit, plug weld holes drilled, cleaned, prepped and weld-thru primed (I turn into a really impatient kid while I wait the prescribed time for that stuff to dry) and welded on little bits at a time to prevent heat warping the area. Due to the cuts' nature and old metal removal style, not to mention trying an experimental welding technique that in some areas was a cross between plug and seam I didn't get the prettiest of seam at the rear or bottom (should have waited and done the bottom after bringing it back on the rotisserie--who likes overhead welding?) but I got good penetration and strong welds so whatever. In the crazy category I got great penetration and a good weld seam at the top where I had to play contortionist, line up a spot and close my eyes and turn my head since I couldn't get the helmet into that fender space area and still have the reach and depth perception to line up a weld. One really little spot at a time and good to go. I even had to half blindly grind that weld with the little Dremel grinding disk yet somehow it turned out looking pretty good. The whole area was awkward to grind and part turned out really nice and the other needing a little filler...whatever, better than overgrinding here. As you can see I have fully committed to deleting the jack posts: both sides now.

Now for the weird: with just minutes left before family dinner time I decided to start on that door sill patch. I reached into the scrap metal box and pulled out a little rectangle, perfect fit. It needed a centimeter trimmed off the end, one edge was the natural edge of the sheet (read: straight cut) but the other two were a little crooked/wobbly/whatever you call it, just so happens that these previous crooked cuts were the exact crookedness of the doorsill's crooked cuts!!! Go figure. Worked about 5 minutes drilling the plugweld holes and shaping the end for the jamb overlap (more serendipity in that the little crook was the exact size of a little crook on the anvil so super easy to shape); cleaned it up and sprayed the weld thru just as dinner was served. So welding will be job #1 next weekend.

Random product note: I got sick of paying $30 a can for weld-thru primer that always clogged up, sprayed poorly or whatnot so I thought I'd try the Eastwood stuff. Had it for at least the last month's worth of work and the can still sprays perfectly and it seems to weld-thru at least as good as the 3M or Copperweld. I'll recommend.

[JoeDees]

Saturday 16 July.

A good day in the shop. I started the day figuring I would quickly fix up the door sill, then fab the jamb, fix a little rust spot on the firewall, and then remove all that nasty foam and seam sealer up in the sail and rear quarter. Like I thought, the door sill was a quick and easy fix and the fabrication of the jamb took some thinking and work due to the nature of the curves. However, I hit a wall with that "little rust hole" in the firewall. As you can see from the photos, I had to do some cutting. Now I will admit that I cut a little more than necessary, but why not. Finished the day playing with wire wheels and rust treatments, leaving the fabrication and welding for the next day.

[JoeDees]

Sunday. Shop soundtrack: Ramones discography.

It was a really straightforward day, the biggest challenge was using scrap pieces of sheetmetal prudently. Step 1 was just cutting some metal and welding it into the holes in the floor. Step 2 was to make the 3 firewall patch pieces. 3 was the weld-thru primer. 4 welds. 5 be lazy grinding.

The floor stuff was simple, and the firewall pieces weren't that bad considering I learned the tricks when I did the other side, but this side was harder since I had to work around the e-brake cable holes, and I had the floor in. At some point in the afternoon my soundtrack ran out as did my patience so I gave up on the grinding. It's a really tough area and may require the Dremel to really get the welds ground down, but I also know that I didn't get the pieces perfectly lined up so it will never be perfect. I figure I'll reevaluate next week and decide what to do...because my attitude today is thinking: "it'll all be slathered in seamsealer and hidden behind the backpad anyways..." Attention to detail, just didn't have it today.

I also didn't get around to the foam removal, which considering my attitude is probably a good thing.

I forgot to mention that Saturday's rust discovery resulted in also having to remove the e-brake cable guide. It's not really rusted but the stuff behind it had a little surface rust killed by the wire wheel.

[914forme]

Sunday. Shop soundtrack: Ramones discography.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/aktion035.gif)

Looking good, keep it up, I am shocked your jack post as all wormed up, but the logs behind faired pretty well.

How was the Eastwood stuff to shoot into the inner logs, worth doing or just made a huge mess?

[JoeDees]

It was a huge mess but seemed to spread and cover pretty well. It wasn't too hard to feed the little hose into the long either. Honestly, that green stuff in the rattle can was 100x easier than the undercoating gun. I guess I'd recommend it.

[JoeDees]

Shop soundtrack: My Pandora psychobilly station

It was a good but painful day in the shop--this shoulder is killing me.

I started the day welding up the dimples and holes from when I drilled out the spotwelds on the parking brake cable guide. I then cleaned the area up some more and applied Rust Bullet where I won't be welding and not be able to get later; and after it dried I applied some weld-thru primer where I will weld. Tomorrow will be some seam sealer on the floor/long lip underneath the cable guide and maybe welding (I realized today that I am extremely low on welding gas so who knows).

While waiting for the paint I kept myself busy removing the foam and seam sealer from the rear corner (it looks good back in there!) And then started to remove the stuff up in the jamb/sail panel. This is where it killed my shoulder chipping it out. I couldn't quite get it all and my shoulder was throbbing so I thought about just quitting and leaving a bunch there, but I noticed some rust peaking out. I knew the only real option I had was to cut an exploratory hole in the sail--and I hit pay dirt (rust). I used the hole to get the seam sealer out of there and found that I also had to drill a hole on top of the fender to really get all of it out. The rust I found required the sail panel hole to be cut a little more but it allowed me to use the sand blaster to get the surface stuff that was left in there. I sanded the surface rust that dwelled where that long strip of foam was, and when I was satisfied with the results I osphoed the whole region.

The plan moving forward is to clean up the ospho residue, weld up the holes and trim holes, get some paint up in there and eventually seal up the seams. My lack of welding gas may delay the process, so tomorrow will be welding prep and maybe the removal of some other random car pieces or moving on to the frunk seal channel.

[JoeDees]

Whoa, I just noticed that the angle on the first pic shows that the one end of my firewall patch wasn't exactly lined up... I guess that really was a bad day.

[914forme]

I did not see that until you pointed it out. We love to judge our own work to a level higher than most others would hold us accountable for.

Keep up the great work, if that is the worse thing you did while saving this 914 then well, I can easily turn a blind eye to it.

[JoeDees]

Shop soundtrack: 3M: Motorhead, Metallica, Megadeth.

Nothing really picture worthy today. I applied that seam sealer to the area under the e-brake cable guide, fabricated the pieces I'll weld in next weekend, took the wire wheel to the frunk seal channel, removed the shifter/shift rod, heat control lever, remaining brake lines, all of the cables but speedo, and explored the driver-side hell-hole (I think I got this car just in time, it's starting to rust in there, but not bad enough that I'll need to do any cutting/welding).

After that stuff I stopped and started thinking (yeah I know that's where trouble starts). Tuesday is judgement day of sorts; I go back to the ortho surgeon for my shoulder and essentially learn whether it will get fixed or if it's a lost cause. This news is even bigger than just that because it decides my employment future in that inoperable = medical discharge (there's a whole lot more to that and how it affects moving and getting certified to teach high school---okay it's a long story of if thens). If I'm getting surgery, that shuts down the shop for a while. You can see how complicated and big Tuesday is. It means I have either 6-9 or 11 months before I move. I'll have a lot of decisions to make next week regarding the build: do I shut down the build and start prepping it to move on my trailer? Do I double down on the build and strip everything that's left: dash, front suspension, windshield, harness and blast the entire car (hell, I've already gone way farther in this build than I planned to) or do I wait to do that after I move? When I move should I plan on my open trailer or stick it in a uhaul? Should I push to get paint on it before moving, or prime and wait to paint? If I go for blasting, do I buy a big blaster and make a tent, or use the place in town?

As you can see I'm rife with questions going into this appointment. And may the lesson be heard, this is what happens on a shop day when you run out of welding gas... so keep an eye on that gauge.

[Vysoc]

Love the music thing, Mega Bands yesterday.

Keep up the good work, my favorite work album is Terapin Station / Grateful Dead!!!

Hope your shoulder starts to give you a break!

Vysoc (IMG:style_emoticons/default/flag.gif)

[JoeDees]

Well, the surgeon still won't touch the shoulder... so we'll see what happens at my primary care follow up.

[JoeDees]

I'm taking the weekend off to hang out with the new dog and get her and the cat to get along. This is Laika:

[tygaboy]

I'm taking the weekend off to hang out with the new dog and get her and the cat to get along. This is Laika:

Whippet (real good!) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sunglasses.gif)
Cool pups, them.

[Vysoc]

Is that a whippet or a retired Greyhound?

Vysoc (IMG:style_emoticons/default/flag.gif)

[JoeDees]

She's a retired racer with many races and wins under her belt, but I think she may have to go back to the rescue. We absolutely cannot get her to get along with the cat. They told us she was cat friendly, but she just want to chase and eat.

[JoeDees]

I guess it's as good of a time as any to make the announcement: This build may be on a long-term hold...

Long story short: Our dog Muttley (not the greyhound) got sick and spent a week at the vet. She was first at one vet who then recommended us to another larger facility in Tucson. After several negative tests for Valley Fever a doggy neurologist got involved and x-rays, CT scans and a spinal tap finally found that she is suffering from meningitis. Treatment involves a long term regimen of steroids. She finally came home yesterday and her prognosis is good for recovery. BTW, a dog high on a fentanyl patch is funny. Anyways, the experience has cost us a little over 2 months pay, resulting in the near draining of our primary (emergency) savings account, selling some stocks from our long-term (future house downpayment) savings, and sadly the draining of my 914 account, all with more bills for the medicine on the horizon. So I have no money to really continue, though I guess I can weld until I run out of gas/wire, grind until the disks are dead, etc. But as far as buying anything, I'm done until we replenish the savings account. I'm also thinking it best to wait until the dog recovers some before I start getting loud in the garage again. I've got some stuff to do to the 914, but most likely I will finish the metal work, spray some of the cheap primer over the bare spots and prep the car for next year's move since I won't be able to paint it for a while and it will be easier to paint at my old Kentucky home anyways.

The stress and hardships have also exacerbated the above hinted at issues with the new greyhound. The other dog's illness put a serious dent in the critical time period for the proper cat-dog intros and getting them to live together. The sick dog has also affected the greyhound's socialization with the family and she is extremely jealous of the necessary attention the invalid is getting and won't let the already non-eating dog eat. This is why my wife wants to exchange her for a more cat friendly and laid-back greyhound. I want to keep working with her, but convincing the wife to do so is hard.