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Well, last day I'll be able to work on the car until at least next Sunday,
so I figured I should make the best of it. Grabbed the camera from the mother in law and off I went.
Showed up to the garage only to find that my cousin had taken back his palm
sander. So, I went over to his place to see what was up. He needs to use it tomorrow so I couldn't use it.
Dam, I thought, I was gonna spend a couple quality hours sanding again. Instead I went back to the garage to tidy up
a couple of things.
First I took a couple of pics of progress so far, with the door mostly down
to bare metal and a little bit started on the rear quarter panel. Then I took a couple of my breather assembly, and
interior rocker covers which I had painted a while ago...and I couldn't remember if I already had pictures of them.
Then, since the wires on my distributer kit were a little short
and tight, I made up a couple of extentions. I had these out there since we started the body
work, I was just too busy to put them on. Tonite was the perfect nite for that. After I fixed that up, I re-routed
the wire for my tach, which I wired a while ago, to where it was run before. So now my wiring is a bit more tidy than
it was before tonite. I finished that up and thought I better make sure that it still ran and the tach still worked,
so I fired 'er up for a couple seconds. At first I thought the battery was dead, or I had fubar'd something...it
just went click and the buzzer wasn't going or anything. Then I wiggled the connections a little bit and tried again,
and away she went, thank goodness.
So I had wasted about 1 1/2 hours of dicking around (including all
travel time). Looked at the clock and it was only 9:00, so I thought I'd try a little sanding by hand. I have
to finish sanding around the door handle and lock, so I started there. It's a little tight with the palm sander, because
the velcro backing was messed up so I had to hold it flat with a lot of pressure. So I tried first with some 60grit
to get down through some of the heavy layers. Then I started with some 150grit, which works wonderfully with the
sander, but not so well by hand, or with a sanding block, so I said screw it. Took out some 40 grit, and started at
the quarter panel. I figure once I get out and get the sander again, I'll be able to take the 150 and zip right over
it.
I had someone comment on the fact I shouldn't sand it down to bare metal
without putting primer or some sealent on it right away. The car is in a dry insulated garage and it will need a quick
sand and cleaning before we start priming anyway so it's all good. I sanded it down to bare metal and even 3 days later
still no sign of rust, even where the rust was before. Thumbs up.
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A couple days after the fact, I bought some more sand paper and masks
on Friday. Headed out and finally got there at 9pm. Even tho I should've quit at 11, I kept going till 12.
I got most of the door done and started on the fender. Just taking my time, sanding away. Nothing special to report...still
no pics...just a small pointless update...
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Oh sanding is great fun...I'm gonna have to invest in a mask, haha.
Yes I already knew that, but just confirmed it tonite. Since I'm a little broke till payday (Friday), I didn't have
enough cash to get a mask just some sanding discs. But really it all started last nite...
My original plan was to go visit with my cousin Dan, who's palm sander I'm
borrowing, and then go work on the car for an hour or so, and be home by 10:30 ish. I went and visited with Dan for
about an hour (showed up at 8pm), then went over to see the car. I got everything organized, started to sand the passenger
side door, and my brother in law came in from feeding the horses (about 9:30). Well I ended up talking to him for an
hour, looked at my watch and told him I should really get some work done before I had to go home. So after he left,
I got in about 30 mins of sanding. It was a good nite, just didn't get a whole lot of anything done.
Today I figured I'd go pick up some sanding discs, so I wouldn't use up
all of my cousin's. A bit of running around and I finally found a place that sold the right size. I looked at
my gas gauge, which is fairly low...but my gas light hasn't come on yet, so I figured I should be good. I figured if
I could get out, I'd go work on the car some more and spend some quality time sanding. Which I did. I took a bit
of time off this afternoon, and found out my insurance is going down aproximately $15/month starting next month. Did
some shopping with the family, then came home and put the kids to bed. Then out I went...two hours later I got the passenger
door mostly scuffed off. I need some finer grit for it now. I'll pick that up on Friday, along with some masks,
and I'll be all set...it's gonna take a lot of work, luckily my time is free, and I don't mind taking my time to do it.
By the way, I still haven't got my pics back yet...hopefully soon.
The wife borrowed the camera again to take pics of the kids so it hasn't even been at the mother in law's long enough for
her to even think of sending them...I'm thinking of just borrowing the cord and plugging it into my computer, jeez.
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Alrite, so Monday nite turned out to be Tuesday nite. After a little
bargining with the wifey, I got away with going out...So Chad shows up late as per usual, haha, which was ok, just meant I
didn't have to stall him as long. So we headed out around 6:45, picked up the camera at the mother in laws along the
way, and got out there about 7:10 or so. We got everything organized and then Chad broke out the grinder. He took
to the back of the car, where the make shift lip to hold the weatherstripping for the liftback was. Got that outta the
way, and then as I was taking off a piece of metal that sits above the bumper, Chad went ahead and started into the passenger
side quarter panel wheel well...it's gonna take a bit. Good news is that it's not much worse than he thought it would
be. After some more grinding away of the bondo, he found a patch that was put in at the front of the wheel well.
He grinded some more on the door where there was a dent at one point and was...guess what...bondo'd over. The rocker
on the passenger side is actually in fairly decent shape except the jacking point. Of course the rear corner had been
beat up. It had a patch with about an inch of bondo, seriously, to smooth it over. (once I get pics you will see).
As Chad was doing that I was sanding down the weatherstripping lip...with
the little bit of sand paper I had. The other quarter panel is pretty much good, but drivers side rocker is in
some serious need of repair. Quite a bit of rebuilding required there, but it can be done. A lot of hours to put
in sanding and such tho, which is alrite, I can go and do that on my own now that we have an idea what we're up against.
Little bit of bad news...it seems, due to lack of funds, that the project
won't be done by spring...maybe late late spring (June). Paint may not be the exact colour I want, if I can get something
similar or something else that I'd like that could be cheaper I may just do it. I'm still hoping to have it on the road
for summer, but still got kids to feed and put a roof over their head. I was sorta freakin' last nite about it, but
I got over it, and figured it out...be about $200-300 more than what I had planned so it's not as bad as I originally thought
last nite. If worse comes to worse...there's always next summer to shoot for. Feed kids and wifey first...then
me...then the car.
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No work to report, but a plan for work. After finally being able to
arrage some time for Chad to come out and help start the body work...and some tough negotiating with the wifey, we got something
half-assed arranged. Monday, after I'm done work and supper, we should be good to go. We'll start grinding away...which
is rather frightening to think about, but it has to be done. Other than that, I finally got the pics of my rims...now
I should finish cleaning them up and clear coat them...I should also finish putting my bumper back together...so much to do,
luckily I got lotz of time to do it. Wheels can be done within a week, if I started to work on them, bumper could be
done in less than an hour, just taking the time to do it right now is hard with so much confusion going on...can't wait to
get the body work done...
Oh, and I'll be borrowing the mother in law's camera again, taking lots
of pics of the grinding and rebuilding process. Since she had her computer revamped inside, and now has it working again,
I can rely on her to send the pics quicker than 2 months after the fact. Hopefully have some up by mid-late next week...plus
a real update!
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Just another quick update, that I sorta forgot about. I did get around
to trying to find out how much my exhaust would be, and the best guess-timate was between $200 - $250 (plus suppling my
own muffler). That was for 2 1/4" pipe front to back. It probably won't be that much, but just in case, because
it has to be custom built and hung. Of course that'll be one of the last things to be done, but it's always good
to plan expenses in advance so I can have the cash to do it. All is good.
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Not much to report, just thought I'd do a little promoting. Chad finally
got his ass in gear, in a way, and got his business back on the go. Well, it's not his same old business...but rather
something new. "Auto Upgrade" has now become "STAFF AUTO".
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Well it's about f'ing time that the right part finally came in the box of
my distributer kit. Actually, the guy who ordered it was talking directly to the guy in the warehouse...they found 2
more wrongly packaged, but did end up finding 3 properly packaged one.
So, yeah, it finally came today...and may I say, it definately doesn't look worth what it cost me. As I found out tonite
tho, looks aren't everything. After help from a mechanic at work again this afternoon, we got it installed in the distributer...it
was pretty straight forward but I couldn't get one of the screws out.
Got the kids off to bed and went out to see how it'd work. Put the
distributer in, hooked up the new wires to their proper spot on the coil, poured a little gas in the carb, and fired it up.
It cranked over a couple times, and I couldn't figure out why it sounded like something was sparking...then I clued it.
I had taken the wire from the coil to the distributer off when I took the ignition assembly/coil off to double check everything.
So I plugged the wire back it, turned the key, and it almost instantly fired up, not even one complete crank.
Now that I knew it ran, I thought I'd see if it ran any better than before.
It seemed to but I wanted to make sure and run it a bit longer. So I put some more gas down the carb, and started it
back up. It seems to run twice as good now. Not too mention cleaner! It used to smell like an old snowmobile
sorta, with that only half burned fuel smell, and it got really cloudy in the shop, even with all the doors wide open.
This time I had the doors open, but as I was running it the one door closed, and the other door closed half way...and it wasn't
cloudy at all.
In the end, even tho it didn't look worth the $193+tax that it cost me,
it not only makes the car more reliable over long trips, it runs much better too. Money well spent in my opinion.
Since that only took about 1/2 hour all in all, I figured I should do a
couple other things too. I checked out my interior rocker covers to see how the paint turned out on them...and actually
it wasn't too bad, considering I thought I'd have to sand them down and do them again...I think I can actually live with them
like that. I also finished painting my air cleaner parts...now it's all gloss black, and looks pretty decent, if I do
say so myself. I squeezed every last drop I could outta that can of paint to finish it, but I ended up with just enough.
I also want to see if I can get a guess-timate as to how much my exhaust
is going to end up costing me. I figured I'd take what is left off, and go to the exhaust shop tomorrow. Wow,
my hands are pretty cut up now, haha...and my back hurts. Of course that's because I'm an idiot. I had some rust
penetration spray, but I forgot all about it. The first two nuts came off with relative ease, but the last one was being
a complete bitch. So, after fighting with it for 1/2 to 3/4 of an hour, I finally remembered about the spray.
Sprayed it on, wiggled the nut back and forth a couple times, and then it came off...easier than the other two. I couldn't
believe how stupid it was not to think of that earlier...but ah well, what can ya do. Then I had to go under the car
because there was one hanger left attached. Luckily I didn't really have to take any bolts out to get it off.
I just had to wiggle the clamp a little bit, and it fell off. So now I can go to the shop and see how much cash-ola
I have to save to get some 2.5" made up...I might only go with 2.0" depending on cost difference, but we'll see.
now if you excuse me I have to go soak my hands in some soapy hot water...I
think it's gonna sting...haha
Back to the Top
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Well after ordering my distributer conversion kit on Tuesday...Wednesday,
the company sent a box with the proper part number and description, but inside were two lock cylinders and two keys, so had
it sent back and re-ordered. Thursday rolls around...same dam thing happens, proper number and description, but inside
once again, two lock cylinders and two keys. So we reordered it, again! Friday afternoon rolls around, just itching
for it to come in, figuring 3rd times a charm...nope, once again same thing. Now I'm just laughing because it's so rediculous,
and my supplier is pissed off because he's been telling them to double check the box before they send it out. Hopefully
Monday, I'll get the right part.
Other than that, went out to my parents on Friday nite. I bought a
can of paint for vinyls and plastics, because my interior rocker covers had paint on it from the last piss poor body job.
I hope they turned out ok, I just left them to dry after I was pissed off because the fish eye's wouldn't go away. I'll
check them next time I go out, might have to resand them down and try a different approach. I also sanded down the bottom
part of my air cleaner and re-painted it, just about have that all done. All these little minor details take a lot of
time to sand them down and clean them up nice...hopefully the end result will look good tho.
Picture update : the mother in law's computer broke, and she can't find
the program for the digi-cam, arggggg. So, anyway, sorry bout the lack of pics, should be getting it up and going soon
(within a week....I hope).
Back to the Top
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I got my back-up switch in today...Dam near $50 after taxes and everything.
I also ordered a distributer electronic conversion kit...Dam near $250 after taxes. OUCH! But the car will be
more reliable for longer trips...say to T.O. to see the guys from Celispeed.com...or Barrie to visit some old friends. Thankfully, I have an account at
work...interest free, and payments are only $50/two weeks.
So, I went out and plugged my switch in, tested it, and then screwed
it back into the hole. Thankfully I had fixed all the wiring last time so it was a simple plug and play. Then
my sister dropped in for a visit. I double checked that it was still working...and after about 45 mins of talking to
my sister, I got back at thinking about what else to do tonite...since I didn't want to waste the trip, as my gas light was
on to begin with, haha.
I decided, since I had already painted the top of my air cleaner, I should
paint the rest of it as well. I started to sand down one of the pieces...and continued to sand...and then sanded some
more. Finally it was satisfactory to be painted. Good thing too, because my fingers were taking quite a beating
from all the little corners and edges. In all it took about 45 mins...and it seemed like I got shit all done...but ah
well, got me outta the house and I had some time well spent with my 2 yr old again :)
Back to the Top
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Well, back at 'er tonite. Double checked where the back-up light switch
would be located and how to test it with a mechanic at work today. So that was the scheduled activity, haha.
So after the kids were all in bed out I went. I first crawled under the car and found what I figured to be the switch...then
I decided I needed more room. Without the big jack or jack stands I had to improvise a little. Out came the ol'
little jack from my Subaru, and I used the spare tire with a concrete block on top of it as my jack stand. Don't worry
I tested and shook the car to make sure the car wouldn't fall on me.
Anyway, I crawled back under the car and double checked the wire colours.
Then I climbed back out, and checked my wiring diagram, and plugged in my test light. After testing the wires to see
which was power to and power from the switch. The connectors seemed quite dirty, along with the switch. So
I cut the old connectors off (after making sure I had the right size of connectors there with me). I connected the two
wires to make sure that all the wires were good, and they are. Lights light up fine when wires are connected.
So I took the switch out and cleaned it up. Then I re-tested the switch. Still didn't work.
I cleaned up both wires...unfortunately I had to cut and add some extra
wire to one of them...which made my job even longer. But now, once I get my new switch, all I have to do is screw it
in, and plug it in and it should just work fine.
Another two hours well spent...I know it doesn't seem like a lot accomplished
in two hours, but probably 1/2 hour was dicking around trying to figure out how to get the car jacked up safely...and I found
out it's very difficult to cut/strip wires and crimp new connectors upside down in a very cramped space, haha. Ah well,
at least my time is free :)
Back to the Top
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Alrite, so it seems like I haven't worked on the car in almost a month.
This isn't completely true. I have been out 5 times this past week. Chad's been busy so I decided to get
my ass in gear and try to do some shit by myself...sounds risky I know, lol, but still. So, I talked to the mechanics
at work (last friday), and they sorta gave me an idea where to start. Checked the coil...I couldn't get it to work,
so I went back on saturday and asked for some more detailed instructions to make sure I was doing it correctly. I also
ordered new plugs (NGK Platnium) and new NGK wires.
Monday, I got my new plugs and wires. I went out Monday night and
plugged in the new wires/plugs, and still had no spark. So I re-tested the coil and still couldn't get the it
to work...so I took it apart and brought the coil in to work on Tuesday. Turns out the way I was told to test it
wasn't going to work because it has such a low output of spark. We found this out by testing the new coil, and still
not getting any spark. So we tested it a different way, and got spark. So now we know that everything before the
coil is good.
Went out Wednesday night, cleaned up the coil and assembly and put it
back in. So it's not the coil, or before, and it's not the wires or plugs...leaving only the distributer. After
testing it, it didn't work. So I thought I better bring it into work Thursday, because of my previous testing experiances.
I did test it correctly this time though.
Thursday I brought it into work. Showed it to one of the mechanics.
He took a look at it, and said it should be working. It has the old points system in it. He took it apart
and cleaned up the points. Put it back together and told me to try it, it should definitely be good now. So I
rushed out Thursday night, pretty hyped. Lined up all my marks that I had made, put the distributer back in, hooked
up all the wires, plugged everything. Poured a little gas down the carb. Turned 'er over...vrr...vrrr...VROOOM!
Started up, just like new. I was so excited. I felt relieved after all the back and forth travelling, and finding
out that it should run...and the only thing that was actually wrong was a little bit of dirt.
That's not all I did of course, I didn't want to waste my gas for 1/2 an
hour of work. I took some time, sanded down the air cleaner lid, and repainted it...looks pretty good. I also
finally fixed my headliner properly. It doesn't look so great, but it'll do...like I've been trying to keep in the back
of my mind...this is just starting, I have lots of time to fix everything, and it doesn't need to be done all at once...just
get it on the road.
I also picked up the Hayne's manual for the car from Rick @ ToyheadAuto.com. So I figured I would read up on some wiring diagrams and figure out why
the tach wasn't working, and the reverse lights weren't working. While I was out Thursday night, I tested the tach
by running a ground wire from the ignition to the back of the tach. Found out that it does work, but then it was
time to go home to bed. After further examining the wiring diagrams through the day, and finding out what possible
problems would be, I went out again Friday night. I forgot to borrow a test light from someone at work on Friday.
So, while I was out buying some wire and connectors, I broke down and spent the $12 on one that will be good enough for
anything I need to do. I tested the ground wire from the ignition in serveral spots, and tried to figure out why
there was an extra wire spliced in behind the dash. That completely boggled me, but I'm not going to worry about it
for now, because I know everything ran fine before so I'm just going to leave it...for now. Anyway, I narrowed it down,
and there was something wrong with the wire, from where it connected to the wire off the ignition ground, and the back of
the tach. I tested where it was spliced also, and found out that wasn't the problem. So I ran a new wire, hooked
it up where the splice was (because I didn't have the proper connecter to go all the way to the back of the tach). Made
sure the wire was run properly and neatly. Hooked it all up, and started 'er back up, and the tach works fine now.
I'm gonna have to re-run the wire a little bit, I just didn't have a strong enough coathanger to run it where I
needed to...minor detail, hahaha.
I took a quick look and test the wires for the reverse lights...I'm gonna
have to do more indepth another day. Had to go home to bed and get some sleep so I could work Saturday (today) again.
That's my next step for myself, to get those lights working, until Chad gets some time to get me his grinder, and show me
what he needs done, and how it needs to be done. I think the reverse light problem might be in the switch...which
may some tracking down. Thank goodness I "invested" in a good work light, (thanx dan).
That's all for now, but hopefully I can get out and work on it more, now
that I have some guidance at do-it-yourself stuff (ie. hayne's manual). Plus those handy-dandy wiring diagrams!!
Back to the Top
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FINALLY, something to write about. In short, there's good news and bad news.
Since no one likes to hear bad news first, I'll let you know that, unlike I previously
thought, my brakes are in good shape...Actually great shape. They look like they were just done before I picked it up.
Back brakes are about 65%. Front brakes are almost brand new. The rotors and drums just need to have the
little bit of rust buffed off, and they'll be set. Well, I still have to do brake lines, but that's not expensive so
I can live with that, haha!
Now the bad news, she's got no spark. Crank over like a sonofabitch, and
we couldn't figure out why it wouldn't fire. We pulled a plug to check for spark, and no such luck. Unfortunately
we didn't have a test light with us, or one close to where we were...so next time that will be the first thing to work on.
The sludgy oil was 1.5L low, replaced with just some cheap 5w30 for a flush.
I will put in some good quality oil before she heads down the road. Also replaced the coolant which was also quite low...it
will also be changed again before she goes down the road. Of course we have to get it running for a while, and get it
circulating some.
Altho we started out a little late, (Chad slept in, the bastard! LOL!), once we
got going, Chad found out that wearing latax gloves work good when you don't have any hand cleaner...of course he didn't want
to wear them until after he seen my hands were clean and his were all dirty. (sorry Chad, you gave me the idea of
putting this in here) Back to the Top
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Alright, well since it's been just short of a month with no updates, I thought
I'd let everyone know. I am still alive, and doing well...busy as all hell tho. It looks like work will be
haulted until the New Year. With Christmas right around the bend, times are busy. Wifey at a new job, working
most nites, and most saturdays too, me working full time mon-fri 8-5. I've gone pretty much as far as I can go on my
own. Chad works full time too and he has a some car work backlogged also, although he has gaurenteed me that she
will still be ready for spring, which I have full faith! Cash for Christmas will certainly help along the way too :)
If anything does happen, I will definately still keep everyone posted!
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I was told to take my 2 yr old daughter away for the night so my wifey could get some cleaning done in peace. So
back out to the car. I got the digi-cam tonite, so I will have more pics posted in the very near future, (supposed to
be emailed to me tonite, or tomorrow). Well after emptying out the whole car to take pics of all the pieces that have
been removed, my dad showed up, and said, "let's move the car some, so I can fit something else in here." This
was previously part of our agreement, so I had no problems. He said he'd be back in 30mins, and would help me push it
then. I was done taking pics, so I started loading everything back into the car. Anything that wasn't in or on
the car, was set aside. Whilest waiting on my father's return...I decided something needed to be done...
I decided to start ripping off exterior panels...I figured what the hell, they'd have to come off sometime anyway...so
it was time to figure how easy...or difficult...it was going to be to take the fenders off. at least 5 off the 10
bolts holding the drivers side on were easy to get off...the others would've been easier with proper tools...but meh, I live
with what I got, haha, and vice grips are very handy. I ended up braking some metal... aka rust...that will need to
be fixed...but ah well. Of course while I'm in the middle of trying to get some stubborn bolts out, dad shows up.
So one bolt gets put back in a little so nothing will be dragging, and we push the car full of parts around some. Flat
tires make this a little more difficult, but we got over it.
After my dad, daughter and myself had a little break, it was back to work. Dad went home, and I got the last
tight bolt out to take the first fender off! Wow, how thrilling. oh but wait, there's a light in the fender...dammit!
ah well, a crappy wiring job someone did can be easily ripped apart. Alrite, on to the other side. Same as
the previous, a couple extra bolts (holding it to the rocker that was missing on the drivers side), and I forgot that I needed
to remove the corner light. My daughter, now starting to finally get tired, starts getting into things that she's not
supposed to...so I quickly take off the 3 nuts holding the light to the fender, and pull the fender off...a couple quick pics,
and we were outta there.
I can say one thing tho, it finally actually looks like this is going somewhere. Parts piled high inside the car,
on top of the roof, interior panels on the hood, fenders on the trunk...it looks like a good parts car for someone, haha!! SEE PICS HERE!!
Oh and by the way, I also had a friend from the states offer to send me an original "LIFTBACK" emblem, and the road and
track review of the '76 Liftback (dam near identical to the '77). I'm gonna have to update my stats and such on my info
page...so much to do, so little time...
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Didn't really feel like workin on the car today, but didn't figure I'd waste a trip out my parents way just sittin around.
So, back to work it was...turned out not too bad. I fixed the drivers door lock...the one rod was disconnected, quick
fix. I decided, while I was working on the doors, to remove the trim piece along the outside edge of the window...fairly
easy, just had to drill some rusted screws...I'm gonna go broke replacing little stupid screws, but ah well, such is life
haha!
I wasn't sure what to do, I didn't want to do any heavy lifting, because I was lazy today. So walking around, I
thought maybe I'd start ripping more of the front end apart...well actually I just wanted to get the dented corner pieces
off the front...easier said than done. The grille, apparently is overtop of the headlight "covers" (not really covers
but easiest word to describe them). The headlight covers are overtop of the metal piece I was trying to get out, and
I didn't have to remove the corner light lens. So what did I do, worked backwards to find all this out. First
I took off the one corner lens, to find that removing the light assembly is, of course, harder than it looks. So I started
to take off the metal dented corner piece...well oops, it's screwed underneath the headlight cover...but oh wait, after unscrewing
that, it's trapped underneath the grille. All in all, I ended up taking everything out, including the headlights, which
probably ended up to be the easiest to remove. I left the other corner lens on, and both corner light assemblies attached.
I'll have to follow some wires, and remove some more grease/undercoating crap, to see how they disconnect...
All in all, another good two hours haha!
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Major slacking on my part...actually just lack of enough computer time to update. I was out again on Tues. (Nov.
8) and I should've updated when I got home, or yesterday, but beside the point.
After asking the great people involved in Yahoo Classic Celica Group once again, I found out how to take off my rear
bumper. Five out of six bolts came out easily, of course the last one had to be seized in as tight as possible...so
I had to take out the light assembly which was in my way. I am really, REALLY starting to get sick of all this
dam silicone!! I had to keep my cool, and not swear too much because my two year old daughter was having fun watching
me struggle. Anyway, I broke the one pin by accident, which in turn meant breaking the light assembly a little bit,
it's ok it can be fixed...maybe I'll use some silicone?!? That's supposed to be a really horrible joke by the way.
Well after I finally got that apart and out of the way, I hooked my vice grips onto my ratchet, and finally broke it loose.
What was gonna take me less than 15 mins, ended up taking me over an hour.
Now that I was warmed up, I figured I'd take the light assembly out of the other side (thank god there were no problems
there). Then I looked into how I was supposed to take off the front bumper...wow if I would've just asked...it was SOOOO
much easier than I made it out to be...ah well, just be easier to put back together.
i did a couple other little things, like kick in my one rocker all rusted out, and check out the other one...finally
something that was fixed half assed right, and without silicone or bondo...but only half done...ah well. All in all,
I put in another good 2 hours before I went to see my parents for a little visit.
So the past two days I've been working away on my lunch hours at work, cleaning up parts, and trying to figure out what
I'm gonna do with the front bumper exactly. Maybe I can get some pics this weekend...I hope so, I feel bad for all these
updates with no pics (no pics even for myself which is really why I feel bad.
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I didn't get any time to update yesterday, as to I came home and had a nap instead...but...I ended up getting the front
bumper off finally. There must be an easier way, but ah well, maybe I'll figure it out when I go to put it back on.
The safety rubber bumper pad thingys that they gave the North American cars, I figured out how to take them off...that's always
a bonus, just have to grab some plugs to fill in the holes, for now, since they will eventually be replaced anyway.
I brought it in to work today, but didn't have any spare time on my lunch to work on cleaning it up...hopefully
tomorrow. I also have a bunch of bolts that I will clean up and re-tap the holes and use some anti-sieze when
I put them back in. I may have to put the corner rubber bumper pieces back on, depending on what I can figure out...but
I'm gonna try to make it so I don't have to.
That was about all I did on Sunday tho, I wasn't feeling to ambitious. I looked at the rear bumper but
I didn't feel like even thinking about trying to deal with it, at least not until I figured out how the front one was
supposed to come off. And when I had to detach the signal lights from there clips so I could remove the bumper, that
was fun too! Believe it or not, there was more silicone!!! And a crap load of grease. After fighting with
those for too long, both my fingers and my back were killing me, which made me even less ambitious...good thing there's a
long time till spring! I also took a better look underneath the car, couple brake lines to make up, good thing my buddy
at work is good at that, haha, else I'd have to do it myself...which I might anyways, so as not to be a total jerk...however
if buddy offers to help then all the power to him, haha!
I'll keep posted on the bumper situation, however I don't think I'll make it back out to the car till next weekend now,
since the wifey started a new job, and she goes to work right after I get home, it'll probably be to late when she gets home
to bother going out to work on it. So I guess I'll be sticking to weekends, but that's alrite too!
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Well after a week off, becuz of lack of gas or money for gas, I finally got back at 'er. What did I find...well
thanks to the guys on the Yahoo Classic Celica Group, I fiugred out how to get the window crank off to take the door panels
off. (2nd one was a lot easier after I found out exactly what the clip looked like and how it worked). Then I
found out that thankfully the side mouldings are only put on with two sided take, so there are no holes in the metal from
the mouldings. After that, I found out that the side vent looking thingys, behind the windows, actually seem to
do something, haven't figured out what, but there is a hole in the metal, I'll have to research it up. And about 15
mins after I got the last one off, I found out that there is an easier way to do it with less chance of breaking things, and
probably the proper way too...but meh, I only broke one a little bit, it's fixable :)
I decided to take the other rear window out, (as Chad took the one side out already). I only broke one screw, and
no glass, haha! However the silicone bandit had rampaged again on that side...wow, that wasn't fun, ah well, good thing
I'm getting it painted.
I'm gonna research a couple things tonite and hopefully find out some stuff to help me out tomorrow, when I return to
tear more apart...maybe I'll figure out how to take that front bumper off easier...my way just seems way too difficult to
be logical...but we'll see!
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Major happenings. Starting on Friday (28th) nite, continuing into Sat. morn, then again later Sat. morn, into the
afternoon.
Background, Chad calls me up Fri nite after work and says, "oh it looks like I'm busy and am going to have to postpone
till mid-next week after you are done work". Alright, fine, be that way, somebody is whipped, haha. Once again,
it's a good thing I'm not paying him well, hahaha, of course if I was he'd be there day and nite, until it was done!
Anyway, I decided to go out fri nite, by myself at about 11pm.
First thing I decided to do was try to put my $32 can of glue to work, and try to fix my headliner...what a waste of
my fricken money!, I got about 4-6" done, altho it turned out fairly well, still cost way too much, so I'm gonna have to figure
out a better method.
By then it was only shortly after 12 and I decided that since I got the tunes goin', and the heat crankin', I should
push the ol' baby back into the heat with me, and start rippin into 'er. Well I started with the backseat...I found
my vice-grips since there were two screws stuck in the back of the seat (and I also forgot my tools once again, so they double
nicely as a wrench). I broke one head off, and the other screw eventually came out...so I took the back of the back
seat out. Then I figured, what the hell, might as well take the bottom part out too. That was fairly simply, two
bolts, and it pulled right out!
Awesome, I was on a roll. I cleared out the trunk area, and took all the carpet out of it. Now I was almost
starting to feel awake. Figuring it wasn't quite 1am yet, and the guy who owned it before me thought he'd try to rig
up a stereo by running wires everywhere, I decided I'd resolve that problem, and strip any non-factory stereo wires out!
Being as I will be putting in my own system and wiring the whole car anyway, his wires would just be in the way, and once
again, this is something where I know some-what what I am doing. So, I ripped the wires from the back up to the front
(I have to admit he did do a good job hiding them...but it's pretty easy to hide two 16 awg wires up either side). Then
I got really ambitious. A speaker, stock position...middle of the dash...underneath. The only way to get to it is
to rip dam near the whole dash out! So I start unscrewing screws (my tim horton's cups are starting to fill up,
I may need to get more to keep all my screws straight, haha!). There is a lot of screws in one of those dashes...and
since I didn't want to break any pieces, I took everything apart. Starting at the e-brake handle, all the way up the
middle, under the steering wheel, took the glove compartment out, the instrument panel out, so now all I have is a tach, a
speedo, and a bunch of wires. Found the exact position, and ripped that speaker outta there, with the hacked wiring
job too. I also took out the voltage meter, and the oil pressure gauge, that were wired directly and unsafely into the
fuse panel. I tell ya, this guy didn't know what he was doing really...or just didn't care. *shakes head in shame*
Well 2:00am rolls around, and I figured altho I could work more, I should really clean up and get going home...2:15 I
was outta there, 2:30 I was home, and didn't want to wake anyone by typing on the keyboard...hence the late post.
10:00 am Saturday morn. Phone rings, and it's my good buddy Chad. haha, seems he's my good buddy when he's
gonna help, and an asshole when he isn't, just kidding of course. He says he got outta doing what he was supposed to
do, so we can go rip at the car today. ALRITEY-THEN!!!!! So, by the time he got all set to go, and I got all set
to go, we got out there about 11:30.
Well, he says, let's rip out the rest of the interior so we can do this body job right the first time. Oh what
surprises we were about to find. Go to take the trim panels off the door jam...but wait, a screw is rusted and inside
stripped with no way of getting it out...Chad is the man! Comes up with a way, I'm still not totally sure of how he
did it, but it involved, a screwdriver, a drill, a few random sized, dulled drill bits, and a little inginuity! He got
it out, and then the same thing happened on the other side, which he also got out. Ripped the front seats out, and all
the carpet. Happy to find no giant holes in the floor, however we do have to reattached the gas pedal (minor).
Continuing on, he started to remove the rear window. Small piece of glass held in with some weatherstripping, trim,
and some screws...or at least so we thought...Holy Shit! The silicone monster has come to visit! So after fighting
with it for a while, he finally got the window out...without breaking it, or any of the trim. As we began to take more
trim off, we found more silicone...and more silicone...and MORE silicone. Absolutely rediculous the amount of silicone
holding those moldings, and weatherstripping on!
As I was taking off the rear inside trim panels, Chad starting to take off the rear weatherstripping around the inside
of the hatch...and surprise surprise...more silicone...oh and some bondo. Jeez-aaa!!! He then asks me what time
it is, so I checked and it was 2:00pm, he's says to me..."oh I guess we better start cleaning up, I said I'd be home about
now", as we are 30 mins from his place. What a guy!!
So, there was quite a bit of deconstruction going on this weekend, and unfortunately we didn't have time to take pics...but
I/we will next time out! (possibly later this week).
By the way, Chad is going to be getting the tools to do his own painting, so it looks like we will have it painted for
it's first journey...he says if we are gonna do it, we are gonna do it right, and it might as well be done in one go.
See his business page HERE!
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Finally, after taking pics on Sunday, and having slight difficulties getting them to my computer...they are finally here.
New Digi Celi Pics!!! Altho, some need some explaination, I will hopefully have captions made up very shortly, I just thought I should post
them as soon as I could. Thought people might have been worried, haha.
Other developments...headliner glue is expensive...over $32 (at cost plus 10% none the less), talk about takin a hit.
Fuel cells are relatively cheap...but may cause some problems when I have to safety it...still unsure in that situation.
And that's about it. I'll be going back out this weekend, maybe get the headliner fixed...possibly more, if Chad actually
decides to come out this weekend...it's a good thing I'm not paying him, haha!
Enjoy the pics...and always check back for updates!
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Once again, out with my baby. Took a ton of pics, just waiting for them to be sent to me so I can upload them and
such. The old rear seatbelts were actually really cool, too bad they don't work anymore. They will still work
as seatbelts, just not how they were intended to originally. I may be able to save the one...but that's a big maybe,
and since they are really rare in this area, finding replacements will be impossible. Maybe I'll get lucky in the future,
and find some in the states (or over seas) when I have more cash. Pics should be up by tomorrow...depending on when
I get them, and a chance to post them.
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The day has arrived, the day everything was supposed to be looked over...unfortunately not always do things work out
just perfectly. Ah well, lots of time till spring anyway. Altho, my good buddy Chad didn't come out, I still went
out to see my baby there. I decided whilest I was there, I might as well start on something that I could do with minimal
tools (because I'm an idiot and forgot mine), and minimal effort (seeing as I didn't want to bother jacking it up and start
taking it apart without someone to help me). Since my head liner is all saggy and such, I would take it out, so I could
fix it once I get the supplies to do that. Well I got the big mouse nest out, and the headliner out in a little over
an hour. This was quite the task considering I've never taken one out before, and I didn't want to break anything, plus
I had to innovate a ratchet to take the seatbelts down. All in all, it was quite a bit of fun.
To go along with all this fun, I decided to try and organize the inside a little bit, so everything wasn't so messy.
In the process of this, I realize that it is actually only a 4 seat car. With rear buckets and altho the seats are joined,
there is no middle seatbelt...ah well one of the kids will just have to ride on the roof! just kidding of course.
I'll figure that out later.
I really need to get my own digi-cam, make taking pics so much more convienent...but they are so dam pricey! Ah
well, I have the mother-in-law's all lined up to use tomorrow...so if you are getting antsy for pics, fear not they will be
coming! She's even sending extra batteries just in case :)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OCT 21, 2005
Well, my dad had to use his old shop for work (becuz it's insulated and his new one isn't yet, plus he hasn't quite moved
out of it completely), so, my baby is stuck back out in the colder garage...luckily I'll still be able to use a little space
heater to keep it a little warmer where we'll be working (if I can find it)...and when my dad is done, I get the heated part
back :)
But still, I couldn't wait for tomorrow to come around, so I went out to see her. A couple discoveries.
The tires on the car currently will fit my other rims perfect, which I figured they would, but they are also in decent shape
(all-seasons good for summer use only). 2nd, the gas tank looks to be an easy fix, which I also made an educated guess
to think (which is why I was pretty disappointed when at first I couldn't find someone to fix it, but now I know someone which
makes me happy!!). My most important, and most exciting, news, in my opinion is...
She still turns over!! I have to take out the sludge and put some oil in it, and I may have to change the sparkies
(just for the sake of changing them cuz it's cheap). But I hooked up a good battery to her tonite, and she still cranks.
I was afraid that maybe something might have seized in the 2 1/2 years of sitting around, outside for one of those winters.
Thank god it didn't tho, I can't afford anything I don't really need, and that can wait to be upgraded (starter, having to
rebuild motor etc etc.)
However, I still have to figure out a way to come up with the $200 american for those JDM mirrors. At least
I'm not doing the fiberglass bumpers yet, $250 a piece, plus shipping, plus front air dam @ $150 (all american prices) ...eeeeeee,
that's gonna take a while, but will look sweet...all in due time tho :) As I pointed out in a forum message, if you
are gonna do a big project, you either need, lots of patience and time, or lotz of money to get it all done at once.
Luckily I have lots of patience and time. Figure I have it tho, I might as well try to get some use outta it! haha.
Take a better look at it tomorrow, see what it may need...if my buddy doesn't mind working in a little colder than expected
conditions.
ALSO, I'm gonna make a phone call probably next week to a guy I know who owns a shop that specializes in exhaust
work. See how much it is gonna cost to get my exhaust fixed. It'll just be some pipe with a couple bends in it
so it shouldn't be too bad...of course I'll keep it posted.
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Well, I found out today, through many phone calls from the parts guy at work, that I am unable to get a new gas tank...Which
upset me greatly...however about 15 mins later, he came out and told me that all was not lost. A guy at Walkerton
Toyota (Ontario, Canada) had a connection in the U.S.A. and may be able to get one. Well, turns out that there would
be a chance to get a used one from arizona, if I waited on a list and hoped one came in. No price to guarantee.
Better news yet, the same guy said he still fixes them, and said for me to bring it over to see what can be done. This
all said, eventually I plan on just getting a custom fuel cell anyway, so it would just be a temporary thing (of course by
temporary that could mean quite a while still, lol)
Also, I heard back from Rick @ ToyHeadAuto.com and he said that he only had a limited amount of the JDM spec fender mirror which I want. He can't guarantee that
I'll get them in a year, so I may just have to scrounge up some cash-ola...or ask for a christmas present...ah...they'd only
be just over $200 American shipped. We'll have to see how everything else is this weekend.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OCT 19, 2005
Alrite, I got antsy to get started, so I went out to my parents tonite (Oct 19)! After moving a snowmobile, a lawn
tractor, and another snowmobile (all not running, pushing and pulling) plus a few other fairly large tools...I finally got
it dug out. Well, I found out digging it out was easier than moving it! Unfortunately, altho I had an air compressor
handy, I had nothing to put the air into the one, very flat, tire. Plus all the brakes were semi-seized again...since
my dad is a carpenter he has very few tools for working on cars, such as a handy floor jack...so out I go to the subi.
Grab the little hand jack...which is seized also, dammit! So I get that all free'd up, get three sides jacked up and
turning...then the flat tire, have to remove the wheel, carry it out to the subi, use my portable air compressor (that plugs
into my cigarette lighter...very handy) and fill it up. Put it back on the car, and then try to push it by myself...not
easy at first...luckily my brother in law was there and gave me a hand. So we pushed it far enough ahead, that I could
put the snowmobiles and lawn tractor back. Then he had to go...luckily I found the easy way to get more muscle into
the push and then it was easy...plus my 2 yr old daughter helped lol! My mom came out to help me push it the last easiest
5 feet, but it was the thought that counted! (had she been there earlier she would've helped then too). All in
all, it only took me about 2 hours, which I think is pretty good!
Oh and I was gonna take a bunch of pics with my mother in law's digi cam, but she forgot to charge the batteries, and
gave it to me with them dead :( But I will get some this weekend for sure!
ALSO...I've been doing some checking around, I'll have to replace my gas tank, instead of fixing it. For one, no
one does it in this area anymore, and 2ndly, prolly cheaper just to buy a new one anyway. And I'm cleaning up my GT
rims for it, gonna take some before and after pics of them too (they will be temporary until I have more money into it, but
still look way better than stock ST steelies)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OCT 16, 2005
Hyped?? I sure am!! The Celi project is finally underway. Starting Oct 22, 2005 she will be moved into
my parents old heated garage, and will have a good going over. Money is still tight, but with exceptional help from
Chad ( STAFF AUTO), we will deceifer what needs to be done to have it certified for spring. More pics and info to come very soon!!!
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FEB 1, 2006 FEB 4, 2006
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