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Old March 20th 2006, 00:46
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Mikey Mikey is offline
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Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Owensboro, Kentucky, USA
Posts: 637
Hmm... did I scare people off with the long post? I'm surprised that there's no comments.

Well, another weekend is coming to a close. I worked a few hours friday, a few Saturday and a few more today.

I spent most of the time working out brackets to attach the water lines to the car. I bought two small bags with 4 brakets each in them from Home Depot. After I laid them on the water lines I noticed the hole on the tunnel side was too close to the pipe, and had to either be moved by adding another peice of metal, or look for another method of holding my water lines up. I chose to add a peice of metal. I also added a small gusset. I thought, the further I move the bolt away from the pipe, the less it will resist bending. Over kill or not, they're done.

After I had them all mounted I flipped the pan over to check how much ground clearance I sacrificed. I don't have a picture. I only lost about a 1/4 of an inch. The two covers hang about 1/4" below the lowest points of the pan and frame head. I also wanted to see where the pipes came out on the top. The driver's side will need more cutting and more , but the passenger side will only need cut with a small angle. It points right at the long tie rod right now. Before I pulled the water lines off the pan. I put all the bolts going though the pan pointing down so I could weld the head to the pan. That way if it comes loose, if I need to pull the water lines off because my aluminum welds leak, I don't have to pull up the carpet. And wouldn't you know it. I took the driver's side off first, and I was almost done with the passenger's side, I went to take the nut off the bolt I welded to the pan, and it broke!!! I cut the bolt out and welded another one back in. I ran a tap and a die on all the nuts and bolts I used just for that reason, so I wouldn't get a lemmon. Oh well, all I can do is fix it and keep going.

After I fixed the bolt problem, I started cleaning up the heads, just hitting them with a grinder then some paint so they don't rust. Since I don't have a garage I had to leave my pan outside for about a year. My new pans were starting to get some surface rust. So, I knocked it all down with a wire brush on a angle grinder. Seem sealed the top of the pans (again, but with a better more liberal bead of seam seal) and coated them with some rust inhibitor/ paint I had for a while. (I don't know what it was really, but it was just sitting there, so I used it.) and before I could get pictures, I flipped the pan back over to do the other side. I first wire brushed it, seam sealed it, then painted it with the same stuff. Half way though the PS I ran out. So raided Tim's paint cabinet. In the back of the cabinet, found something of a brown rust inhibitor and some black. I used the black on my two pipe covers and the brown on the rest of the pan. I was going to lay some welds on my pipe, but I forgot my Pure Tungsten at school.

The first picture is what it looked like when I stopped saturday afternoon. We worked on Tim's '47 for a few hours. The second and third pictures are of when I stopped saturday night, about 9pm. I got there in the morning about 9am. But I took a lunch break. The last two are pictures I took before I left tonight. The creaper on my wishbone has my brakets on them. Sandblasted and painted in gray primer for now. You can see the bolts sticking up from the pan. The holes in the tunnel are tapped 8mm x 1.25 (I think) The lone bolt sticking up in the tunnel, it stripped so I just put a bolt though and welded it on the back. After looking back I could have welded a nut and you'd never know, but then again. How many people will climb under my car and notice that small detail?

Any thoughts or opinions are welcome. I can't spell very good.

On a side note: On my way back to Tim's after my lunch break saturday. I said hi to my friend standing out side my house with a neighbor of mine. He asked me where I was going, I said back to work. And my neighbor said, and I quote. "Sucks to be you" I said "No it doesn't, I love my work. "
Attached Images
File Type: jpg Coolant Line Install 014 (Small).jpg (55.6 KB, 117 views)
File Type: jpg Coolant Line Install 016 (Small).jpg (52.7 KB, 108 views)
File Type: jpg Coolant Line Install 017 (Small).jpg (42.1 KB, 117 views)
File Type: jpg Coolant Line Install 018 (Small).jpg (57.4 KB, 117 views)
File Type: jpg Coolant Line Install 018 (Small).jpg (57.4 KB, 128 views)
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Mike
'04 R32 Tornado Red
'02 New Beetle TDI - Daily driver
'64 Ghia - Project!!-Subaru EJ20T, MS/EDIS, 993 brakes, 914 Tranny...

Last edited by Mikey; March 20th 2006 at 01:02.
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