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Finally started the reassembly process on the car. First step was to closely examine the replacement frame and fix any chips or loose epoxy. I bought some gray RTV and up am just going to use that for the little chips here and there. Worst spot is where the LCA were allowed to push down into the front closing plate when the suspension was disassembled (before I received it). That required some straightening of the metal.
Felt around inside the engine cradle area and discovered delaminating epoxy so tried to break off, break up, and pull out as much as I could. Found some zinc rich paint and borrowed the spray head/nozzle off my 3M cavity wax. It made a huge mess but I think I managed to get the inside painted. Next I will use the actual cavity wax to coat inside there also. It's frustrating that this happens to these frames as they get older. Even a "good frame" has hidden issues. I am starting to understand why Josh B. and others have given up on stock frames.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...b000a7cadc.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...e30de0feea.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...fba745999e.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...a4694a9e5b.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...febffc590a.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...0fe07645f5.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...f6731cab82.jpg
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Forgot to post about painting suspension links and transmission rubber mounts. Painted with engine paint. Primer, gloss black, then clear. They didn't come out perfect but I need to give up on perfection or we will never get this car back together. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...3e0eceee55.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...c4d1f9f5af.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...facee03654.jpg
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"NLA" parts showed up. I have realized how vastly different zinc with yellow chromate plating can look. It depends on how long it is dipped into the yellow chromate. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...d89420d3e2.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...2010d93cff.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...a0014de145.jpg
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Last yesterday afternoon the wife and I focused on trying to figure out and install the fuel lines, vacuum line, and tank vent line. One frustration with a lot of the aftermarket parts that I have purchased is the lack of any instructions on how to install them. It wastes a lot of time and is frustrating to try to figure this stuff out. Also I would appear that our kit is missing some connector fittings. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...d4fbb452e2.jpg
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I never really liked the cheapo plastic fuel line clips that came on the car originally. I had a thought of instead using stainless steel P shaped clips with rubber in them. I was further encouraged to go this route when I stumbled upon a video on YouTube where a guy installed his lines with this same exact method. So I had ordered a kit of SS rivnuts, a kit of S P clips, and SS 6mm socket head screws. The wife removed the old clip bushings and drilled the holes larger while I installed the rivnuts. I couldn't find my own rivnut tool so I had to borrow one. I got one rivnut installed no problem but then after that everytime I started to do the final tightening something in the tool would go "BANG" and I'd have to retighten. I thought I had broke the tool internally but after like five rivnuts, realized what was happening. The threaded part of the tool was pulling out of the threads in the rivnuts....not good!!! After checking things out I determined that either the male threaded part of the tool was made too small or the rivnuts female threads were too large,...or a little of both. If the rivnuts were aluminum or even mild steel this wouldn't be an issue but the SS rivnuts pull hard. I ended up having to run a tap through the rivnuts that had been installed thus far...fun.
Around this same time the wife had started installing the fuel lines with the new clips and I didn't like how it was coming out. So we stopped and reassessed the situation. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...fcf38564dd.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...091dddd94b.jpg
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The issue that I was seeing with my plan (besides the rivnuts not cooperating) was that the P clips installed into the same holes that the original lines were clipped into, offset the fuel lines by around 3/4".
Not that might not seem like much but these lines are pre-bent to fit where the original lines went. On the ones that had two lines on a double clip instead of the two lines running right close together (normally an 1/8" gap) now they were way the heck apart. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures which would have been helpful for explaining this. My wife grabbed a large P clip put it around two lines and said "Why can't we just do this". I have to admit, I kind of cringed at first, acted like I didn't hear her, and kept trying to figure out another way to do it like drilling new holes and staggering the P clips. But that was a lot more holes in the frame and on some psrts there wasnt enough space to do this.
Then I got thinking. She may be onto something. What if we went with a slightly larger P clip but reshaped to hold two lines properly? [emoji848] Then we could drill new holes in the frame offset from the original holes. Instead of using the troublesome rivnuts I could just drill and tap the frame. After all they are fuel lines...not suspension or steering parts. So that is what we did. I taped two 5/16" bolts together then shaped the 1/2" clips around the bolts.
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During a 5 mile run in 17 degree temperatures a friend of mine that also restores old cars and stuff said "Why didn't you just rivet the P clips with some nice big aluminum rivets?"
Hmmm....after we know we have everything where it needs to be I may just do that. Especially since some parts of the frame that we drilled and tapped were pretty thin and as my wife was tightening the bolts at one point she said "This one just keeps spinning" [emoji37]
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I decided to spray inside the frame voids with body cavity wax and some fluid film. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...6e60c8f742.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...117467c35d.jpg
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I noticed some more damaged epoxy coating. I thought that this was caused by people jacking up the car with a jack that doesn't have something on it to spread the weight but when I posted it on a Delorean FB page multiple people said that their car has never been jacked up like that yet still has the same damage. This project is dragging on forever so I decided to just chip off the loose epoxy with a screwdriver then paint the frame with zinc rich primer then gloss gray paint. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...0a9f014f7f.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...39b4276dd3.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...1c3b34cffc.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...80d4c0ba1a.jpg
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I located my fuel filter, accumulator, and fittings. I forgot that I had purchased some nice replacement fittings locally. I can't find my tee and elbow with a barb connection so I'll have to buy those. Mine were probably corroded badly anyways. I put never seize on the threads but not on the face of the connections.
The replacement fitting that I bought for the fuel filter inlet is SS which is nice. It is however straight thread not tapered thread like the original was. I installed the new one with fuel proof gasket sealer on the threads and a nitrile o--ring. Gonna give it a shot. If it leaks then I will go back to the original tapered thread design. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...587cc7a9f9.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...24c17d4081.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...f1139a48be.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...47c2651294.jpg
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